Rating: 
Summary: Whoa Nellie!
Review: I've dipped in and out of the Richard Jury series over the years, and generally I've found Martha Grimes' books to be entertaining and well-written -- though not perfect. By contrast, "Grave Maurice" is gravely flawed. How in the world could the mere photograph of a 15-year-old girl, Nell Ryder, engender such intense feelings of yearning and passion in every grown man who sees it? When Nell appears in the flesh, she's described as lucent and luminous but actually seems one-dimensional in the extreme. Meanwhile, the plot is awash in coincidences that rob it of honesty. Face it: Melrose Plant is the one decent character -- give him his own series, Martha, and give handsome Richard Jury's bullet-riddled, bed-hopping body a little rest.
Rating:
Summary: Not Her Best Work
Review: I've only read four of the Richard Jury series (Old Silent, Load of Mischief, Stargazey, and this). I have to agree with several reviewers that this is not up to her usual level, although hardly the worst detective novel I've ever read. The scenes with Aunt Agatha and the hermit were highly amusing.One correction to another review - it was pretty clear to me that Hadrian's Wall was a nickname in the book, not the real wall. But this is not recommended as one's first Martha Grimes novel.
Rating:
Summary: Grimes on a Downward Spiral
Review: I've read all the Richard Jury novels. The last two have been awful...meandering plots, weak endings, characters who have little credibility. I agree. It's time to bury Ruchard Jury.
Rating: 
Summary: What in the world happened . . .?
Review: I've read them all, and I've obviously enjoyed some more than others. But at the very least all of them have engaged my interest enough to get me through the book. All until now. I tried to slog my way through, but ultimately I gave up around page 150 and commited a heretical act among mystery readers -- I turned to the last few chapters just so I could see "whodunnit". Even that was boring. Maybe Ms. Grimes was thinking more about her next (non-Jury) novel, which has received excellent reviews. Whatever the reason, this stands out like a huge sore thumb amongst the generally well-written Jury novels.
Rating:
Summary: A good book? Neigh...
Review: In one of Martha Grimes's most recent books, a mystery writer complains about how she's become shackled to her fictional detective series to the degree that she'd be laughed at if she wrote "serious" fiction. Well, if Grimes herself is having the same kind of identity crisis, and this is the kind of "serious" fiction for which she wants to be known, then I'd rather she stop writing altogether. It won't be that great a stretch, as "The Grave Maurice" is hardly "writing" at all. It's some plotting, some character description and a lot of pontificating -- but it's not much of a book. I would say it's not up to Grimes's usual standards, but unfortunately, as her usual standards have plummeted in the past few years, this is sadly par for the course. So many of the once great mystery series out there (this one, Sue Grafton's Alphabet Series, Janet Evanovich's once-hilarious Stephanie Plum novels, most particulary Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta books -- even the great P.D.James's latest) have taken on a stale, musty been-there-done-that, send-me-the royalty-checks quality. Writers do nothing more than insult the intelligence of loyal fans when they churn out chewed-over, by-the-numbers tripe. If you have nothing to say, ladies, don't say it. (And that goes for James Patterson and any number of male mystery authors who could never put two words together in the first place.) My apologies, folks, for the over-hyphenated (there I go again!) diatribe. I guess I'm just madder about wasting my time than I'd thought.
Rating: 
Summary: Could have been better...
