Mystery Annotation: C Is for Corpse by Sue Grafton

 

Title: C Is for Corpse

Author: Sue Grafton
Series: Kinsey Millhone, #3
Genre: Mystery
Publication Date: Originally 1986, but the copy I read from my library was a 2012 reprint
Number of Pages: 305
Geographical Setting: California (in the fictional town of Santa Teresa)
Time Period: the 1980s

Plot Summary: Kinsey Millhone meets Bobby Callahan at the gym while she is working out after the events of her second case in B is for Burglar. In speaking with Kinsey, Bobby tells her about the car accident he was injured in and how he fears for his life as a result of believing that it wasn't exactly an accident. Kinsey then takes on Bobby's case, which only becomes more intense when Bobby dies in another accident a few days later. While this book is third in a series of 25, it can still be read as a stand-alone book although reading it in sequential order gives some background context for the beginning of C Is for Corpse.

Subject Headings:   Murder mystery -- Fiction
  Women private investigators -- Fiction
Car accidents -- Fiction

Mystery Appeals:
Focus on Investigator: Kinsey Millhone is a private investigator and C Is for Corpse "focuses on the investigator" and it is also "written as a series" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, p. 52).
Framing of the Mystery: Kinsey lives in 1980's California, which offers the "fascinating background details" that Wyatt and Saricks mention (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, p. 52).
Compelling Pacing: C Is for Corpse is constantly moving and progressing towards a conclusion although it is "sometimes slowed by details of time and place" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, p. 52).

Three terms that best describe this book: Fast-paced, character driven, suspenseful

Three Relevant Non-Fiction Works
1. Recovering from Your Car Accident: The Complete Guide to Reclaiming Your Life by James F. Zender, PhD

Zender, J. F. (2020). Recovering from your car accident: The complete guide to reclaiming your life. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

In C Is for Corpse, Bobby Callahan, who hires Kinsey, was injured in a car accident. This book could interest someone who likes C Is for Corpse because it delves further into car accident recovery.

2. The Pinks: The First Women Detectives, Operatives, and Spies with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency by Chris Enss

Enss, C. (2017). The pinks: The first women detectives, operatives, and spies with the Pinkerton national detective agency. TwoDot.

Kinsey Millhone is a female detective, and The Pinks covers real-life women detectives in history so it could be of interest to readers.

3. British Women Mystery Writers: Authors of Detective Fiction with Female Sleuths by Mary Hadley

Hadley, M. (2002). British women mystery writers: Authors of detective fiction with female sleuths. McFarland & Company.

Even though the book was published in 2002, it could be a good starting point for someone who enjoys Sue Grafton's writing and wants to read similar books by other women authors.

Three Relevant Fiction Works
1. A Is for Alibi by Sue Grafton
Grafton, S. (2005). A is for alibi. St. Martin's Griffin.

This book is the beginning of the Kinsey Millhone mystery series, so it could be of interest to readers who want to start the series with the first book (or want to read prior series installments to fill in any gaps).

2. Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson
Thompson, V. (1999). Murder on astor place. Berkley.

Victoria Thompson writes a popular mystery series called the Gaslight Mysteries, which features another female detective like Kinsey Millhone. Murder on Astor Place is the first book in that series.

3. The Drift by C. J. Tudor

Tudor, C. J. (2023). The drift. Ballantine Books.

C. J. Tudor's new book focuses on a car accident in the plot, much like C Is for Corpse.

References
Grafton, S. (2012). C is for corpse (2nd edition). St. Martin's Griffin

Wyatt, N. & Saricks, J. G. (2019). The readers’ advisory guide to genre fiction (3rd edition). ALA Editions.