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WITH CHILD
by Laurie R. King
Bantam, May 1997
291 pages
$6.99
ISBN: 055357482

Author Laurie King has created an outstanding character in San Francisco detective Kate Martinelli. WITH CHILD is the second in her award-winning series. It doesn't take more than a couple of pages to understand why King is winning accolades and awards in the genre.

The plot is strong and realistic, with only one misstep, so far as I'm concerned, and it isn't a fatal one. Martinelli, mourning the apparent loss of her lover, the subplot that suffuses the novel with texture and adds dimension to the character, becomes involved with the soon-to-be-stepdaughter of her partner on the San Francisco Police Force. Jules Cameron, a precocious twelve-year old, wants Kate to find a boy she met in a park, her friend, Dio. Laurie King's handling of the children in this story betray a keen awareness of the sense and sensibilities of children of this age.

This connection brings Jules and Kate together in a way and at a time that helps Kate deal with her own fractured relationship. When the girl disappears while on a trip with Kate, a search for another missing child takes on the desperation that can only be truly known by those with intimate acquaintance of the victim.

There are wheels within wheels and links both forward and into the past for all the characters in this fine novel. Intelligently written, WITH CHILD relies much more on its descriptive nature than on constant action. San Francisco and the northwestern coast up into the San Juan Islands of Washington State come alive right off the page, even as do the characters.

Make no mistake, this is not a light read. Be prepared to be surrounded, drawn in and made to feel the pain and anxiety of the characters, and ultimately thoroughly satisfied with the outcome. Everyone who is serious about detective mystery fiction should read this novel.

Carl Brookins

INNER PASSAGES

A SUPERIOR MYSTERY

http://www.Minnesotacrimewave.org/

Reviewed by Carl Brookins, November 2002

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