The Art Of Detection by Laurie R. King

 

Kate Martinelli and her police partner, Al Hawkins, have just been handed a new murder to cover.  The victim is Philip Gilbert who makes his money trading in Holmes memorabilia.  He is also the founder of the local Holmes dining club with nine other members.  But now he lies on the Embankment clad only in pajamas and robe.  How did he get there?  Why would he come without dressing?

Once they view the body, both are convinced that Philip was killed elsewhere and brought to the location.  It turns out that he had been waiting for the perfect time to announce his latest acquisition, a never before seen novel written by Arthur Conan Doyle and set in San Francisco.  Doyle had visited the city so it's not beyond the realm of possibility and Gilbert was in the last stages of getting the novel authenticated.  If real, it could be worth a fortune.  Was he killed for this treasure?

Kate and Al read the book and realize that the murder bears traces of the plot of the book, including the location of the victim's body.  Who could have done it?  There's the lawyer who was one of the few Gilbert had told.  There was the former actor who now works for an auction house and was authenticating the novel.  There were several women in the dining club who could be possibilities as well as the remaining men.  Who killed Philip Gilbert?

This is the fifth Kate Martinelli novel in the series.  The reader gets a book within the book as King has included the novel in question, a novel that has the victim involved with a transgender singer on Bowery Row and being a soldier whose assignment included the Embankment.  If they solve the murder in the book, will it help with the Gilbert murder?  I've loved the Martinelli series and I'm sad that King hasn't written more of them, instead focusing on her Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series.  This one indicates King's own keen interest in Sherlock Holmes as her writing career has demonstrated.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.