Rating: 
Summary: What's up with Marha Grimes?
Review: I guess one could say she's "evolving".Her most recent works do not fall under the classification -"cozy". Which is fine. An author should have the freedom to change and shift gears if she/he pleases. But there's a difference between serious and morose to maudlin and cloying. And this latest attempt at the former is so overwhelmingly bad, that I have to wonder what is going on with her. The humor falls flat (I am so entirely sick of Vivian. I hate to say it, but I wish she was involved in a snuff film!). And juxtposed as it is with gratutious descriptions of human cruelty (why go into such graphic detail regarding how the children died) it's made even worse. Don't get me wrong. I can take realism. The world is not a nice, cozy, sunny place all the time and I have no problems with authors examining the more darker aspects of life. But Martha Grimes portrayal of it is done with such coldness, distance and lack of heart, that instead of giving the reader pause to ponder & reflect, it just leaves one unaffected and unmoved. In addition, this book has too much of everything! And suceeds at nothing. The funny moments aren't funny. The darker moments leave one cold. At times it was so overwhelmingly boring and overly drawn out that I never knew one could be so tortured merely by reading. But you know what's the worst part? I bet when her next book comes out, I'll buy it and read it! After all, she used to be one of my favorite authors.
Rating:
Summary: What's up with Marha Grimes?
Review: I guess one could say she's "evolving". Her most recent works do not fall under the classification -"cozy". Which is fine. An author should have the freedom to change and shift gears if she/he pleases. But there's a difference between serious and morose to maudlin and cloying. And this latest attempt at the former is so overwhelmingly bad, that I have to wonder what is going on with her. The humor falls flat (I am so entirely sick of Vivian. I hate to say it, but I wish she was involved in a snuff film!). And juxtposed as it is with gratutious descriptions of human cruelty (why go into such graphic detail regarding how the children died) it's made even worse. Don't get me wrong. I can take realism. The world is not a nice, cozy, sunny place all the time and I have no problems with authors examining the more darker aspects of life. But Martha Grimes portrayal of it is done with such coldness, distance and lack of heart, that instead of giving the reader pause to ponder & reflect, it just leaves one unaffected and unmoved. In addition, this book has too much of everything! And suceeds at nothing. The funny moments aren't funny. The darker moments leave one cold. At times it was so overwhelmingly boring and overly drawn out that I never knew one could be so tortured merely by reading. But you know what's the worst part? I bet when her next book comes out, I'll buy it and read it! After all, she used to be one of my favorite authors.
Rating: 
Summary: Amusing but ultimately unsatisfying
Review: I liked the ploy of having Richard Jury not come in to save the day until the end of the book...but only to a point. For me, the books are mainly about him, so his absence is missed. Also, it seemed that things were tied up too fast and none too neatly in the last few pages, leaving several unanswered questions.
Rating: 
Summary: The story continues...
Review: I love Martha Grimes' Richard Jury novels, not so much for the murder mystery in each one, but for the update on the lives of her familiar characters. I wish I could have a group of friends like Melrose Plant, Marshall Trueblood, Richard Jury, Diane Demornay, and all the others who sit around (daily, and all-day, it seems) at the Jack and Hammer in Long Piddleton. This book continues their story. Vivian, at last, is to be married, her fiance comes to Long Pid and meets the crowd. Melrose is almost on his own to solve the mystery, but he has help from other favorite characters, Sergeant Wiggins and Commander Brian MacAlvie. I enjoyed this book very much, and only regret that I will have so long to wait until Martha Grimes writes the next installment in the series.
Rating:
Summary: the usual great Richard Jury mystery
Review: I really liked this book, but I have liked all Martha Grimes' books! After reading so many, I feel like I know the main characters-Melrose Plant, dear Aunt Agatha, Richard Jury and the rest of the bunch. I really enjoyed this book in particular since I had see the "Uninvited" movie referred to in the book.
Rating:
Summary: Grim Grimes
Review: I received "The Case Has Altered" for Christmas and enjoyed it immensely, so I immediately went out and purchased "The Lamorna Wink." Big mistake. Obviously this is usually an enjoyable and entertaining series. But not this time. The focus on child snuff films constitutes an ugly error in judgement. What did Grimes think she was doing? She provides her readers with not one, not two, but three graphic descriptions of young children being tortured and murdered. We get the usual whimsical Plant/Jury shenanigans, but mated to material that is distressing in the extreme. Where is the fun in that? If a writer has to stoop this low for a plot, or is unable to judge just how inappropriate the plot is in relation to her own characters, perhaps it is time for her to move on to another line of work.
Rating:
Summary: A strong Jury novel, albeit with "little" Jury
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed the latest of the Martha Grimes "Richard Jury" series, in spite of Jury's near absence in the book. Melrose plant figures strongly and there is just the right mix of the usual Long Pidd characters. Strange (nearly gratuitous) plot twist at the end in the continuing saga of VivViv and the Count.... I suppose it's the "cliff hanger" type of thing that makes you wonder what is coming in the next book. Anyway, enjoyable reading in spite of the rather "dark" solution to the disappearance of the two children. Overall, it's one of the better of this series.
Rating:
Summary: A strong Jury novel, albeit with "little" Jury
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed the latest of the Martha Grimes "Richard Jury" series, in spite of Jury's near absence in the book. Melrose plant figures strongly and there is just the right mix of the usual Long Pidd characters. Strange (nearly gratuitous) plot twist at the end in the continuing saga of VivViv and the Count.... I suppose it's the "cliff hanger" type of thing that makes you wonder what is coming in the next book. Anyway, enjoyable reading in spite of the rather "dark" solution to the disappearance of the two children. Overall, it's one of the better of this series.
Rating:
Summary: Another Great Mystery By Ms. Grimes
Review: I thought that this was a very well written book. The characters were very believable (and likable!) and the story line kept me riveted. I did miss Superintendent Jury, but I thought that Melrose Plant did a great job. I look forward to her next book.
Rating: 
Summary: Shocking
Review: I was a great fan of Martha Grimes until this book. The use of the children not only had no point in the story but was upsetting, disturbing and not necessary. In fact I put the book aside after Macalvie viewed the video. I don't know how an author who showed such empathy in her other novels would write one with such a tasteless overtone as in this one.
| 
