To Play the Fool, Laurie R. King
To Play the Fool, Laurie R. King
1 Rating(s)
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To Play the Fool
A Novel

Author: Laurie R. King

Narrator: Alyssa Bresnahan

Unabridged: 9 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/07/2014


Synopsis

Celebrated author Laurie R. King dazzles mystery lovers once again in To Play the Fool, her second Kate Martinelli mystery.

When a band of homeless people cremate a beloved dog in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the authorities are willing to overlook a few broken regulations. But three weeks later, when the dog's owner gets the same fiery send-off, the SFPD has a real headache on its hands. The autopsy suggests homicide, but Inspector Kate Martinelli and her partner, Al Hawkin, have little else to go on: a homeless victim with no positive ID, a group of witnesses with little love for the cops, and a possible suspect, known only as Brother Erasmus, who proves both articulate and impossible to understand.

Erasmus, has a genius for blending with his surroundings, yet he stands out wherever he goes. He is by no means crazy-but he is a Fool. Kate begins the frustrating task of interrogating a man who communicates only through quotations. In Laurie R. King's To Play the Fool, trying to learn something of his history leads Kate along a twisting road to a disbanded cult, long-buried secrets, the thirst for spirituality, and the hunger for bloody vengeance.

About Laurie R. King

Laurie R. King has more than twenty novels in print, most of them crime novels, that include the wildly popular Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series (The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Garment of Shadows). Her novels have won the Edgar, Creasey, Wolfe, Lambda, and Macavity awards, been shortlisted for The Orange and other prizes, and appear regularly on the New York Times bestseller list.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jhosy on January 04, 2019

Once again I find a book in this series difficult to rate. Subtly, this book was better than the previous one. The author shows more of the personal life of Casey and her girlfriend, as well as introduces a mild drama when lets the reader know that Casey's partner eventually became paraplegic after t......more

Goodreads review by fleegan on December 22, 2008

In this one, book two, detective inspector Martinelli and her partner Hawkins (San Francisco PD) are to solve a mystery about the death of a homeless man. Their main suspect happens to be a much beloved, and learned, other homeless man who happens to be a Fool. And who also happens to only speak in......more

Goodreads review by Tina on February 04, 2016

Boy, howdy, is this chick wordy. The story was interesting, but I found myself skimming. I'll probably pick up the next book in the series, but I need to give it a rest for a while.......more

Goodreads review by Orion on April 21, 2012

To Play the Fool is the second of a series of mystery novels by Laurie King that feature the San Francisco homicide detective Kate Martinelli. The first book, A Grave Talent, was an Edgar Award winner. This book picks up about a year after the first, and finds Martinelli and her partner Al Hawken inv......more

Goodreads review by Marcia on March 26, 2022

I first found this author after a friend recommended her Mary Russell Mysteries. I don't remember how the first 2 books ended up in TBR bag, but I am glad they did. In this book, Detective Kate Martinelli is working pretty much on her own as her partner's time is taken up with court appearances, othe......more


Quotes

“Beautifully written, with clearly defined and engaging characters.” —The Boston Globe

“Its characters, and its language, linger in the mind long after more conventional entries in the genre are gone.” —San Jose Mercury News