Martha Grimes

Tips and Resources From Your Martha Grimes Book Club Friends:

You could say it all began with a British pub. Martha Grimes’ Richard Jury books are all named after pubs and have inspired the writer many times. She is quoted as saying that she finds the pub names “incredibly intriguing” and that most of the books have been written “purely on the basis of the names.” With names like The Old Silent, The Dirty Duck and The Old Fox Deceiv’d it’s no wonder! Are you as intrigued by names of things as Martha is? Of course there’s more to the Jury mysteries than pub names. There are the delightful central characters of Richard Jury, an introspective, intelligent, Scotland Yard detective with a dry wit and the eccentric aristocrat Melrose Plant. It’s Jury’s close friendship with the amateur sleuth that provides the series with its playful banter and lighter touch that contrasts with the murders and crime the pair solve together. Grimes also infuses her Jury novels with a sprinkling of literary references that add layers to the stories for readers to appreciate. What aspects of the Richard Jury books do you enjoy the most? Have you read any of Martha’s other series, such as her Emma Graham novels or Andi Oliver books?