Customer Reviews

A Grave Talent

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I had no idea what to expect when I picked up this book. As I started reading, I found it headed into territory I don't normally care for (serial killers of children). But within the first few pages, I began to feel something unusual. King was somehow grabbing my interest so forcefully that I was helpless to resist. As the story unfolded, many plot developments and situations that I usually dislike took on a fascination and wove themselves into a pattern that was truly compelling.

I can't put my finger on how or why, but this novel truly excited me. I felt that I was having a profound experience as I read. I had the same feeling, albeit to slightly lesser degree, when I read the next book in the series, To Play the Fool.

To me, this book was a masterpiece, the highlight of my reading year. (And I read well over a hundred mysteries a year.)

I'd read several of Ms. King's Mary Russell books and was very disappointed. "The Beekeeper's Apprentice" showed promise, but the next books in the series were real yawners. So I picked up "A Grave Talent" with very low expectations.

Was I ever surprised! This is an incredibly good mystery that never lets up on the suspense. I had a problem for a while with the obvious intelligence and education of Kate Martinelli and Al Hawkin, but soon realized that I'd simply been reading too many 87th Precinct stories and watching too much "NYPD Blue". I just thought all cops were like that, and it's a pleasure to find out that I was wrong.

The flow of the case was completely logical and totally believable. And the three main characters - Kate, Hawkin, and Lee - were also completely believable. I also appreciated the fact that King didn't even mention the nature of Kate's relationship with Lee until halfway through the story. It turned out to be important to the story, but still King never really made it the primary issue.

I have one wish and one complaint. The wish is that I'd like to see more of Vaun Adams. She's a very interesting character and she's someone I'd like to see and hear more of. The complaint? Without giving anything away, the fate of Lee Cooper is a shock and a real downer. I hope that's resolved positively in future installments in this series.

And I hope there are future installments. King should throw the Mary Russell series away (it's been going downhill since "Beekeeper") and concentrate on Kate Martinelli. If this is any indication she's got a great thing going.

So, this is what won Laurie King the Edgar for best first novel ten years ago! I came to it late, having first read her Holmes/Russell series. Naturally my hopes were high. I was not disappointed.

At any given time there are now about 6,976 paperback novels about police trying to catch serial killers available at the virtual and real booksellers'. If you go by the publishers' blurbs, they are all equally superb. In fact, however, thousands of them are garbage; hundreds are not complete wastes, especially if you get them from the library; several dozen are worth rereading; but only a handful are the real masterworks of the genre. -Red Dragon-, for example. And this volume. The masterworks are recognizable. You know what it's like? It's like taking the Oak Park architectural tour here (metro Chicago) and getting ready to see your first Frank Lloyd Wright house. You go up the street and you see some rather modern-looking structures and you think, "is that one of them? It's not so special." Then you turn a corner and see the genuine article, and you see that you will never be confused again. You will know a Wright house when you see one. It really IS different.

What is the difference? Let's start with characters. Many detective series have no single original or memorable character, including the detective. Some are of superior quality: the detective IS memorable, and maybe the villain as well. This book, however, abounds with memorable and sharply drawn characters. And I don't just mean being pulled from a grab-bag of attributes, like the episode where Frasier does the "Nightmare Inn" radio play, and the suspects include an Englishman, a German, an Irishman, a Chinese man, and "Beppo the dwarf." I mean something like a Victor Hugo novel, where the supporting characters are given dignity and purpose, and ornament the story lavishly. Two thirds of the way through the novel, as one example, we meet a memorable precocious 7-year-old. Why? Is she being set up to fool the villain in the last chapter? No - she doesn't do anything special. Why does King create this character then? Because she can. Because the novel is lusher and more pleasurable to read with her in it.

Now let's move on from character to philosophy! I use this phrase advisedly, because that's how it actually works in the novel. One of the chief characters is the renowned artist who was convicted of murdering a child 17 years ago, and who now falls under suspicion when children's bodies begin to turn up all around her secluded retreat. Any number of works of crime fiction include "artist characters". King, however, attempts to actually describe the artist's works, school of painting, and intentions, with such detail that you can actually see the individual works, follow the critical debate about her work, and understand the immense and serious talent that she actually possesses. Ultimately we are led to care about things much more important and deep than simply "punishing the killer", and perhaps as important as "stopping anyone else from getting killed." The final climax is saved from triteness by the fact that it is not just about people fighting, it is about Valuable things like love, art, and talent.

The plot moves quickly along. Some developments and twists are apparent ahead of time, but the detectives are not fools and successfully keep up with the clever reader and often get ahead.

Stepping back a bit, let's appreciate the merely (?) "decorative." King has enough confidence in her abilities to throw little grace notes into the mix. A little trick is played on the reader very early, and only 100 pages later do you realize (if you're like me) that you've been subtly had. King varies the narrative structure with flashbacks, flash-forwards, and asides to the reader (this is very reminiscent of Thomas Harris), and her sense of seasoning is entirely reliable.

This book is an endorsement of the notion that Edgar awards are not bestowed by pulling the names of the year's mystery novels out of a hat.

