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The Black Cat: A Richard Jury Mystery (Richard Jury Mysteries) |  | Author: Martha Grimes
Publisher: Viking Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy Used: $7.16
as of 8/1/2010 00:09 MDT details
You Save: $18.79 (72%)
New (49) Used (45) Collectible (5) from $7.16
Seller: massbookstore
Rating:  45 reviews
Sales Rank: 10054
Media: Hardcover
Edition: First Edition
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.1
ISBN: 0670021601
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780670021604
ASIN: 0670021601
Publication Date: April 6, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The inimitable Richard Jury returns in a thrilling tale of mystery, madness, and mistaken identity
Three months have passed since Richard Jury was left bereft and guilt- ridden after his lover's tragic auto accident, and he is now more wary than ever. He is deeply suspicious when requested on a case far out of his jurisdiction in an outlying village where a young woman has been murdered behind the local pub. The only witness is the establishment's black cat, who gives neither crook nor clue as to the girl's identity or her killer's.
Identifying the girl becomes tricky when she's recognized as both the shy local librarian and a posh city escort, and Jury must use all his wits and intuition to determine the connection to subsequent escort murders. Meanwhile, Jury's nemesis, Harry Johnson, continues to goad Jury down a dangerous path. And Johnson, along with the imperturbable dog Mungo, just may be the key to it all.
Written with Martha Grimes's trademark insight and grace, The Black Cat signals the thrilling return of her greatest character. The superintendent is a man possessed of prodigious analytical gifts and charm, yet vulnerable in the most perplexing ways.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 45
Jury is back but the verdict is not good... April 12, 2010
L. Burns (New England)
28 out of 31 found this review helpful
Jury is less than pleased to be assigned a case outside his district - a case that's already making the tabloid headlines. A beautiful young woman working as an escort is found murdered outside a pub called The Black Cat. Two more `escort' murders, this time in London, follow and Jury struggles to make a connection between the crimes.
I liked the premise and the set-up of the story. Unfortunately, after that it was pretty much downhill for me.
Early on in the book I was dismayed to find myself back at `The Old Wine Shades'. Yep, Harry Johnson figures prominently in this book. Back again to those boring, circuitous conversations between Jury and Harry. Countless references to the murder that Jury is convinced Harry committed. I disliked `The Old Wine Shades' so much that I've blessedly forgotten the storyline and the author's efforts to remind me in this book weren't very successful. I don't share the author's affection for Harry's character but it seems she's determined to make him a recurring character in this series.
Nothing about the story flowed gracefully. There's a scene with Melrose and Jury in Long Piddleton that seemed like an afterthought; an awkward effort to acknowledge the series `regulars'. A couple chapters dedicated to an animal rescue. A silly and distracting chapter detailing the telepathic communication between Harry's dog, Mungo, and a kidnapped cat. Overall it felt choppy and disjointed.
On the plus side, this entry brings back Jury as we've come to know him over the years - melancholy, introspective and intelligent. Melrose makes only a minor appearance, but a scene that takes place at his club, Boring's, is very entertaining.
What can I say? If you've read the whole series (and I have), you'll probably read this one too. If you liked the last two entries in the series you'll probably enjoy this more than I did. If you are new to the series then please don't judge it by this lackluster entry. Start at the beginning - Ms Grimes has written some great books, this just isn't one of them
 The Black Cat Delivers April 12, 2010
Pamela Grandstaff (West Virginia USA)
29 out of 35 found this review helpful
I would follow Richard Jury and Melrose Plant anywhere they want to go, so I approach a new book in this series with delighted anticipation. I've never been disappointed and The Black Cat is no exception. Long time Jury readers will not be confused by the shorthand banter and whimsical asides we've come to appreciate. Jury's poetic melancholy is still in place; you can feel how profoundly weary he is, and no wonder. Obsession can knock the stuffing out of a person, and his love affair and subsequent tragedy with Lu has worn Jury down to an exposed nerve. Obsession runs through this mystery like the Thames through London, whether it involves sex, shoes, mothers, rescuing victims, or a festering grudge against an old nemesis with telepathic pets. The whodunit part is tricky enough to satisfy, and although we don't spend much time with our friends in Long Piddleton, it's reassuring to know Melrose Plant is still living with one foot in a Great Britain that no longer exists (if it ever did). Long time fans will find much to love in this latest Jury, and hopefully new readers will want to go back through 22 books to see where it all began. Note: I was disappointed not to have a Kindle version as well, but am pretty sure Martha Grimes has no control over what her publisher chooses to do. If books don't sell because of bad Amazon reviews given in protest it's ultimately the author who is hurt most.
 Another bad book in Jury series April 25, 2010
Book Lover (Chicago, IL)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I stopped buying Martha Grimes Jury series a few books ago and I'm very glad I got this one at the library.
What happened to these books? I've read the series from the beginning and used to look forward to each new book, but no more.
The story line could have been improved and the whole "wall of shoes" seemed forced and silly, as if the author has watched too many episodes of SATC.
I agree with other reviewers that the Harry Johnson character should be put to rest. His conversations with Jury are boring and pointless and I don't understand the author's insistence in keeping the character around, especially when the cast of regular characters, especially Melrose Plant, are so much more entertaining.
One thing I noticed in this book was the lack of police procedure, which seems almost laughable. Since the murder victims depended on their mobiles for contact with their respecitive services, why was no mobile ever found or even looked for? I would think that would be the first thing the police would look for in order to find the phone numbers of their contacts and therefore point them in the right direction. Apparently, Ms. Grimes is too caught up in the boring us with Harry to actually put some thought into the storyline.
Unfortunately, I doubt that there will ever be a return to the quality of the first books.
Better than Dust, but...... May 15, 2010
Mali
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I have been a Martha Grimes fan for a very long time, and like many others have been disappointed in her last several Richard Jury novels. In this new novel she came close to recapturing some of her "magic", but I was still left wanting, and wondering if she is tired of her characters and doesn't care anymore. Everyone seems irritable and shallow, and I miss the interaction between characters that was the author's strength (plots certainly weren't, but who needed them with those magnificent characters). And Harry Johnson really, really has to go. That story line makes Jury look stupid and juvenile, which is a terrible thing to do to such a well developed character. I wanted to give the book two and a half stars, but since that wasn't an option I rounded up in consideration of the fact that this book was much better than Dust.
 Oh dear April 25, 2010
Libros (NC USA)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
The Black Cat reads like a darn good excuse for a tax-deductible trip to London with lots of taxi rides. The American Ms. Grimes has never been pitch-perfect with her British settings, unlike Elizabeth George--in fact many of her details are fantasies that requires serious suspension of disbelief--but she's never been quite so ludicrously "off" before. I felt as if she'd done a couple of London Walks by way of research and was determined to jam delightful nuggets like "doing the Knowledge," a surprise for tourists but not for Londoners, into the reader. A better writer could have done it far less obtrusively. And she should by now know how Brits use the term ma'am.
Still worse, the book also seemed to serve as a memorial to her dead cat. While I'm sorry that her cat died, and I myself have just wept copiously for my own cat, I cannot abide the sheer stupidity of talking animals as a plot element. The preternaturally independent/confiding/wise child element has also grown unbelievably stale. In fact, the entire plot was paper-thin.
It passed the time. If you're a diehard Jury lover, or really bored, you will still probably chunter merrily through it: for me, the series has gone downhill to the point that I won't bother with the next book. If, indeed, there is one.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 45
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