"K" Is for Killer

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"K" Is for Killer
K Is for Killer.jpg
First edition cover
Author Sue Grafton
LanguageEnglish
SeriesAlphabet Mysteries
Genre Mystery fiction
Published1994 (Henry Holt and Company)
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages285 first edition
ISBN 978-0-8050-1936-0
OCLC 29703955
813/.54 20
LC Class PS3557.R13 K2 1994
Preceded by "J" Is for Judgment  
Followed by "L" Is for Lawless  

"K" Is for Killer is the 11th novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series of mystery novels and features Kinsey Millhone, a private eye based in Santa Teresa, California. [1] The book had an initial printing of reportedly 600,000 copies and was a New York Times bestseller. [2]

Contents

Plot

Kinsey Millhone receives a visit from Janice Kepler whose beautiful but reclusive daughter, Lorna, died 10 months ago of an apparent allergic reaction. Recently, someone sent Janice a tape of a pornographic movie Lorna made before her death, and Janice, who has never believed the official story, wants Kinsey to find out the truth. Janice's husband, Mace, and her two surviving daughters, Berlyn and Trinny, seem less keen on the investigation.

Officer Cheney Phillips informs Kinsey that Lorna was leading a double life: receptionist at the water treatment plant by day, high class prostitute by night. Phillips introduces Kinsey to Danielle, a teenage colleague of Lorna's in her night-time occupation.

Kinsey discovers that Lorna's body was found by Serena Bonney, night-shift nurse and estranged wife of Lorna's boss at the water treatment plant, Roger Bonney. Serena's father, Clark Esselmann, is a powerful business tycoon and member of the local water board.

Kinsey has a terrifying Mafia-style encounter with a man describing himself as an attorney for a Los Angeles man to whom Lorna was engaged. He asks Kinsey to keep him abreast of any developments in the case.

Kinsey discovers that Berlyn found Lorna's body two days before Bonney, but kept quiet about in order to steal some of Lorna's money. Berlyn sent her mother the video of Lorna's pornographic film.

Leda, the wife of Lorna's landlord, had placed recording equipment in Lorna's cabin because she was worried that Lorna was having an affair with her husband. With the help of Lorna's friend, late-night radio DJ Hector Moreno, Kinsey transcribes the taped conversations, but can't make sense of them at first. Kinsey attends a meeting of the water board, where she witnesses a contentious debate between Esselman and his business rival John "Stubby" Stockton.

The next day, Esselmann is electrocuted in his swimming pool. Thinking back to the recordings, Kinsey realizes the conversation is someone telling Lorna about the plot to kill Esselmann. She surmises that Lorna was killed to keep her quiet. Kinsey's suspicions turn at first to Stubby Stockton, but then she realizes Roger Bonney had the necessary knowledge and access to his father-in-law's pool to have set up the electrocution. Kinsey's suspicions are confirmed when she finds a photo of Lorna and Danielle with their "clients" Stockton and Bonney.

Kinsey talks to Cheney Phillips about her suspicions of Bonney, but he points out there is no evidence. Frustrated that Bonney is likely to get away with murder, Kinsey phones the Mafia men and reports that Bonney is the killer. Overcome with guilt, she tries to warn Bonney, but he thinks she has come to confront him with the murder and stuns her with a taser. While Kinsey lies powerless on the floor, the Mafia men arrive and escort Bonney away, never to be seen again.

Reviews

Awards

"K" Is for Killer was awarded the 1995 Shamus Award for Best Novel from the Private Eye Writers of America and was nominated for the 1995 Anthony Award in the same category. [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sue Grafton</span> American writer

Sue Taylor Grafton was an American author of detective novels. She is best known as the author of the "alphabet series" featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fictional city of Santa Teresa, California. The daughter of detective novelist, C. W. 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.

<i>"A" Is for Alibi</i> 1982 novel by Sue Grafton

"A" Is for Alibi is the first mystery novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series, and was published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston in 1982. Featuring sleuth Kinsey Millhone, it is set in the southern California city of Santa Teresa, the nom de plume for Santa Barbara. She wrote the book during a divorce and admits about her husband that she "would lie in bed at night thinking of ways to kill him". The New York Times gave the book a lukewarm review.

<i>"G" Is for Gumshoe</i> Novel by Sue Grafton

"G" Is for Gumshoe (1990) is the seventh novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series of mystery novels and features Kinsey Millhone, a private eye based in Santa Teresa, California.

<i>"B" Is for Burglar</i> 1985 novel by Sue Grafton

"B" Is for Burglar is a mystery novel by American writer Sue Grafton. It was published in 1985 by Henry Holt and Company as the second novel in her "Alphabet" series of mystery novels.