This book will probably put off many readers of murder mysteries. After all, its principle focus isn't on who done it, but on the depth of the characters involved. In that way it more closely resembles Ruth Rendell or P.D. James than Tony Hillerman or James Patterson.

This novel introduces Kate Martinelli, a San Francisco homicide cop who is the center of four novels by Laurie R. King. The author wants there to be a key mystery about this central character through most of the book, particularly secret about the character's foremost relationship. Unfortunately this secret is pretty poorly concealed, and an astute reader will spot it coming a mile away.

The murder mystery itself centers on an acclaimed painter who also happens to be a convicted child murderer. When a series of children are found murdered near her home in a style that mirrors her crimes, a number of jarring x-factors in her personal past begin to creep forward, old grudges are renewed, and all the ravens come home to roost.

This novel is a good start to a a series. In addition to a good character mystery, it introduces a character with sufficient complexity, with enough loose ends needing to be investigated, to carry forward into future novels. Some slow pacing in the middle and a handful of wordy asides make the book imperfect, but it is gripping and readable.

Readers who only read mysteries won't like this book. But readers with more broad-based interests will find this a book that will get read more than once, trying to pick out the nuance of character. It's an excellent debut, and a good introduction to a series character who is definitely worth revisiting.

Whether you like murder mysteries or not, you will love this book.

In a town outside of San Francisco, a series of shocking murders has occurred, each victim a child. Detective Kate Martinelli, just promoted to homicide, and her partner, Al Hawkin, are assigned to this initially impossible case. The only clue and only suspect is Vaun Adams, arguably the century's greatest painter, once convicted of strangling a little girl. Martinelli must explore this artist's dark past to find truth in the case now facing her. With side stories and surprising twists in a deeply engrossing plot, I found this book to be an entertaining and carefully woven mystery. A Grave Talent is an amazing, haunting work of art. King grabbed my interest forcefully; I was helpless to resist the story, despite its brutal topic. As the story unfolded, the plot development and different crime situations wove themselves into a truly compelling pattern. The description was absorbing and very relevant to the focused plot. For example, King's ample description of Vaun Adams' artwork served as a window to the potential criminal's personality. King did an outstanding job of character development. Also, she steps off the main path of the plot to develop side stories regarding the main characters' lives. This was entertaining and helped me to relate with the characters. This book instigated me to immediately read the sequel, To Play the Fool. Laurie King is a remarkable and talented author whose books I devour with excitement and delight. Her books are fabulous and I recommend them to all.

Im such a fan of Laurie King that I cant quite believe that Ive never read her Kate Martinelli series. I believe that this is the first in the series and it is one of the most original stories Ive ever read in a mystery. It has believable characters, even though some of them are completely outlandish, and her descriptive portrayal of a Utopian commune awash in mud and murder is still clear in my mind. I want to compare her favorably to Val McDermids Lindsay Gordon series, but actually, Kate is much fleshier and more complex than Lindsay, who seems a little bit too flip and light by comparison. And Kates character is completely real as the conscientious freshman detective who is a little over her head in her San Francisco assignment with a partner who doesnt quite trust her yet (and a partner at home who perhaps trusts her a little too much).

I don't trust my reactions enough to express them right after reading a book. But, three weeks and a half-dozen more books read, and I still have the most vivid memories of this book. Absolutely haunting. It may not be a book for puzzle-lovers, but it has well drawn characters, almost unbearable suspense as it reaches its climax, and one of the most powerfully written last paragraphs (to the main story, not the epilogue) I've ever read. The last seven words still roll through my head from time to time and bring back the whole feeling of it each time they do. I read a library copy of this book, but ordered the hardback version afterwards from Amazon.

Laurie King's first detective novel won the Edgar for best novel from a new writer and also the Creasey award. "A Grave Talent" is a good place to begin if you've never read a Kate Martinelli mystery and like to read series' in chronological order(and who doesn't?).
Inspector Hawkin, Kate's mentor, soon finds that she is smart, tough, and unstoppable. At first he's relieved because she's not the type of woman he's attracted to. When this changes, however, he finds out to his romantic chagrin that she's a lesbian. Oh well, she's still a bang up detective and the two work comfortably together. King develops her characters well. Besides Kate we learn enough about Hawkin to make him interesting, as we do about Kate's partner, and other prominent characters.
Kate will need all of her skills to catch the serial killer who is victimizing little girls. Well plotted and with taut construction, this is a page turner!

I read all of Laurie King's other books before getting around to A GRAVE TALENT, but it's turned out to be my favorite. Because I already "knew" Kate Martinelli from later books, this first in the series had special resonance for me. This is much more than a puzzle story; it's a beautifully written novel about human relationships that also happens to have a gripping mystery at its heart. Highly recommended.

I am amazed at the plethora of good reviews for this book. I am really disappointed in what I view as a truly sicko plot and the description and actions of the villain were really twisted. I loved the Mary Russel series and really looked forward to the Kate Martinelli series as well and was shocked on finding it so unreadable. This is a dark book and felt very contrived and unbelievable. I can hardly believe it was written by the same author. The only excuse is that it was Laurie King's first novel. This one ended up in the trash.