Martha Grimes Libri

A serial killer is loose in Long Piddleton around Christmas. Together Inspector Richard Jury and Melrose Plant must piece together the clues before the killer strikes again.

These two linked novellas, The Train now Departing and When 'The Mousetrap' Closes, both explore emotional isolation and identity within human relationships.

There is ?suspense on every page?(Cleveland Plain Dealer) in this follow-up to Biting the Moon? now available in paperback. In Martha Grimes?s acclaimed novel Biting the Moon, amnesiac drifter Andi Oliver sought the one man who held the key to her past. Now, Andi continues from one small town to the next, surviving the dangerous expanse of the Western plains, until she finds her mission?and menace?in Dakota. Taking a job at Klavan?s pig farming facility, Andi learns the gruesome truth of modern livestock management. As she begins to uncover the even darker secrets about Klavan?s sister facility, Big Sun, a stranger from her past comes to the surface? demanding information of which Andi has no memory.

Chief Inspector Haggerty asks Jury to prove brewing magnate Oliver Tyndale's granddaughter is an imposter. Excavation of Tynedale's bombed London pub, the Blue Last, has turned up two skeletons - was the child found his real granddaughter?

When a dismembered corpse is found in the compartments of an antique secretaire a abattant, Marshall Trueblood, recipient of the precious piece of furniture, is the first to protest: "I bought the desk, not the body, send it back." Who would want to kill Simon Lean, the greedy nephew of the wealthy Lady Summerston? Leave it to Superintendent Richard Jury of Scotland Yard to suggest a connection to the murder of brassy Limehouse lady named Sadie Driver, found dead near Wapping Old Stairs...if that stone-cold body on the slipway is really Sadie. Not even her brother, Tommy, on a visit from Gravesend, can swear to it.

"The author keeps us enthralled with the rich interior and exterior lives of her characters in this emotionally stormy family saga." THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW When Scotland Yard superintendent Richard Jury is drawn into a brief affair with a troubled widow named Jane Holdsworth, her subsequent death makes him a suspect in her murder. Unable to leave London, Jury sends Melrose Plant, eighth Earl of Caverness to the Lake District to pry open the Holdsworth family's locked box of secrets. Plant does what he is bidden, in his own particular style, and what he uncovers is a shocking sheaf of surprises about the death-prone Holdsworth clan and its growing number of orphans.... "As always, Grimes' characters are gems, and her writting is as witty as ever." USA TODAY Selected by the Literary Guild and the Mystery Guild

The popular mystery writer and her son present a dual account of their struggles with alcoholism and sobriety, a parallel journey marked by poignant episodes of relapse, travel, and friendship.

This classic mystery in the New York Times bestselling series finds Jury joining forces with a hot-tempered constable to track down the brutal killer of three children. Reissue.

New Scotland Yard superintendent Richard Jury is convinced it's more than coincidence when two beautiful young women are found strangled to death with their own scarves -- one in Devon, the second outside a fashionable Mayfair pub. Both women were as strikingly similar in life as they were in death. Neither had enemies that Jury can find. Now, somewhere in the night, a killer is biding his time, beckoning Jury and Devon's local divisional commander, Brian Macalvie, down an elusive trail of tragic family secrets and even more fatal lies....

Seit Monaten versucht Inspector Jury den mysteriösen Halstuchmörder zu fassen, der die jungen Frauen in Devon - immer wenn es regnet - in Angst und Schrecken versetzt. 2 kleine Jungen liefern ihm den entscheidenden Hinweis.

After a luminous blonde leaves, reboards, then leaves the double-decker bus Richard Jury is on, he follows her to the gates of Fulham Palace...and goes no further. Days later, when he hears of the death in the palace's walled garden, Jury will wonder if he could have averted it. But is the victim the same woman Jury saw? As he and Melrose Plant follow the complex case from the Crippsian depths of London's East End to the headier heights of Mayfair's art scene, Jury will realize that in this captivating woman--dead or alive--he may have finally met his match...