<i>"C" Is for Corpse</i> 1986 book by Sue Grafton

"C" Is for Corpse is the third novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series of mystery novels and features Kinsey Millhone, a private eye based in Santa Teresa, California.

<i>"D" Is for Deadbeat</i> Novel by Sue Grafton

"D" Is for Deadbeat is the fourth novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series of mystery novels and features Kinsey Millhone, a private eye based in Santa Teresa, California. The novel follows the development of Kinsey's relationship with Jonah Robb, the police officer she met in B is for Burglar.

<i>"E" Is for Evidence</i> Novel by Sue Grafton

"E" Is for Evidence is the fifth novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series of mystery novels and features Kinsey Millhone, a private eye based in Santa Teresa, California. The premise of the book elaborates on Kinsey's personal history since it involves her second ex-husband, jazz musician and drug addict Daniel Wade, who was only briefly addressed in "C" is for Corpse.

<i>"F" Is for Fugitive</i> Novel by Sue Grafton

"F" Is for Fugitive is the sixth novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series of mystery novels and features Kinsey Millhone, a private eye based in Santa Teresa, California.

<i>"I" Is for Innocent</i> Novel by Sue Grafton

"I" Is for Innocent is the ninth novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series of mystery novels and features Kinsey Millhone, a private eye based in Santa Teresa, California.

<i>"J" Is for Judgment</i> Novel by Sue Grafton

"J" Is for Judgment is the tenth novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series of mystery novels and features Kinsey Millhone, a private eye based in Santa Teresa, California. The novel is set in 1984 and features a significant development in Kinsey's personal back-story, as she discovers that she has extensive family living in the Lompoc area.

<i>"L" Is for Lawless</i> Novel by Sue Grafton

"L" Is for Lawless is the 12th novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series of mystery novels and features Kinsey Millhone, a private eye based in Santa Teresa, California.

<i>"O" Is for Outlaw</i> Novel by Sue Grafton

"O" Is for Outlaw is the 15th novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series of mystery novels and features Kinsey Millhone, a private eye based in Santa Teresa, California.

<i>"P" Is for Peril</i> Novel by Sue Grafton

"P" Is for Peril is the 16th novel in the "Alphabet" series of mystery novels by Sue Grafton. The novel focuses on the disappearance of Dr. Dowan Purcell, a nursing home administrator and doctor at Pacific Meadows Nursing Home, and features Kinsey Millhone, a private eye based in Santa Teresa, California. The novel is set in 1986.

<i>"Q" Is for Quarry</i> Novel by Sue Grafton

"Q" Is for Quarry is the 17th novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series of mystery novels and features Kinsey Millhone, a private eye based in Santa Teresa, California.

<i>"R" Is for Ricochet</i> Novel by Sue Grafton

"R" Is for Ricochet is the 18th novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series of mystery novels and features Kinsey Millhone, a private eye based in Santa Teresa, California.

<i>"S" Is for Silence</i> Novel by Sue Grafton

"S" Is for Silence is the 19th novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series of mystery novels and features Kinsey Millhone, a private eye based in Santa Teresa, California.

<i>"T" Is for Trespass</i> Novel by Sue Grafton

"T" Is for Trespass is the 20th novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series of mystery novels and features Kinsey Millhone, a private eye based in the fictional Santa Teresa, California. Grafton drafted six possible story lines for the novel before settling on the final plot.

<i>"V" Is for Vengeance</i> 2011 novel by Sue Grafton

"V" Is for Vengeance is the 22nd novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series of mystery novels and features Kinsey Millhone, a private eye based in Santa Teresa, California, a fictional version of Santa Barbara, California.

<i>"W" Is for Wasted</i> 2013 novel by Sue Grafton

"W" Is for Wasted is the twenty-third novel in the "Alphabet" series of mystery novels by Sue Grafton. It features Kinsey Millhone, a private detective based in Santa Teresa, California, a fictional version of Santa Barbara, California.

<i>X</i> (Grafton novel) 2015 novel by Sue Grafton

"X" is the twenty-fourth novel in the "Alphabet" series of mystery novels by Sue Grafton. It features Kinsey Millhone, a private detective based in Santa Teresa, California, a fictional version of Santa Barbara, California.

References

  1. ↑ Pierman, Sue (May 1, 1994). "Grafton's 'K' is for keep at it". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  2. ↑ Gressette, Felicia (April 24, 1994). "Mystery Women". The Miami Herald. p. 1I.
  3. ↑ "The Shamus Awards: A Literary Mystery Award". Awards.OmniMystery.com. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Anthony Awards Nominees". Bouchercon World Mystery Convention. October 2, 2003. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
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