B Is for Burglar: A Kinsey Millhone Mystery by Sue Grafton (English) Paperback B

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"#1 "New York Times" bestselling author Sue Grafton delivers another blockbuster thriller featuring ""America""'s favorite P.I. Kinsey Millhone..."B IS FOR BONDEDAlthough business has been slow lately for P.I. Kinsey Millhone, she's reluctant to take on the case of locating Beverly Danziger's sister Elaine Boldt. It's a small matter that Beverly should be able to handle herself. So why is she enlisting Kinsey's services? Beverly claims she needs Elaine's signature on some documents so that she can collect a small inheritance. But the whole affair doesn't sit well with Kinsey. And if there's something she's learned in her line of work, it's to always follow your instincts...B IS FOR BEAUTYKinsey's hunch proves true when she begins her inquiries into Elaine's whereabouts and discovers that the attractive widow was last seen in a flashy lynx coat boarding a plane for Boca Raton. But the more Kinsey searches for Elaine the more questions she encounters. Is Elaine's disappearance tied in to the brutal murder several months ago of one of her bridge partners? And what happened to Elaine's Persian cat who seems to have also vanished?"B IS FOR BURGLAR"Things take a turn for the worse when a stranger vandalizes the home of one of Elaine's neighbors and another neighbor turns up murdered. With her reputation and career on the line, Kinsey risks all to find a missing woman and a killer who's waiting in the shadows to strike again..."Lord, how I like this Kinsey Millhone."—"The New York Times Book Review"

FORMATPaperback LANGUAGEEnglish CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description

B is for Burglar, from Sue Grafton's #1 New York Times bestselling Kinsey Millhone Alphabet mystery series Although business has been slow lately for P.I. Kinsey Millhone, she's reluctant to take on the case of locating Beverly Danziger's sister Elaine Boldt. It's a small matter that Beverly should be able to handle herself. So why is she enlisting Kinsey's services? Beverly claims she needs Elaine's signature on some documents so that she can collect a small inheritance. But the whole affair doesn't sit well with Kinsey. And if there's something she's learned in her line of work, it's to always follow your instincts... Kinsey's hunch proves true when she begins her inquiries into Elaine's whereabouts and discovers that the attractive widow was last seen in a flashy lynx coat boarding a plane for Boca Raton. But the more Kinsey searches for Elaine the more questions she encounters. Is Elaine's disappearance tied in to the brutal murder several months ago of one of her bridge partners? And what happened to Elaine's Persian cat who seems to have also vanished? Things take a turn for the worse when a stranger vandalizes the home of one of Elaine's neighbors and another neighbor turns up murdered. With her reputation and career on the line, Kinsey risks all to find a missing woman and a killer who's waiting in the shadows to strike again... "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"

Back Cover

#1 New York Times bestselling author Sue Grafton delivers another blockbuster thriller featuring America 's favorite P.I. Kinsey Millhone... B IS FOR BONDED Although business has been slow lately for P.I. Kinsey Millhone, she's reluctant to take on the case of locating Beverly Danziger's sister Elaine Boldt. It's a small matter that Beverly should be able to handle herself. So why is she enlisting Kinsey's services? Beverly claims she needs Elaine's signature on some documents so that she can collect a small inheritance. But the whole affair doesn't sit well with Kinsey. And if there's something she's learned in her line of work, it's to always follow your instincts... B IS FOR BEAUTY Kinsey's hunch proves true when she begins her inquiries into Elaine's whereabouts and discovers that the attractive widow was last seen in a flashy lynx coat boarding a plane for Boca Raton. But the more Kinsey searches for Elaine the more questions she encounters. Is Elaine's disappearance tied in to the brutal murder several months ago of one of her bridge partners? And what happened to Elaine's Persian cat who seems to have also vanished? B IS FOR BURGLAR Things take a turn for the worse when a stranger vandalizes the home of one of Elaine's neighbors and another neighbor turns up murdered. With her reputation and career on the line, Kinsey risks all to find a missing woman and a killer who's waiting in the shadows to strike again... "Lord, how I like this Kinsey Millhone." -- The New York Times Book Review

Author Biography

#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.

