"E" is for Evidence: A Kinsey Millhone Mystery

Sue Grafton

May 1988 · Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mysteries Book 5 · Sold by Holt Paperbacks

About this ebook

No one writes a thriller like #1 New York Times bestselling author Sue Grafton. In E is for Evidence, PI Kinsey Millhone becomes the victim of a nasty frame-up...

E IS FOR EX

It was the silly season and a Monday at that, and Kinsey Millhone was bogged down in a preliminary report on a fire claim. Something was nagging at her, but she couldn't pin it. The last thing she needed in the morning mail was a letter from her bank recording an erroneous $5,000 deposit in her account. Kinsey had never believed in Santa Claus and she wasn't about to change her mind now. Resigning herself to a morning of frustration, she phoned the bank and, assaulted by canned carols, waited on hold for an officer to clear up the snafu.

It was with something less than Christmas cheer that Kinsey faced off only minutes later with California Fidelity's Mac Voorhies. Voorhies was smart, humorless, stingy with praise, and totally fair. He was frowning now.

"I got a phone call this morning." he said, his frown deepening. "Somebody says you're on the take."

Suddenly the $5,000 deposit clicked into place. It wasn't a mistake. It was a setup.

"E" is for evidence: evidence planted, evidence lost. "E" is for ex-lovers and evasions, enemies and endings. For Kinsey, "E" is for everything she stands to lose if she can't exonerate herself: her license, her livelihood, her good name. And so she takes on a new client: namely, Kinsey Millhone, thirty-two and twice-divorced, ex-cop and wisecracking loner, a California private investigator with a penchant for lost causes--one of which, it is to be hoped, is not herself.

As Kinsey begins to unravel the frame-up, she finds that her future is intimately tied to one family's past and to the explosive secret it has protected for almost twenty years. Digging deeper, she discovers that probing the past can have lethal consequences as she follows a trail of murder that leads to her own front door. And in what may well be her most challenging case, Kinsey comes up against the fact that sometimes, "E" is forever.

"A" Is for Alibi
"B" Is for Burglar
"C" Is for Corpse
"D" Is for Deadbeat
"E" Is for Evidence
"F" Is for Fugitive
"G" Is for Gumshoe
"H" Is for Homicide
"I" Is for Innocent
"J" Is for Judgment
"K" Is for Killer
"L" is for Lawless
"M" Is for Malice
"N" Is for Noose
"O" Is for Outlaw
"P" Is for Peril
"Q" Is for Quarry
"R" Is for Ricochet
"S" Is for Silence
"T" Is for Trespass
"U" Is for Undertow
"V" Is for Vengeance
"W" Is for Wasted
"X"

Ratings and reviews

(No Spoilers) "E" is for Evidence is the 5th novel in Grafton's Alphabet Mysteries / Kinsey Millhone series. Thus far each book's plot has started with Kinsey being hired for a job. However in "E" the private investigator must unravel a case for herself: someone is framing her for insurance fraud. "E" is a bit different than the previous books. It's more character-driven, bringing in the past entanglements of Kinsey's ex husband (mentioned briefly in Book 3: "C" is for Corpse</a>), and an old high school friend--who might have something to do with the arson Kinsey was investigating. As with all of Grafton's plots, this one is beautifully designed with strong side characters and plenty of red herrings to keep the reader guessing. What I love most is the attention to detail in character motivation. Grafton also excels at narrative description, placing the reader fully into a given scene. "E" is a fun cozy where we learn more about Kinsey, something kept minimum in previous books that I was happy to see addressed. The slow unfolding of her history over the course of the series has been a pleasure to read. As a standalone, "E" delivers with its quick pacing and well-crafted plot. It was a bit on the short side, and I wished for more immediate content rather than long descriptions (though expertly done) of settings we visit only once. A bit more Kinsey is always preferred. If you're looking for a light mystery with a realistic P.I heroine, the Alphabet Series is for you. Those who have read "A to D" will appreciate the character focus of "E" and those who pick it up as a standalone will not be disappointed! Content Warning: PG (mild language, some adult themes) Rating: 3.5 Stars

Love Kinsey and all the mess she gets into but I have one major issue. Why does the story just drop off at the end without telling you what happened? I thought it might continue in the next book in A and B but now I'm really mad! Was trying to read them in order but since I know I'm not going to ever find out how a case ends' I'm done at E. Which is sad cuz these are actually really good til the nonending.

Fun, quick read. I look forward to F.

About the author

#1 New York Times bestselling author Sue Grafton (1940-2017) entered the mystery field in 1982 with the publication of 'A' Is for Alibi, which introduced female hard-boiled private investigator, Kinsey Millhone, operating out of the fictional town of Santa Teresa, (aka Santa Barbara) California, and launched the bestselling Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mysteries. In addition to her books, she’d published several Kinsey Millhone short stories, and with her husband, Steven Humphrey, wrote numerous movies for television, including “A Killer in the Family” (starring Robert Mitchum), “Love on the Run” (starring Alec Baldwin and Stephanie Zimbalist) and two Agatha Christie adaptations, “Sparkling Cyanide” and “Caribbean Mystery,” which starred Helen Hayes. Grafton is published in 28 countries and in 26 languages.