April's Books

The Knowledge: a Richard Jury mystery by Martha Grimes

When cabbie Robbie Parsons’ picks up a fair outside a trendy night spot, he isn’t prepared to see an attractive couple gunned down in front of him—how could things get worse? The shooter hops in Robbie’s cab, and calmly asks him to drive around for a bit. When he drops off his fare at a train station, he calls upon a group of street urchins to follow the man until he can call the police. One of the street kids, a ten year old girl named Patty Haigh, follows the shooter to the airport and onto a plane to Kenya. Richard Jury, who has coincidently met the victims the night before, calls on his old friend Melrose Plant to go to Kenya to find out about the shooter. Plant, who shudders at the thought of “glamping” in a wildlife preserve, crosses paths with Patty, and discovers the identity of the man. The best parts of the book are the interactions between Melrose Plant and the crafty Patty, who never lets truth get in the way of a good scheme. An entertaining, fun read.

 


Girl Unknown by Karen Perry
The Punishment She Deserves by Elizabeth George
Fire and Fury: inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff
Altered to Death by Christina Freeburn
Someone's Mad at the Hatter by by Sandra Breitling
The Knowledge by Martha Grimes

The Black Cat by Martha Grimes

In ten words or less: Designer-clad young women are murdered--who are they?

Review: Richard Jury has been sent to Chesham to help the local force with their investigation into the murder of a beautiful young woman found outside the local pub, the Black Cat. Beautifully dressed in expensive designer clothes and shoes, she seems familiar to the town residents, but no one can identify her.
When a second exquisitely clad young woman is murdered in London--and then a third--Jury is frustrated that no connection can be made between them.
Meanwhile, Melrose Plant is approached by a ten year old girl who claims her cat, Morris, the pub cat, has been kidnapped or murdered. Morris witnessed the murder of the beautiful woman in Chesham. Was the cat kidnapped because it knew too much?
Some chapters are told from the point of view of the animals, which is a bit too cute for me, and seems at odds with the previous books in this series. But the book was dedicated to Grimes' own black cat, who died. As the owner of an elderly black cat, I'll give her a pass this time.
I always look forward to a new Jury mystery, and "The Black Cat" did not disappoint.

Why bother? The twenty-second book in a series that has been consistently entertaining.There are enough twists and turns to keep you turning the pages far into the night.