To Play the Fool
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.
- Author
- Laurie R. King
- Format
- paperback
- Pages
- 286
- Series
- Kate Martinelli
- Publisher
- Bantam Books
- Language
- english
- ISBN
- 9780553574555
- Characters
- Kate Martinelli, Al Hawkin, Brother Erasmus
- Settings
- San Francisco, California
- Genres
- mystery, fiction, crime, lgbt, lesbian, detective, queer, audiobook, suspense
- Release date
- 1996
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