In the new mystery in the bestselling Richard Jury series, Martha Grimes brings London's finest and 'the Filth' together on a double-homicide case that involves Kenyan art, rare gems, astrophysics and a long-fermented act of revenge

"Chew on this," says Melrose Plant to Richard Jury, who's in the hospital being driven crazy by Hannibal, a nurse who likes to speculate on his chances for survival. Jury could use a good story, preferably one not ending with his own demise. Plant tells Jury of something he overheard in The Grave Maurice, a pub near the hospital. A woman told an intriguing story about a girl named Nell Ryder, granddaughter to the owner of the Ryder Stud Farm in Cambridgeshire, who went missing more than a year before and has never been found. What is especially interesting to Plant is that Nell is also the daughter of Jury's surgeon. But Nell's disappearance isn't the only mystery at the Ryder farm. A woman has been found dead on the track-a woman who was a stranger even to the Ryders. But not to Plant. She's the woman he saw in The Grave Maurice. Together with Jury, Nell's family, and the Cambridgeshire police, Plant embarks on a search to find Nell and bring her home. But is there more to their mission than just restoring a fifteen-year-old girl to her family? The Grave Maurice is the eighteenth entry in the Richard Jury series and, from its pastoral opening to its calamitous end, is full of the same suspense and humor that devoted readers expect from Martha Grimes.

The thirteenth mystery for Richard Jury finds the detective investigating the murder of two women in the Lincolnshire fens. Both victims are connected to the wealthy owner of the Fengate estate: one a kitchen maid, and the other, the owner's ex-wife. But Jury has more at stake than just catching a killer, as the prime suspect is a woman who's presence in his life is becoming meaningful in a way he can't explain....

Detective Richard Jury is back in the 16th novel in Martha Grimes' extraordinary New York Times bestselling series--now enmeshed in a series of strange crimes and disappearances, and an age-old tragedy that consumes his sidekick Melrose Plant....

Richard Jury embarks on the darkest investigation of his career when the dead body of a young London girl leads to the cold case of a missing girl in Launceston-an unsolved mystery that has haunted Police Officer Brian Macalvie for years.

The narrative weaves together the mysterious death of a young girl with another girl's journey of self-discovery in a small town. Martha Grimes explores themes of loss and the search for meaning, creating a compelling and intricate story that delves into the complexities of life and death. The book promises a rich exploration of character and emotion, continuing the engaging atmosphere established in her previous work.

A case of plagiarism, a blind and deaf street-dweller and an engaging child who bears a strong resemblance to Scarlett O'Hara - these are just some of the elements of a complex puzzle detective Steve Jury and his team must piece together.

The sun, smoking behind a haze of cloud, threw off a light of burnished pewter. Mysteriously lit, it was as if the watery, colorless land refused drabness, stood determinedly against dimishment. This is a landscape that can easily deceive, the fens, a landscape that volunteers nothing, as if to say, a landscape that volunteers nothing, as to say, You're on your own, mate–much like the habitues of the only pub for miles around called The Case Has Altered. The Lincolnshire fens are the right setting for Richard Jury's latest case, a mystifying double murder. The body of one woman is found on the wash; another woman lies floating in a canal in Windy Fen. Both women are connected with Fengate: Dorcas Reese, a servant; Verna Dunn, the louche ex-wife of the owner, Max Owen, a man with a passion for antiques. So when the principal suspect turns out to be Jenny Kennington, a woman Jury has long loved, he decides he needs someone inside Fengate, someone who can impersonate an antiques expert...

When the body of a French woman washes up on a wild inlet off the Cornish coast, Brian Macalvie, divisional commander with the Devon-Cornwall police is called in. Who could have killed this beautiful tourist, the only visible footprints nearby belonging to the two little girls who found her? While Macalvie stands stumped in the Scilly Islands, inspector Richard Jury-twenty miles away on Land's End--is at the Old Success pub, sharing a drink with the legendary former CID detective Tom Brownell, a man renowned for solving every case he undertook--well, nearly every case. Bronwell discloses that there was one he once missed. In the days following the mysterious slaying of the Parisian tourist, two other murders are called in to Macalvie and Jury's teams: first, a man is found dead in his Devon estate, then a holy duster turns up murdered at the Exeter Cathedral in Northhamptonshire. When Macalvie and Jury decide to consult Bronwell, the retired detective tells them that the three murders, though very different in execution, are connected. As the trio sets out to solve this puzzle, Jury and Macalvie hope that this doesn't turn out to be Brownell's second ever miss. Written with Grimes's signature wit, sly plotting, and gloriously offbeat characters, The Old Success is prime fare from "one of the most fascinating mystery writers today" (Houston Chronicle).

