Rating: 
Summary: Bury This One Deep
Review: This latest Grimes effort has hit the bottom.Instead of the great descriptive British cozies She used to write we now get overbearing psychological portrayals of even the most minor characters.I guess Ms. Grimes's "End of the Pier" was the end of mystery as a topic of Her interest, Ruth Rendell She's not.I hope She puts DCI Jury in his GRAVE and spares him any more embarressment.
Rating: 
Summary: Riddles Wrapped into a Mystery Springing from a Tragedy
Review: This novel reminded me of one of those Russian nesting dolls, where you keep finding another doll inside of the one you are holding, when you take the doll apart. There's enough plot and character development here for 6 novels. I graded the book down mostly because no one should read this novel without having read quite a few of the earlier ones in the series. Most of the best references and ironies won't mean much otherwise. And many of them are rather long sections. Even in a series, authors need to make novels as stand-alone as they can. I also graded the book down because one plot element just didn't make sense to me (the location of the missing heroine for two years). On the other hand, I thought that the development of the theme of honoring animal rights was well done. I don't remember a novel that does it any better. Along the way, I had a lot of fun. Regular Richard Jury and Martha Grimes fans should definitely read this one! The Grave Maurice is one of Melrose Plant's best and most humorous outings. You see new sides of Richard Jury, and they will make him more appealing to you. I also appreciated the reference to Josephine Tey's wonderful book about Richard III. The Grave Maurice is also as steeped in English horse racing as the typical Dick Francis effort, which made the book all the more appealing to me. After you finish this story, think about the moral priorities for you in protecting life and liberty! What comes first?
Rating:
Summary: Farfetched coincidences, don't you think?
Review: Warning! Gives away plot! A young girl is kidnapped and raped and they let her have the run of the farm? She has the run of the farm and she doesn't run away immediately? I can barely accept Maurice believing that his dead(!) father needs to speak to Nell (why?) but after realizing Nell is kidnapped, why would he keep silent? He knows who talked to him! Jockeys on the wrong horse? His wife jumps at the chance to identify someone else as her dead husband? No one misses the real dead guy? And then it's a case of revenge from a character we barely know? Oh, dear, this one really strains the imagination. And after all that, Nell dies? The only thing that might have saved this book for me is if Nell ended up with Vernon. I love Martha Grimes and I have been happily wending my way through the Richard Jury novels, but this one I wish I had missed.
Rating:
Summary: A Grave Bore
Review: What has happened to Martha Grimes? I could barely Last through The Blue Last, but decided to give Grimes another shot with The Grave Maurice. What a Grave waste of time.
The so-called plot plodded along. The members of the Ryder family were one-dimensional. And Melrose Plant, usually the most interesting character in the Jury series, was given the short shrift as were the amusing characters in Long Pidd.
As for Jury, that bullet he took in The Blue Last has made him go off his nut. He should have stayed in hospital during the duration of the mystery and continued to battle the head nurse.
Grimes fans who don't want to spend the bucks for the hardcover, should definately wait for the paperback.
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