Laurie R. King: To Play the Fool (USA 2014)

From the Publisher:
When a band of homeless people cremate a beloved dog in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the authorities are willing to overlook a few broken regulations. But three weeks later, when the dog's owner gets the same fiery send-off, the San Francisco Police Department has a real headache on its hands. The autopsy suggests homicide, but Inspector Kate Martinelli and her partner, Al Hawkin, have little else to go on: a homeless victim with no positive ID, a group of witnesses with little love for the cops, and a possible suspect, known only as Brother Erasmus, who proves both articulate and impossible to understand.

Erasmus, has a genius for blending with his surroundings, yet he stands out wherever he goes. He is by no means crazy -- but he is a Fool. Kate begins the frustrating task of interrogating a man who communicates only through quotations. In Laurie R. King's To Play the Fool, trying to learn something of his history leads Kate along a twisting road to a disbanded cult, long-buried secrets, the thirst for spirituality, and the hunger for bloody vengeance.

Laurie R. King: To Play the Fool. A Kate Martinelli Mystery. Picador, ISBN: 9781250046581 (January, 2014), 242 p., $15.00.

Laurie R. King: To Play the Fool (UK 2007)

From the Publisher:
A band of homeless people cremate a beloved dog in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. When it comes to incidents like this, the authorities are willing to overlook a few broken regulations. But three weeks later, after the dog's owner gets the same fiery send-off, the SEPD knows it has a serious problem on its hands. Inspector Kate Martinelli and her partner, Al Hawkin, have little to go on: a homeless victim without a positive ID, a group of witnesses who have little love for the cops, and a possible suspect, known only as Brother Erasmus. Kate learns that Erasmus is well-acquainted with the park's homeless and with the rarefied atmosphere of Berkeley's Graduate Theological Union, yet he remains an enigma: He communicates only through quotations. Trying to trace his history leads Kate along a twisting road to a disbanded cult, long-buried secrets, the thirst for spirituality, and the hunger for bloody vengeance.

Laurie R. King: To Play the Fool. A Kate Martinelli Mystery. Picador, ISBN: 1847220037 (November, 2007), 224 p., £9.95.

Laurie R. King: To Play the Fool (USA 1996)

From the Publisher:
When a band of homeless people cremate a beloved dog in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the authorities are willing to overlook a few broken regulations. But three weeks later, when the dog's owner gets the same fiery send-off, the SFPD has a real headache on its hands. The autopsy suggests homicide, but Inspector Kate Martinelli and her partner, Al Hawkin, have little else to go on. They have a homeless victim without a positive ID, a group of witnesses who have little love for the cops, and a possible suspect, known only as Brother Erasmus, who is certainly articulate, but difficult to understand.

Erasmus, Kate learns, is well-acquainted with the park's homeless and with the rarefied atmosphere of Berkeley's Graduate Theological Union, yet he is an enigma to all. He has a genius for blending with his surroundings, yet he stands out wherever he goes. He is by no means crazy -- but he is a fool. Kate begins the frustrating task of interrogating a man who communicates only through quotations. Trying to learn something of his history leads her along a twisting road to a disbanded cult, long-buried secrets, the thirst for spirituality, and the hunger for bloody vengeance.

Laurie R. King: To Play the Fool. A Kate Martinelli Mystery. Bantam Books, ISBN: 0553574558 (June, 1996), 286 p., $5.99.

Laurie R. King: To Play the Fool (USA 1995)

From the Publisher:
In this sequel to her Edgar-winning first novel, A Grave Talent, Laurie R. King shows once more that she is one of the most extraordinary writers to come along in a long time. She brings together San Francisco's homeless people, a woman police officer, and a Holy Fool into a warm and rewarding whole.

The fool in question here is known as Brother Erasmus, and he comes into Kate Martinelli's life when a homeless man is murdered. Erasmus is an enigma who speaks only in quotations, a practice that makes questioning him more of a frustrating game than a police interview. Yet all signs point to the strong probability that this man of obvious learning, much wit, and boundless compassion is a killer.

Kate Martinelli is determined to find out who Brother Erasmus is - or was - and what secrets his past life holds. The search on which she and her middle-aged partner, streetwise and peoplewise Al Hawkin, embark will take them into amazing places and lead to an unsuspected and heartwrenching climax.

Laurie R. King: To Play the Fool. St. Martin's Press, ISBN: 0312119070 (February, 1995), 260 p., $21.00.