Richard Jury is meeting Tom Williamson at Vertigo 42, a bar on the forty-second floor of an office building in London’s financial district. Despite inconclusive evidence, Tom is convinced his wife, Tess, was murdered seventeen years ago. The inspector in charge of the case was sure Tess’s death was accidental—a direct result of vertigo—but the official police inquiry is still an open verdict and Jury agrees to re-examine the case.Jury learns that a nine-year-old girl fell to her death five years before Tess at the same place in Devon where Tess died, at a small house party. Jury seeks out the five surviving party guests, who are now adults, hoping they can shed light on this bizarre coincidence. Ultimately, four deaths—two in the past, two that occur on the pages of this intricate, compelling novel—keep Richard Jury and his sidekick Sergeant Wiggins running from their homes in Islington to the countryside in Devon and to London as they try to figure out if the deaths were accidental or not. And, if they are connected.

Scotland Yard Inspector Richard Jury investigates the bizarre murder of an unidentified woman in a tiny English seaside village

Inspector Jury meets an intersting woman but then she turns up dead and he must find out who killed her.

Three women die of ostensibly unsuspicious, unrelated deaths. But when Chief Superintendent Richard Jury joins forces with Divisional Commander Brian Macalvie and amateur sleuth Melrose Plant, they discover a more sinister connection. A link between the women takes Jury all the way to Santa Fe.

Internationally acclaimed Martha Grimes once again turns her hand to crafting a story of such rich atmosphere and intricate suspense that she transports the reader to a world unlike any other. — A once-fashionable, now fading resort hotel. A spinster Aunt living in an attic. Dirt roads that lead to dead ends. A house full of secrets and old, dusty furnishings, uninhabited for almost half a century. A twelve-year-old girl with a passion for double-chocolate ice-cream sodas, and decaying lake-fronts, and an obsession with the death by drowning of another young girl, forty years before. Like all important events in the past, there are repercussions and ramifications in the present. In the world as seen by Martha Grimes, those repercussions simmer and seethe and wind their way through hearts and souls. The ramifications can be subtle. Or exhilarating. Passionate. And they can also be deadly. Hotel Paradise is a delicate yet excruciating view of the pettiness and cruelty of small town America. It is a look at the difficult decisions a young girl must make on her way to becoming an adult and the choices she must make between right and wrong, between love and truth, between life and death. It is a novel with extraordinary range and depth that ultimately becomes a thrilling morality play.

When Melrose Plant finds the body of faithless, greedy Simon Lean, there's no shortage of suspects. Richard Jury's enquiries stir up a hornet's nest in the stately home where Simon met his end. With another murder in London's Docklands, the killer always seems to be one step ahead of Jury.

For waitress and cub reporter Emma Graham, tragedy defines where she lives. Spirit Lake, La Porte, and Lake Noir have been held in thrall by intertwined crimes: the murders of Mary-Evelyn Devereau, Rose Queen, and Fern Queen; the supposed kidnapping of a four-month-old baby from the Belle Ruin hotel twenty years previously; and, most recently, the attack on Emma. And with the arrival of an unexpected visitor and a drifter, it looks like the bad times have only begun...

A severed finger found at the scene of a baffling murder in the village of Littlebourne leads local constables on what seems like a wild goose chase. But Richard Jury prefers to take the less traveled route to a slightly disreputable pub, where drinks all around loosen tongues and provide clues galore.

Stratford-upon-Avon is more renowned for its Shakespeare than its slaughter. The Dirty Duck pub had enjoyed a blameless reputation until an American tourist took her last drink there before being murdered, and Superintendent Richard Jury finds himself at the centre of the hunt for the killer.

Set in the world of publishing, this sequel to Foul Matter delivers a sharp satire filled with humor and wit. It explores the absurdities of the industry, presenting a cast of engaging characters and a plot that intertwines comic elements with caustic observations. Critics have praised its relentless readability, making it a must-read for fans of clever storytelling and industry critique.

Richard Jury is still dealing with the guilt of the accident that sent Lu Aquilar into a coma. But then he gets assigned the case of a beautiful woman who was murdered on the grounds of a pub called the Black Cat. And the only witness is a black cat. The woman is unidentifiable-but Jury is going to see that the person responsible is known to all...

