Martha Grimes: The Richard Jury Series

[meggls]

I'd love to hear from others on this series - has anyone read? She's published 19 of these british detective mysteries starring Superintendent Richard Jury of New Scotland Yard and Melrose Plant, his aristocratic ameteur partner. My sister gave me The Blue Last for Christmas in 2003 and I immediately bought the rest of the books in the series to read from the beginning - I'm on 18 right now and am apprehensive to start 19 because I don't want them to end!!!! The characters are so well written that I find myself thinking of them as real people. Jury is this brooding, brilliant detective who has absolutely no luck with women, Melrose is his unofficial civilian partner with a great sense of humor and there are a slew of other regular characters like Melrose's utterly infuriating Aunt Agatha and the colorful (literally) Marshall Trueblood who absolutely cracks me up. If you haven't read, you should definitely give them a try! I recommend starting with the first book, in which the characters first meet - The Man With a Load of Mischief (1981).

 

[Miss Shelf]

Oh, me!! Me!! I just love this series, they're so funny with Marshall and the gang! What do you think of Melrose's hermit?

 

[meggls]

Classic Melrose - I couldn't stop laughing when Agatha saw the hermit! Definitely his best prank ever - I'm almost at the end of the book and haven't seen her again yet! The hunt scene was great too - Diane absolutely cracs me up. But what's with Jury always falling for the absolute wrong woman? Jane Holdsworth, Jenny Kennington, S B-H, now Sara Hunt - when's he going to wse up? Not that I want to see him married, but his misguided choices are getting a bit tiresome.

 

[Miss Shelf]

Oh, I don't want to see him get married! That would be no fun. Can you see a wife living in his flat, with that gorgeous girl upstairs popping in whenever she likes?

The running gag I like best is their efforts to keep "Count Dracula" away! That and their grudge with Theo Wrenn Browne.