Helpful Score: 2
Laurie R. King is my favorite mystery writer bar none. She is far beyond a mystery writer. She is a literary writer who started here. So feast on the Kate Martinelli novels. The character development is excellent. If you have an issue with gays, you may find issue here, or you may work it out. I hope so, because it would be a shame to miss this delicious and well turned series of novels.
Martha M. (longtimereader) reviewed A Grave Talent (Kate Martinelli, Bk 1) on + 15 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
A different style of writing, but after the first two chapters an entirely intriguing book. I have a new author to chose from.
Excellent first book in the Kate Martinelli series! The plot was great... it was easy to get really hooked onto this book!!!
I loved this book. I do not like Laurie King's other series, but the Kate Martinelli series is super. I just wish she had written more. Characters are engaging, writing is excellent. I strongly recommend this series.
kate Martinelli, just became a Dectective in Homicide and her Partner is a SEASONED cop, who doesn't NOT like woman cops. They are given a case that goes back 18 yrs. and Kate must delve into an Artists dark past and she could lose everything! Really Good Story.
Excellent writer - interesting characters
This is the first book in Laurie King's Kate Martinelli series and it hooks you right away. It's thick and creepy and the dynamics between Kate and her new (senior) partner develop satisfyingly naturally as the case twists and snarls.
LOVED IT
A quick and very enjoyable read. Laurie King is great!
This is great mystery literature. It begins a little cliche, but by the end of the second chapter, I was hooked. The characters are unique and appealing...unless you are a psychiatrist. There are frank breaches of therapeutic boundaries, but, hey, it's fiction. The plot has twists and turns, a subtle hint or two will have you doubting your intuition. An odd thing I noticed is the writing style shifts in the last quarter of the book. I found it mildly annoying, but I'm glad I didn't stop! If I didn't already own such a huge pile of TBRs, I would be searching for the sequel.
the first of the Kate Martinelli series
Really good storyteller, interesting, human characters.
Winston C. (Crabby-doctor) reviewed A Grave Talent (Kate Martinelli, Bk 1) on + 296 more book reviews
I like Laurie King's books a lot.
Intriguing mystery.
Really loved it - King is an amazing storyteller, giving the mystery and the characters depth and life. Haven't read a book of hers yet that I haven't enjoyed.
A very good book.
A Kate Martinelli Mystery.
The unthinkable has happened in a small community outside of San Francisco. A series of shocking murders has occurred ,each victim a child. For Detective Kate Martinelli, just promoted to Homicide and paired with a seasoned cop who's less than thrilled to be handed a green partner, it's a difficult case that just keeps getting harder. Then the detectives receive what appears to be a case-breaking lead: it seems that one of the residents of this odd colony is Vaun Adams, arguably the century's greatest woman painter, and a notorious felon once convicted of strangling a little girl. But what really happened eighteen years ago? To bring a murderer to justice, Kate must delve into the artist's dark past--even if it means losing everything she holds dear.
This debut of the Kate Martinelli mystery series won the Edgar Award for Best First Mystery. As A Grave Talent begins, the unthinkable has happened in a small community outside of San Francisco. A string of shocking murders has occurred, each victim an innocent child. For Detective Kate Martinelli, just promoted to Homicide and paired with a seasoned cop who's less than thrilled to be handed a green partner, it's going to be a difficult case. Then the detectives receive what appears to be a case-breaking lead: it seems that one of the residents of this odd, close-knit colony is Vaun Adams, arguably the century's greatest painter with a sinister secret. For behind the brushes and canvases also stands a notorious felon once convicted of strangling a little girl. What really happened on that day of savage violence eighteen years ago? To bring a murderer to justice, Kate must delve into the artist's dark past--even if she knows it means losing everything she holds dear.
Interesting read.
This is the first book I've read by this author. I found it very slow and boring.
Loved it. I had read others of the series and then went back to the beginning.