All roads don't lead to the village of Ashdown Dean. The one that did led writer Polly Praed right to the police station...to be questioned about a corpse. Poor Polly admitted to opening the phone booth door, but the dead woman had fallen out quite on her own. Now Polly needed to phone again - to call Melrose Plant and Scotland Yard's RIchard Jury for help. For something was rotten in Ashdown Dean. Pets were missing. Some had been found dead.

Detective Richard Jury is back in the 16th novel in Martha Grimes' extraordinary New York Times bestselling series--now enmeshed in a series of strange crimes and disappearances, and an age-old tragedy that consumes his sidekick Melrose Plant....

A young friend pulls Scotland Yard’s Richard Jury into the life—and death—of a wealthy bachelor. The once-charismatic Billy Maples was last seen in a club named Dust, before his murder in a trendy London hotel. Proving as inscrutable, and challenging, to Jury as the case is the beautiful chief inspecting officer. Before his death, Maples was a patron of London’s finest art galleries and caretaker of author Henry James’s house in Rye. It’s there where Jury installs Melrose Plant, who takes his job to heart, as Jury closes in on the dark secrets behind Maples’s friends and family. “Delightful, surprising, even magical.”—The Washington Post “A clever story with a profound twist…the latest hypnotically compelling work of an author who continues to surprise with every book.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch

Superintendent Richard Jury investigates the death of Roger Healy at the Old Silent Inn, an investigation hampered by the silence of the dead man's wife.

Most summer evenings when she's finished work, Maud Chadwick sits at the end of the pier. Sometimes she is joined by Sheriff Sam DeGheyn who finds in her quiet company a refuge from his marriage problems. But the sleepy town's atmosphere is deceptive. Three local women have been murdered.

In The Old Success, the twenty-fifth mystery in the bestselling Richard Jury series by crime writing legend Martha Grimes, an unlikely trio of detectives teams up to solve three puzzling murders on the coast of Cornwall.

Escaping into the nearby mountains from the mysterious man who had abducted her, a young amnesiac joins forces with fourteen-year-old Mary Dark Hope to find and confront the evil man she calls "Daddy"--before he can find her first. 50,000 first printing. Lit Guild Alt. Mystery Guild Main. Tour.

The bestselling author of the Richard Jury novels delivers a razor-sharp and raucously funny send-up of the cutthroat world of publishing. And the praise is pouring "A hilarious and wicked caper-adventure on the evils of the book business."— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "Does laughing uncontrollably on a subway train constitute legitimate literary criticism? If it does, then Foul Matter ...gets a great review from me." — New York Times Book Review "She can kick literary butt—in more ways than one." — USA Today

From the bestselling author of "The Old Contemptibles" -- the latest Inspector Richard Jury mystery. An intriguing web of murder and mayhem. A woman's body is discovered amidst the ancient Roman ruins of Old Sarum -- the apparent victim of an accidental fall. In the Tate Gallery in London, an elderly woman keels over -- from a supposed heart attack -- while studying a painting. At Exeter Cathedral, a third woman is found dead from "natural causes." But in Martha Grimes' bestselling novels -- and in the world inhabited by Scotland Yard Superintendent Richard Jury -- there are no natural causes. Is there a link between these three women? Of course. And Jury is the one who sorts it out. The link is Santa Fe, New Mexico, which all three women had visited before their untimely deaths. So Jury is off to the States where, amidst the turquoise jewelry and cappuccinos, he searches for and finds an astonishing web of jealousy and murder. With its clever plotting, delicious atmosphere and a cast of wonderfully eccentric characters, "Rainbow's End" will satisfy all of Martha Grimes' many existing fans -- and bring her many new ones.

A sudden murder in an English village pub sets off the twenty-sixth novel in the bestselling series starring superintendent Richard Jury, from bestselling author Martha Grimes, still "one of the most fascinating mystery writers today" (Houston Chronicle) One calm night in Twickenham, a businessman named Tom Treadnor is shot off his barstool at The Queen pub. Superintendent Richard Jury is called in to investigate, and quickly realizes that everyone in Treadnor's life - from his widow, Alice, to the staff at his manor, to his business partner had differing opinions of him. And to complicate things further, Jury has just happened upon a photo in a newspaper of a man in the United States, who is a dead ringer for Treadnor. Meanwhile, Wiggins, Jury's partner at New Scotland Yard, becomes sidetracked by an investigation of his own: His sister, missing for years and presumed dead, has just sent a postcard to their mother. When Wiggins takes off in search of his sister, the two investigations begin to converge. Funny, eccentric, and fueled by Richard Jury's talent for seeing clues in the most unlikely places, The Red Queen is a welcome return to a classic character and an exciting addition to a series that has been called "delightful, surprising, even magical" (Washington Post).

