Kinsey and Me: Grafton tells all. Almost. (2013)

Sue Grafton. Kinsey & Me. (2013) An introduction by Grafton, which comes as close any author can to explain the source of fictions, followed by several short stories about Kinsey Millhone, not especially memorable, and a series of interlocked semi-fictions based on Grafton’s life. These are memorable.

Grafton had a difficult childhood, as the phrase goes these days. There’s no doubt that this shaped her moral altitudes, which of course spill over into Millhone’s uncompromising attitude to evil, and the compromises she sometimes makes with the law in order to achieve justice. Insofar as justice can be achieved. Crime fiction trades on our yearning for moral balance, and the best crime fiction reminds us that it’s at best precarious and always a little off.

A brief essay on the evolution of the hard-boiled P.I. genre is worth reading both as a defence of the genre and for insight into how women have improved it.

A necessary book for Grafton’s fans, and interesting both for fans of crime fiction and those who are curious about the intersection of life and art. ***