Sue Grafton’s mysteries are among a few that I read straight through without looking at technique. It does no good trying to pin her down. I get sucked into the story and before I know it, am surprised at the end. She brilliantly planted her clue all the while. Grafton died on December 28 in Santa Barbara and I will miss her alphabetical series forever more.
It’s always fun to read a novel where I recognize the landscape. Her’s were set in the fictional town, Santa Theresa, although most Southern Californians knew it was Santa Barbara all along. G is for Gumshoe, took her heroine, Kinsey Millhone to Slab City, a place that I always wanted to write about.
Slab City is in the Sonoran Desert, miles from anywhere, south of East Jesus, and completely free for the people who squat there. There is a community of sorts, old people over there, hippies to the west, families off in their section, snowbirds staying only for winter. Super-interesting, as far as I am concerned, and I may write about it, yet.