Review: Is Martha Grimes falling out of love with Richard Jury? To read her latest, you'd think so. We catch up with Jury while recovering from his wounds (incredibly fast, I might add). I don't think someone shot three times, then lay in a coma could recover fully after just three weeks. He's a bit cranky and bored, so Melrose tries to cheer him up by giving him a puzzle to work out. Unfortunately, I had this one figured out pretty quickly, but I wanted to see a little more interaction between Melrose and Jury. It seems like they've grown apart a bit. I liked the fact that they had a couple of lively debates, but their friendship still intact. What friends don't argue sometimes? The character of Vernon Rice fleshed out quickly, and I found myself wanting to know a little more about him than the rest of the characters. He was very similar to Jury in emotion and, strangely enough, looks. I even would have liked a little more on the relationship between he and Nell. Although Nell seemed to have a strange effect on lonely men, I think there should've been a reference to Carrie Fleet (see THE DEER LEAP). Jury thought all of his loves, and those he'd lost, and the past cases he and Melrose worked on (even returning to the Man With A Load of Mischief), but didn't see the similarities between Carrie and Nell. It wasn't a bad novel, but it seemed aloof in its point. A whole novel could've been devoted to Jury's recovery. He doesn't have to solve a mystery everytime, does he?
Rating:
Summary: Grimes on a Downward Spiral
Review: Like other novels in the series, the title is the name of a pub. In this case, the pub is in the opening scene, then disappears from the plot. Like the novels of Dick Francis, this one involves racing. The plot, perhaps, is a little too complicated, with a few too many characters but some surprising twists. Like the Dick Francis novels, you learn a lot about racing - in this case stud farms. It is a lose girl, find girl, lose girl again type plot. It takes a few chapters to develop the plot. While you think you may have guilty parties identified, the final conclusion is not obvious. Richard Jury and Melrose Plant are involved in the investigation, and there are digressions into the affairs of Long Piddleton. Melrose acquires a horse and a resident hermit. One of the problems with the novel is that the author cannot seem to stay on a single track. It is an interesting novel, but too many digressions can make a story drag.
Rating:
Summary: An English mystery with guns
Review: Like other novels in the series, the title is the name of a pub. In this case, the pub is in the opening scene, then disappears from the plot. Like the novels of Dick Francis, this one involves racing. The plot, perhaps, is a little too complicated, with a few too many characters but some surprising twists. Like the Dick Francis novels, you learn a lot about racing - in this case stud farms. It is a lose girl, find girl, lose girl again type plot. It takes a few chapters to develop the plot. While you think you may have guilty parties identified, the final conclusion is not obvious. Richard Jury and Melrose Plant are involved in the investigation, and there are digressions into the affairs of Long Piddleton. Melrose acquires a horse and a resident hermit. One of the problems with the novel is that the author cannot seem to stay on a single track. It is an interesting novel, but too many digressions can make a story drag.
Rating:
Summary: A welcome but ultimately preachy sequel
Review: Martha Grimes has written sophisticated, character driven plots with smoky atmospheres in the past. Books like her Lamorna Wink were back to basics in the Richard Jury mystery series and of the "can't put it down" variety. They wove you into a web of plot, people and places that were easily seductive to the mystery buff. And, highly enjoyable.
However, her latest, The Grave Maurice, is a true disappointment. While it does tie up loose ends left in her prior book, the sloppy Blue Last, it is at times dull and extremely preachy. While one does support her animal rights beliefs, this book uses the plot to almost shove them down readers' throats. It makes the new book, although highly anticipated, an eventual disappointment. There are again loose ends that don't make sense, and Richard Jury and Melrose Plant, two of the best characters ever written in mystery fiction in my estimatation, are themselves dull and slow the plot. Let's hope her future books return to her wonderful, web-weaving atmospheres and that she pays more attention to plot details.
Rating: 
Summary: Did the other reviewers really read this book?
Review: Martha Grimes is a master writer and has once again proven herself so with the Grave Maurice. Her plot was so spellbinding that I read the novel in just two days. It is about time that someone exposed the suffering for profit of the pregnant mares and the questionable benefit thereof to women. If we are to call ourselves civilized we must consider animals as well as people. Martha, you go girl! I found the book well plotted, with the usual great zany characters that I found highly amusing. I loved the hermit in the hermitage! I cared about all of the characters, especially the tragic and enigmatic Nell and Vernon Rice. What's not to like about this book?
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