The Art of Detection

By: Laurie R. King

Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan, Robert Ian Mackenzie

Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author Laurie R. King captivates audiences with her irresistibly suspenseful novels. She has also won tremendous critical acclaim, earning Edgar, Creasey, Nero, and Macavity awards for her work. The Art of Detection is another spellbinding tale starring San Francisco homicide inspector Kate Martinelli. The victim is Sherlock Holmes aficionado Philip Gilbert, whose collection of priceless memorabilia is definitely worth killing for. It's up to Kate and her trusted partner Al Hawkin to follow the clues and bring a rather peculiar murderer to Justice.

©2006 Laurie R. King (P)2006 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"A tour de force and a great read." (Booklist)
"A fine, perceptive storyteller, King is particularly adroit at capturing the milieus in which her characters reside." (Publishers Weekly)

brilliant holmes

What a wonderful find for a Holmes enthusiast. The style and pace is right on. This is a gift to be able to continue on with the escapades of Shirlock Holmes and his new friend - although a little more Dr. Watson would be appreciated as well.

Is That a Deerstalker??

Would you listen to The Art of Detection again? Why?

I would listen to The Art of Detection again because it is,simply, a very well-told story. This is, apparently, the last of the Kate Martinelli series of books, and it the series has to end, this was a good way to do it. I have enjoyed watching the evolving relationship between Kate and her life partner Lee, as well as Kate and her police partner Al. The series has an interesting supporting cast as well as a strong female lead. Although I haven't read Laurie King's Sherlock Holmes books, I got a glimpse into that world in this book, and I plan to check out the Holmes series. I enjoyed the story within a story.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I wouldn't say that this was an "on the edge of your seat" book. The plot unfolds slowly, but in a very interesting way.

Have you listened to any of Alyssa Bresnahan and Robert Ian Mackenzie ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have heard Alyssa Bresnahan perform all of the Kate Martinelli books. She did a fine job of bringing the main character to life as well as giving distinct voices to the supporting characters. I have not heard Rober Ian Mackenzie before, but I would listen to him again. He brought the Holmes character to life and made the story within a story special.

Not one of Laurie R. king’s best

Nice tie-in with Locked Rooms, but it’s hard to imagine Mary Russell relegating her mother’s garden journals to the attic, or selling the family home without retrieving them and other significant items.

Kate Martinelli irritates me, but it’s hard to say why. Her characterization feels as though Ms. King was trying to please two points of view—the one that portrays women as strong and fearless and the one that wants to see them subordinate to their male co-workers, emotionally fragile and unable to make decisions. Mary Russell is by far a more believable personality, even with the occasional disconnect between someone who allegedly took a degree in chemistry and the person who needs some fairly basic chemistry explained to her by Holmes.

Alyssa Bresnahan does a poor job of creating distinct voices to go with the different characters, but at least she doesn’t mispronounce half the words. After listening to Jenny Starlin’s rendition of the Mary Russell stories, anyone else is going to take a back seat. Robert Ian McKenzie was a familiar voice for Holmes and did reasonably well with the different characters in his section of the story.

The last Kate Martinelli story I will read

This was not what I expected, even though I knew that the main character was a lesbian homicide detective in San Fransisco. The story was pure pablum, a story about gays supposedly written by Arthur Conan Doyle, discovered by a gay Sherlockian murder victim. This was nothing more than an agenda pushing vehicle for the gay and lesbian community, ending in a celebration of legalized same sex marriages in San Francisco. Don't bother! And to think I bought it because of the terrific 'Beekeeper's Apprentice'!

Narrator is boring

Slow moving novel. The narrator is very boring and I find myself falling asleep. It is a ridiculous story and I struggled to listen to the end. The summary of the story should plainly state that this story is about a lesbian detective so readers can decide if they want to be proselytized by the author about gay relationships.

Poor narration

The narrator reads as if sight reading; consequently her rhythm is off. Her pitch & rhythm do not match the meaning in the text. It is so irritating that I am not listening past the first 20 mins.

Didn't Like It

My husband and I took this on a road trip and were never so happy to get home. Too many small uninteresting and unneeded details, not enough clues to make you feel part of the book. When you're reading, you can slide over those, but when you're listening, it seems interminable.

Beyond that, I think Laurie King dislikes Kate Martinelli's lesbian partner, Lee. I've read several books starring this detective, and find her partner to be shrewish and demanding. I've never known an author to be so hard on a recurring character. I think this may be the end of "Kate Martinelli" mysteries for me.

Two stories weighted down by an agenda

I was intrigued by the idea of a story within a story, but quickly got bogged down in what is really three stories: two detective pieces and a pedantic homage to gay San Francisco. It's hard to believe that this clunker was written by the same author as the Mary Russell novels. Kate Martinelli is no Milo Sturgis, and Laurie King doesn't come close to Jonathan Kellerman in creating believable and symapthetic characters- gay or straight- in a contemporary story. It's too bad because the concept of exploring the world of fanatical Sherlock Holmes devotees through the mystery of a "missing" Conan Doyle manuscript had lots of potential. As it turned out, this book is a waste of time.

Didn't like it

My girlfriend and I listened to this last week and found it pretty boring. It felt like way too much time was spent on ultra-detailed description vs. plot development. I wouldn't recommend it.