Night Work

I love King's Russell/Holmes books, but I hadn't read one of the Kate Martinelli series before. The Martinelli series is set in modern-day San Francisco, and she's a police homicide detective who also happens to be a lesbian in a committed relationship. Like Mary Russell, she's a very strong, very feminist character. King's pretty good with plot and setting too. But I think what I like most about her books is that she always brings in some religious or mythical aspect that makes me want to go off and learn more. In this one, there's quite a lot about Kali and goddess worship. Interesting stuff. I've got the newest Russell book here on the TBR pile, thank goodness, because this book whetted my appetite for more King.

Kate and most of the police department are more amused than angry when the Ladies of Perpetual Disgruntlement begin their campaign to bring discomfort and embarrassment to men who are suspected of crimes against women but not convicted. But when those suspected abusers begin turning up dead, it is up to Al and Kate to find the killers.

Throw in a potential bride death of a young Indian woman who was brought over to the US to marry and the crime gets close to home. Kate and Lee's friend Roz is involved in the deaths in various ways. When the spouse is also found murdered, at first it looks like another crime for the feminist vigilantes. But some things just don't fit.

This was an intriguing episode with a lot of information on the show more goddesses of pre-Christian times and their effects on women today. It also has lots of information on abuse of women and the things vigilantes can do in the internet age.

Fans of the series, especially those with an interest in theology, will enjoy this episode. show less

Too tangential - did we need all that breathless detail about the play? And the side plot about the Indian bride burning - horrifying and unfair, but it was distracting. Ugh and now Lee is getting all broody. I'm done with this series.

This latest installment in the Kate Martinelli series has the flavor of a thriller. Ms. King manages to create a sense of sympathy with the criminal by virtue of the unsavoriness of the victims. In that sense, I think that makes the reader more aware of the emotional paradoxes that police deal with on a regular basis. Kate and Lee's relationship is more on the back burner this time around, and the myth of the goddess Kali is seriously scary in the hands of Ms. King.

Fun, but not completely satisfying. It's not that everything in a story needs to fit together perfectly, but some parts of the plot are linked rather tenuously, and the denouement feels rushed and contrived. I do like the characters, though, and find that reading "Night Work" helped explain some things I missed by reading "The Art of Detection" before this one.

This is probably the best crafted book out of the Martinelli series, probably showing King's experience as a writer. She knows her main characters well, and they react exactly as they should throughout the book. This book both amused and horrified me, as the events developed. Kate and Al are investigating a series of murders all inflicted on men who have abused women or children. At the same time Kate's been asked to investigate an 'accidental' burning death of a young Indian woman.

There are many good ingredients in this book - a humorous vigilante group that has captured the imaginination of a city, a very real relationship between two women, and a number of very touchy subjects which have a lot of potential for exploration.

The problem is that none of it really seems to come together. The resolution felt a little like King had painted herself into a corner and didn't know quite how to get out without sacrificing the political point. It was a real let down given the masterly set-up in the early phases.