The Barnes & Noble Review
The 18th novel in Martha Grimes's popular Richard Jury series finds the author extending her range, echoing the work of two other masters of mystery -- osephine Tey and Dick Francis -- while skewering British society with a droll, rapier wit.
The fun starts with Jury lying in a hospital bed, recuperating from the bullet wound he received at the end of The Blue Last. In a scene reminiscent of Tey's classic hospital bed mystery, The Daughter of Time, a bored, frustrated Jury is overjoyed when his assistant, Melrose Plant, arrives with a proffered mystery. While in the local pub, called the Grave Maurice, Plant overhears a conversation concerning the disappearance of teenager Nell Ryder, the daughter of Jury's surgeon. Nell vanished two years earlier from the family horse farm, but there are rumors she's been seen riding at midnight on her favorite mare. On Jury's orders, Plant enters the occasionally bizarre world of horse racing. There he meets Nell's cousin, Maurice, a grave lad plagued by an adolescent growth spurt that's left him too tall to be a jockey, his only dream since he was a boy. The eccentric suspects start piling up, as do the murders, as Jury is eventually released from the hospital and enters the fray. Grimes, perhaps overcompensating for entering the equestrian universe dominated by Dick Francis, spends a bit too much time giving us the minute details of horse breeding. However, the offbeat characters -- especially a demanding nurse who infuriates Jury -- are so likable they soon smooth over any bumps in the narrative road. The Grave Maurice is a strange and unique amalgam of satire and mystery that works on most levels, thanks to the author's sure and talented hand. Tom Piccirilli
The 18th novel in Martha Grimes's popular Richard Jury series finds the author extending her range, echoing the work of two other masters of mystery -- osephine Tey and Dick Francis -- while skewering British society with a droll, rapier wit.
The fun starts with Jury lying in a hospital bed, recuperating from the bullet wound he received at the end of The Blue Last. In a scene reminiscent of Tey's classic hospital bed mystery, The Daughter of Time, a bored, frustrated Jury is overjoyed when his assistant, Melrose Plant, arrives with a proffered mystery. While in the local pub, called the Grave Maurice, Plant overhears a conversation concerning the disappearance of teenager Nell Ryder, the daughter of Jury's surgeon. Nell vanished two years earlier from the family horse farm, but there are rumors she's been seen riding at midnight on her favorite mare. On Jury's orders, Plant enters the occasionally bizarre world of horse racing. There he meets Nell's cousin, Maurice, a grave lad plagued by an adolescent growth spurt that's left him too tall to be a jockey, his only dream since he was a boy. The eccentric suspects start piling up, as do the murders, as Jury is eventually released from the hospital and enters the fray. Grimes, perhaps overcompensating for entering the equestrian universe dominated by Dick Francis, spends a bit too much time giving us the minute details of horse breeding. However, the offbeat characters -- especially a demanding nurse who infuriates Jury -- are so likable they soon smooth over any bumps in the narrative road. The Grave Maurice is a strange and unique amalgam of satire and mystery that works on most levels, thanks to the author's sure and talented hand. Tom Piccirilli
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Used availability for Martha Grimes's The Grave Maurice
See all available used copies of this book at: Abebooks UK or Abebooks US
Hardback Editions
2004 : Hardback
| Title: The Grave Maurice (Richard Jury Mystery) Author(s): Martha Grimes ISBN: 0-7394-2988-4 / 978-0-7394-2988-4 (USA edition) Publisher: Viking Penguin Group Availability: Amazon More details... |
January 2003 : Hardback
| Title: The Grave Maurice: A Richard Jury Mystery Author(s): Martha Grimes ISBN: 0-7862-4929-3 / 978-0-7862-4929-9 (USA edition) Publisher: Thorndike Press Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
August 2002 : Hardback
| Title: The Grave Maurice Author(s): Martha Grimes ISBN: 0-670-03045-7 / 978-0-670-03045-3 (USA, AU, or UK edition) Publisher: Viking Adult Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
Paperback Editions
2004 : Mass Market Paperback
| Title: Grave Maurice, The Author(s): Publisher: New American Library Availability: Amazon More details... |
September 2003 : Paperback
| Title: The Grave Maurice Author(s): Martha Grimes ISBN: 0-451-41101-3 / 978-0-451-41101-3 (USA edition) Publisher: Onyx Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
2002 : Paperback
| Title: The Grave Maurice: A Richard Jury Mystery: Abridged on 4 Cassettes Author(s): Martha Grimes Publisher: Penguin Audio Availability: Amazon More details... |
Audio Editions
2003 : Audio Cassette
| Title: The Grave Maurice , A Richard Jury Mystery [Unabridged Library Edition] Author(s): Martha Grimes Publisher: Books on Tape Availability: Amazon More details... |
September 2002 : Audio Cassette
| Title: The Grave Maurice (Detective Series) Author(s): Martha Grimes ISBN: 0-7366-8681-9 / 978-0-7366-8681-5 (USA edition) Publisher: Books on Tape Availability: Amazon Amazon CA More details... |
August 2002 : Audio Cassette
| Title: The Grave Maurice (A Richard Jury Mystery) Author(s): Martha Grimes ISBN: 0-14-280011-2 / 978-0-14-280011-9 (UK edition) Publisher: Penguin Audio Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
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