Night Work

Written by Laurie R. King

Narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan

Best-selling author Laurie R. King has won both critical and popular acclaim for her mysteries featuring San Francisco detective Kate Martinelli. Looking forward to routine police work after her last terrifying case, Kate finds herself on the trail of vigilantes targeting abusive men in the San Francisco area. Kate has just returned to active duty after being injured on the job. Her girl-friend, Lee, has moved back into their home, and their relationship is on the mend. But the calm, predictable life Kate's looking forward to doesn't materialize. The Ladies of Perpetual Disgruntlement is practicing a modern equivalent of tarring and feathering violent men who seem to have escaped justice. The police department finds their antics humorous until men that fit their profile start turning up dead. As Kate tries to stop the killing, her investigation leads her too close to home for comfort. A winner of the Edgar Award, Laurie R. King fills her mysteries with vivid characters and more twists and turns than a rollercoaster. Narrator Alyssa Bresnahan finds the perfect voice for the tough-as-nails detective.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 18, 2008
• ISBN: 9781436142823

Laurie R. King

Laurie R. King is the Edgar Award–winning author of the Kate Martinelli novels and the acclaimed Mary Russell-Sherlock Holmes mysteries, as well as a few stand-alone novels. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, the first in her Mary Russell series, was nominated for an Agatha Award and was named one of the Century’s Best 100 Mysteries by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. A Monstrous Regiment of Women won the Nero Wolfe Award. She has degrees in theology, and besides writing she has also managed a coffee store and raised children, vegetables, and the occasional building. She lives in northern California.

Reviews for Night Work

[simchaboston · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[mldavis2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The protagonist, Kate Martinelli, is a lesbian detective working with a male counterpart. While that does not affect the story line, it does provide the author with a soapbox for showing that it doesn't much matter. The mystery was well written but Ms. King has done better, and I much prefer her Sherlock Holmes pastiches.

[bostonian71 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[sageness · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

again with the rushed, dissatisfying ending. I don't remember the Mary Russell books having this problem.

metaphysics tag for various theological discussions, inc Hindu and Hebrew.

gender politics tag bc of sex/gender-based crimes.

[condorena · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A tough case of possible bride burning brings kate to suspecting the involvement os friends in an underground female vigilante group.I listened to this book and thought it was very well done.

[pinkozcat · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I have managed to read about 20% of this book and am bored, bored and bored. I love King's Mary Russell books but this is the first Kate Martinelli book I have tackled and I am pretty sure that it is going to be the last.Perhaps it will improve further into the book but I will need to be desperate for something to read before I find out.

[tjsjohanna_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[jeannemarkert · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this writer. Loved her style of writing & the characters. Kate Martinelli, the police dtective is someone I need to get to know better.

[acommonreader_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

#4 in Martinelli Series... Gripping beginning - indian goddess. Interesting twists. Kinda disturbing when you think how defenseless those women are...

[jennyo_587543 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[melwil_2006 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.