To Play the Fool
Bantam Books 1996
ISBN 0-553-57455-8
Christina says:
When a group of homeless cremate a dog in San Francisco’s Golden Gate
Park it’s only worth a small notice in the papers. Three weeks later,
though, they do the same for the dog’s owner. Homicide detectives Kate
Martinelli and Al Hawkin have a problem to confirm the identity of the
victim, known only as John. All direct witnesses have lived on the fringes
of our society for so long that interrogation proves difficult. The
autopsy reveals that John’s head was smashed. Prime suspect is soon the
mysterious Brother Erasmus, a charismatic man who is at home among the
homeless as well as among the theology students at Berkeley. He only talks
in classic quotes and calls himself a holy fool. In spite of his way of
life he has loyal friends who repudiate emphatically Martinelli’s
suspicion against him.
TO PLAY THE FOOL is the second book in Laurie R. King’s Martinelli
series. If I regard it only as part of a series I must say that it left
something to be desired. King keeps telling the reader about Kate and her
partner Lee instead of letting us share their lives. When I read the third
part of the series, WITH CHILD, I assumed that TO PLAY THE FOOL was about
a big case Martinelli had to solve that was mentioned again and again in
the third book, and I was disappointed when this big case was only
referred to as something of the past in TO PLAY THE FOOL. So why bring it
up at all if it wasn’t important? Martinelli’s private life as well as
Hawkin’s and even the case they have to solve more and more fade into
the background as the story unfolds and King focuses on Brother Erasmus
and the fictitious religious movement he comes from. This she does so
convincingly that I completely forgot that this movement doesn’t exist.
The sensitive character study of Brother Erasmus was fascinating and let
me enjoy a book that turned out to be a rather disappointing mystery.
An interesting book for people who expect more than action in a
mystery. |
Any comments? Write us:
Christina Gross
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