The difference is that Sue Grafton, perhaps having had twenty-six books in mind originally, decided to keep the action firmly in the 1980s, with the plot of each book taking place soon after the conclusion of the last. What Millhone has in common with Warshawski is that they’re a similar age. Santa Teresa might be a fictional town in Southern California, but it felt real when I read these books. novels that were available, I moved onto Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone Alphabet series, of course starting with “A” is for Alibi. Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Series is so fiercely independent and I’d never come across anyone like her before, either in real life or in fiction. The divorced daughter of a Chicago cop and an Italian opera singer, V.I. herself who kept me turning the pages when I first picked this up. A missing person’s case turns into a murder investigation, but it’s V.I. My introduction to the unconventional woman was through Indemnity Only, Sara Paretsky’s first V.I.

I wondered if she really did have her life together – how boring! What if, really, she was falling apart? Way more interesting. That singer must really have her life together! I don’t really know why but that unnamed woman stuck in my head.

It’s not on the page, but Evie is going through a turbulent time and when she sees that woman onstage, confident and talented, she feels envious.

As they leave, there is a woman singing onstage and something about her makes Evie take notice. My protagonists, a couple named Evie and Lawrie, have a night out in a Soho jazz club. Lena Aldridge started off as an unnamed woman in my first novel, This Lovely City, published in the UK.

Jealous Cop by Lena Little