Laurie R. King is well known among mystery fans for her popular series of Sherlock Holmes pastiches, featuring Mary Russell, who becomes Holmes’s partner in mind and heart. She also writes the Kate Martinelli mystery/detective series. King’s own background is unusual in that it includes, as she tells us, “such diverse interests as Old Testament theology and construction work . . . .” And the mind-set that can encompass such breadth is brought to bear in “A Darker Place.” It’s a novel that is as fascinating as it is challenging.
In this book, King creates a world that will be unfamiliar to most of us.
The story follows its own unique path, building a sense that there are things here that we don’t want to know, yet there they are, just below the surface of the action. King, a skilled writer, weaves fact with fiction and uses this growing sense of discomfort to keep us hanging on, looking forward to the next revelation. Continue reading »