Old case, old villain drive 25th tale
For the penultimate novel in her “Alphabet” mysteries series, Sue Grafton opted to go back even further in time than the usual Kinsey Millhone tales.
Grafton, 77, who once lived in German Village and now divides her time between California and Kentucky, began her bestselling series with “A is for Alibi,” published in 1982.
In “Y is for Yesterday,” Grafton’s quirky private detective — whose cases have continued to be set in the 1980s — is called upon to revisit a 1970s murder of a high-school student in fictional Santa Teresa, California, Kinsey’s stomping grounds.
Sloan was shot and killed after an alcohol and pot party at another student’s ■ luxurious cabin. Ten years later, Fritz, the boy who shot her, has been released from prison. A sex tape made by the students shortly before Sloan’s murder, plus Fritz’s return, lead to the blackmailing of his parents, who hire Kinsey to unravel the puzzle.
Grafton moves the story forward at a leisurely pace; the time period, after all, is the less-frenetic pre-internet, pre-cellphone age. She alternates chapters between Kinsey’s present — 1989 haunt her in “Y.” Grafton doesn’t attempt to blend the two plots, but she weaves them smoothly into the narrative. The plot involving the high-school students — now young adults with baggage — is resolved with surprise and satisfaction.
Kinsey is an engaging protagonist and one not likely to show up in other mediums; Grafton has remained adamant that she will not sell the film or television rights for the series.
After “Y is for Yesterday,” a few loose ends in Kinsey’s life remain to be wrapped up in the final volume.
Will Henry, age 89 in “Y,” live through the series? (Yes, please!) Will Kinsey hang up her detective’s license? Will she ever find true love and settle down? Will any other character in crime fiction ever eat a peanut butter and pickle sandwich?
Stay tuned for 2019, when “Z is for Zero” is due for release.