A Is for Alibi by Sue Grafton

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🔍 A Is for Alibi by Sue Grafton

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 out of 5 stars)
Genre: Classic Detective / Mystery
📢 Spoilers ahead!

📚 The Start of the Alphabet (and a Murder)

Okay, confession time: I only picked this one up because of a reading challenge that required a book starting with the letter X. So naturally, I thought… Sue Grafton’s alphabet series! Let’s just start at the beginning and see what all the fuss is about.

And you know what? For a book written in the early ’80s, A Is for Alibi held up better than I expected. It’s fast-paced, has a hardboiled detective vibe, and the main character, Kinsey Millhone, is sharp-tongued, cynical, and just the right amount of snarky. My kind of PI.

That said, it felt like I was being introduced to a new character every other page — I wanted to make a flowchart just to keep track. The plot’s a web, and while the mystery is compelling, the sheer number of side characters left me mildly dizzy. But for a series starter? Not bad. Especially when you go in with low expectations.

🔪 The Setup: A Murder, an Alibi, and an Innocent Ex-Con?

We open with Nikki Fife, freshly out of prison after serving seven years for killing her husband, Laurence, a high-powered divorce attorney. Nikki hires private investigator Kinsey Millhone because she swears she didn’t do it. Now she wants the truth — and her name cleared.

Kinsey is skeptical (honestly, same), but she takes the case. What follows is a wild tangle of ex-spouses, shady business partners, suspicious suicides, and the kind of complicated timeline that would make a true crime podcaster’s head spin.

Kinsey starts retracing Laurence’s final days, interviewing his clients, coworkers, and exes, and the deeper she digs, the murkier it gets. Everyone seems to have a motive. Everyone is hiding something. And, of course, people start dropping dead under “mysterious circumstances.”

Classic.

🧩 The Twists: Two Killers, One PI

At first, Kinsey is convinced that if she can just figure out who killed Laurence, everything will fall into place. But the truth is messier than that.

  • Gwen, Laurence’s first wife, turns out to be the one who actually poisoned him. She was the perfect wife who got royally screwed over in the divorce. He cheated on her constantly, then used his legal muscle to take the kids. And honestly? I don’t condone murder, but I get her rage.

  • Meanwhile, Laurence’s law partner, Charlie, was stealing from clients. People who got too close to uncovering his scam? Well, they didn’t last long. One of them being Gwen, who he kills in a hit-and-run to tie up loose ends.

And the kicker? Kinsey was kind of dating Charlie. (Yikes.) Talk about awkward.

The story ends with a classic noir showdown: Kinsey confronts Charlie, he attacks, and she shoots him in self-defense. Case closed.

🔎 My Take

This one was solid, but not mind-blowing. I liked Kinsey. She’s no-nonsense, tough, and grounded — not some glamorized detective trope. And Grafton’s writing is quick and clever. I could see why this series has so many loyal fans.

But, yeah, the character overload slowed me down. I started losing track of who was who and what they wanted. Some of the plot twists were great — especially the dual killer reveal — but others felt a little overstuffed for such a slim novel.

Still, it exceeded my expectations and intrigued me enough that I might check out the next book in the series someday. Maybe not right away. But someday.

🛒 Buy A Is for Alibi

👉 Available on Amazon (affiliate link)

🕵️‍♀️ If You Liked This, Try:

  • Still Life by Louise Penny – a cozier but equally layered murder mystery

  • One for the Money by Janet Evanovich – another first-in-series featuring a spunky female PI

  • The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith – modern noir with a detective duo twist

🗣️ Final Thoughts

Was A Is for Alibi perfect? Nope. Was it entertaining and way better than expected for a book I only read because I needed an “X” book? Absolutely. A solid 3 out of 5 — maybe even a 3.5 if I’m feeling generous and caffeinated.

Let me know if I should keep going with the alphabet — or skip straight to “X”!

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