Read in 2025 - 13, 14

Long ago, when I was working at Ludwigsburg's central library, I discovered Martha Grimes' novels. During the late 1980s and early 90s, I read any I could get hold of; they were the German editions, but I enjoyed them immensely and almost felt as if I knew Richard Jury, Melrose Plant and the rest of the cast of the "Jury" novels.

At the beginning of March last year, my sister and I visited the secondhand book sale held once a month by the church in our town centre. I posted about this event here, and if you scroll down to the Saturday of that week's report, you can see a picture of my spoils, including the two I am reviewing now.

Incredibly, the last time before now that I read a Martha Grimes novel was in 2011 - way too long! These two books (and I have three more on my TBR pile) reminded me of how much I like her writing, not just her style and the way she constructs a plot, but also how she describes characters and places, their conversations and their thoughts. 

More often than not, a child plays a crucial role in the story, and these two were no exception. As far as I remember, in most books there is a connection between a "cold case", sometimes decades in the past, and a current one. Also, there is often a dog or cat featuring as a character very much in its own right, last but not least Cyril, the black cat who has made his home at the police station where Jury has his office.

The order in which one reads the "Jury" novels can be relevant, but when someone (like me) has read them all in the past and is now re-reading them (and in a different language from the first time), it doesn't take away the pleasure if you skip a few in between.

All "Jury" novels have the real name of a pub as their title, by the way.

Martha Grimes is 94 now. You can learn about her and her books on wikipedia as well as her own website.

Help the Poor Struggler (No. 6 in the series)

The Lamorna Wink (No. 16 in the series)

As usual, Inspector Richard Jury is faced with puzzling mysteries, quirky characters and more or less unusual settings. 

In "The Lamorna Wink", he actually appears only rather late in the book; instead, his friend Melrose Plant takes centre stage. 

I enjoyed both books very much, and reading about the familiar cast of Jury's and Plant's friends, neighbours, colleagues and family members was a bit like running into old acquaintances.

Although this post goes under the label "book and film reviews", I have not said much about the two books, but more about Martha Grimes' books in general, and her Jury novels in particular. 

It won't make a difference to you either way - if you have read any of them, you will want to read these two as well, and if you haven't, you might as well start with No. 1, "The Man With a Load of Mischief".