Roman criminel anglais traditionnel tant par les protagonistes, efficaces et possédant le sens de l'humour, que par le décor rural du Devon et des rumeurs.

Kniha obsahuje tři příběhy : 1. U muže s nákladem zla – přeložila Zora Wolfová. 2. U léčivého náhrdelníku – přeložila Zuzana Ceplová. 3. Pomoc v nouzi – přeložila Jana Koubová. Verše v „U muže s nákladem zla“ přeložili E. A. Saudek a Hana Žantovská. Doslov „Magická Anglie“ napsala Alena Hartmanová. Vydání první... celý text

Inspektor Jury spielt DominoDas Fischerdörfchen Rackmoor liegt in britischem Nebel und ist der Karnevalsstimmung so feuchtfröhlich nahe, wie es in England nur möglich ist, als eine auffällig kostümierte schöne Unbekannte ermordet aufgefunden wird. Wieder einmal erhält Inspektor Jury von Scotland Yard den Auftrag, schleunigst aus London abzureisen und seinen geschulten Blick in der Provinz umherschweifen zu lassen – auf der Suche nach etwas, was es im respektablen, auf Jagd, Nebel und wärmende Getränke eingeschworenen Rackmoor nicht geben dürfte: einen Mörder. Oder vielleicht eine Mörderin? Inspektor Jury küßt die MuseEs ist Hochsaison im Shakespeare-Städtchen Stratford-upon-Avon. Wie unangenehm, daß gerade jetzt eine reiche Amerikanerin ermordet wird. Und die Touristen-Gruppe lichtet sich weiter. Der Mörder hinterläßt bei seinen Opfern einen Zettel mit je zwei Zeilen eines elisabethanischen Gedichts, und das hat viele Strophen! Inspektor Jury zieht einen schrulligen Literaturprofessor hinzu.

Inspektor Jury ermittelt in einem idyllischen Dorf, wo Haustiere und schließlich auch Menschen sterben. Ein Zusammenhang mit einem Tierlabor und das seltsame Verhalten der Baronin stellen Fragen auf. Im zweiten Fall muss Jury in Südengland grausame Kindermorde aufklären, um das Leben der kleinen Jessica zu retten.

Zwei Fälle für Inspektor Jury „Jury besucht alte Damen“: Der Antiquitätenhändler Marshall Trueblood ist fassungslos: In einem wunderschönen antiken Sekretär entdeckt er eine sorgfältig zerlegte Leiche. Inspektor Jury eilt an den Ort des grausigen Fundes, ein herrschaftliches Anwesen auf dem Land. Und an diesem scheinbar so friedlichen Ort sticht er mit seinen Ermittlungen in ein wahres Wespennest. „Fremde Federn“: Inspektor Jury hat einen geheimnisvollen Todesfall in den USA aufzuklären: Eine ermordete Studentin am Grab Edgar Allan Poes - welche tödlichen Verstrickungen stecken hinter dem lange verschollenen Manuskript des Dichters? Jury und seine Freunde ermitteln auf Hochtouren, denn die Zeit drängt: Dies war nicht der erste Todesfall dieser Art, und der nächste scheint unausweichlich.

Best of Grimes’ CrimesZwei gruselige Morde erschüttern in „Inspektor Jury schläft außer Haus“ das winterliche Long Piddleton – der Inspektor ermittelt in seinem ersten Fall. In „Inspektor Jury spielt Domino“ stört die Leiche einer auffällig kostümierten, schönen Unbekannten die feuchtfröhliche Stimmung im Fischerdörfchen Rackmoor, und in „Inspektor Jury sucht den Kensington-Smaragd“ wird ein kostbares Halsband der ahnungslosen Katie zum Verhängnis. Doch nicht nur ihr …„Wärme, Humor, ein großartiger Stil und darüber hinaus noch eine überzeugende Handlung, die nichts zu wünschen übrig lässt: Martha Grimes hat alles im Griff … in bester englischer Tradition.“ (Kirkus Reviews)Die ersten drei Inspektor-Jury-Romane in einem Band

Een intelligente en erudiete inspecteur van Scotland Yard wordt belast met het onderzoek naar enkele herbergmoorden in een dorpje.

