Sue Grafton, Famed Mystery Writer, Dies At 77

SANTA BARBARA, CA — Sue Grafton, author of a famed series of mystery novels, has died in Santa Barbara, California. She was 77.

Her daughter, Jamie Clark, posted news of her mother's death on Grafton's web page Friday.

"I am sorry to tell you all that Sue passed away last night after a two year battle with cancer," Clark wrote. "She was surrounded by family, including her devoted and adoring husband Steve."

She continued: "Although we knew this was coming, it was unexpected and fast. She had been fine up until just a few days ago, and then things moved quickly. Sue always said that she would continue writing as long as she had the juice."

"We're devastated by the loss of Sue Grafton," book publisher Penguin Random House said in a statement on Twitter. "There are no words."

Grafton was the author of the so-called Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Series in which each book title begins with a letter from the alphabet. The last was "Y is for Yesterday."

Her daughter concluded her posting by saying, "the alphabet now ends at Y."

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