weird mystery with thinking dog, tale told to Jury before murder and more fey children, disappointing

I enjoy Martha Grimes' mysteries up to a point. I get tired of hearing about the same large group of people who live in the same little village, along with all of their quirks (her regular cast of characters). It's just too much and too cute. I like it when Richard Jury does most of the work, with a little help from friend Melrose Plant. I don't like "cozy" mysteries, and these often get into that category.

This one does involve a number of villagers peripherally. Not a whole lot, fortunately. More than I'd like, of course.

The story is a bit different. Jury is on light duty following a heroic action that put him in hot water. Thus he finds his way into a wine bar - wine pub - and meets another patron, Harry Johnson. Johnson chooses to tall Jury a story that "has no end". The basic story is about a married woman, who, with her young son and dog, visit two houses in the country, because she is interested in buying property there. Some time during that afternoon the three of them disappear. But then, months later, the dog returns.

Johnson is stuck on the dog returning, and it certainly is a point of interest for Jury. Jury has not identified himself as a representative of Scotland Yard, and he, after listening to the ever-expanding tale night after night, decides to do a little investigating on his own. If only to decide if Johnson is "having him on". He meets the realtor, talks to the people in the first house, visits the second house, where he meets a little girl who sneaks in sometimes from a neighboring location, and even visits a psychiatric clinic, where the woman's husband has voluntarily signed on. The story seems odd but the elements are starting to look like they are true.

With a little more digging, Jury, with help from Plant, goes farther, investigating the owner of the second property, who lives in Italy.

He even does some reading, into Quantum theory and superstrong theory, given that this is a field of interest for Johnson as well as for Hugh, the husband of the missing woman. Harry suggests that Hugh thinks that his wife and son stepped into another dimension.

All intrigue until a body is found. Then the local police are involved, but they are happy to include Jury, who couldn't let it go anyway.

A curious puzzle with an interesting ending that made me wonder. ( )

I've enjoyed the other Martha Grimes books I've read, but this one was disappointing - disjointed and boring. ( )

Richard Jury hanging in the Old Wine Shades encounters Harry Johnson who spins an unbelievable tale of the disappearance of Hugh Gault's wife, son and dog. 9 months later the dog comes back. What happened? Jury is driven to find out the answer, but when he does, he's not happy. An OK Richard Jury novel, but the last couple of novels have not pleased me as much as the previous ones have. ( )

Grimes has a nice voice, with well-developed characters and an interesting story line that somehow goes astray.

A man sits next to Richard Jury in The Old Wine Shades, a local wine bar, and proceeds to tell him a fantastical story about the disappearance of a mother, son and dog, with the father so upset he closets himself into a sanitarium. Then, according to the man's story, after nine months the dog comes back.
Jury, on a kind of supersuspension, uses his personal time to follow up on the story and even encourages friends from his club, Borings, to postulate different scenarios.
Grimes uses a few unusual gimmicks and a denouement that may not satisfy all, but shows she is a competent storyteller willing to take some chances. ( )