Rating: 
Summary: Grimes is in top form with 'Lamorna Wink'
Review: "'Just bring me a pot of poison,' said the elegant man, replacing the Woodbine Tearoom menu carefully between the salt cellar and the sugar bowl." And with a Martha Grimes novel, who can doubt that it is Melrose Plant, her gentrified man about, who is usually on hand to assist his good friend Superintendent Richard Jury in solving the next Grimes murder mystery! In "The Lamorna Wink," Grimes re-introduces us to the gaggle of characters who have appeared in and out of some fifteen Richard Jury mysteries, characters to those readers who have followed this series through the years and the episodes who are like family members: Aunt Agatha, Sergeant Wiggins, Marshall Trueblood, Diane Demorney, Vivian Rivington, Carole-anne Palutski, Superintendent Racer, Cyril the cat, et al. This time, Jury has been sent to investigate a situation in Northern Ireland and Grimes lets Melrose Plant have the spotlight. For his legal assistance, he calls in Brian Macalvie, whom we'd met before, and the two of them proceed with the case at hand. A local woman has gone missing, a body is found, and other questions are raised as the author takes her setting out of London to the Devon and Cornwall areas. Of course, by the time all is settled, Jury has returned to tie everything up quite nicely, thank you. Grimes' Jury novels are all named for actual pubs and this is no exception. It is an adventure in itself tracking them down, incidentally. And in "The Lamorna Wink" she is back to doing what she does best, permitting her unforgettable characters make the world a better place for all of us! Billyjhobbs@tyler.net
Rating: 
Summary: Getting there is ALL the fun
Review: "The Lamorna Wink" is proof that the journey can outshine the destination. I thoroughly enjoyed this book while I was reading it - interesting cast of characters, humor, classic Cornwall cliff-top setting, several intriguing mysteries. One of the author's attempts to distract the reader from the truth was particularly clever and satisfying. I couldn't wait to pick it up again. So it came as a surprise when, having finished the novel, I felt bleak, disgruntled and reluctant to recommend it to anyone else. Never mind that there were loopholes in plot and motivation big enough to accommodate your average lorry. No, I think the operative word for the book's ultimate negative impact is "gratuitous." Other readers have already pointed to the focus on the children's suffering (now that's entertainment!) which seems out of place given the tone of the book. Then one of the main mysteries is resolved only to take a tragic turn for no discernible reason other than to provide a downer of an ending. This isn't a police procedural, after all, or the evening news. It's a British whodunit featuring eccentric characters and an eerie house on a windswept sea. I'm still glad I read it; I'm just sorry I read it all.
Rating:
Summary: The Uninvited
Review: A Martha Grimes mystery is a pleasure to read for reason of her character Richard Jury. One casts one's mind over other instances in which a female author identifies with a male figure such as Lord Peter Wimsey and Adam Dalgliesh, but then of course writing is a rather masculine pursuit, particularly for those older than the much talked about baby boomers. I think the men may represent freedom and logical thinking, necessary qualities to detect the circumstances and the perpetrators of crime.
Consider some more the selection of hero. In most cases cited above he is well-born, accomplished, even, possibly, a writer. And so the hero is a sort of dream figure, impossibly better situated and more accomplished than the rest of us.
Also think of this peculiarity--that Martha Grimes, as is the case of Elizabeth George, is an American who habitually situates her mysteries in England complete with English characters. Well, this turn of events is all in all quite interesting, perhaps a means for the writer to hide sufficiently and to get the job done. At any rate, the result in both instances is good. In truth, Richard Jury has a reduced presence in this adventure.
Here we open in the Woodbine Tearoom with Melrose Plant and Marshall Trueblood in discussion about Richard Jury. A feature of the stories is to write about pubs. In the work we have the Drowned Man, wonderful name. It seems the other pub at Bletchley is called the Die is Cast.
Johnny Wells, waiter at the Drowned Man and taxi cab driver, discovers his Aunt Chris is missing. Johnny had lived with his Aunt Chris for most of his life. Richard Jury is in North Ireland but Scotland Yard has never put Melrose Plant on a need to know basis.
The descriptions of architecture in the vicinity of Cornwall, Devon, and Penzance are pretty glorious. Esme and Noah Bleckley died in the sea by the house Melrose decides to rent for a quarter. There is an unanswerable question remaining about the situation of the children. Why did they walk down the stairs in their night clothes.
One of the characters is a chicken king, a wildly successful enterpreneur. He has vacated his own house to live in a nursing home he has financed. Richard Jury shows up. Since the investigators are now looking at six deaths, old and new, and one disappearance, help is needed. The story is convoluted, clever, masterful.