Werner Schmitz ist seit 1981 als Übersetzer tätig und hat Werke von Autoren wie Malcolm Lowry und Ernest Hemingway übersetzt. Er erhielt 2011 den Heinrich Maria Ledig-Rowohlt-Preis und lebt in der Lüneburger Heide. Martha Grimes, geboren in Pittsburgh, gilt als eine der führenden Stimmen im Kriminalroman. Nach ihrem Englischstudium unterrichtete sie Kreatives Schreiben und erlangte mit ihren Inspector-Jury-Romanen internationalen Ruhm. 2012 wurde sie von den "Mystery Writers of America" als "Grand Master" ausgezeichnet und lebt in Washington und Santa Fe. Janwillem van de Wetering wurde 1931 in Rotterdam geboren und lebte in Südafrika, wo er verschiedene Berufe ausübte und Mitglied einer Motorradgang war. Nach einem kurzen Philosophiestudium in London widmete er sich der Zen-Lehre in Japan. 1974 begann er mit seiner Krimireihe um die Polizeibeamten Grijpstra und de Gier, die international Anerkennung fand. Van de Wetering lebte später in den USA und verstarb 2008. Hansjörg Martin (1920–1999) war zunächst Maler und arbeitete nach dem Krieg als Clown und Dramaturg, bevor er freier Schriftsteller wurde. Paul Auster, geboren 1947 in Newark, ist bekannt für seine Romane und Essays, die vielfach ausgezeichnet wurden.

Mysteriöse Ereignisse überschatten die ländliche Idylle von Little Puddley: Die junge Lady Madrigal du Bois verletzt sich beinahe tödlich bei einem Sturz vom hohen Roß; die alte Lady Whitsun nimmt ihren Tee versehentlich mit Milch und Zyankali. Nachts huscht eine geheimnisvolle Gestalt übers neblige Moor. Scotland Yard schickt seinen besten Mann: Inspektor Modergard. Doch das Meucheln hört nicht auf. Steckt am Ende der Inspektor selbst dahinter ? Mit diesem in jeder Hinsicht außergewöhnlichen Buch präsentiert sich die Kriminalautorin Martha Grimes als Meisterin ihres Fachs, die ebenso souverän wie verschmitzt mit sämtlichen Varianten des Genres spielt.

Deutsch von Baum, Susanne ; Mill, Maria. 653 S.

Martha Grimes im Doppelpack „Der Zug fährt ab“: Auch in dieser Erzählung führt eine junge Frau ein zurückgezogenes Leben. Nur hin und wieder trifft sie ihren einzigen Freund, einen Reiseschriftsteller. Doch wer ist dieser Flüchtige wirklich, der ihr immer mehr Rätsel aufgibt?

Sex and Grimes. Niemand mordet britischer Superintendent Richard Jury von der Londoner Metropolitan Police ist wenig erbaut, als er zu einem Tatort gerufen wird, der eigentlich gar nicht in seinem Zuständigkeitsbereich liegt: In dem kleinen Städtchen Chesham wurde eine junge Frau in einem Designerkleid und mit erlesenen Jimmy-Choo-Sandalen an den Füßen ermordet aufgefunden. Erschossen. Auf der Terrasse des Dorfpubs. Und es gibt keine Zeugen. Außer vielleicht der schwarzen Katze des gleichnamigen Pubs. Aber diese schweigt sich aus und verschwindet schließlich ganz. Ohne Zeugen, ohne konkrete Hinweise und ohne die Identität der Toten zu kennen, muss Jury sich allein auf sein feines Gespür verlassen. Vor allem als eine zweite junge Frau tot aufgefunden wird, auch sie exquisit gekleidet und beschuht, und es scheinbar keine Verbindung zum ersten Opfer gibt. Würden Sie für High Heels töten? Ein neuer tierisch spannender Fall für Inspector Jury! Extra dry, spannend und very british.

