Along with fellow writers Sara Paretsky and Marcia Muller, Sue Grafton has been credited with popularizing the mystery sub-genre of the female private eye. Although there have been female detectives almost from the beginnings of mystery fiction, in the past they were almost exclusively amateur sleuths rather than detectives for hire. The tough female private eye, written in the tradition of a Mike Hammer or a Philip Marlowe, was unheard of until the late 1970s. Women writers of this type of mystery were also rare. Due to the growing popularity of Grafton, Paretsky, and Muller, however, other authors have begun to introduce many new female detectives. However, Grafton's Kinsey Milhone remains among the most popular.

It now seems almost inevitable that Grafton would become a mystery writer. She was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the daughter of teacher Vivian Harnsberger and attorney, C. W. Grafton...