THE KINSEY MILLHONE MYSTERIES, FROM ALIBI TO YESTERDAY: COMPLETE FIRST EDITION COLLECTION, 25 VOLUMES, EACH SIGNED BY SUE GRAFTON
GRAFTON, Sue. The Alphabet Series ["A" to "Y", all published]. COMPRISING: "A" Is for Alibi. WITH: "B" Is for Burglar. WITH: "C" Is for Corpse. WITH: "D" Is for Deadbeat. WITH: "E" Is for Evidence. WITH: "F" Is for Fugitive. WITH: "G" Is for Gumshoe. WITH: "H" Is for Homicide. WITH: "I" Is for Innocent. WITH: "J" Is for Judgment. WITH: "K" Is for Killer. WITH: "L" Is for Lawless. WITH: "M" Is for Malice. WITH: "N" Is for Noose. WITH: "O" Is for Outlaw. WITH: "P" Is for Peril. WITH: "Q" Is for Quarry. WITH: "R" Is for Ricochet. WITH: "S" Is for Silence. WITH: "T" Is for Trespass. WITH: "U" Is for Undertow. WITH: "V" Is for Vengeance. WITH: "W" Is for Wasted. WITH: "X". WITH: "Y" Is for Yesterday. New York: New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston; Henry Holt; G.P. Putnam's Sons, (1982-2017). Together, 25 volumes. Octavo, original paper boards or half cloth of various colors, original dust jackets. "A" Is for Alibi housed in a custom calf clamshell box. $21,500.
Full first edition set of Grafton’s popular Kinsey Millhone mysteries, each volume signed by the author on the title page, with the first volume inscribed to actor Stephanie Zimbalist, "For Stephanie… Yours until 'Z' is for Zero. Sue. 5-3-86."
"By 1982, Grafton was a twice-divorced mother of three children who conceived "A" is for Alibi in preference to murdering her ex-husband… Her award-winning 'alphabet' series… has helped transform the predominantly male preserve of American crime writing… Her tightly paced mysteries are shaped by Kinsey Millhone, a feisty, self-sufficient private investigator who is appealingly candid, with a wry wit" (Stringer, 259-60). "In dealing with big themes on a small canvas, [Grafton's] clever but unpretentious mysteries reassure us that no life is insignificant, no death inconsequential" (New York Times). Tragically, Grafton died of a very rare cancer (appendiceal) while still working on "Z" Is for Zero, rendering the 25-volume "A" through "Y" series a complete run. See Barzun & Taylor 1558. "A" Is for Alibi is inscribed to Remington Steele actor Stephanie Zimbalist: "For Stephanie… Yours until 'Z' Is for Zero. Sue. 5-3-86." Zimbalist starred alongside Alec Baldwin in the 1985 TV move "Love on the Run," co-written by Grafton. "Y" Is for Yesterday is signed on a tipped-in bookplate affixed to the halt title.
About-fine to fine condition.