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When Martha Grimes began her "British pub" series in 1981, she may not have
imagined how enormously popular it would become. After all, some of the best in the
business are still relatively undiscovered by the masses. But after 16 successful novels
about Richard Jury and his cronies from Long Piddleton, there's no question that her fan
base is extensive, loyal and, at times, frustratingly unaware that she writes anything
else. Her 17th in the series, THE BLUE LAST, continues their story with an unwavering
dedication to those rich characterizations and suspenseful plots her readers love, but
this time there's more than a few surprising twists.
The drama unfolds with Inspector Jury being summoned by an old friend to work a case that
has been officially closed for years, but not to his friend's satisfaction. Mickey
Haggerty is a fellow policeman facing a terminal illness and obsessed with resolving a
mystery that has continued to plague him. During World War II, when The Blue Last pub was
bombed by the Germans, Alexandra Tynedale Merrick was killed, as was her nanny's infant
daughter; the nanny escaped death along with Alexandra's infant daughter, Maisie --- or so
she said. Now a grown-up, Maisie, granddaughter to Oliver Tynedale, is in line to inherit
his large estate, but Mickey is convinced she isn't the legal heir and wants Jury to prove
which baby actually died. Coincidentally, Simon Croft, the son of Tynedale's lifelong
friend and business partner, has been researching a book and apparently uncovered family
secrets that someone wants desperately to keep buried. As readers might suspect, Croft
becomes a victim of foul play, and his manuscript disappears. As Jury begins to pull the
threads together, he finds more skeletons in the Tyndale/Croft closet than anyone
imagined, and the investigation becomes a deliciously tangled web of secret identities and
age-old deceits.
As with all of Grimes's novels, the supporting cast adds wonderful layers of emotional
depth to the prevailing drama. Melrose Plant, Jury's friend and sometimes unwitting
partner, plays a large role, as do two charming orphans --- Benny and Gemma. The children
are bright and intuitive, generating humorous complications for both Jury and Plant as
well as some poignant moments when each grapples with the loneliness of their existence.
Several of the Long Piddleton residents make cameo appearances, including Marshall
Trueblood, who enlists Plant in a romp across Italy to try to authenticate a painting.
This leads to some interesting lessons in the history of Italian art. Jury's delightfully
offbeat upstairs neighbor, Carole-anne Palutski, is not about to miss an occasion to
insinuate herself into Jury's storyline either. And, as usual, Cyril the cat has managed
to create havoc in the office of the blustering Chief Superintendent Racer, while blithely
escaping all Racer's attempts to terminate him with prejudice.
In THE BLUE LAST, perhaps more than any previous novel, Grimes reveals to readers the
collective details of Jury's unhappy childhood by bringing him into contact with former
friends, lovers, and family that have remained largely at a distance. Delving into the war
years to reconstruct the lives and unravel the mysteries of the Tynedales and Crofts
evokes his own painful memories and ultimately sends him on a quest to resolve his
unsettling questions. We witness a deeply troubled Jury pondering past, present, and
future --- a man who, as a youth, had torn pieces from his emotional scrapbook and
discarded the rest, making it difficult for the adult Jury to reassemble those early years
into some comprehensible personal history. It is perhaps through his relationships with
the orphans, Benny and Gemma, that he is finally able to bring some peaceful conclusion to
the years of sorrow that have dwelled in his soul.
For those steadfast fans who haven't missed an episode, grab a copy of THE BLUE LAST and
settle back for another literary feast. For those who haven't yet experienced a Martha
Grimes novel, now is the time --- you're long overdue.
--- Reviewed by Ann Bruns (BkPageWC@aol.com)
© Copyright 1996-2010, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
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