Kinsey and Me is a short story collection. The first half contains Kinsey Millhone short stories, while the second half features autobiographical works featuring a younger Sue Grafton named Kit. The entirety of the collection is rated 3 stars. Section ratings and individual story ratings are below.

The Kinsey Millhone stories were pretty average. They all or very nearly all wrapped everything up neatly, following the crime from beginning to end and with all the pieces in place. That said, they just didn't have the same feel as the longer books in the series and as such, they fell kind of flat. Kinsey is more suited to picking away at a crime, chipping and chipping until it all falls apart - that's where she really shines. But the length of a short story doesn't allow her strengths to really be showcased and as such, these short stories are rather bland.

My favourite story was "a little missionary work", my least favourite "the lying game". The average rating for the Kinsey stories, comes in at 3 stars, but individual ratings are below.

The second half, the autobiographical stories are well written but depressing as fk. They weren't mysteries and while I do read other genres, contemporary/drama reads are not my first pick. Frankly or my second, my third or fourth. So I was probably never going to like them that much. My favourite story was the introduction to them, which I felt gave an interesting insight into Sue Grafton's life. My least favourite was "april 24, 1960" which details the death of her mother. The average rating for those stories was 2 stars. Individual story ratings below.

preface **** musings about the short story and detective fiction

part one: kinsey... ***

1.1: introduction **** how kinsey came to be
1.2: between the sheets *** a wife finds her lover in her child's bed.
1.3: long gone *** a husband hires Kinsey to look for his wife.
1.4: the parker shotgun *** kinsey investigates a drug dealer's death.
1.5: non sung smoke *** a young woman asks Kinsey to track down her one night stand.
1.6: falling off the roof ** a man thinks his brother was killed by his wife for the insurance money. this started out okay and then just got weird. the ending was just odd.
1.7: a poison that leaves no trace *** an aunt thinks her niece murdered her sister for the insurance
1.8: full circle **** a young woman is killed in a car accident. i liked the ironic ending to this one, but it bothers me i don't specifically know why the crime happened.
1.9: a little missionary work ***** a celebrity is kidnapped and has to raise a ransom. this one was hilarious. I loved Kinsey's devious mind.
1.10: the lying game ** two brothers murder their parents. i hate that stupid riddle.
1.11: entr'acte: An Eye for an I: Justice, Morality, the Nature of the Hard-Boiled Private Investigator and All That *** an essay on the context of the hard boiled detective genre and how it's evolved today

part two: and me... overall rating **

2.1: introduction *** interesting insight into sue grafton's life.
2.2: a woman capable of anything ** kit reminiscing on her mother's moods.
2.3: that's not an easy way to go ** contemplation of the role of a mother.
2.4: lost people ** musings about her father and mother and their reasons for drinking.
2.5: clue ** her mother comes to visit but it's a relief to see her leave.
2.6: night visit, corridor a ** a visit to her mother after surgery to remove cancer.
2.7: april 24, 1960 * the death of her mother and the feelings that come with that loss.
2.8: the closet ** thoughts while cleaning out her mother's closet.
2.9: maple hill ** walking through the house after it's sold to be turned into units.
2.10: a portable life ** contemplating the house being torn down and being unable to return to the past.
2.11: the quarrel ** fighting with her new stepmother leads to placation by her father.
2.12: jessie ** talks with the maid about her mother and the last time jessie saw her alive.
2.13: death review ** working in a hospital and thinking about her mother's death.
2.14: a letter from my father ** thinking about a letter her father writes summing up her character ( )

Kinsey and Me (2013, 1992)) by Sue Grafton. This book was originally published in a limited run in 1992.
Here is a collection of short stories, nine featuring Sue Grafton’s alter ego, Kinsey Millhone. The second half of the book are her Kit Blue stories, Grafton writing about her younger years and her parents deaths. The first half is stories of the always 1980’s sleuth Kinsey and some nice little tales of deception, cheating and showing just how smart Millhone is. This is what Grafton’s followers expect and each tale is a nice visit into the past.
The thirteen stories of the Kit Blue are drawn from the late writer’s younger years. We may never know how much is fiction versus reality, but the tales are enlightening. Sue Grafton’s parents were alcoholics. She and her sister’s younger years are explored, reflecting how they managed to deal with the troubled life their parents presented for them. The settings are with both parents and later dealing with the followup to first one then the other’s deaths.
The Millhone stories are very good for the short story genre and allow us to go back into the Alphabet series without spending the time to read each book. It is the second half, the “Me” of the title, that is the part that really carried me. Writing about your troubles, be it in a diary that no one else will ever see, or into the short story form for the world to view, is a cathartic event. Exposing the past with all it’s warts and dismay allows the writer to come to terms with the those events and hopefully pass from them into a happier future.
No matter, this was a nice visit with an old friend. AndI will miss Sue Grafton, her work and her characters. ( )

I think Sue Grafton was an amazing woman. It was really great to hear how Kinsey developed, especially in regards to Ms Grafton’s own life. In a way, it’s almost fitting that the series has to end on the “Y” since it took Kinsey so long to age. I appreciate and respect her desire to not want anyone to finish the series without her.
I enjoyed the Kinsey short stories that I had not heard before and I will definitely miss hearing what happens with the rest of Kinsey‘s story. But I think I know her well enough to make my own ending for her, as I hope many others will do also. ( )

I have been reading Sue Grafton for the past several years and loved all of her alphabet series starring her P.I. Kinsey Milhone. Sue Grafton's newest offering features several short stories starring Kinsey Milhone.