Rating:
Summary: The Uninvited
Review: A Martha Grimes mystery is a pleasure to read for reason of her character Richard Jury. One casts one's mind over other with whom a female author identifies such as Lord Peter Wimsey and Adam Dalgliesh, but then of course writing is a rather masculine pursuit, particularly for those older than the much talked about baby boomers. I think the men may represent freedom and logical thinking, necessry qualities to detect the circumstances and the perpetrators of crime. Consider some more the selection of hero. In most cases cited above he is well-born, accomplished, even, possibly, a writer. And so the hero is a sort of dream figure, impossibly better situated and more accomplished than the rest of us. Also think of this peculiarity--that Martha Grimes, as is the case of Elizabeth George, is an American who habitually situates her mysteries in England complete with English characters. Well, this turn of events is all in all quite interesting, perhaps a means for the writer to hide sufficiently and to get the job done. At any rate, the result in both instances is good. In truth, Richard Jury has a reduced presence in this adventure. Here we open in the Woodbine Tearoom with Melrose Plant and Marshall Trueblood in discussion about Richard Jury. A feature of the stories is to write about pubs. In the work we have the Drowned Man, wonderful name. It seems the other pub at Bletchley is called the Die is Cast. Johnny Wells, waiter at the Drowned Man and taxi cab driver, discovers his Aunt Chris is missing. Johnny had lived with his Aunt Chris for most of his life. Richard Jury is in North Ireland but Scotland Yard has never put Melrose Plant on a need to know basis. The descriptions of architecture in the vicinity of Cornwall, Devon, and Penzance are pretty glorious. Esme and Noah Bleckley died in the sea by the house Melrose decides to rent for a quarter. There is an unanswerable question remaining about the situation of the children. Why did they walk down the stairs in their night clothes. One of the characters is a chicken king, a wildly successful enterpreneur. He has vacated his own house to live in a nursing home he has financed. Richard Jury shows up. Since the investigators are now looking at six deaths, old and new, and one disappearance, help is needed. The story is convoluted, clever, masterful.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read
Review: An excellent book...I couldn't put it down once I picked it up. When will her next book be out?
Rating:
Summary: Darker than her previous mysteries, but still a good read.
Review: And even though Richard Jury played a much smaller part than usual, I enjoyed seeing Melrose Plant take centerstage. I like both of these characters very much. The other continuing characters appeared just long enough to be entertaining without being over-powering. The deaths of the two children seemed so incredibly sad to me. Especially when we find out how they really were killed. Tragic, and a showing of the depths to which some people can sink.
Rating: 
Summary: An abysmal attempt at an English crime novel
Review: As a fan of good detective writing I know what constitutes a good crime novel and this is diametrically opposed to it. It is set in a Britain seen through the eyes of an American -- a pre-war Agatha Christie style Britain that, if it ever existed, certainly doesn't exist any longer. Placenames verge on the ridiculous: Long Piddleton... I ask you! Characters likewise: Esther Laburnum to name but one! Though loth to give up on a book I'm still waiting for the plot to thicken and I'm slowly losing patience. If Mrs Grimes must write about the UK then I suggest she takes a leaf out of Elisabeth George's book and spends enough time here to know what she's writing about. I wouldn't recommend anybody to buy this book. It was my first Martha Grimes novel and it will certainly be my last. And as for existing Martha Grimes fans out there, there is so much superior crime writing available why waste your time on this. No stars isn't possible: If it had been, it would've got 0 stars!
Rating:
Summary: one of the best
Review: As much as I love Jury, it's always fun to have more Melrose dosage.
Unlike your typical Detective/Sidekick formula, Melrose often takes center stage in the books, proving himself not only Jury's equal but a staple to the tales. A truly abhorrent murder involving two children has Melrose's seemingly Agatha-free Cornwall vacation set awry. Characters like Brian Malcalvie and amateur magician Johnny Wells are essential to the tale, giving Lord Ardry lots of fun dialogue and allowing for personal insights of our favourite Old-Peculiar Drinking, Rimbaud Reading, Lou Reed-listening Earl than we have ever had before. ( Why DID he give up those bloody titles ?!!) Worth a re-read for those of you who have already partaken. And for the uninitiated, I envy you, for you have not met one of the greatest pairings in crime fiction yet.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but disturbing
Review: Being a great fan of Martha Grimes and her characters, I was anxious to get through this one. Overall the book has appeal, however I was very disturbed by the method of tragic end she chose for the children. The other aspects of the mystery could have been portrayed by selecting something a little less vile. Without the forensic detail of Patricia Cornwell or the shock value of some of Tami Hoag's work, Grimes occupies a space of "comfortable" mystery fiction. This book strayed from that quite significantly.
Rating:
Summary: Betraying the Trust of the Reader
Review: Every mystery writer has an unspoken obligation to his or her readers: to entertain, or even frighten, but in a way that is ultimately enjoyable, like a really good roller coaster. Even if the ending is sad--as some of Grimes' have been, over the years--the ending should be fair to the audience. A good three hanky ending is acceptable; a slap in the face, like the one this novel provides, is not. Grimes jollies the reader along with the usual cute antics of her investigators and their companions, only to hit us with a punch line that is far from funny and far from fair. Those kiddies whose demise we've been investigating? They were the product of snuff films. They were filmed as they slowly drowned, sobbing for a place in a boat left deliberately out of reach; the films would be sold for the sexual gratification of others. I have been reading Grimes' work since her career began. This book ended my readership. Never again.
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