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Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:Detective Richard Jury is back in the 16th novel in Martha Grimes' extraordinary New York Times bestselling series—now enmeshed in a series of strange crimes and disappearances, and an age-old tragedy that consumes his sidekick Melrose Plant....Tags
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Generous at 3-stars thankyouverymuch. The plot starts off in a dreamy mode, setting the atmosphere of a Cornwallian countryside and a vanishing old-fashioned aristocracy. This measured pace brings the characters forward very effectively.
By 2/3rds into the story, there developed a lot of reader-angst about what was going on with the characters. The writing did not continue in the previous mood-setting thoughtfulness, with the reader being allowed to live in the village atmosphere of Cornwall, old houses and tea rooms. The narrative was thoroughly disrupted by unamusing side stories about Vivian and associated characters from earlier books and her dithering about marriage. These intrusions seem unrelated to the murder mysteries. The main show more protagonist, Melrose Plant, lost his introspective persona as his boorish behaviour with Vivian's fiancé progressed.
The final killing was especially senseless, contributing meaningless grief, and nothing relevant to the plot. What with the narrative casting such a dark tone with the horrible fate of the children, I am not reading anymore Grimes' mysteries. show less
By 2/3rds into the story, there developed a lot of reader-angst about what was going on with the characters. The writing did not continue in the previous mood-setting thoughtfulness, with the reader being allowed to live in the village atmosphere of Cornwall, old houses and tea rooms. The narrative was thoroughly disrupted by unamusing side stories about Vivian and associated characters from earlier books and her dithering about marriage. These intrusions seem unrelated to the murder mysteries. The main show more protagonist, Melrose Plant, lost his introspective persona as his boorish behaviour with Vivian's fiancé progressed.
The final killing was especially senseless, contributing meaningless grief, and nothing relevant to the plot. What with the narrative casting such a dark tone with the horrible fate of the children, I am not reading anymore Grimes' mysteries. show less
I got through The Lamorna Wink, but it was slow going for a while. I learned a lot about Melrose Plant, and that should have been fascinating, but the book didn't take off for me until Jury showed up at about page 190! After that, I couldn't put it down.
I do think it was bleaker than it had to be - at least one death was, in my opinion, unnecessary to the solution. Again, I guessed both the motive and the murderer, complete with almost all the ins and outs, long before the participants did, but it was good to confirm my conclusions.
And lo and behold, the obligatory girl and dog never did show up. In the aftermath of the previous book in the series, Jury seems to have grown steelier about his own personal life, which is all to the good. show more I wish Melrose would just tell Agatha to stuff it occasionally, instead of being so noblesse oblige. Maybe that will come in the next installment, now that we know just how noblesse he really is. show less
I do think it was bleaker than it had to be - at least one death was, in my opinion, unnecessary to the solution. Again, I guessed both the motive and the murderer, complete with almost all the ins and outs, long before the participants did, but it was good to confirm my conclusions.
And lo and behold, the obligatory girl and dog never did show up. In the aftermath of the previous book in the series, Jury seems to have grown steelier about his own personal life, which is all to the good. show more I wish Melrose would just tell Agatha to stuff it occasionally, instead of being so noblesse oblige. Maybe that will come in the next installment, now that we know just how noblesse he really is. show less
This was the book that caused me to stop reading Martha Grimes books for decades; I had read them all up to that time. So horribly dark and disturbing, ugh. Will try the new 2019 one just because I like Cornwall, but somehow I can't see myself ever becoming an ongoing Grimes reader ever again, or ever wanting to read all the books I missed since 1999.
A good read. The rich bloke with the godawful aunt decided to go to Cornwall and lease an estate at the seaside, unfortunately the aunt followed him. But the good news is that she sort of stayed out of his hair and found a new friend. A local teen worried about his own aunt and her apparent disappearance and help arrived in the person of a brilliant but irascible detective. Things became very convoluted and the detective work kept getting more difficult along with the body count. Well worth the read!
Surprisingly short on Richard Jury (he is away in Northern Ireland), the Lamorna Wink featured Melrose Plant and Brian Macalvie working together to solve the disappearance of Chris Wells, the murder of Sada Colthrop, and the deaths of 2 little children from 4 years previous. The usual cast of characters, the story flowed well and tied together nicely all the different elements of the various situations thanks to Sergeant Alfred Wiggins. Richard Jury did come in towards the end. Sometimes I don't understand the endings to Martha Grimes tales and I read them because they are so engaging, in this case, this tale was top-notch with heart-breaking elements and a definite depiction of the times (the 1980s).
Another Martha Grimes novel with Richard Jury and Melrose Plant. This story covers Melrose Plant and his landed gentry lifestyle. Two wayward young girls captivate the story: Linda Pink and Pansy Fabricant. So many lively characters such as Mona Dresser, Sergeant Alfred Wiggins, Marshall Trueblood, Beatrice Slocum, and Diane Demorney. Where does Martha Grimes find these names? The story centers on a woman professional killer and her actions. The story also enters the world of painting and the thief of a priceless painting. The art description lands a little too heavy for this simple-minded reader. This novel reiterates Jury’s failure with women and so many of his loves that have died. Melrose Plant and his journey into a “Men’s show more Club” provides many laughs. The Cripps family brings laughter and sadness to the reader, knowing that this type of family does exist. Martha Grimes portrays a beautiful novel loaded with wonderful characters and lengthy description. show less
This outing in the Richard Jury series has a somewhat different focus as much of the action is driven by Melrose Plant for a good part of the book. I found the revelations of Plant's past surprising, but now I know why he got rid of his title. There is quite a bit of introspection on Plant's part and I found it an interesting twist to the usual pattern of this series.
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Author Information
59+ Works 29,674 Members
Martha Grimes was born on May 2, 1931 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of Maryland. The idea for Martha Grimes' first British detective novel, The Man with a Load of Mischief (1981), was inspired by the name of a British pub she noticed while leafing through a travel book. A longtime Anglophile, she show more has continued to use a British pub as both the title and part of the setting in each subsequent novel in the series which features Scotland Yard Detective Richard Jury, his assistant, Melrose Plant, and Plant's interfering Aunt Agatha. The Anodyne Necklace (1983) won her the Nero Wolfe Award. Her other works include The Stargazey, The Case Has Been Altered, The End of the Pier, Biting the Moon, and Dust. Her title, Vertigo 42, made The New York Times Best Seller List in 2014. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Goldmann (45253)
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- Original title
- The Lamorna Wink
- Original publication date
- 1999
- People/Characters
- Melrose Plant; Brian Macalvie; Johnny Wells; Chris Wells
- Important places
- Bletchley, Cornwall, England, UK; the Wink, Lamorna Cove, Cornwall, England, UK; Lamorna Cove, Cornwall, England, UK; Ireland
- Epigraph
- Oh! My name is John Wellington Wells, I'm a dealer in magic and spells, In blessings and curses, And ever-filled purses, In prophecies, witches, and spells. -- Gilbert & Sullivan, The Sorcerer
- Dedication
- To my cousins, Joanna and Ellen Jane and in memory of George and Miles
- First words
- Still wearing his cabby's cap -- he ought to put it in his act, this cap, because it looked so unlike what a magician would wear -- Johnny was sitting at the gaming table palming cards. He brought the Queen of Hearts to th... (show all)e top of the deck again and again, as if it were marching right up there of its own volition.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)It was getting hot. Macalvie took off his coat.
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