467pages. poche. Broché.

Martha Grimes gilt vielen als «der unumstrittene Star des Kriminalromans» (Newsweek). Sie wurde in Pittsburgh, USA, geboren und studierte Englisch an der University of Maryland. Lange Zeit unterrichtete sie Kreatives Schreiben an der Johns Hopkins University. Mit ihren Inspector-Jury-Romanen – laut Patricia Cornwell «reine Poesie» – erlangte sie internationalen Ruhm. 2012 wurde Grimes von den «Mystery Writers of America» als «Grand Master» ausgezeichnet. Sie lebt in Washington und in Santa Fe.

Inspektor Jury sucht den Kennington-Smaragd Lord Kennington wurde aus seiner Juwelensammlung ein kostbares Halsband mit ägyptischem Smaragd gestohlen. Das wird der ahnungslosen sechzehnjährigen Katie zum Verhängnis – und nicht nur ihr. Inspektor Jury bricht das Eis Im verschneiten Dörfchen Washington trifft Inspektor Jury von Scotland Yard eine schöne Frau, in die er sich verlieben könnte. Tags darauf ist sie tot – vergiftet. Zwei Tage später wird ganz in der Nähe eine weitere Frau hinterrücks erschossen – ausgerechnet auf Spinney Abbey, wo Jurys vornehmer Freund und Adlatus Melrose Plant im illustren Kreis von Adligen, Künstlern und Kritikern geruhsam Weihnachten feiern will. Die beiden stehen vor einem Rätsel. Erst als zum feierlichen Dinner ein vergifteter Drink gereicht wird, ziehen sie ihre messerscharfen Schlüsse.

In Lincolnshire, umgeben von einer malerischen Nordseelandschaft, wird die Idylle durch zwei Morde erschüttert. Hauptverdächtige ist Lady Kennington, die am Abend des Verbrechens einen heftigen Streit mit einem der Opfer hatte. Verzweifelt bittet sie ihren Freund Inspector Jury um Hilfe. Während er versucht, seine heimliche Liebe zu verteidigen, häufen sich die belastenden Beweise, und die Angeklagte bleibt stumm. Jury beginnt, an ihrer Schuld zu zweifeln. In London wird Jury in einem Doppeldeckerbus von einer attraktiven blonden Frau angezogen, die er bis zum Fulham Park verfolgt, wo er ihre Spur verliert. Am nächsten Tag wird die Leiche einer Frau im Pelzmantel entdeckt, die aus nächster Nähe erschossen wurde. Zunächst glaubt Jury, es handele sich um die Frau aus dem Bus, doch bald kommen ihm Zweifel. Als er die vermeintlich Tote wieder trifft, wird die Situation noch verwirrender. Die Frau bestreitet, im Park gewesen zu sein, und die Identität der mysteriösen Doppelgängerin bleibt unklar. Ein Zobelmantel wird zum ersten Hinweis, der zu einer angesehenen Galeristenfamilie führt. Jurys Freund Melrose Plant, ein kunstsinniger Kenner, wird in die Ermittlungen einbezogen. Die beiden Freunde stehen vor einem der kompliziertesten Kriminalfälle, dessen Spuren bis nach Russland führen.

Vor der 12-jährigen Emma Graham ist kein Mörder sicher. Die 12-jährige Emma Graham lässt sich durch nichts so leicht erschüttern, nicht einmal durch die schrecklichen Verbrechen, die sich in ihrem Heimatort La Porte ereignet haben: die Morde an Mary-Evelyn Deverau, Rose Queen und Fern Queen sowie die Entführung eines erst wenige Monate alten Babys. Vielmehr ist dadurch erst die Neugier der Hobby-Detektivin geweckt. Sie macht sich daran herauszufinden, was vor 20 Jahren im Luxushotel „Belle Rouen“ geschehen ist, als das Baby verschwand. Dass ausgerechnet jetzt der Vater des Kindes nach La Porte zurückkehrt, kommt ihr gerade recht. Und dann ist da noch der mysteriöse Ralph Diggs, der im Hotel ihrer Mutter anheuert. Vielleicht ist sein plötzliches Auftauchen doch kein Zufall? Emma wird der Sache auf den Grund gehen, und wenn sie sich dabei selbst in Gefahr bringen muss …