A Grave Talent
Encyclopedia
A Grave Talent is the first book in Laurie R. King's
Kate Martinelli series. Concerning the search for the murderer of several young girls, it won the 1994 Edgar Award
for Best First Novel. It is followed by To Play the Fool
.
When someone attempts to murder Vaun herself, the police are forced to conclude that someone else must be behind the murders, and they discover that Vaun's ex-boyfriend, maniacally egotistical Andy Lewis, must be the perpetrator.
Hawkin convinces a reluctant Kate to set the trap for Lewis in her home by letting Vaun recover there. He arrives and declares that he will kill Kate and her lover Lee and leave Vaun to take the blame. Lee alerts the police to his presence, but the sniper
who kills Lewis does not do so in time to prevent him from shooting and permanently disabling her.
Laurie R. King
Laurie R. King is an American author best known for her detective fiction. Among her books are the Mary Russell series of historical mysteries, featuring Sherlock Holmes as her mentor and later partner, and a series featuring Kate Martinelli, a fictional lesbian San Francisco, California, police...
Kate Martinelli series. Concerning the search for the murderer of several young girls, it won the 1994 Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
for Best First Novel. It is followed by To Play the Fool
To Play the Fool
To Play the Fool is the second book in the Kate Martinelli series by Laurie R. King. Preceded by A Grave Talent and followed by the novel With Child, it describes the investigation into the murder of a homeless man.-Plot summary:...
.
Plot summary
The strangulation of four children in the vicinity of San Francisco leads the police force to appoint inspectors Al Hawkin and Kate ("Casey") Martinelli to discover the criminal. Suspicion falls on renowned artist Vaun Adams, convicted of murdering a young girl years before.When someone attempts to murder Vaun herself, the police are forced to conclude that someone else must be behind the murders, and they discover that Vaun's ex-boyfriend, maniacally egotistical Andy Lewis, must be the perpetrator.
Hawkin convinces a reluctant Kate to set the trap for Lewis in her home by letting Vaun recover there. He arrives and declares that he will kill Kate and her lover Lee and leave Vaun to take the blame. Lee alerts the police to his presence, but the sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
who kills Lewis does not do so in time to prevent him from shooting and permanently disabling her.
Characters in A Grave Talent
- Kate Martinelli is a member of the San Francisco Police DepartmentSan Francisco Police DepartmentThe San Francisco Police Department, also known as the SFPD and San Francisco Department Of Police, is the police department of the City and County of San Francisco, California...
. She is extremely reserved. - Lee Cooper is Kate's lover. A psychiatristPsychiatristA psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
, she is nearly Kate's opposite in personality. At the end of the book, she is recovering from a bullet wound. - Al Hawkin is Kate's partner at work. He falls in love with one of the witnesses in their case.
- Vaun Adams is a highly talented artistArtistAn artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
targeted by her psychopathic ex-boyfriend from high school. Instead of using more modern techniques, she prefers a realistic method and is thus criticized. Kate and Lee take her in while she is recovering from Lewis's first attempt to kill her. - Andy Lewis murders several girls and disposes of the bodies near Vaun Adams's house in order to frame her for the murders. When this does not work, he attempts to kill Vaun but fails. He tries again after she has temporarily moved into Kate and Lee's home. Although a police sniper eventually kills him, he does shoot Lee.
Allusions/references to other works
- Kate and Lee's dialogue at the beginning of the book references Dorothy L. SayersDorothy L. SayersDorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
's detective Lord Peter WimseyLord Peter WimseyLord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a bon vivant amateur sleuth in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries; usually, but not always, murders...
. - Lewis's pseudonym, Dodgson, is an allusion to Lewis CarrollLewis CarrollCharles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
's real name.