Laurie R. King (born September 19, 1952) is an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

best known for her detective fiction.

Life and career

Born in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, King earned a degree in comparative religion from the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge of ...

in 1977 and a masters in theology from the Graduate Theological Union in 1984, where her thesis was on "Feminine Aspects of Yahweh". She later received an honorary doctorate from the

Church Divinity School of the Pacific Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) is an Episcopal seminary in Berkeley, California. It one of nine seminaries U.S. Episcopal Church and a member of the Graduate Theological Union. The only Episcopal seminary located in the Far West, ...

. Among King's books are the Mary Russell series of historical mysteries, featuring Sherlock Holmes as her mentor and later partner, and a series featuring Kate Martinelli, a lesbian police officer in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. Using the pseudonym "Leigh Richards", she has published a science fiction novel, ''Califia's Daughters'' (2004). Across these genres, she explores several humanist themes, including the effects of war on soldiers as they attempt to find their place when returning home. This is seen in several of the Mary Russell novels and has been described in a comparison of the detectives in ''Keeping Watch'' (2003) and ''Touchstone'' (2007). She lives in

Watsonville, California Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, located in the Monterey Bay Area of the Central Coast of California. The population was 52,590 according to the 2020 census. Predominantly Latino and Democratic, Watsonville is a self ...

, in the hills above

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by ...

, southeast of Santa Cruz, California. From 1977 until his death in early 2009, she was married to the historian Noel Quinton King. They are the parents of two children.

Awards

King's first book, ''

A Grave Talent ''A Grave Talent'' (1993) is the first book in Laurie R. King's Kate Martinelli series. Concerning the search for the murderer of several young girls, it won the 1994 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. It is followed by '' To Play the Fool''. P ...

'' (1993), received the 1994 Edgar Award for Best First Novel and a 1995 John Creasey Memorial Award. This was followed by the 1996

Nero Award The Nero Award is a literary award for excellence in the mystery genre presented by The Wolfe Pack, a society founded in 1978 to explore and celebrate the Nero Wolfe stories of Rex Stout Rex Todhunter Stout (; December 1, 1886 – October 27, ...

, for '' A Monstrous Regiment of Women'', the 2002

Macavity Award The Macavity Awards are a literary award for mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the " mystery cat" of T. S. Eliot's ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' ...

for Best Novel, for ''Folly'', the 2007

Lambda Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

for Best Lesbian Mystery, for '' The Art of Detection,'' and the 2015 Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel, for '' Dreaming Spies''. She has also been nominated for two Anthonys, a

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

, two additional Edgars, another Macavity, an

Orange Prize The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–12), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017)) is one of the United Kingdom's m ...

, and four RT Reviewers' Choice Awards. In 2022, she won the Edgar Award's 'Grand Master' for her work. She was inducted into membership of

The Baker Street Irregulars The Baker Street Irregulars is an organization of Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts founded in 1934 by Christopher Morley. The nonprofit organization currently numbers some 300 individuals worldwide. The group has published '' The Baker Street Journa ...

in 2010.

Works

Kate Martinelli mysteries

*''

'' (1993) *'' To Play the Fool'' (1995) *'' With Child'' (1996) *'' Night Work'' (2000) *'' The Art of Detection'' (2006) (

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

2006) *''Beginnings'' (2019)

Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes mysteries

*''

The Beekeeper's Apprentice ''The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Or On the Segregation of the Queen'' is the first book in the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King. It was nominated for the Agatha best novel award and was deemed a Notable Young Adult book by the American Libra ...

'' (1994) *'' A Monstrous Regiment of Women'' (1995) *'' A Letter of Mary'' (1997) *'' The Moor'' (1998) *'' O Jerusalem'' (1999)
(although written fifth in sequence, the events in this book take place during the latter part of those described in ''The Beekeeper's Apprentice'') *''

Justice Hall ''Justice Hall'' is the sixth book in the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King. In this installment, Mary Russell has accepted her tumultuous relationship with her now-husband, Sherlock Holmes and is looking forward to some time alone. ...

'' (2002) *'' The Game'' (2004) *''

Locked Rooms ''Locked Rooms'' is the eighth book in the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King. It was published in 2005. Unlike King's previous Mary Russell novels, ''Locked Rooms'' is split into 5 separate "books". The books alternate between the familiar ...

'' (2005) *''

The Language of Bees ''The Language of Bees'' is a 2009 mystery novel by American author Laurie R. King. Ninth in King's Mary Russell series, the story features detectives Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes. The events of the novel follow soon after thos ...

'' (2009) *''

The God of the Hive ''The God of the Hive'' is a 2010 mystery novel by American author Laurie R. King. Tenth in the Mary Russell series, the story features married detectives Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. The novel begins almost immediately after the close of ...

'' (2010) *''

Beekeeping for Beginners Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...

'' (an ebook novella) (2011)
(This short story describes the early events of ''The Beekeeper's Apprentice'' from the point of view of Sherlock Holmes. The novella is included in ''Garment of Shadows'' .) *'' Pirate King'' (2011) *'' Garment of Shadows'' (2012) *'' Dreaming Spies'' (2015)
(although written thirteenth in sequence, the events in this book take place between those described in '' The Game'' and ''

'') *'' The Marriage of Mary Russell'' (March 15, 2016) *'' The Murder of Mary Russell'' (April 5, 2016) *'' Mary Russell's War And Other Stories of Suspense'' (2016) *'' Island of the Mad'' (2018) * '' Riviera Gold'' (2020) * '' Castle Shade'' (2021)

Harris Stuyvesant and Bennett Grey series

(Historical novels of suspense, featuring FBI agent Harris Stuyvesant and injured British soldier Bennett Grey) *''Touchstone'' (2007) *''The Bones of Paris'' (2013)

Non-series books

*''A Darker Place'' K title: ''The Birth of a New Moon''(1999) *''Folly'' (2001) *''Keeping Watch'' (2003) *''Califia's Daughters'' (as Leigh Richards) (2004) - science fiction. *''Lockdown'' (2017)

References

External links

*
Ex Libris Archives: Laurie R. King
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Laurie R. 1952 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers Agatha Award winners American mystery writers American women novelists Edgar Award winners Lambda Literary Award winners Macavity Award winners Nero Award winners Writers of historical mysteries Writers from Santa Cruz, California Place of birth missing (living people) Women mystery writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers