Sue Grafton, R.I.P.

I'm not a big fan of detective stories, but I read one of Sue Grafton's Alphabet mysteries years ago (I forget which one). I do remember a scene where Kinsey Milhone tries to comfort a child whose life has been messed up.

I thought about that when reading Ms. Grafton's obituary, and a Slate article about how she subverted the tough guy detective genre. From what I've read about her, it seems that the author went through some tough times herself, as the child of a pair of alcoholics, and then in an acrimonious divorce from her second husband (she was married to her third husband for decades, so it seems that her personal life did take a turn for the better). I get the impression of her being a decent, sympathetic human being who cared about people, and now she's dead from cancer, and with us no more. I feel that her death diminishes me, and even all of us, and I may try read her books some time.

Rest In Peace.