"C" Is for Corpse: A Kinsey Millhone Mystery

Sue Grafton

May 1986 · Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mysteries Book 3 · Sold by Holt Paperbacks

About this ebook

You haven't read a thriller until you read #1 New York Times bestselling author Sue Grafton's novels with her unforgettable P.I. Kinsey Millhone...

"C" is for Corpse

He was young-maybe twenty or so-and he must once have been a good-looking kid. Kinsey could see that. But now his body was covered in scars, his face half-collapsed. It saddened Kinsey and made her curious. She could see he was in a lot of pain. But for three weeks, as Kinsey'd watched him doggedly working out at the local gym, putting himself through a grueling exercise routine, he never spoke.

Then one Monday morning when there was no one else in the gym, Bobby Callahan approached her. His story was hard to credit: a murderous assault by a tailgating car on a lonely rural road, a roadside smash into a canyon 400 feet below, his Porsche a bare ruin, his best friend dead. The doctors had managed to put his body back together again-sort of. His mother's money had seen to that. What they couldn't fix was his mind, couldn't restore the huge chunks of memory wiped out by the crash. Bobby knew someone had tried to kill him, but he didn't know why. He knew he had the key to something that made him dangerous to the killer, but he didn't know what it was. And he sensed that someone was still out there, ready to pounce at the first sign his memory was coming back. He'd been to the cops, but they'd shrugged off his story. His family thought he had a screw loose. But he was scared-scared to death. He wanted to hire Kinsey.

His case didn't have a whole lot going for it, but he was hard to resist: young, brave, hurt. She took him on. And three days later, Bobby Callahan was dead.

Kinsey Millhone never welshed a deal. She'd been hired to stop a killing. Now she'd find the killer.

"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) Book 3 in Sue Grafton's Alphabet Mysteries series starring P.I. Kinsey Millhone is a fantastic romp through the city of Santa Teresa, the fictional setting in California where Kinsey lives. We learn more about the area, beautifully described by Grafton, and its denizens. Though Kinsey is full of voice and attitude as always, each character in this book stood out to me with their eccentricities and style. I loved Bobby, our "blond dame" substitute who hires the P.I. as in all good hard-broiled detective fiction, and his crazy-rich family. I loved the further development of Kinsey, her landlord Henry, and her love interest Jonah, all reoccurring characters I can't wait to see more of. The characterization in this book was excellent. Grafton has a knack for metaphor and narrative description. Filtered through Kinsey's perspective, the author brings the world alive and keeps the reader sucked in. The mystery itself is beautifully plotted. I followed Kinsey through each step, making my own guesses as she went, and in the end felt rewarded by the results. After not being thrilled with the previous book, I am delightfully surprised by 'C' is for Corpse. It's a fun little mystery with a great protagonist. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. (4 Stars)

BOTTOM-LINE: A decent story, but not a home run . PLOT OR PREMISE: Kinsey meets an accident victim in physical rehab, and he wants her to find out who ran him off the road and why . WHAT I LIKED: Kinsey gets to know Bobby in the early stages of the case, and the mystery of the case is intriguing. It takes a while for the pinball to hit enough buzzers to do anything, particularly as his only real evidence is that he remembers knowing "something" and that he was in danger, but not what it was or from whom. The further developments of Kinsey's character and her sense of justice are awesome. . WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: One of the sub-characters, his step-sister, is a caricature and a wasted distraction. Equally, another sub-story with someone trying to take advantage of Henry is both obvious and boring. . DISCLOSURE: I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow her on social media.

I like that it took me half the book to think I knew for sure who the killer was (I was right), but I like even more that I didn't get the motive quite right. I enjoy watching Grafton grow as an author.

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.