The Grave Maurice (A Richard Jury Mystery) [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Martha Grimes (Author), Roger Rees (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 22, 2002

The follow-up to The New York Times bestselling The Blue Last and the latest in the acclaimed Richard Jury series from "one of the established masters of the genre" (Newsweek).

Abridged, 4 cassettes, 6 hours

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In this, the 18th outing in Martha Grimes's popular series featuring Scotland Yard Superintendent Richard Jury and his aristocrat pal Melrose Plant, Jury, recuperating from a near-fatal shooting (The Blue Last) hears about the two-year-old abduction of his doctor's talented young daughter, Nell Ryder, who disappeared from her grandfather's stud farm, along with a champion thoroughbred horse. Pursuing the stalled investigation when he's released from the hospital, Jury stumbles on a complicated scheme involving murder, insurance fraud, and a scheme to replicate a popular menopause drug derived from the urine of pregnant mares. As readers of this popular series know, while there's a mystery at the heart of every Jury novel, the real payoff is in Grimes's lucent prose, wit, and complex characterizations. Fans of British mystery writer Dick Francis, who's made the world of thoroughbreds his own turf, will find this a delightful diversion, particularly since Francis recently announced his retirement from the genre. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Grimes's popular mysteries are named after British pubs, and Rees's excellent performance here will make readers feel as if they're at the bar themselves, listening to the actor spin a good, old-fashioned detective story. Grimes (The Blue Last) has updated Josephine Tey's famous Daughter of Time by having her detective, Scotland Yard's own Richard Jury, solve a mystery while spending time in a hospital. Jury's friend, the aristocratic and occasionally ponderous Melrose Plant, overhears two women talking in the Grave Maurice about Richard's surgeon, whose daughter disappeared two years before from the racing stable where she worked. With Plant doing the legwork, Jury manages to solve the case without getting out of his pajamas. Rees, known for playing an arrogant British ambassador on The West Wing, nicely delineates Plant from the saltier, more ironic Jury, presenting a satisfying tale that should delight mystery fans.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Penguin Audio; Abridged edition (August 22, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142800112
• ISBN-13: 978-0142800119
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,778,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Martha Grimes is the bestselling author of twenty-one Richard Jury novels, as well as the novels Dakota and Foul Matter, among others. Her previous two Jury books, The Old Wine Shades and Dust, both appeared on the New York Times bestseller list.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars More Fantasy than Mystery, October 25, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Grave Maurice (Hardcover)

I was a big fan of Ms. Grimes' earlier works, but her last few Jury mysteries have been extremely disappointing. Again, she utilizes extremely chance meetings and far-fetched links amoung strangers to produce the mystery as well as solve it. She should also re-read her earlier books and reacquaint herself with her characters. In "The Old Fox Deceived", Melrose had backflashes about participating in a cubbing (pre-season hunt) as a 10-year-old and the trauma of having the fox's blood smeared on him as part of a bizarre ritual. In addition, in the 'Fox Deceived' story, he participated in a hunt -- galloping over fields and jumping ditches and fences -- during which a body was discovered. But, in "The Grave Maurice", he was portrayed as knowing nothing about fox-hunting nor about riding a horse. I think Martha is tired of her characters; maybe she should let them fade away gracefully.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Grave Morose, February 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Grave Maurice (Hardcover)

This latest from Martha Grimes was easily put down through the first half. Picked up half way through with some notion of redemtion, but the ending left a fruther bad taste in the mouth. I can't say this was poorly done, but is is not representative of the Richard Jury series, more like her other books with dispondent aimless characters. (No matter how many time the work "focused" was used, unbelievably surmised from a photograph, she was aimless through out the book). The plot did not particularly hold together well, some characters stuffed in to plug obvious gaps in the ploting. I was expecting a more fun read Grimes, had I known, I would have read it a nother time.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Big Disappointment!, March 20, 2003

By 

Jill (Pacific Northwest USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Grave Maurice (Hardcover)

I've been a big fan of Martha Grimes, but this book was a terrible read! I nearly gave up after the first few chapters, but continued plodding through only because I was stuck at a horse show for a week with no other reading material. The plot is poorly done, the characters are shallow (I mean, I really didn't care anymore who lived or died or who ended up being the villian -- I just wanted to get through and done), and it just didn't meet the high expectations I had from my past experience with her books. I think I may have to go back and reread some of her previous works just to remind myself of how good she can be. And if you have never read a Martha Grimes' book, do not choose this one as an example. She can do so much better!