Laurie R. King returns to contemporary San Francisco in Those Who Are Gone, the second novel in her Raquel Laing mystery series. Released on September 8, 2026, the new book brings back the unconventional SFPD inspector introduced in Back to the Garden but this time, the investigation reaches directly into Raquel’s past.
Readers who know King primarily through her long-running Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes mysteries will find something different here. The Raquel Laing novels are modern police procedurals built around cold cases, buried family histories and a detective whose ability to read people makes her exceptionally effective—and occasionally difficult for her colleagues to manage.
So, where does Those Who Are Gone fit in the series? It is officially Raquel Laing Book 2 and follows 2022’s Back to the Garden. Although the central homicide introduces a new investigation, readers will benefit from starting with the first book because the sequel develops Raquel’s personal history, family relationships and connection to recurring character Al Hawkin.
Those Who Are Gone Book Details
- Author: Laurie R. King
- Series: Raquel Laing
- Series number: Book 2
- Release date: September 8, 2026
- Publisher: Bantam
- Page count: 336 pages
- Genre: Mystery, crime fiction and police procedural
- ISBN: 978-0593874011
The publication information and the book’s position in the series have been confirmed by Penguin Random House and Laurie R. King’s official website.
What Is Those Who Are Gone About?
Those Who Are Gone begins with what initially appears to be a relatively ordinary case for SFPD Homicide Inspector Raquel Laing: a drug dealer has been murdered in a deserted section of San Francisco.
The investigation soon becomes anything but routine.
Raquel’s willingness to use illicit shortcuts causes the case to blow up dangerously close to home. The department cannot afford to lose an investigator with her distinctive abilities, but it also cannot ignore her actions. Instead of being suspended completely, Raquel is removed from Homicide and reassigned to the Cold Case Unit.
That transfer places her alongside Al Hawkin, her friend and mentor. Longtime Laurie R. King readers may recognize Al from the author’s Kate Martinelli mysteries, making his role another connection between the Raquel Laing series and King’s wider fictional version of San Francisco.
The professional consequences arrive as Raquel’s adoptive sister, Dee, begins investigating their family ancestry. Dee works online with organizations around the world and rarely leaves the house, but her search uncovers information capable of changing what both sisters believe about their family.
As old cases begin to intersect with personal secrets, Raquel and Dee discover that they may be connected in ways neither could have anticipated. Their search also risks attracting the attention of a powerful international cartel.
Where Does Those Who Are Gone Fit in the Raquel Laing Series?
Those Who Are Gone is the second Raquel Laing novel. The reading order is:
Penguin Random House officially lists both books as part of the Raquel Laing series.
When Back to the Garden was released, it was promoted partly as a standalone mystery. The novel resolves its central investigation, but it also introduces Raquel, her unusual methods, Al Hawkin and the personal relationships that now carry into the sequel.
The publication of Those Who Are Gone makes the larger direction clearer: Back to the Garden was not simply a one-off mystery featuring a new detective. It was the beginning of an ongoing series.
Should You Read Back to the Garden First?
Yes, reading Back to the Garden first is recommended.
A reader could probably follow the immediate murder case in Those Who Are Gone without knowing every detail of the previous investigation. However, the sequel appears far more connected to Raquel’s personal life than a completely episodic detective novel would be.
Starting with Back to the Garden provides important context for:
- Raquel’s investigative abilities and unconventional behavior
- Her position within the San Francisco Police Department
- Her relationship with mentor Al Hawkin
- Her family background and life with Dee
- The emotional relationships established in the first novel
Because Those Who Are Gone investigates Raquel’s past and her adoptive family, skipping the first book may reduce the emotional weight of those discoveries.
Fortunately, the series currently contains only two books, making it easy for new readers to catch up.
What Happened in Back to the Garden?
The first Raquel Laing mystery centers on the Gardener Estate, a grand California property with formal gardens and a complicated history.
During restoration work, a human skull is discovered on the estate. The remains may be connected to a decades-old series of crimes attributed to a killer known as the Highwayman.
The investigation sends Raquel into the estate’s past, when heir Rob Gardener transformed the property into a counterculture commune. Several people disappeared around the time the commune collapsed, including Rob’s girlfriend, his brother and a woman with her child.
Raquel must determine whether the skull belongs to one of the Highwayman’s victims or whether the truth lies within the Gardener family itself.
The mystery introduces Raquel as a detective who notices details that other people overlook. King has described the character as a difficult fit for a conventional police department but someone whose skills make her too valuable to dismiss. In discussing the creation of Raquel, the author even called attention to the character’s unofficial reputation as the “Sherlock of San Francisco,” linking her analytical nature to King’s experience writing Sherlock Holmes stories.
How Those Who Are Gone Expands the Series
The most significant change in Those Who Are Gone is its emphasis on Raquel herself.
Back to the Garden introduces the detective through an investigation dominated by the Gardener Estate and its history. The sequel turns its attention inward. Its mysteries do not remain safely separated from the investigator solving them.
That creates three intertwined storylines:
- The contemporary murder of a drug dealer
- Cold cases investigated by Raquel and Al
- Dee’s search into the sisters’ family history
This structure makes Those Who Are Gone feel like an expansion of the series rather than a repeat of its first book. King is still working with crimes buried in the past, but those crimes now carry personal consequences for her protagonist.
The move to the Cold Case Unit is especially important. It gives Raquel a continuing professional framework for future novels while formally pairing her with Al. It also suits King’s interest in showing how events that appear finished can continue shaping the present.
The Connection to Laurie R. King’s Kate Martinelli Books
Raquel Laing exists in the same fictional world as Kate Martinelli, the SFPD detective at the center of five earlier Laurie R. King novels.
Al Hawkin originally appeared as Kate’s partner. By the time of the Raquel Laing series, he is semi-retired and working with cold cases. He becomes a mentor to Raquel, whose analytical and sometimes abrasive approach contrasts with his warmer way of interviewing suspects.
The connection does not mean readers must finish all five Kate Martinelli novels before beginning the Raquel Laing books. Raquel remains the protagonist of this series, and Back to the Garden provides the necessary introduction to Al’s current role.
Readers who enjoy the character, however, may want to explore the earlier series beginning with A Grave Talent.
Is Those Who Are Gone a Mary Russell Mystery?
No. Those Who Are Gone is not part of the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series.
It is a contemporary mystery set in San Francisco and belongs to the Raquel Laing series. Readers should not include it when following the Mary Russell reading order.
There are thematic similarities between King’s detectives, especially their attention to subtle behavior and their ability to find meaning in small details. The setting, period and supporting characters are nevertheless different.
Will There Be a Third Raquel Laing Book?
A third Raquel Laing novel has not been officially announced with a title or publication date as of September 8, 2026.
King previously confirmed on her website that Raquel’s story was intended to become a series. That leaves the door open for more books, but readers should treat any proposed release date for Book 3 as speculation until the author or publisher announces it.
For now, the complete series consists of Back to the Garden and Those Who Are Gone.
Final Thoughts
Those Who Are Gone gives Laurie R. King the opportunity to turn Raquel Laing from the intriguing investigator at the center of one cold-case novel into the foundation of a larger mystery series.
The second installment preserves the cold-case element that made Back to the Garden compelling while moving closer to Raquel’s own history. Her reassignment, partnership with Al Hawkin and Dee’s discoveries all suggest that this series will be as interested in its detective’s identity as it is in the crimes she investigates.
Readers who enjoy intelligent police procedurals, complicated female detectives and mysteries in which the past refuses to remain buried should put the Raquel Laing books on their reading lists.
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