Help the Poor Struggler

Rating:
Summary: light reading with interesting characters
Review: All of Martha Grimes' Richard Jury novels have had me captivated; her main character is somewhat mysterious but not overstated, and the supporting cast are just quirky enough to catch the eye without being blown out of proportion. You have to have a certain taste for british landscape and atmosphere, but if you do, these books are great. I can't pick one I like best, so I am just reviewing this one because I think they are all equally good! Lots of small cultural references fill out her books to make the world in which they are set realistic.

Rating:
Summary: Introduction of Brian Macalvie
Review: Brian Macalvie is one of the important supporting characters of Martha Grimes' Richard Jury novels. Macalvie wrestles with some of the same demons Jury does (for instance, an apparent inability to have a satisfying relationship and a dogged need to resolve cases that are rife with complexity). Naturally, the two men initially drive each other rather crazy. Here it is Melrose Plant who is able to be the bridge between them, appreciated by both of them, serving to center and calm both of them.

This is a complicated story about how revenge can become the abiding force in a life, and, conversely, how deciding to care aobut someone else can make even the most damaged person capable of strength and greatness.

Rating:
Summary: Introduction of Brian Macalvie
Review: Brian Macalvie is one of the important supporting characters of Martha Grimes' Richard Jury novels. Macalvie wrestles with some of the same demons Jury does (for instance, an apparent inability to have a satisfying relationship and a dogged need to resolve cases that are rife with complexity). Naturally, the two men initially drive each other rather crazy. Here it is Melrose Plant who is able to be the bridge between them, appreciated by both of them, serving to center and calm both of them.

This is a complicated story about how revenge can become the abiding force in a life, and, conversely, how deciding to care aobut someone else can make even the most damaged person capable of strength and greatness.

Rating:
Summary: One of her very best
Review: I am only just discovering Martha Grimes' Richard Jury/Melrose Plant mystery series, having read nine of them this year, so I'm coming late to this 1995 pub. But I have to take a moment and rave about it. The subtle and complex plotting is brilliant, with no unfair disclosures (well, perhaps one little one: how DID "Selfless Sara" manage to get hired into the Ashcroft household?) but lots of delicious twists and turns. Some later titles are loosely written and self-indulgent (she has become too big for an editor to tighten up), but this one is a page-turner throughout. That three seemingly random murders of innocent children are connected, and even tied to the murder of two other girls' mother 20 years earlier? Yes, and you'll be delighted to discover how.

Rating:
Summary: Help the Poor Struggler
Review: I had never read a Martha Grimes book before. She came highly recommended by an Englishman who claimed she could easily pass as an English mystery writer. I found the book disjointed, filled with shallow characters and had a very difficult time following the story line. Ms Grimes made fantastic leaps of logic, that were totally unbelieveable. If this is a representation of her writing, I do not understand her popularity.

Rating:
Summary: Very good, very well plotted. Good mystery.
Review: Initially, I chose to read this mystery because I was in the mood for a good mystery and it was one of the shorter ones on my bookshelf; but as I got into it I found the author does a really nice job of telling a story. I'd recommend the book, especially as a read at bedtime.

Rating:
Summary: Connecting the dots
Review: The tiny hamlet of Clerihew Marsh is the site of the murder of Rose Mulvanney. Her five year old daughter calls the operator to summon assistance. Wiggins and Richard Jury are interested in another matter years later in Dorchester. The victim is Simon Riley, son of a butcher. It is wondered if Davey White in Wynchcoombe is somehow connected to the incident of Simon Riley. The second boy has been placed in a church. His grandfather and guardian is vicar there.

Help the Poor Struggler is, not surprisingly in a book from the Richard Jury series, a pub. Molly Singer wears off the rack Oxfam clothes. She will not speak to the police. The latest victim is Angela Thorne. She is wrapped in a cape belonging to Molly Singer. It seems that Molly Singer is Mary Mulvanney, a daughter of the years-ago murder victim.

It is pleasant to read a Richard Jury mystery because he appears complete with ensemble players. Half-way through this book Melrose Plant turns up at the Jack and Hammer along with the Long Piddleton antiques dealer, Marshall Trueblood. Jessica Ashcroft, a child and Jury's candidate for next victim, is all ready to service Plant's Rolls Royce which fails just outside the wall of the Ashcroft manor house. She claims to know about cars and welcomes him into the premises which is the plan as conceived by Plant and Jury.

Chief Superintendent Racer is concerned over the nonsolution of the cases. As Jury continues his investigation he surmises that the cases are connected since the sites, Princeton, Clerihew Marsh, and Wynchcoombe are equidistant from each other and from Ascroft Manor. Simon's stepmother has an Ashcroft connection it is ascertained. The vicar of Wynchcoombe is related too.

The story is well-plotted. This is a lovely book. The character of the child, Jessica Ashcroft, is just right.

Rating:
Summary: Connecting the dots
Review: The tiny hamlet of Clerihew Marsh is the site of the murder of Rose Mulvanney. Her five year old daughter calls the operator to summon assistance. Wiggins and Richard Jury are interested in another matter years later in Dorchester. The victim is Simon Riley, son of a butcher. It is wondered if Davey White in Wynchcoombe is somehow connected to the incident of Simon Riley. The second boy has been placed in a church. His grandfather and guardian is vicar there.

Help the Poor Struggler is, not surprisingly in a book from the Richard Jury series, a pub. Molly Singer wears off the rack Oxfam clothes. She will not speak to the police. The latest victim is Angela Thorne. She is wrapped in a cape belonging to Molly Singer. It seems that Molly Singer is Mary Mulvanney, a daughter of the years-ago murder victim.

It is pleasant to read a Richard Jury mystery because he appears complete with ensemble players. Half-way through this book Melrose Plant turns up at the Jack and Hammer along with the Long Piddleton antiques dealer, Marshall Trueblood. Jessica Ashcroft, a child and Jury's candidate for next victim, is all ready to service Plant's Rolls Royce which fails just outside the wall of the Ashcroft manor house. She claims to know about cars and welcomes him into the premises which is the plan as conceived by Plant and Jury.

Chief Superintendent Racer is concerned over the nonsolution of the cases. As Jury continues his investigation he surmises that the cases are connected since the sites, Princeton, Clerihew Marsh, and Wynchcoombe are equidistant from each other and from Ascroft Manor. Simon's stepmother has an Ashcroft connection it is ascertained. The vicar of Wynchcoombe is related too.

The story is well-plotted. This is a lovely book. The character of the child, Jessica Ashcroft, is just right.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Richard Jury Book
Review: This is my favorite Richard Jury book. I certainly loved the character of Lady Jessica; but this book also introduces Brian Macalvie, an important character in the series.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Richard Jury Book
Review: This is my favorite Richard Jury book. I certainly loved the character of Lady Jessica; but this book also introduces Brian Macalvie, an important character in the series.