Rainbow's End

An American woman is found dead in the bottom of a garderobe (privy) at Old Saram. A second woman dies in Exeter Cathedral while looking at some hand embroidered cushions. Jury meets up with Commander Macalvie, who feels there may be a connection between the two women and wants Jury to go to New Mexico and check it out. Jury is hesitant, but is also at loose ends for something to do.

The American is from New Mexico and the Exeter woman had recently visited New Mexico. A third person is a woman who keeled over at the Tate Gallery, collapsing next to a young couple, engaged in a display of intense affection in public. This death occurred a while back and Jury had been at the Tate at the time. Macalvie has found out that woman had also been show more in New Mexico and met up with the Exeter woman in Santa Fe, the town the American woman was from. All three deaths are initially determined to be a result of a coronary event. Macalvie is convinced it isn’t coincidental, but that it is murder.

Jury finds himself on the way to New Mexico to investigate. Upon arrival he meets the thirteen year old younger sister of the Old Sarum death. She is a serious and brooding girl who has a coyote for a pet. Jury also meets an assortment of local character while trying to tie the three deaths together. Meanwhile, Melrose Plant handles investigating in London and surrounds to find more pieces to the puzzle.

Jury is also facing moments and memories of his young years and the loss of his parents during the bombings; flashbacks to before and after the events and how his live had drastically changed. He is also trying to quit smoking.

There are quite a number of threads that require sorting before the connections can be made. I enjoy the fact that it takes a bit and isn’t a slam dunk solution. show less

Number 13 in the Richard Jury series.

The ineffable District Commander Brain Macalvie once again pops into Richard Jury’s life with his usual disruptive effect, insisting that Jury assist him in solving what seem to be two totally unrelated murder cases whose only potential connection might be visits to New Mexico. Oddly enough, the death of Lady Cray’s close friend, judged to be of natural causes, also could be related in some way, since she, too, has connections to a trip to New Mexico. Protesting all the way, Jury finds himself on a trip to Santa Fe.

In her last book (The Horse You Came In On) and this, Grimes uses clever plot devices to land Jury in the US, where she can indulge her affection for and interest in various sections show more of the country. This time it’s Santa Fe, whose desert silence and mysteries, such as the Anasazi ruins at Mesa Verde, are punctuated with the tourist attractions of the craft shops in Santa Fe itself. Back in form, there is a precocious child, a 13 year old girl, whose self-sufficiency and endearing quirkiness (Mary has a pet coyote)is standard Grimes, and who is not only central to the story but takes part in the exciting climax.

But the Merrye Olde England of Melrose Plant and Detective Sgt. Alfred Wiggins is far from neglected. Wiggins has landed himself “in hospital” with romantic results. Melrose finds himself alternately playing comforter to Wiggins and assistant detective for Jury as he follows London leads for Jury. Fans of the Cripps family will be delighted to know that Ash and White Elephant with all their brood do not disappoint in their latest appearance; Cyril the Cat shines in yet another installment in his war with Chief Superintendent Racer. The humor never stops.

Martha Grimes has delivered an excellent book, with a good plot and outstanding contributions from her stable of recurring characters. Highly recommended. show less

Rainbow’s End provided many interesting aspects but went too far with multiple characters and extreme detail and exposition. Many of the scenes and characters could have been omitted from this story, as the narrative droned like a litany. In this installation, every past character appears in a scene or two. Sergeant Wiggins enters the hospital due to receiving an electrical shock. In the hospital, Wiggins practically solves the murder of three women, but it takes almost 400 pages for the case to be closed. Another aspect falls in the realm of a young girl that aids Richard Jury with the case. At the end of the novel, the young girl exits the stage without her future determined. I do not like open ended stories. I want to know all the show more answers, which does not happen in a Richard Jury novel. show less

#13 in the Richard Jury and Melrose Plant mysteries, greatly enjoyed this one as Grimes seems to get back on track again. Jury is off to America again, this time to Santa Fe, NM to investigate a possible connection between three women who died in the UK—one of them being a woman who died in a previous book. Brian Macalvie makes a return appearance in order to get Jury involved in the case, acting on one of Macalvie’s infamous hunches, though the connection between the dead women seems tenuous at best. This book also involves a couple of delightful visits with the Cripps family from a previous book, which I found most enjoyable, even Piddlin’ Pete. ::grin:: While I picked out the bad guy in advance, I didn’t really know how or show more why the crime was done at first, just instinct told me who it was. Very much enjoyed this visit with the whole gang, from Long Pidd to London all the way to Santa Fe. show less

Interesting. Not a lot of Plant but what there is is well done and almost no Long Piddleton fauna (which means only a few Agatha scene), the return of my favourite on and off recurring character Inspector Macalvie. Jury is heading out to the US again. Two books in a row. The trip is better than the first one which was boring, Wiggins is hospitalized (I think he electrocuted himself but it's not clear), reads Josephine Tey novels and solves the mysterious number problem. We get a good child protagonist (unlike the last book), a somewhat esoteric murder mystery that turns out to be quite down to earth after all.

Not bad, better than the last one by far but not as good as I'm used to. Grimes puts Jury and company through the motions with show more little passion this time around. show less

Blah. The murder investigation was very interesting, but there was so much blather about Plant's and Jury's childhoods and Jury's trials of quitting cigarettes that it positively ruined the book.

From Exeter Cathedral to Santa Fe, New Mexico, Richard Jury is in pursuit of an elusive killer. I read this one a while ago and forgot to include it in my list of Richard Jury novels read, so I'm short on details but do recall that - as always - I enjoy the characters created by Martha Grimes and the story line, wherever it may take me.