For fans who have missed Ms. Grafton's novels told from Kinsey's point of view this is definitely a novel you want to read. With Ms. Grafton's heroine investigating everything from a missing mother of three to the unexpected murder of a man whose body's gone missing you will definitely be hard pressed to figure out whose done it in these short stories. Out of the short stories the only one I didn't care for was the last one in the collection starring the two brothers', this story unlike the other ones was merely a few pages and didn't have as much detail as the other stories.

Additionally, Ms. Grafton includes a preface explaining where she first got her ideas of writing about Kinsey Milhone and her past childhood and marriages and how all of her experiences helped to shape the Kinsey Milhone persona.

The only thing that I really didn't care for in this collection is the character of Kit Blue. I have never heard of this character before and to have this character who came out of the blue and whose character appeared in the latter half of the stories in this novel. Since I understood this to be a collection of short stories starring Kinsey Milhone I was very disappointed by the inclusion of this character.

I would still recommend this short story collection to long time fans of Sue Grafton! ( )

BOTTOM-LINE:
Kinsey is okay, Kit works well as a collection.
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PLOT OR PREMISE:
The book is a collection of two sets of stories -- the first set are Kinsey Millhone series set throughout the Alphabet series in time; the second set are about Kit Blue.
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WHAT I LIKED:
"The first part, with Kinsey Millhone, includes an introduction about how she created Kinsey (4/5), nine shortstories, and a conclusion about the history of the genre of the hard-boiled PI (3/5). The shortstories are fun to read, but there isn't much ""Kinsey"" in them. Too little time to dwell, mostly focused on ""wham bam, here's a clue, here's a solution"". One I rate at 4/5, five more at 3/5, and another three that aren't very good at all.
- Between the Sheets -- great opening where woman shows up to confess to murder she hasn't reported yet, and when she goes back, the body is gone (3/5);
- Long Gone -- missing wife, lots of kids, clues are pretty obvious (3/5);
- The Parker Shotgun -- cool premise, quick solution, fair with the clues (4/5);
- Non Sung Smoke -- Find a one-night stand, have him get killed, throw in some drugs (3/5);
- Full Circle -- Cute ending to a simple case of who killed a young woman in a horrific car accident that Kinsey witnessed (3/5); and,
- A Little Missionary Work -- Two celebrities ask for Kinsey's help with a fake kidnapping, but Kinsey reverses the con in the end (3/5).
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The second part includes an introduction about Grafton's not-so-idyllic early life, and how ""Kit Blue"" is a younger version of herself (3/5). The remaining thirteen stories work quite well as a collection of slices of Kit's life, although individually I rate one as 5/5, five as 4/5, and three as 3/5, with another four below the line:
- That's Not An Easy Way To Go -- Kit realizing she's become the mother to her alcoholic mother (4/5);
- Lost People -- Kit reflecting on her alcoholic parents, displaced from their own lives (3/5);
- Clue -- Slice of life with mother visiting and Kit's relief when she leaves (3/5);
- Night Visit, Corridor A -- Kit visiting mother in hospital (4/5);
- April 24, 1960 -- Kit dealing with news of her mother's death on Kit's birthday, and being irritated by her husband trying to comfort her (4/5);
- The Closet -- Kit cleaning out her mother's closet after she's gone and trying to figure out what it represents, if anything (4/5);
- Maple Hill -- Kit walking through an empty house saying goodbye to all of it (5/5);
- Jessie -- a housewoman talking about Kit's mother (4/5); and,
- A Letter From My Father -- Kit reading a letter and sharing her own views of their life together (3/5)."
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
"Three of the Kinsey stories aren't great:
- Falling Off The Roof -- A mystery book club with murder on its mind (1/5);
- A Poison That Leaves No Trace -- Quick case of a dead sister looking to know if her niece killed her mother (2/5); and,
- The Lying Game -- old trope about a liar and a truthteller, you can only ask one question (1/5).
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Four of the Kit Blue slices don't stand alone very well:
- A Woman Capable of Anything -- Kit Blue watching a sleeping alcoholic mother (1/5);
- A Portable Life -- Kit coming to terms with the past being destroyed (1/5);
- The Quarrel -- Kit listening to her father explain his new wife's behaviour (2/5); and,
- Death Review -- Kit's working in a hospital as a medical secretary, spotting glimpses of her mom in the other patients (2/5)."
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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. ( )