Memphis Reads Archive

Do you love a good mystery? If so, you probably have a favorite detective: Kinsey Millhone, Spenser, or Agatha Raisin? Perhaps you prefer Brother Cadfael, Easy Rawlins or Stephanie Plum?

Many readers follow Scotland Yard Detective Supt. Richard Jury. He appears again in THE OLD WINE SHADES, Martha Grimes' recently published novel. At the wine shop of the same name, (the previous 19 books in the series were named for English pubs), Jury meets Harry Johnson, a man with an interesting story to tell. Johnson has a friend whose wife, son, and dog disappeared while shopping for houses in the countryside. Nine months later only the dog returns home. Of course, the police suspect Johnson's friend. Jury is intrigued by the mystery and decides to investigate.

Martha Grimes is an American (born in Pittsburgh in 1931) who often travels to England to research her Jury mysteries. She must assume that her readers will follow the series in sequence because THE OLD WINE SHADES contains little background information about Richard Jury, his friend Melrose Plant or numerous other recurring characters. I did not find a good summary of Jury's fictional career on the Internet. At the library, however, there is an excellent account in Great Women Mystery Writers edited by Kathleen Gregory Klein. You may be disappointed to learn that this resource is a reference book (i.e., it cannot be checked out from the library). But, it is a part of a larger collection of materials gathered to help you find that next perfect novel. Explore the READER'S CENTERS at Bartlett, Cordova, Poplar-White Station and Raleigh branches and the Humanities Department of the Benjamin Hooks Central Library.

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For your consideration:

• Which series of mystery novels have retained their freshness as new books have been published?


• Which have grown stale?


• Who are you favorite mystery writers?

Doris Dixon, Raleigh Branch Library

Labels: Mystery, Reviews by Doris Dixon