Origins & Early Life

Sue Taylor Grafton (April 24, 1940 – December 28, 2017) was an American author of detective novels. She is best known as the author of the "alphabet series" ("A" Is for Alibi, etc.) featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fictional city of Santa Teresa, California. The daughter of detective novelist C. W.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Grafton, she said the strongest influence on her crime novels was author Ross Macdonald. Before her success with this series, she wrote screenplays for television movies. Sue Grafton was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to C. W. Grafton (1909–1982) and Vivian Harnsberger, both of whom were the children of Presbyterian missionaries.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Her father was a municipal bond lawyer who also wrote mystery novels, and her mother was a former high school chemistry teacher. Her father enlisted in the Army during World War II when she was three and returned when she was five, after which her home life started falling apart. Both parents became alcoholics, and Grafton said "From the age of five onward, I was left to raise myself". Grafton and her older sister, Ann, grew up in Louisville, where she went to Atherton High School. She attended the University of Louisville (first...

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