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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
May 2006, 368 pages
Paperback:
May 2007, 496 pages
Book Reviewed by:
BookBrowse Review Team
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Kate Martinelli is investigating the death of Philip Gilbert, an avid Holmes collector who even transformed his home into a copy of 221B Baker Street, when she discovers what could be the motive: a previously unpublished story from Arthur Conan Doyle that could be worth millions
In this thrilling
new crime novel that ingeniously bridges Laurie R. King’s Edgar and Creasey
Awards—winning Kate Martinelli series and her bestselling series starring Mary
Russell, San Francisco homicide detective Kate Martinelli crosses paths with
Sherlock Holmes – in a spellbinding dual mystery that could come only from the
“intelligent, witty, and complex” mind of New York Times bestselling
author Laurie R. King….
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 décor 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.
ONE
Earlier that morning, the call had come while Inspector Kate Martinelli of the
San Francisco Police Department was in the middle of a highly volatile
negotiation.
"I’ll hurt myself," the person on the other side of the room threatened.
"Now, that’s no good." Kate’s response employed the voice of patient reason that
she had clung to for the last few minutes, as she desperately wished that the
official negotiator would return and take command.
"Yes it is good." Her opponent saw with crystal clarity that self-destruction
was a powerful weapon against Kate.
"Now, think about it, sweetie. If you hurt yourself, it’s going to hurt."
The mop of curly yellow hair went still as the green eyes narrowed in thought,
and Kate’s soul contracted with the weird mixture of stifled laughter and
heart-wrenching submission that had welled up inside ten thousand times over the
past three years and ten ...
So far, Martinelli has encountered a female Rembrandt, a modern-day Holy Fool, two difficult teenagers and a manifestation of the goddess Kali. Now she takes on the mystery of a dead Holmes fanatic in this very satisfying 5th in the series, which has the added advantage of showcasing King's encyclopedic knowledge of all things Holmes...continued
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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Laurie King was born in northern
California, the third generation in her
family native to the San Francisco area.
According to her bio she "spent her
childhood reading her way through
libraries like a termite through balsa,
and her middle years raising children,
traveling the world, and studying
theology, earning a BA degree in
comparative religion and an MA in Old
Testament Theology. She now lives a
genteel life of crime, back again in
northern California."
She published her first book, A Kate
Martinelli mystery, in 1993; the
following year she came ...
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