I spent the first twenty years of my writing career preparing for the mystery genre, which is my favorite literary form.

She had long been fascinated by mysteries that had related titles including those by John D. "
In 2008 Grafton was awarded the Cartier Dagger by the British Crime Writers' Association honoring a lifetime's achievement in the field. He does eventually find a love interest in a nurse who replies with "G Is For Gumshoe" when he asks if Sue Grafton's reading a Sue Grafton novel.

Grafton Sue Grafton has said the strongest influence on her crime novels is author Ross Macdonald. She is best known as the author of the 'alphabet series' ("A" Is for Alibi etc. ) featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fictional city of Santa Teresa California.