"A" Is for Alibi
- 249
- Pages
- about 4.5 h
- Reading time
- NYT bestseller · 1 week on the list, peaked at #6
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Our view
“‘A’ Is for Alibi” is a solid, unshowy private-eye novel that rests on the first-person voice of its detective, Kinsey Millhone. Readers who take to her find a narrator strong enough to hold the novel together alone, and a plot that prefers a clean solution to a pile of twists. Some find her emotionally closed off, the descriptions of place overlong and the remarks about weight jarring today. It starts the alphabet series.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
"A" Is for Alibi is the first mystery novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series, and was published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston in 1982. Featuring sleuth Kinsey Millhone, it is set in the southern California city of Santa Teresa, a stand-in Santa Barbara. She wrote the book during a divorce and admits about her husband that she "would lie in bed at night thinking of ways to kill him". The New York Times gave the book a lukewarm review.
Reading order · Kinsey Millhone
Full order & progress →- "A" Is for AlibiThis book
7.37.3 / 10 - "B" Is for Burglar
7.57.5 / 10 - "C" Is for Corpse"C" Is for Corpse–Not ranked yet
- "D" Is for Deadbeat"D" Is for Deadbeat–Not ranked yet
- "E" Is for Evidence"E" Is for Evidence–Not ranked yet
- "F" Is for Fugitive"F" Is for Fugitive–Not ranked yet
- "G" Is for Gumshoe
7.67.6 / 10 - "H" Is for Homicide
–Not ranked yet - "I" Is for Innocent
–Not ranked yet - "J" Is for Judgment"J" Is for Judgment–Not ranked yet
- "K" Is for Killer
–Not ranked yet - "L" Is for Lawless"L" Is for Lawless–Not ranked yet
- "M" Is for Malice"M" Is for Malice–Not ranked yet
- "N" Is for Noose
–Not ranked yet - "O" Is for Outlaw"O" Is for Outlaw–Not ranked yet
- "P" Is for Peril"P" Is for Peril–Not ranked yet
- "Q" Is for Quarry"Q" Is for Quarry–Not ranked yet
- "R" Is for Ricochet"R" Is for Ricochet–Not ranked yet
- "S" Is for Silence"S" Is for Silence–Not ranked yet
- "T" Is for Trespass"T" Is for Trespass–Not ranked yet
- "U" Is for Undertow"U" Is for Undertow–Not ranked yet
- "V" Is for Vengeance"V" Is for Vengeance–Not ranked yet
- "W" Is for Wasted"W" Is for Wasted–Not ranked yet
- "X""X"–Not ranked yet
- "Y" Is for Yesterday"Y" Is for Yesterday–Not ranked yet
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.0 across 192 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 57% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Crime & mystery average of 7.6. That is how 7.3 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.5 | 26 | 14% |
| Hardcover | 6.9 | 166 | 87% |
Frequently asked
How long is "A" Is for Alibi?
It has 249 pages — shorter than 91% of the ranked books in Crime & mystery.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Crime & mystery — with scores between 7.2 and 7.3, closest to this book.
