2014 USA Fiction Challange: California

The next entry in the 2014 USA Fiction Challenge is the state of California. Since California is the United States' most populous state, one would expect loads of settings in the literary world. I can do this challenge one of a few different ways. My favorite author (Carter Brown) spotlights four of his characters in California:  Al Wheeler works out of the fictional city of Pine City. Randall Roberts worked out of San Fransisco, Rick Holman out of Hollywood, and Mavis Seidlitz out of Los Angeles. His other character, Danny Boyd made two appearances.  There is one series that I enjoyed that was set in another fictional city on California, the Kinsey Milhone series, set in Santa Teresa. Kinsey is the fiction character in Grafton's alphabet series. From A is For Alibi (1982) to W is For Wasted (2013).  

A little info on Kinsey. Her parents were killed in a car accident when she was 5. Her name is taken after the maiden name of her mother and her father's last name. In high school Kinsey was a  pot-smoking delinquent. After high school she went to a the local community college where she spent three semesters until she realized that academic life was not for her and joined the Santa Teresa police force. Two years later she decided life in uniform was not cut out for her and quit the police force to become an investigator for California Fidelity, the insurance company where her aunt had worked. The series starts off where Kinsey is 32 years old and by V is For Vengeance she is 38 years of age.  

The Novels

  

1. "A" Is for Alibi (1982) 
2. "B" Is for Burglar (1985)
3. "C" Is for Corpse (1986)
4. "D" Is for Deadbeat (1987)
5. "E" Is for Evidence (1988)
6. "F" Is for Fugitive (1989)
7. "G" Is for Gumshoe (1990)
8. "H" Is for Homicide (1991)
9. "I" Is for Innocent (1992)
10. "J" Is for Judgment (1993)
11. "K" Is for Killer (1994)
12. "L" Is for Lawless (1995)
13. "M" Is for Malice (1996)
14. "N" Is for Noose (1998)
15. "O" Is for Outlaw (1999)
16. "P" Is for Peril (2001)
17. "Q" Is for Quarry (2002)
18. "R" Is for Ricochet (2004)
19. "S" Is for Silence (2005)
20. "T" Is for Trespass (2007)
21. "U" Is for Undertow (2009)
22. "V" Is for Vengeance (2011)
23. "W" Is for Wasted (2013)

 Series Written by 

Sue Grafton (1940- )