Review

"The best new private eye." --The Detroit News "Exceptionally entertaining...an offbeat sense of humor and a feisty sense of justice." --San Francisco Chronicle "Millhone is an engaging detective-for-hire...P.I. Kinsey Millhone and her creator...are arguably the best of [the] distaff invaders of the hitherto sacrosanct turf of gumshoes." --The Buffalo News "Once a fan reads one of Grafton's alphabetically titled detective novels, he or she will not rest until all the others are found." --Los Angeles Herald Examiner "Millhone is a refreshingly strong and resourceful female private eye." --Library Journal "Tough but compassionate...There is no one better than Kinsey Millhone." --Best Sellers "A woman we feel we know, a tough cookie with a soft center, a gregarious loner." --Newsweek "Lord, how I like this Kinsey Millhone...The best detective fiction I have read in years." --The New York Times Book Review "Smart, tough, and thorough...Kinsey Millhone is a pleasure." --The Bloomsbury Review "Kinsey is one of the most persuasive of the new female operatives...She's refreshingly free of gender clichés. Grafton, who is a very witty writer, has also given her sleuth a nice sense of humor--and a set of Wonder Woman sheets to prove it." --Boston Herald "What grandpa used to call a class act." --Stanley Ellin "Smart, sexual, likable and a very modern operator." --Dorothy Salisbury Davis "Kinsey's got brains and a sense of humor." --Kirkus Reviews

Review Quote

What grandpa used to call a class act.

