The Case Has Altered (Paperback)

by Martha Grimes (Author) "Dorcas hated the fens..." (more)
Key Phrases: plum ice cream, cold ladies, public footpath, Verna Dunn, Max Owen, Dorcas Reese (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Richard Jury, the brooding Scotland Yard detective-hero of many of Martha Grimes's mysteries, is back in The Case Has Altered, but--as usual--his sidekick Melrose Plant steals the show. Set in the fens of Lincolnshire, Jury must investigate two murders in which his true love, Jenny Kennington, is a suspect. But while Jury deals with the evidence, Melrose uncovers the local color, interviewing everyone from uncommunicative pub owners to chatty cooks. Even murder seems a little less grim with Melrose Plant around. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Grimes returns with another Richard Jury mystery?this time, Jury must solve the murders of two women found in the misty fens?but now she's with a new publisher.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Onyx; Open market ed edition (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451408683
• ISBN-13: 978-0451408686
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #216,911 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 14 in The Richard Jury Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I Got A Bit Lost in This One, April 18, 2004

By	T. George "anne-with-an-e" (An American city) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth reading!, July 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Case Has Altered (Richard Jury Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars TIM CURRY IS MARTHA GRIMES' BEST AUDIO INTERPRETER!, June 22, 2001

By	Gordon L. fuglie (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The CASE HAS ALTERED: A RICHARD JURY MYSTERY CASSETTE (Richard Jury Mysteries) (Audio Cassette)

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!!