Sue Grafton writes mystery novels whose titles follow the alphabet, from "A" is for Alibi (1983) and "B" is for Burglar (1985) to "T" is for Trespass (2007) and "U" is for Undertow (2009). She began her writing career while a working mother in the 1960s, and a movie version of one of her early novels, 1973's The Lolly-Madonna War, led to a career in Hollywood as a screenwriter. From the mid-1970s until the late 1980s Grafton worked in mostly television, including the series Nurse (1981-82) and the TV movie Love on the Run (1985, starring Alec Baldwin). With the success of her first few mysteries, she was able to quit show business and focus on writing novels. Her hard-boiled crime stories featuring female protagonist Kinsey Millhone are released on a regular schedule; in her first 25 years of the "alphabet" series, Grafton published 21 novels.

Extra credit: Grafton's novels take place mostly in a fictionalized version of Santa Barbara, California, in the 1980s.