Laurie R King at the Lit & Phil, Newcastle

The following report is from Chris S, FCC of It's a Crime!

Yes indeed, I ventured south of the Border to Newcastle on Wednesday, this being Laurie King's launch event for The Language of Bees, and the nearest location on her tour to Edinburgh. In 20 years of living in Edinburgh, this was my first visit to Newcastle, but I can't think of a better reason for going! Laurie launched the latest instalment in the Mary Russell series at the wonderful Lit & Phil Library, and if ever there was an overwhelming reason to visit such an establishment, the endless miles of shelves at the Lit & Phil would be my incentive. In just ten minutes browsing, I spotted some real gems on the shelves, and these are books that may actually be borrowed!
 
Anyway, with an expectant crowd of about 30 LRK'ers, as we have been known to call ourselves, Laurie spent over an hour chatting about The Language of Bees, its forebears, and the premise of using Sherlock Holmes as a character. Very humorous, and interactive with the audience, this informal approach in a real bibliophile setting made for a most relaxing and entertaining evening. 
 

One of the joys of reading Laurie's work is the sheer range of her output; The Language of Bees is the ninth in this series, with the tenth to follow in 2010. With Number 11 scheduled for 2011, fans of her Kate Martinelli series will have to wait until at least 2012, but for a writer to have such a loyal readership of all her work, and for those readers to spread their loyalty between the different characters and novels, is a sure sign of excellence in writing.
 
When Laurie talked about plotting, outlining, and ending novels, she passed comment on one of her earlier titles that she had received a little criticism for the way she had 'ended' the story; instead of there being a 'denouement in the library', the reader is told just that the character is alive. This may sound simple, but the book in question, The Birth of a New Moon is all the more powerful for this conclusion and is one of my own personal favourites. With The Language of Bees, there is the now almost-famous (amongst fans, anyway!) 'to be continued' last line, which almost caused a minor tongue-in-cheek uprising; but, as Laurie says, writing two Mary Russell novels consecutively will of course mean that there is going to be continuity in the storyline.
 
I hope Laurie enjoyed her time at the Lit & Phil as much as I did, and the audience certainly was enthusiastic too, with several £20.00 notes being exchanged for copies of The Language of Bees at the end of the event. With hope of some of the early Mary Russell books reappearing next year, it is surely time for a much greater awareness of this wonderful series, and of Laurie's work in general. I'm already looking forward to the as-yet-untitled Volume Ten...