The Blue Last

I read this and gave it to mom quite sometime ago. I must say this was one of her best books, but there ARE others we also loved. You will enjoy this one.

I owned every book in the "Richard Jury" series except this one. Received quickly and in better condition than advertised. Thanks!

Having read all of Martha Grimes' Richard Jury Mysteries, I have loved them all, but this is definitely one of the best. It opens with a dying friend of Jury's asking him to prove that a 55 yr old heiress is an imposter. This is all sparked by the excavation of some old bones beneath a bar called the Blue Last.The site of one of the last bombing raids of the second world war sends Jury into the past in search of the truth of his own memories. There are several side issues, art forgery, another murder, Melrose Plant undercover as a gardener, two delightful children in jeopardy, even a dog who thinks! Well, if you have read Martha Grimes, none of this will surprise you-but the ending might! If you haven't read her before-don't wait! Get started. I couldn't put it down and read in two evenings. Can't tell you why you should write her without spoiling the ending, but fans-get out your pen and paper and make sure you let her know how much we're looking forward to the next Richard Jury book. Ask her to please "write fast!"

Well! After I finished the book last night I just sat there. As most people are wont to do, I had tried to tie some of the events together, but they all came unraveled at the end - mine, not Martha Grimes'. I do not for one second think this is the final book. It practically shrieks, "TO BE CONTINED!" Not just for Jury but also Gemma, Benny, and Sparky - and what about Liza? Could she be the person Jury might finally share his life with down the road? I thought the way Mickey Haggerty seemed to become increasingly obsessed with the case of the switched babies was just his desire to see justice before he died. And yes, Jury also noted this, but his inaction in trying to find out why Haggerty was obsessing I put down to trusting his friend completely and not wanting to cause him any more stress. Although I love Melrose I did find the subplot that had him and Trueblood traipsing all over Italy a little tiring. I enjoyed learning more about Wiggins (as did Jury) in finding out he had a sister who had died on Christmas (I'd really like to see Wiggins'character developed more). And while I find Aunt Agatha, Mrs. Wasserman and Mrs. Witherspoon endearing, Carol-anne flat out gets on my nerves. And who cares if Vivian DOES marry Count Dracula (except Melrose and Trueblood)? The character of Diane is tolerable - I like her idea of knowing "one or two things about everything." But Polly Praed? How many times has she even appeared in the series? All I know about her is she writes bad mysteries. However, we all know boring, odd-ball people and so in that sense, they do bring Jury a little bit closer to real life. I have great faith that Ms. Grimes is well on her way to tying up some of these loose ends and as for me, I'm waiting on the edge of my seat.

I thought that this book was excellent, as I would expect from this author. I don't understand what some other reviewers found so disappointing. All of the characters are familiar and enjoyable. I was completely surprised to discover who the killer was, I didn't see it coming at all. And, although the ending was a cliffhanger, I did not find that objectionable. I certainly hope that Ms. Grimes is well on her way to completely the next Jury book so I can find out what happens next!