W Is for Wasted Audiobook By Sue Grafton cover art

W Is for Wasted

A Kinsey Millhone Mystery

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

W Is for Wasted

By: Sue Grafton
Narrated by: Judy Kaye
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.50

Buy for $22.50

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

Of the #1 New York Times best-selling Kinsey Millhone series, NPR said, "Makes me wish there were more than 26 letters."

Two dead bodies changed the course of my life that fall. One of them I knew and the other I'd never laid eyes on until I saw him in the morgue.

The first was a local PI of suspect reputation. He'd been gunned down near the beach at Santa Teresa. It looked like a robbery gone bad. The other was on the beach six weeks later. He'd been sleeping rough. Probably homeless. No identification. A slip of paper with Millhone's name and number was in his pants pocket. The coroner asked her to come to the morgue to see if she could ID him.

Two seemingly unrelated deaths, one a murder, the other apparently of natural causes.

But as Kinsey digs deeper into the mystery of the John Doe, some very strange linkages begin to emerge. And before long at least one aspect is solved as Kinsey literally finds the key to his identity. "And just like that," she says, "the lid to Pandora's box flew open. It would take me another day before I understood how many imps had been freed, but for the moment, I was inordinately pleased with myself."

In this multilayered tale, the surfaces seem clear, but the underpinnings are full of betrayals, misunderstandings, and outright murderous fraud. And Kinsey, through no fault of her own, is thoroughly compromised.

W is for…wanderer…worthless…wronged….

W is for wasted.

©2013 Sue Grafton (P)2013 Random House Audio Detective Fiction Mystery Private Investigators Suspense Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Murder

Featured Article: Best Mystery Series—Listens That'll Take You Right to the Crime Scene


While a standalone mystery is great when you're in the mood for a one-and-done, sometimes you want to feed your craving with an entire mystery series—knowing there's a world and characters you can keep coming back to for the satisfaction of solving crimes. With audiobooks, you get the added bonus of sinking deeper into the setting, clues, and suspects as the story is performed for you, so you'll feel like you're alongside detectives, ready to bust a case.

Featured Article Best Mystery Series Listens That'll Take You Right to the Crime Scene
Intriguing Plot Twists • Complex Storylines • Excellent Narration • Compelling Mystery Elements • Engaging Voice Acting
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
I went back read some of Grafton's earlier work. The stories were nicely plotted, pleasingly intricate and punchy. Those "Kinsey moments" we all love were pithy and somewhat surprising.

However, W and, frankly, maybe the last 10 or so mysteries are just bloated with more "Kinsey moments" than I ever needed or cared about.

The stories are about the same in terms of plot and intricacy, so what fills up the extra 100 pages? Instead of a hard bitten, hard nosed Kinsey, we get an introverted, self absorbed, self doubting detective who lets events control her instead of the other way around. We get long, completely unrealistic sequences of conversation and events.

It's been pretty obvious, ever since the Millhone series started to break the 200 page limit, that Sue is tired of Kinsey. It's time for Grafton to re-hire her editors so that they can re-invigorate and harden up the series for the final episodes.

Sue's too famous for an editor.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you try another book from Sue Grafton and/or Judy Kaye?

Yes

Has W Is for Wasted turned you off from other books in this genre?

No

Which character – as performed by Judy Kaye – was your favorite?

Kinsey Milhone always

Did W Is for Wasted inspire you to do anything?

No

Any additional comments?

This book takes a long time to catch your interest in the story and once it does I'm not sure that the story comes to an unexpected ending. It was boring.

Not my favorite Sue Grafton

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What did you like best about W Is for Wasted? What did you like least?

I don't remember Kinsey being so whiny in the past. The character was so bad this time I almost didn't finish it.

Would you recommend W Is for Wasted to your friends? Why or why not?

No, I wouldn't recommend the book. Overall, it was pretty boring.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator is too old for Kinsey's voice.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Depends on who played Kinsey.

Any additional comments?

I've always enjoyed these books in the past but this one was really hard to get through.

"W" is for Whiny

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This one as always kept me wanting to get to the next chapter. It's always good to hear of Kinsey and her very detailed adventures...

Awesome read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Got a little impatient with some meandering, but Grafton has put out another good mystery - not a great one, but definitely a good one.

She gets there in the end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I just love Sue Grafton's series. Living in "Santa Theresa" myself, I am well aware of the homeless situation. It was nice to hear a story from inside the homeless life, there are many sides to ones life. As always the story was captivating, interesting and certain made me smile. And I love to read descriptions of my hometown. Well done!

Another fine Kinsey Mystery

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

not as good as most of her other books. but was good

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

made 2 books 1 book for each character

What about Judy Kaye’s performance did you like?

first book adudio book

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did as I ma bed fast

OK

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What would have made W Is for Wasted better?

More distinctive characters, places, etc.

What was most disappointing about Sue Grafton’s story?

I couldn't tell if I had heard this book before or not it was so bland and similar to her other books.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Judy Kaye?

I have listened to many already and hope for more memorable books from her.

Any additional comments?

I do enjoy the way Sue Grafton takes you through Kinsey's day. It's different and one can really get into it after a while.

Forgettable characters

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Once again Sue Grafton kept me in the edge of my seat! One moment I'm cringing and tge next I'm about to fall out of my seat with laughter!

Sue Grafton did it again!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

NOT READY

Would you recommend W Is for Wasted to your friends? Why or why not?

YES, I IS SOMEWHAT AMUSING

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I DON'T KNOW I WAS JUST NOT HE USUAL SUE GRAFON

Did W Is for Wasted inspire you to do anything?

NO

Any additional comments?

NO

DISAPPOINTED

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews