Kinsey Millhone series: any fans?

[CharlotteRumpling]

I have been going through a stressful time lately, and Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series has really helped. Anyone like them?

I love Kinsey's one dress wardrobe, her relationship with Henry, her terrible diet....

So sad the author died at Y.

Yes i absolutely loved them. I didn’t realise the author had died, how sad and annoying she didn’t get to finish the series. I think they are the female Reacher in that it’s easy to read and fast enough paced to carry you along so you always finish. The kind of book I’d be happy to give DD to read as a transition from kids books to adult.

My Mum loved these, used to get them from library van…I never got in to them at the time (think I was in a dystopian phase), I’ll give them another go as I’ve heard from a few people now that the books are good.
I’m sorry you’ve been going through a stressful time recently, but glad reading is helping.

Yes I loved them, Kinsey was such a great character.

I was waiting and waiting for Z to appear then read on MN that she'd died, such a shame.

I've just started the James Patterson Women's Murder Club series which has got off to a promising start, there's 20 years worth so hope they continue to be a good read

Yes, love Kinsey.

I went off the VI Warshawski books because they got so depressing but Kinsey feels like someone who’d easily slot into my friendship groups & join us at the pub.

I had a phase about 15 years ago when I read a lot of crime fiction and plowed through the alphabet series :) I should reread them and see if I still like them. I liked Kinsey but remember often thinking the plot was a bit thin or spotty and I found it hard in many of them to get a feel for how time was passing. When Henry did her flat up it sounded so great, I was envious of a book. Also I’ve tried peanut butter and pickle sandwiches and they’re very good!

I love these. Must reread them sometime soon.

This is exactly why I enjoy them. Also not too violent or demeaning of women. I think she really makes Santa Teresa come alive too. I thought it was a real town.

My other binge read lately is the Inspector Gamache series. I adore crime fiction.

I've just reread them all - it was such a joy to go back to spending time with Kinsey! There was a definite shift in the later ones which were longer and more flashbacks to people involved in the crime earlier on - think I preferred the earlier ones.

I really liked how she kept them set in the 80's, even tho' she was writing much later at the end. So many things Kinsey had to do then would have been achieved in about 2 minutes with a quick google.

Also love Inspector Gamache...want to go on holiday to 3 Pines...

Another fan & planning to re-read the series when I retire one day!

A terrific series, always worth a re-read for the detail.

Love 'em, I think I got into them quite early on and always looked forward to the next one coming out.
There's nothing better than finding an author who's written loads of books.
Not the same, but Ellis Peters' Cadfael Books are great, and plentiful.

Yes, me too. Read them all, still have them because DH says he’ll read them 'one day'. I also enjoy the rather comforting sameness of them, though the fact that Henry and his siblings are so hale and hearty in their 90s seems a bit unlikely.

I think they went through a slightly dull patch about midway through but Sue Grafton pulled them back towards the end. So sad that she never managed to complete the series.

Love them! I sometimes treat myself to a Kinsey style egg mayo sandwich, yum.

Oh I loved these books, so easy to read and great stories.

I'd been reading them from the beginning and she seemed to write roughly one a year. I'm still hoping Z had been written and is awaiting publication ! It was always a good day when i realised a new one was out and I have fairly recently gone back to A and reread them all.

I saw 'Kinsey Millhone' in your thread title and thought 'Hang on, was that the Sue Grafton alphabet series?'

What a blast from the past, I loved them! She was a feisty one, and I clearly remember her love of Quarter Pounders.

I remember when she died, her family released a statement saying something like 'To us the alphabet will always end in Y'. Aww.

Now I want a quarter pounder 😍

Hi OP, great thread! I'm currently on H, and I'm going to check out the Maigret series to add to my queue.

Oh yes, absolutely Sue Grafton is one of my favourite crime authors!
I love Sara Paretsky too, and Louise Penney's Three Pines.

I am listening to Ngaio Marsh's Inspector Allyn series, they are amusing.

Has anyone read Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley novels? They were televised in the 2000s. The books are good and the later ones deal with some harrowing issues.

I recently reread Andrew Taylor's Lydmouth series, set in post-war England. Very bleak with good character development.

I often emulate her use of a paper towel instead of crockery. Kinsey was more or less my contemporary, so the books were wonderful escapism for me as a single parent bringing up my children in the English Midlands.

I read them when (and as) they first came out, and the earlier ones are great. They became less so towards the tail end. I thought X was pretty dreadful, and Y, sadly, so bad it was unreadable.

Elizabeth George - sorry, awful, derivative, over-contrived, clunky and inauthentic.

I read the whole lot. Absolutely loved them. I read a lot, and often guess "who dunitt", with these I loved the fact that you didn't actually find out until the last few pages. Always hoped there would be films or TV series. Patiently waited for Z, then heard Sue Grafton had died and left instructions,no one else was to write it on her behalf.

Oh my word, I loved these so much! I read them back to back for a while and then went in search of other female sleuths. About the same time I remember reading Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels for a ‘bubblier’ contrast. 😀Kinsey though has stood the test of time.

So many times I've been tempted to give my hair a quick trim!

Loved those books. RIP Sue.

Also, there are so many wonderful quotes. In Y is for Yesterday she says

"The odd but unremarkable truth about women is that we've had the aggression bred right out of us"