Kinsey and Me: Stories

Kinsey Millhone, PI, captures vengeful murderers, exposes elaborate scams, and outsmarts the criminals in her usual witty, lovable way in nine stories written between 1986 and 1991 and first privately published in a limited edition of 300 copies. These tales are every bit as engaging to read as Grafton's (U Is for Undertow) full-length novels. Grafton's humor shines through in every story, particularly in "The Lying Game," which was written for the 40th anniversary of the Land's End catalog. The second section of this collection features the character of Kit Blue as the author herself, writing a fictionalized history of her own difficulties growing up as the child of alcoholic parents. Readers will also appreciate Grafton's thoughts on writing short stories, contained in the foreword, as well as the introduction in which she explains how the character of Kinsey came to her mind as her "alter-ego."