Customer Reviews

The Case Has Altered

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I will admit that NOT ONLY have I NOT read all of Grimes' work, but that what I have read has been all out of order. In her works before 2000, that didn't seem to matter too much. There was some related themes between the books - like Viv's engagment to Count Dracula - but mostly reading her books in any order was fine.

However, recently, there seems to be much more carryover between books. To start, there's a growing list of women that Jury and/or Plant both 'love' - Vivian, Polly Praed, Ellen Taylor, Bea Slocum, and Jenny Kennington to start with. Jenny Kennington was the focus of this one, but while apparently she is Jury's true love, I felt so detached because I had never read about her before. There were many other such references that went over my head while new 'regulars' had been added that I didn't really know.

In addition to being ripped out of my comfortable old crowd at the 'Jack and Hammer,' I sometimes felt like I must have missed reading a couple of chapters in this book. Grimes keeps referring to an event where Melrose searched all over for Jenny Kennington, and somehow this caused a problem with Jury. At first I thought this referred back to another case in another book, but as the tale went on it seemed like it happened at some point in this book. I was thoroughly confused.

For those who don't know, the main focus of the book is a double murder (one following the other by 2 weeks) out on the desolate fens of England. One victim is of the minor movie star Vera Dunn, the vicious ex-wife of Max Owen, who owns the estate where Dunn was visiting when killed. The other murder is of Owen's vegetable cook. This young cook was a nosy unattractive girl whom everyone overlooked and forgot. What motive could anyone possibly have to kill two such different woman?

My confusion aside, I still don't think this is one of Grimes' better efforts. If you haven't read any of her books, certainly don't start here. You'll appreciate it more if you have developed an affinity the characters.

If you have read Grimes, I would say that while I generally appreciate her trying new things, somehow this plot didn't fall together for her. She makes this one different by letting Jury be vulnerable and, essentially, out of control. He is no longer the smooth operator one step ahead of everyone else. However, something just didn't quite work here. I saw her clues easily planted and solved the case well before the end (which I NEVER do). It wasn't bad, and it was fun to reunite with Plant, Trueblood, etc., but I definitely prefer her other books more.

I have read all of the Inspector Jury novels and enjoyed each of them. Not so with this last. The writing was weak from beginning to middle (where I finally had had enough and put it aside). I am still hoping that the next book might revive the previously memorable characters to their former readable selves. I won't make the same mistake though and buy the book but will wait to get it from the library!

Serious readers are wary of abridgements, often for good reason. Not having read this book in its unabridged form, I have my suspicions of what got cut from the audio version of "The Case" -- the background of the various suspects seems a bit less developed here, although I still wondered "whodunit" until the protagonists arrived at their conclusion. There also may have been some deleting of the descriptions of the bleak Lincolnshire fens, but with little loss to the overall effect of the tale.

And what a tale that is! Not so much due to Grimes taking the English detective mystery to any new level - she doesn't do that nor intends to. The real laurels here go to reader/actor Tim Curry. He gets all of the character nuances just right, moving with ease and flair across British class, age and gender lines. He brings out with brio the fullest comedic potential of the text, clearly relishing his fleshing out of the eccentricities and peculiarities of Grimes' range of characters and situations. This is the perfect tape set for anyone facing a long commute. You'll be well entertained and amused. For Curry's perfomrance: six stars!!

Martha Grimes paints an insightful and informatinve picture of English life. We're not reading a AAA Tour book, after all. I thoroughly enjoyed this particular novel. We're in it for the "who dunit" mystery not for the "day in the life of an average Englishman". Picking up this book is like getting a letter from an old friend. Melrose Plant is wonderful, as always. We see a different side of Jury this time. He's in love! What a terrific spin this is. He is so "by the book' that we don't think of him as the emotional character. It was so enjoyable to experience him in new territory. I would heartily recommend this to any Grimes fan or mystery reader.

What a book!! The best I've read since I've forgotten when. It made me realize why I love the English language so, beautifully written. I understand perfectly why Miss Cornwell says Grimes' work is poetry for the way she writes and the words Miss Grimes uses are those of a poet. Beautiful scenery, lifelike characters and a thoroughly satisfying end. Undoubtetly it has been said before but for once I don't mind repeating another man's words: an absolute must!! Since this was the first Richard Jury (and Martha Grimes) book I've read I'll be drawn inside every bookshop by an irresistable force: the other books by Martha Grimes!!

It had a good plot (I was able to name the murderer about halfway through, but that's not necessarily a bad thing), and had a lot of typical Melrose Plant in it.(Thank you for finally letting us know exactly why he rejected his title). Jury's character can be a little boring.However, I was somewhat disappointed, because at the end of Rainbow's End, the previous book, it appeared that Melrose would end up with a girlfriend, at last. It was not to be. It would not hurt the story if, at the end of one of these novels, we would see one of the characters NOT walking away, disappointed yet again. And let that poor girl either marry her count or come back to Long Pid and marry Melrose (or Jury). That subplot has ben dragged out too long. I would agree that the characters involved in the murder took a backseat in interest to the regulars. Why not involve them more in the murders, as in previous novels?

On principle, I refuse to put down a book without finishing it, regardless of how dry or uninteresting it may be. This is the first book in a long time which has tempted me to break this rule, and after painstakingly having finished reading it, I wished I had spared myself the agony and shelved it after the first few boring chapters. The characters are unidimensional and dated, the plot is predictable and dull and the pace is incredibly slow. I would only recommend this book to those who are looking for a healthier alternative to Nytol. This was my first and definitely also my last exposure to Grimes' work. I will be donating my copy to the library without any regrets, but I will not do this without first entering a caveat on the flyleaf...beware of terminal boredom.

Wish I read the reviews here before I bought the Case is Altered..my first experience with Martha Grimes, and probably my last. Didn't grab me quick enough, or am I being too impatient? Any of you reviewers, who panned the book, got a recommendation for me in the mystery genre? Something well written, not unlike PD James, whose books I've exhausted, but not as drab as this one seems. I hate to quit on a book...but, my time is valuable too, Ms.Grimes.

The next book should probably feature Melrose Plant instead as the lead. He's the most interesting and fully developed character in the entire series, and the only one worth reading about.

The Case Has Altered disappoints on several levels. Ms. Grimes has obviously run out of steam and her weary characterization of Richard Jury in this latest offering shows it. He's not running the show --big mistake-- and is written like a supporting character, disappearing from the scene for several chapters in a row. The minor characters are more interesting than the majors who are, with the exception of Melrose Plant, colorless and enigmatic to the point of being obscure. The author's attempt to cast suspicion on them by cloaking them in mysterious motivations and cryptic dialogue backfires. We could hardly care less about Grace and Max Owens, Jenny and company. Probably the worst flaw in the novel is the author's tiresome and endless retelling of the events of the crimes. Every character must rehearse these tidbits until the reader is ready to scream, "enough!" This latest in the series featuring English pubs is stretched so thin that if it weren't for the author's track record, I doubt if it would have made it into print. She has also committed the unpardonable sin of raising a question and then leaving it unanswered. What IS Zel's real name?