Laurie R. King has a new publisher in the UK for her "Martinelli" series - Poisoned Pen Press - and the first and new titles are available on 30 August.
Laurie R. King writes two series (the other being the "Mary Russell" series) and also has a few stand alone novels under her belt. PPP are also publishing The Beekeeper's Apprentice in the UK in August. This post concentrates on Martinelli to coincide with the UK re-launch.
Martinelli started out in 1993 when A Grave Talent was published. Then came: To Play The Fool (1995); With Child (1996); Night Work (2000), with the most recent, published in 2006 in the US and the UK being The Art of Detection.
Aware of King's name for some time, and having a copy of Night Work in my TBR pile ("warehouse" is perhaps a more appropriate description), along came a certain stridently persuasive reading friend of mine who convinced me to read the series and start at the beginning. At that stage, laying my hands on a copy of A Grave Talent was a tad difficult, but I struck lucky one day. When in London last November for the Patricia Cornwell Predator event, I dropped into the MurderOne store and they had one lovely original hard back copy sitting on the shelf in the second hand section. So that was when I embarked on reading Martinelli's journey...
The series, in a nutshell: Martinelli is a San Francisco cop with a partner called Al Hawkin. Their cases are not run of the mill. Rather, they find themselves exploring the relaxed territory that is California, the eclectic mix of people that resides in San Francisco, eccentrics and those living on the periphery of society. All this makes for good intelligent and inventive storytelling from King. Martinelli and Hawkin are quite different in personality, but it is easy to grow to love both and quickly. And now for the books themselves, with the first two in the series below.
A Grave Talent
First up - let it be known that King won an Edgar and the CWA UK's Creasey award for this novel. I can understand why.
A Grave Talent brings together new SFPD homicide inspector Kate (Casey) Martinelli, a woman with something she chooses to hide, and her partner Alonzo Hawkin, who is a world-weary cop seeking a new life in San Francisco. Their partnership starts out with much unease but they get to know and respect one another. Their first case together is a particularly unpleasant one, where three young girls have been murdered, their bodies found very close to a rural colony which houses those who have chosen to drop out of the rat race, courtesy of a wealthy eccentric who created the community. Within that community is a woman, an artist, with a past she chooses to hide, even to the extent of a new identity. Hawkin takes a lead in this novel, but Martinelli is set up for a great future, hence the reason the series is known as the "Martinelli" series.
I found this novel to be trully gripping on many layers: the main plot (intriguing); the development of the Martinelli and Hawkin relationship; the secret Martinelli guards like a hawk and is eventually forced to open to the world. Best for me were the outstanding and strong characterisations - and not just for Martinelli and Hawkin. King does not overlook any of the characters in her novel, especially the cameos. There is one scene towards the end of the novel which introduces us to a precocious and extremely intelligent girl, by way of a witness statement. She is both charismatic and very funny, and so well drawn, I wanted more, more, more. And it does come, but a lot later in the series...
This is one of, if not the best book I've read this year.
To Play The Fool
The homeless community in a San Francisco park is led by "Brother Erasmus" in conducting the cremation of a dog. Two weeks later, a similar funeral pyre is found in the park, but this time the body is human and a post mortem indicates foul play. Erasmus is key to the case, with Martinelli and Hawkin not sure if he is a suspect, or merely a witness. When they find him, an interview proves difficult due to language issues that require not translation, but interpretation. Brother Erasmus is a modern day fool and he speaks in quotes only - from the Bible and Shakespeare's works. The case itself proves to be a fast track piece of police investigation when the evidence eventually arrives; it's cracking the elusive Brother Erasmus that provides the challenge and the narrative tension. He is a mystery unto himself.
I found this novel hugely inventive due to the use of quotes. It also provides great insight into how the homeless live in San Francisco. When reading I was reminded of the film, K-PAX which I had recently seen. To Play The Fool is about a man who lives as he does, in this case as a fool and homeless, in order to remove himself from his past. That's what Martinelli and Hawkin have to crack and it's their biggest challenge in the case.
To Play The Fool is an absorbing read. It's a shorter novel than A Grave Talent and Martinelli takes a dominating lead in this one.
I'll follow with a post on the next two in the series next weekend.
Actually Maxine, you've just reminded me of something else I wanted to say. These novels have not suffered in any way from the passage of time and various developments such as the internet.
Posted by: crimeficreader | 14 August 2006 at 21:58
I remember reading this series years ago when they were relatively new. I had a colleague at work who used to loan me all the crime fiction she bought, and of course I returned the books when I read them, so I don't recall all of them. I think I did read all of these, though, but it will be very helpful to have your reminders of the plots to assist me in working out where I got up to when the new one comes out.
Posted by: Maxine | 14 August 2006 at 21:52