"YOURS UNTIL 'Z' IS FOR ZERO!": THE KINSEY MILLHONE MYSTERIES, FROM ALIBI TO YESTERDAY: COMPLETE FIRST EDITION COLLECTION, EACH SIGNED OR INSCRIBED 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 [2 copies]. 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, 26 volumes. Octavo, original paper boards or half cloth of various colors, original dust jackets. $21,500.
Full first edition set of Grafton’s popular Kinsey Millhone mysteries, each volume signed or inscribed by the author, with the first volume inscribed on the title page, "For M— K—- — Sue Grafton. Yours until 'Z' is for Zero!"
"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. This set includes a second copy of "'I' is for Innocent," from the first English edition, also signed by Grafton. "C" is for Corpse has also been inscribed by Grafton ("Mysteriously Yours"). See Barzun & Taylor 1558.
A bit of glue residue to endpapers and dust jacket verso of "F" is for Fugitive. Fine condition.