This is part of an 
ongoing series of posts, featuring some of my favorite mystery authors.
Author of the popular Mary Russell series, Laurie R. King writes intelligent, accessible mysteries. Her characters are usually highly intelligent, feminist iconoclasts. She is the author of the Kate Martinelli series (American police procedural set in San Francisco), the Mary Russell series (a Sherlock Holmes pastiche set in England), and several excellent stand-alone titles.
I picked up The Beekeeper’s Apprentice as a lark many years ago and was so taken with Mary Russell that I’ve been a devoted follower of the series ever since. Russell is the young, brilliant apprentice to an aging Sherlock Holmes. She is a theologian, a chemist, as well as a detective. These books also work well as young adult novels for those YA readers interested in Sherlock Holmes.
The Kate Martinelli series is darker than the Mary Russell series, but equally satisfying. Kate Martinelli is a tough, private, police detective working in San Francisco in the present day. Begin with A Grave Talent.
The library owns one of King’s stand-along novels as well. I highly recommend Keeping Watch, a novel about a man who operates something like an underground railroad for abused women and children.
Don’t forget to leave a comment with your mystery writer picks or, even better, write up a quick recommendation for your fellow readers on our blog!
