I had heard good things about Sue Grafton’s mystery novels for years. Grafton wrote 25 novels about private investigator Kinsey Milhone, one for each letter of the alphabet except Z. Sadly she died shortly after Y is for Yesterday was published.
My record of the books that I’ve read indicates that I listened to the A is for Alibi audiobook in November 2021, but I must not have been that impressed because I didn’t take it any further. In late January of this year, after hearing yet another Grafton recommendation, I decided to give her a try again and picked up B is for Burglar. Maybe this time I’d be hooked.
So, a couple weeks later, I’m listening to D is for Deadbeat. Toward the end of Chapter 12 Kinsey talks about how she was raised by her somewhat eccentric aunt, and she goes into a description of her aunt’s beliefs. I’ve broken them out here for your edification.
The occasion that drew out the description was the theft of Kinsey’s beloved handgun — her aunt, it seems, had taught Kinsey how to use a gun when she was 8.
• Firing a handgun, she felt, would teach me to appreciate both safety and accuracy. It would also help me develop good hand-eye coordination, which she thought was useful.
• She’d taught me to knit and crochet so that I’d learn patience and an eye for detail.
• She’d refused to teach me to cook as she felt it was boring and would only make me fat.
• Cussing was okay around the house, though we were expected to monitor our language in the company of those who might take offense.
• Exercise was important. Fashion was not. Reading was essential.
• Two out of three illnesses would cure themselves, said she, so doctors could generally be ignored except in case of accident. On the other hand, there was no excuse for having bad teeth.
• Rule Number One, first and foremost, above and beyond all else, was financial independence. A woman should never, never, never be financially dependent on anyone, especially a man, because the minute you were dependent, you could be abused. Financially dependent persons (the young, the old, the indigent) were inevitably treated badly and had no recourse. A woman should always have recourse.
• My aunt believed that every woman should develop marketable skills, and the more money she was paid for them the better. Any feminine pursuit that did not have as its ultimate goal increased self-sufficiency could be disregarded. “How to Get Your Man” didn’t even appear on the list.
• When I was in high school, she’d called Home Ec “Home Ick” and applauded when I got a D. She thought it would make more sense if the boys took Home Economics and the girls took Auto Mechanics and Wood Shop.
After hearing this description in the audiobook, I stopped at the nearest library and checked out D is for Deadbeat to make it easier to copy down the above, which by the way is © 1987 by Sue Grafton.
Why would I do that? Simple.
I’m in love with Kinsey Milhone’s aunt.
