Sue Taylor Grafton was born (from the gods’ lap) on 24 April 1940 in Louisville, KY and lived to the age of 77, passing away on 28 December 2017 in her beloved Santa Barbara.
She was a U.S.-based writer of mysteries (more commonly known today as “crime fiction”) of the “hardboiled” style, widely known for her “alphabet series” of novels featuring a feisty female private investigator by the name of Kinsey Millhone. This was a significant innovation at the time, and paved the way for many other female authors, and female protagonists, to come. They are also just a damned good read on your downtime.
Through no fault of her own, I’m sure, Ms. Grafton graduated from the University of Louisville and apparently (if the statements of other contemporaries can be believed) retained her Southern accent throughout her life. Frankly, to me, she has always “read” like a northeasterner who relocated to the West Coast with a certain imported skepticism, but this just shows how much I know. Although her active period is listed as 1964 until her departure, her first published mystery novel came in 1967.
After graduating the U of L, Ms. Grafton vagabonded her way into the life of a screenwriter and cranked out a significant number of scripts, mainly for television. It was through this gig that she met her lifelong life-partner (and husband) Steven F. Humphrey. The union was apparently a happy and productive one–but she often said that the character of Kinsey Millhone was who she might have become if she had never married. (She was also, apparently, an avid mystery reader herself, who cited the author Ross MacDonald as one of her strongest early influences.
Died: Thursday 28th of December 2017 (age 77) Born: Wednesday 24th of April 1940 Years active: 1964-2017 (started around 24 years old; 53 years active) Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, United States Nationality: (American) Ethnicity: Caucasian Professions: Author, Writer Hair color: Black Eye color: Green Height: 5’9″ (or 175 cm) Weight: 141 lbs (or 64 kg) Body type: Average
