The Anodyne Necklace

situational-humor, verbal-humor, law-enforcement, murder-investigation, friendship

Despite some of the aspects of the murders and attempted murder, some of the characters are the wackiest I've seen in a while! Of course there are dastardly ones, and the two coppers along with some of their friends, but it's the locals who will have you laughing yourself silly. Very enjoyable!
Steve West narrates it all without cracking up.

3rd in the Richard Jury series.

Recently promoted to superintendent over the ineffectual obstructiveness of Chief Superintendent Racer, Richard Jury is once again called out of rota by the malicious Racer and sent to Littlebourne to investigate a gruesome murder/mutilation.

A young woman has been murdered at night in Horndean Wood and the fingers of one hand cut off. A stranger to Littlebourne, no one can understand what she was doing at that time in that place. Seemingly coincidentally, another young woman--the daughter of the local pub's owner--was brutally assaulted earlier, playing her violin as a busker at the Wembly Knott Underground station in London's East End; she lies in a coma in a hospital. Adding to the unlikely activity in a show more small country village, there have been a rash of poison pen letters addressed to some of Littlebourne's more prominent citizens.

Meanwhile, by dint of low cunning, Melrose Plant ditches his aunt at Ardry End and joins Jury at the latter's request in Littlebourne. As the designator assessor of the local residents, Melrose poses as a prospective buyer of Stonington, a large manor up for sale by the widow of the late owner, Lord Kennington. The previous year, Lord Kennington's secretary, Trevor Tree, stole a very valuable emerald necklace belonging to Jenny Kennington. It was never recovered, the thief having been accidentally killed from being hit by a car in London.

As is usual in this series, The Anodyne Necklace sparkles due to its cast of characters, which includes the much-loathed landed gentry, Sir Miles Bodenheim and the rest of his obnoxious family; the Craigie sisters; the introduction of Polly Praed, local trash mystery writer and others. But alone worth the price of the book is the Cripps family of Catchcoach St. in London's East End: Ash (the Flasher) Cripps, his wife White Ellie (short for Elephant), and their brood of criminals-in-the-making, including (but not restricted to) Sookey, Joey, and Friendly who is a bit too much of a chip off the old block. The initial description of Jury and Wiggen's encounter with the Cripps' home and the family is a hysterically funny piece of writing. The kitchen:

"...was the dirtiest scullery Jury had ever seen. Crusted dishes, spent crockery and pockmarked pots covered every surface. Icicles of grease hung from the cooker. Wiggens stared in perverse fascination at a frying pan which held an inch of hardened lard."

White Ellie herself is one of literature's more memorable creations.

Melrose's visit to Catchcoach St. in his Rolls Royce Silver Shadow and his back-up plan for preserving the integrity of his car are worthy additions to the theories of child-rearing.

To offset the Cripps offspring, there is, in Littlebourne, Emily Louise Perk, another of Grimes' bright young children who are integral to teh solving of the mystery.

The titles of the books in this series are the names of pubs and inns, and the Andoyne Necklace is no exception. Not only does it play a crucial part in the plot, the history of the real Anodyne Necklace is fascinating in itself.

The plot is good, the climax satisfying, but the characters are so much better.

Grimesism: "Her [Sylvia Bodenheim] eyes were the color of fungi one was always afraid of picking in the woods."

Highly recommended if only for the Cripps family. show less

I enjoyed this tremendously. The English Country Village cast was well desribed, and Emily Louise Perk is a brilliant creation. Despite the wondrous names I found the Cripps family and their abode a little too Dickensian. Perhaps Martha Grimes was inspirted by 'Shameless', but it just didn't ring true and fit well with the rest of the book. Still a cracking good read. Curiously I was led to this book by a marginal reference to the Anodyne Nacklace (the device, not the pub) in Goldsmith's The Vicara of Wakefield. I googled it, and ended up with my first Martha Grimes novel Not my last, I can say for a certainty! Good on yer google.
I came a cross a pub names 'The Blood Tub' yesterday. There were three of them in lancashire. Has Martha show more Grimes taken on that name yet? show less

An English mystery by Martha Grimes presents an entertaining glimpse into London and the surrounding towns and villages. I enjoy Richard Jury and Melrose Plant as a counterpoint of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson. Instead of the stories unfolding from the writing of Doctor Watson, a detached narrator presents the story in Martha Grimes, The Anodyne Necklace. I enjoy the style variation from these two writers. Grimes, like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, likes all the details of setting and character, which enhances the story. This is an earlier book in the Richard Jury series and Grimes is still experimenting with her style. The relationship among characters borders on simplicity, with no character plunging into emotional waters.

Another well-written installment in this series which has yet to disappoint. Inspector Jury is called to the village of Littlebourne to investigate a body in a marshy wood. He invites his friend, amateur sleuth Melrose Plant to accompany him. Four seemingly unconnected events must have a deeper meaning, and Jury and Plant investigate.

The settings and characters are believably drawn here. The treasure map included was ingenious. And I was kept guessing, and guessed wrong, right up to the end.

A big improvement over book #1 (my having skipped #2 because it was not yet ready at the library). Still no Flavia de Luce or Enola Holmes but, I'll stick with it for the time being.

Knowing that Martha Grimes is American, is in fact from the city in which I live, might have led me to perceive very clear "American-ness" in the first of this series. I noticed it less here, except when someone said, "wait a tic," which I believe for a true Subject of the King (or I guess Queen, at the time of publication) would be written as "wait a tick."

Superintendent Richard Jury is called from London once again to investigate a crime in the country - an unidentified woman is found murdered with her fingers chopped off. Simultaneously, a young girl, Katie O'Brien, playing her violin for money in London's Wembly Cross is coshed in the skull, leaving her in a coma. Connection: the town Katie is from - Littlebourne - is the town that Cora Binns is murdered in. Richard Jury and Wiggins investigate while Melrose Plant gets to know the locals and aids in solving the case.

Each Grimes novel I've read features roles for small children, and this one is no exception. Miss Emily Perk is a 10 year old who sees and knows everything that occurs locally and aids both Melrose and Jury with Katie's show more "treasure map".

Another excellent, quick read. show less