A Kate Martinelli Mystery
4 primary works • 6 total works
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
In Laurie R. King's Edgar-winning first novel, A Grave Talent, San Francisco homicide detective Kate Martinelli finds one of her cases has become, to her horror, tragically entangled with her personal life. In this third book of King's extraordinary series, Kate is involved in a nightmare that begins in her off-duty life and turns into a crime for which she feels herself responsible. As the story opens, Kate is alone, angry and bewildered, in the house she shares with her life partner, Lee. Lee, slowly - so slowly -recovering from the effects of the gunshot that crippled her in A Grave Talent, decides that she must spend time on her own, a move that Kate can only see as rejection. Lonely, Kate befriends the bright, quirky, twelve-year-old Jules. When the girl's parents go on a trip, Kate agrees to care for her.
Rashly Kate decides to drive with Jules to northern Washington, to "drop in" on the farm where Lee is staying with an aunt. During the trip, in a rural area where a serial killer has been victimizing young girls, Jules disappears.
Rashly Kate decides to drive with Jules to northern Washington, to "drop in" on the farm where Lee is staying with an aunt. During the trip, in a rural area where a serial killer has been victimizing young girls, Jules disappears.
Book 4
Long-awaited new Kate Martinelli crime novel from the award-winning Laurie King: 'One of the most literate and gifted writers the mystery world has seen for some time' -- Val McDermid After her last harrowing case Kate Martinelli is more than ready for routine police work and her newfound serenity with longtime lover Lee. But then she's called to the scene of a carefully executed murder, and everything changes. Half hidden in a clump of bushes lies a well-muscled corpse, handcuffed and strangled, with a candy bar in his pocket. The only person who might have wanted airport baggage handler James Larsen dead seems to be the wife he repeatedly abused, but her alibi is airtight. Kate and her partner, Al Hawkin, are stumped. Then a second body turns up -- also zapped, cuffed, strangled...and carrying a chocolate bar. It is that of Matthew Banderas, a software salesman convicted of one rape, suspected of many more. Yet, despite the newspaper headlines, Kate and Al can establish no personal link between the victims, and cannot rule out coincidence.
But in the midst of an unpromising investigation, Kate has another cause thrust upon her by her friend, feminist minister Roz Hall, that of a young Indian bride Roz is convinced was murdered. As Kate wrestles with the clash between her personal and professional life, a third killing draws her and Al into a network of pitiless destruction that reaches far beyond San Francisco, a hit list with shudderingly primal roots.
But in the midst of an unpromising investigation, Kate has another cause thrust upon her by her friend, feminist minister Roz Hall, that of a young Indian bride Roz is convinced was murdered. As Kate wrestles with the clash between her personal and professional life, a third killing draws her and Al into a network of pitiless destruction that reaches far beyond San Francisco, a hit list with shudderingly primal roots.
"Kate Martinelli has seen her share of peculiar things as a San Francisco cop, but never anything quite like this: an ornate Victorian sitting room straight out of a Sherlock Holmes story - complete with violin, tobacco-filled Persian slipper, and gunshots in the wallpaper that spell out the initials of the late queen." "Philip Gilbert was a true Holmes fanatic, from his antiquated decor to his vintage wardrobe. And no mere fan of fiction's great detective, but a leading expert with a collection of priceless memorabilia - a collection some would kill for." "And perhaps someone did: In his collection is a century-old manuscript purportedly written by Holmes himself - a manuscript that eerily echoes details of Gilbert's own murder." "Now, with the help of her partner, Al Hawkin, Kate must follow the convoluted trail of a killer - one who may have trained at the feet of the greatest mind of all times."--BOOK JACKET.
