With well over ten million copies of her books in print in twenty-six languages around the world, and with titles that are hard to forget because they follow the alphabet, author Sue Grafton is one of those fortunate few wordsmiths who not only makes a living by the pen but makes a fabulous one at that. And from the very outset of her award-winning detective series featuring the female private eye Kinsey Millhone, it was clear that both Grafton and her protagonist meant business.

"My name is Kinsey Millhone. I'm a private investigator, licensed by the state of California. I'm thirty-two years old, twice divorced, no kids. The day before yesterday I killed someone and the fact weighs heavily on my mind. I'm a nice person and I have a lot of friends. My apartment is small but I like living in a cramped space. I've lived in...