Belle Ruin

I was frustrated with this novel because it is clearly a continuation of a series and I had a hard time following the cast of characters. I'm also not a huge fan of children detectives and although Emma is rather endearing as far as kids go, it does limit the plot.
This said there were many things I liked too: the writing was fantastic. I loved how the Belle Rouen was a character in itself, evoking nostalgia and mystery. The small town feel and dynamics were very well portrayed, and since I love food almost as much as Emma does, the descriptions of food and drink was entertaining.
I probably would have enjoyed it if I had read it in the proper order.

"People are always saying my stories have too many details..." states Grimes' character Emma Graham. This is the complaint many had about the last two books in this series, so possibly she was listening. Unfortunately the other common complaint, that the mysteries are never really resolved, went unheeded. Though this is the "last" book in the series, still no wrap-up or catharsis was reached. If you are a person who really needs for plots to come to a conclusion, and doesn't like ambiguous endings, this series is not for you. However, if you like a meandering, dreamlike story which is more about the journey than the destination. you will adore this book.
Emma is a genuine 12-year-old, sometimes bratty, often childish, ultimately show more likable. She goes off "investigating" on her own more than I would be comfortable with, but judging by some of the context this was the early 1940's, so possibly a less dangerous time to be an unaccompanied kid showing up at the houses of people whom she's never met in order to ask them about events taking place decades before she was born. The other supporting characters are pleasantly quirky and have interesting ways of relating to Emma, either as assets to her investigation or foils for her character.
The description of the play her brother and his friend convince her to take part in were much more entertaining than the descriptions of her imaginary vacation in the last book. That was an improvement.
The series as a whole, I feel needs at least one more volume. As I am a person who likes a good conclusion and that ending was just too ambiguous for me. show less

I have enjoyed the previous books in this series and this one had the same quirky characters and engaging narrator. But, the ending left me cold and wondering if Grimes was preparing us for another volume?

This was a good story but I felt like I was left hanging at the end. Maybe that is how we are supposed to feel. Not all of life's questions are answered.
It is an amusing tale of a 12 year old girl who lives with her mother and brother in a hotel. She is supposed to help wait on tables during the meals but often goes off sleuthing on her own. She gets interested in an old mystery of a kidnapped baby that happened at the Belle Ruin Hotel. Nothing is ever decided although she does have many interesting theories. But we are really left hanging. I enjoy Martha Grimes and her Richard Jury books so much more.

My husband picked this up for me when I said "anything by Martha Grimes", me being completely unaware that she'd written books about any character other than Superintendent Richard Jury of Scotland Yard. This book is the second in a series about a 12 year old girl whose family owns and lives in a hotel somewhere in the non-specific southern region of the US. The book seems to expect the reader to have read the first book and is constantly referring back to events in that book without much detail so you're left in the dark as to what they're talking about. The girl works as a waitress in the hotel and spends much of her time being cruel to one of the elderly residents by putting hot peppers in her food and thinking it's funny. This book show more centers on the kidnapping of a baby that occurred more than 20 years prior and basically ends with no resolution whatsoever. I disliked the girl and I can't believe I wasted my time on this book. show less

If you like descriptions of food, inspirations for mixed drinks, the first-person musings of a precocious 12-year-old and indefinite suspense, you will like this book. Belle Ruin is about Emma, who is trying to solve the mystery of a 20-year-old kidnapping that happened near her hometown and that she believes is tied to an earlier mystery she also found herself involved in.

If you like resolution to your mystery novels, however, this one will disappoint.

I listened to this in its audiobook version and I was impressed with the variety of voices the narrator, a child herself, had in her repertoire.

Nothing really happens in this book, but in a charming way.