Is there an audiobook of "B" is for Burglar?

Yes. "B" is for Burglar has an Audible audiobook edition, narrated by Mary Peiffer.

How long is the "B" is for Burglar audiobook?

The "B" is for Burglar audiobook runs 7 hr 41 min.

Is "B" is for Burglar on Kindle Unlimited?

Yes. "B" is for Burglar was included with Kindle Unlimited when we last checked on July 19, 2026.

"B" is for Burglar by Sue Grafton book cover for the Book of the Day mystery book review

Our score

4.1/ 5

Excellent

Listen to "B" is for Burglar free with an Audible trial Narrator, runtime & our audio review

Included with Kindle Unlimited Buy on Amazon

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EDITION PUBLISHEDApril 2010

Genres

Fiction Mystery Detective

Themes

The tedium and patience of real detective workFamily inheritance and old grudgesA woman working alone in a male-coded professionMemory loss as both plot device and vulnerability

"B" is for Burglar

Name: "B" is for Burglar
Price: 9.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: Sue Grafton

Sue Grafton

Private investigator Kinsey Millhone takes a routine missing-person job that turns into a memory-loss mystery and two suspicious deaths, in the second entry of Sue Grafton's alphabet series and an early template for the modern female PI novel.

The Review

Our take

Bobby Callahan can't remember the accident that put him in a wheelchair, and he can't shake the feeling it wasn't an accident at all. That's the job Kinsey Millhone takes on, tracking down a beneficiary who's gone missing from an inheritance, and it's the kind of paperwork-adjacent case Kinsey specializes in until Bobby turns up dead three days after hiring her. "B" Is for Burglar is Grafton working in miniature: a compact Southern California mystery built on a single lost address book and the vague name "Blackman," and she trusts that thin thread to hold an entire investigation together.

Kinsey remains the draw here. She narrates in first person with the clipped, self-deprecating economy that made her one of the defining PIs of the genre, someone who eats junk food over the sink, drives a beat-up VW, and treats her own loneliness as a fact rather than a wound to dwell on. Grafton doesn't romanticize the job. Kinsey spends a lot of this book doing tedious legwork, tracking down property records and old acquaintances, and the book is honest about how much of detective work is just showing up and asking the same question twice.

The case itself, once it gets moving, follows Kinsey from Santa Teresa down to Florida chasing the missing beneficiary, and the change of scenery gives Grafton room to build out a second cast of small-town suspects without losing the thread back to California. The mystery plays fair. Clues arrive in plain sight, disguised as procedural detail, and Grafton resists the urge to manufacture a twist that wasn't earned by the legwork. Readers who like puzzle mysteries where the detective's method matters as much as the solution will find the structure satisfying, if unhurried by contemporary thriller standards.

What dates the book slightly is also part of its appeal: no cell phones, no databases, just Kinsey working phone booths and public records offices, which forces the investigation to be a physical, patient process rather than a search-engine query. For readers coming to this after a steady diet of modern thrillers, the pacing will feel deliberate rather than slow, more in the tradition of a classic procedural than a chase novel.

Why you should read

Classic fair-play PI mysteries
Kinsey Millhone or Sue Grafton newcomers
Readers who like methodical, legwork-heavy detection
Pre-digital-era procedurals

What to expect

First-person, dry, economical narration
Slow-build investigation over action set pieces
A shift in setting partway through
Clues embedded fairly in procedural detail

The ending ties the address book, the inheritance, and Bobby's death together cleanly, without over-explaining. Grafton was still early in a series that would eventually run the full alphabet, and "B" Is for Burglar shows the format finding its footing: a self-contained case, a distinctive narrator, and just enough California texture to make Santa Teresa feel like a real place worth returning to.

Reviewed by Quinn · How our reviews are written

Our verdict

4.1/ 5

Excellent

Listen to "B" is for Burglar free with an Audible trial Narrator, runtime & our audio review

Included with Kindle Unlimited Buy on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Prices may vary.

Where to read or listen

Is there an audiobook of "B" is for Burglar?: Yes. "B" is for Burglar has an Audible audiobook edition, narrated by Mary Peiffer.
Listen to "B" is for Burglar free with an Audible trial
We earn from qualifying Amazon purchases.
How long is the "B" is for Burglar audiobook?: The "B" is for Burglar audiobook runs 7 hr 41 min.
Is "B" is for Burglar on Kindle Unlimited?: Yes. "B" is for Burglar was included with Kindle Unlimited when we last checked on July 19, 2026.
How much does "B" is for Burglar cost?: On Amazon: Kindle $9.99, Paperback $10.99, Hardcover $23.28. Prices as of August 25, 2026 at 3:45 AM EDT and may change.

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Common questions

What is "B" is for Burglar about?: Bobby Callahan can't remember the accident that put him in a wheelchair, and he can't shake the feeling it wasn't an accident at all. That's the job Kinsey Millhone takes on, tracking down a beneficiary who's gone missing from an inheritance, and it's the kind of paperwork-adjacent case Kinsey…
Is "B" is for Burglar worth reading?: We scored "B" is for Burglar 4.1 out of 5. Private investigator Kinsey Millhone takes a routine missing-person job that turns into a memory-loss mystery and two suspicious deaths, in the second entry of Sue Grafton's alphabet series and an early template for the modern female PI novel.