The Barnes & Noble Review
A seductive lead detective, a dark WWII secret, and the works of Henry James are all integral elements of this Martha Grimes mystery featuring aging New Scotland Yard superintendent Richard Jury.
When a wealthy bachelor is found shot to death in a hotel room in Clerkenwell, Jury is called to the scene by Benny Keegan (featured in 2001's The Blue Last), a 13-year-old boy working at the hotel who unluckily found the body. The case is taken over by Detective Inspector Lu Aguilar, a drop-dead-gorgeous investigator who practically exudes sexuality. With Jury assisting, the undertaking turns out to have numerous unforeseen complexities -- first and foremost, the unlikely duo's "volcanic" love affair. But between encounters, there are countless unanswered questions: Why was the dead man, Billy Maples, staying at Lamb House in Rye, the historic home of Henry James? What was behind his fascination with WWII? And whom was he waiting for in his hotel room the night he died?
Comparable to mysteries written by authors like Ruth Rendell, P. D. James, and Elizabeth George, Grimes's lengthy Richard Jury saga (Dust is the 21st installment) has succeeded in captivating readers for almost three decades, in large part due to her masterful character-driven plotlines and her meticulous and realistic description of present-day London and its surrounding areas. It's somehow fitting that the titles of this series are all taken from local pubs or bars; Grimes's Richard Jury novels are comfortable, familiar and always full of old -- and sometimes eccentric -- friends. Pull up a chair, grab a hot toddy, and enjoy… Paul Goat Allen
The rarely ruffled urbanity of Richard Jury is given an oral enhancement by reader Lee, whose plummy narration turns a bit more appropriately droll when it comes to delineating the New Scotland Yard superintendent's amateur partner in crime fighting, snooty, aristocratic novelist Melrose Plant. Both gentlemen detectives are involved in a complex but surprisingly obvious mystery surrounding the murder of a young man in a hotel room. Lee handles a gallery of contemporary British characters in addition to the leads, including Jury's lady friend, cool and collected Yard pathologist Dr. Phyllis Nancy; the working class and mildly abrasive detective assigned to the case, Ron Chilton; and an eager 13-year-old Jury protégé. They and the novel's grand dames, flirts, crusty old codgers, smarmy young hoteliers and feisty housekeepers fit easily into Lee's repertoire. So does sultry DI Lu Agular, who, Grimes writes, is beautiful enough to suck "all the oxygen out of the room." Happily, Lee has more than enough to breathe needed warmth, humor and suspense into a tale that holds off its sole riveting surprise—and a good one it is—until the very end. Simultaneous release with the Viking hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 27). (Jan.)
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Scotland Yard Supt. Richard Jury is dragged into his 22nd case by the first of many children wise and meddlesome beyond their years. Because he looks taller than 13, Benny Keegan is able to talk his way first into a job as kitchen help at the Zetter, a "restaurant with rooms" in Clerkenwell, and then into pinch-hitting for room-service waiter Gilbert Snow. That's why he's the one who finds the body of Billy Maples, and that's why his old acquaintance Richard Jury, whom he telephones, joins beautiful Islington Inspector Lu Aguilar on the case. (Joining her in bed-early, often and volcanically-is Jury's own idea.) It's hard to imagine who killed inoffensive Billy, who loved Henry James and contemporary painting and who died intestate, leaving his considerable trust fund to a wealthy father who scarcely needed it. It'll be up to Jury and his foppish friend Melrose Plant, in a role that suits him unusually well this time, to connect the dots between Billy's murder, James's novels and a long-buried WWII outrage so ghastly that it turns the heat on everyone in Billy's circle, from his confidential assistant Kurt Brunner to his ex-lover Angela Riffley to a brace of relatives who look more sinister on each return visit. Series fans will welcome the return of plausible psychopath Harry Johnson (The Old Wine Shades, Feb. 2006) and several key supporting players that Grimes presents with sympathetic insight.
Turner's debut novel balances on the following premise: What if zombies weren't merely shambling corpses but were sentient unto themselves, with their own language, structure, and desires? Actress/narrator Eva Amurri delivers a stellar performance: her gritty voice, unemotional delivery, and clear understanding of character motives put listeners alongside her in every scene. Unfortunately, there are some massive plot holes—e.g., knowing, as they do, that the buried dead rise as zombies, wouldn't the powers that be have opted to cremate our young protagonist rather than burying her following her death in a car accident?—and the narrative requires significant suspension of disbelief. Recommended only where this genre does well. [The Ace: Berkley hc was a zombie fiction roundup selection, LJ 10/15/10.—Ed.]—Jodi L. Israel, MLS, Salt Lake City
When Billy Maples is found murdered in a hotel room, Richard Jury and the case’s lead detective show up at the same time. As they grapple with an investigation that takes them from Billy’s favorite club, Dust, to trendy London galleries and a small town in Sussex, they also grapple with each other. The case’s detective, you see, is named Lu Aguilar, and she is drop-dead gorgeous. The normally stellar John Lee catches Grimes’s round-about approach to plotting in his relaxed narration. Yet it’s too relaxed, with strangely long pauses between phrases. Also, Lee often emphasizes inconsequential words, hinting at significance where there is none. Martha Grimes addicts may be content with the meandering length of this rendition; casual listeners will not. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