Excerpt from Book

Chapter One I'd been in the office no more than twenty minutes that morning. I'd opened the French doors out onto the second-floor balcony to let in some fresh air and I'd put on the coffee pot. It was June in Santa Teresa, which means chill morning fog and hazy afternoons. It wasn't nine o'clock yet. I was just sorting through the mail from the day before when I heard a tap at the door and a woman breezed in. "Oh good. You're here," she said. "You must be Kinsey Millhone. I'm Beverly Danziger." We shook hands and she promptly sat down and started rooting through her bag. She found a pack of filter-tipped cigarettes and shook one out. "I hope you don't mind if I smoke," she said, lighting up without waiting for a response. She inhaled and then extinguished the match with a mouthful of smoke, idly searching about for an ashtray. I took one from the top of my file cabinet, dusted it off, and passed it over to her, offering her coffee at the same time. "Oh sure, why not?" she said with a laugh, "I'm al-ready hyper this morning so I might as well. I just drove up from Los Angeles, right through the rush-hour traffic. Gawd!" I poured her a mug of coffee, doing a quick visual survey. She was in her late thirties by my guess; petite, energetic, well groomed. Her hair was a glossy black and quite straight. The cut was angular and perfectly layered so that it framed her small face like a bathing cap. She had bright blue eyes, black lashes, a clear complexion with just a hint of blusher high on each cheekbone. She wore a boat-necked sweater in a pale blue cotton knit, and a pale blue poplin skirt. The bag she carried was quality leather, soft and supple, with a number of zippered compartments containing God knows what. Her nails were long and tapered, painted a rosy pink and she wore a wedding ring studded with rubies. She projected self-confidence and a certain careless attention to style, conservatively packaged like the complimentary gift wrap in a classy department store. She shook her head to the offer of cream and sugar so I added half-and-half to my own mug and got down to business. "What can I help you with?" "I'm hoping you can locate my sister for me," she said. She was searching through her handbag again. She took out her address book, a rosewood pen-and-pencil set, and a long white envelope, which she placed on the edge of my desk. I'd never seen anyone so self-absorbed, but it wasn't unattractive stuff. She gave me a quick smile then, as though she knew that. She opened the address book and turned it so that it faced me, pointing to one of the entries with a rosy fingertip. "You'll want to make a note of the address and telephone number," she said. "Her name is Elaine Boldt. She has a condo on Via Madrina and that second one is her address in Florida. She spends several months a year down in Boca." I was feeling somewhat puzzled, but I noted the addresses while she took a legal-looking document out of the long white envelope. She studied it briefly, as though the contents might have changed since she'd last seen it. "How long has she been missing?" I asked. Beverly Danziger gave me an uncomfortable look. "Well, I don't know if she's 'missing' exactly. I just don't know where she is and I've got to get these papers signed. I know it sounds dumb. She's only entitled to a ninth interest and it probably won't come to more than two or three thousand dollars, but the money can't be distributed until we have her notarized signature. Here, you can see for yourself." I took the document and read through the contents. It had been drawn up by a firm of attorneys in Columbus, Ohio, and it was full of whereases, adjudgeds, ordereds, and whatnots, which added up to the fact that a man named Sidney Rowan had died and the various people listed were entitled to portions of his estate. Beverly Danziger was the third party listed, with a Los Angeles address, and Elaine Boldt was fourth, with an address here in Santa Teresa. "Sidney Rowan was some kind of cousin," she went on garrulously. "I don't believe I ever met the man, but I got this notice and I assume Elaine got one too. I signed the form and got it notarized and sent off and then didn't think any more about it. You can see from the cover letter that this all took place six months ago. Then, lo and behold I got a call last week from the attorney . . . what's his name again?" I glanced at the document. "Wender," I said. "Oh, that's right. I don't know why I keep blocking that. Anyway, Mr. Wender's office called to say they'd never heard from Elaine. Naturally, I assumed she'd gone off to Florida as usual and just hadn't bothered to have her mail sent, so I got in touch with the manager of her condominium here. She hasn't heard from Elaine in months. Well, she did at first, but not recently." "Have you tried calling the Florida number?" "From what I understand, the attorney tried several times. Apparently, she had a friend staying with her and Mr. Wender left his name and number, but Elaine never called back. Tillie had about the same luck." "Tillie?" "The woman who manages the building here where Elaine has her permanent residence. Tillie's been forwarding the mail and she says Elaine usually drops her a little note every other week or so, but she hasn't heard anything since March. Frankly, it's a nuisance more than anything else, but I don't have time to track her down myself." Beverly took a final drag of the cigarette and stubbed it out with a series of pecking motions. I was still taking notes, but I suppose the skepticism was showing in my face. "What's the matter? Isn't this the sort of work you do?" "Sure, but I charge thirty dollars an hour, plus expenses. If there's only two or three thousand dollars involved, I wonder if it's going to be worth it to you." "Oh, I fully intend to have the estate reimburse me out of Elaine's share since she caused all this trouble to begin with. I mean, everything's come to a screeching halt until her signature can be obtained. I must say it's typical of the way she's behaved all her life." "Suppose I end up flying down to Florida to look for her? Even if I only charge you half my usual hourly rate for travel time, it'll cost a fortune. Look, Mrs. Danziger-" "Beverly, please." "All right, Beverly. I don't want to discourage your business, but in all honesty it sounds like something you could handle yourself. I'd even be happy to suggest some ways to go about it." Beverly gave me a smile then, but it had a hard edge to it and I realized, at long last, that she was used to getting her way. Her eyes had widened to a china glaze, as blue and unyielding as glass. The black lashes blinked mechanically. "Elaine and I are not on the best of terms," she said smoothly. "I feel I've already devoted quite enough time to this, but I promised Mr. Wender I'd find her so the estate can be settled. He's under pressure from the other heirs and he's putting pressure on me. I can give you an advance if you like." She was back in her bag again, coming up with a checkbook this time. She uncapped the rosewood pen and stared at me. "Will seven hundred and fifty dollars suffice?" I reached into my bottom drawer. "I'll draw up a contract." I walked the check over to the bank and then I retrieved my car from the lot behind the office and drove over to Elaine Boldt's address on Via Madrina. It wasn't far from the down-town area. I figured this was a routine matter I could settle in a day or two and I was thinking with regret that I'd probably end up refunding half the money I'd just deposited. Not that I was doing much else anyway-things were slow. The neighborhood Elaine Boldt lived in was composed of modest 1930s bungalows mixed with occasional apartment complexes. So far, the little frame and stucco cottages were predominant but the properties were being converted to commercial use one by one. Chiropractors were moving in, and cut-rate dentists who were willing to give you twilight sleep so you could have your teeth cleaned without cringing. ONE-DAY DENTURES-CREDIT. It was worrisome. What did they do to you if you missed a payment on your upper plate? The area was still largely intact-old-age pensioners stubbornly propping up their hydrangea bushes-but real-estate syndicates would eventually mow them all down. There's a lot of money in Santa Teresa and much of it is devoted to maintaining a certain "look" to the town. There are no flashing neon signs, no slums, no fume-spewing manufacturing complexes to blight the landscape. Everything is stucco, red tile roofs, bougainvillea, distressed beams, adobe brick walls, arched windows, palm trees, balconies, ferns, fountains, paseos, and flowers in bloom. Historical restorations abound. It's all oddly unsettling-so lush and refined that it ruins you for anyplace else. When I reached Mrs. Boldt's address, I parked my car out front and locked it, taking a few minutes then to survey the premises. The condominium was a curiosity. The building itself was shaped like a horseshoe with broad arms opening onto the street; three stories high, parking level underneath, a strange combination of modern

Details ISBN0312939000 Author Sue Grafton Short Title B IS FOR BURGLAR Language English ISBN-10 0312939000 ISBN-13 9780312939007 Media Book DEWEY FIC Year 2005 Residence Santa Barbara, CA, US DOI 10.1604/9780312939007 Series Number 2 Subtitle A Kinsey Millhone Mystery Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States AU Release Date 2005-11-29 NZ Release Date 2005-11-29 US Release Date 2005-11-29 UK Release Date 2005-11-29 Pages 320 Publisher St Martin's Press Edition Description First Edition, First ed. Series Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mysteries Format Paperback Publication Date 2005-11-29 Imprint St Martin's Press Audience General We've got this

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