by Sue Grafton

isbn: 0553279912
subject: Fiction and Literature
finished: 2/13/2003

I'm no big fan of mystery novels; my previous exposure to the genre mainly consists of a couple of Agatha Christie novels that I read when I was a kid. Sue Grafton writes a different sort of book, maybe a little more gritty and cynical, but certainly not going all the way to the noir side of the genre. A is for Alibi introduces Kinsey Milhone, a sharp, tough private investigator. She gets a little too personally involved with her cases, no doubt as a substitute for having nothing else going on in her life. Grafton puts in a lot of little details that make the story feel right, but she also throws in a few too many female suspects and consequently the book tends to drag a little towards the middle as Kinsey follows all possible leads. This is a fun, lightweight book.