Laurie R. King The Art of Detection

The Art of Detection

Laurie R. King

Bantam, Jun 2006, $24.00, 368 pp.

ISBN: 0553804537

The body of Phillip Gilbert wearing his pajamas is found in a deserted gun emplacement in the Marin headlands. San Francisco Police Inspectors Kate Martinelli and Al Hawkin catch the case and one of the first things they do is go to the victim's house to see if he was killed there. When they enter Gilbert's home, they are transported to another world, a perfect replica of Sherlock Holmes' abode.

Phillip is a Sherlockian fan and along with nine other obsessive people with a Holmes fixation formed the Strand Diners who meet once a month for dinner and discussion about their detective. Kate and Al also learn that Phillip possessed a manuscript allegedly scribed by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle involving male prostitutes and transvestites. The protagonist of the story was murdered and placed in the same position as Phillip's body was. That means Gilbert showed the manuscript to someone, but who of the nine is the one and ergo the likely killer?

The Kate Martinelli police procedurals are some of the best mysteries written because they are intellectual puzzlers clever wrapped around exciting whodunits. There are so many red herrings and unexpected shocking twists and turns that readers will have no time to catch their breath. Kate is a well rounded character who fans care about because they see her as a cop, a spouse and a mother.

Harriet Klausner