Book Reviews of The Case Has Altered (Richard Jury, Bk 14)

This is the second book I have read from this author and I really am a fan now! Although the book seemed to drag a bit in the beginning and there were so many characters and two main plots, once I got past that, it was riveting and I ended up feeling impatient to find out what was going on and by whom! I would recommend it but it is long so maybe take it on a cruise or something? I gave it 4 stars. I learned more about the main character, Richard Jury, and I really should get the first book of the series before I read any more.

Martha Grimes is one of the best writers of suspense-old fashioned fun.

very good

Amazon.com: "Richard Jury is back in The Case Has Altered, but--as usual--his sidekick Melrose Plant steals the show. Set in the fens of Lincolnshire, Jury must investigate two murders in which his true love, Jenny Kennington, is a suspect. But while Jury deals with the evidence, Melrose uncovers the local color, interviewing everyone from uncommunicative pub owners to chatty cooks. Even murder seems a little less grim with Melrose Plant around."

From Library Journal: "Poor Dorcas, dead in a ditch in the fens. And she's not the only one. Vera Dunn, the manipulative ex-wife of Max Owen, master of the local estate, Fengate (where Dorcas was a servant), is also dead. Enter Grimes stalward Richard Jury, who's not officially on the case but who gets involved anyway because Lady Kenningston, a woman he cherishes, has been accused of doing in Dunn, with whom she has been seen quarreling. Jury gets pal Melrose Plant to pose as an antiques dealer so that he can snoop around Fengate, then goes off to do some investigating on his own. Naturally, there are puzzles, e.g., why was Dorcas out on the fens that night? Why didn't Lady Kenningston come clean on her relation with nasty Verna? The result is a delicious ebb and flow of tension first, we get a trial for Lady Kennington, then more twists and turns as the real killer is finally, surprisingly revealed. In the process, there's beautifully rendered atmosphere and perhaps a bit too much of Melrose's litigious aunt." Barbara Hoffert, Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Quick, easy summer read.

One of her best works. Second only to "The Wrong House"

Timeless, peaceful, and remote, the watery Lincolnshire fens seem an unlikely setting for murder. But two women - a notorious actress and a servant girl - have been killed there in the space of two weeks. The Lincolnshire police are sure the murders are connected - and they think a friend of Richard Jury is responsible. Jury is anxious to clear Jenny Kennington's name. But the secretive suspects and tight-lipped locals are leading him nowhere. And with the help of his colleague Melrose Plant, he must struggle to navigate a series of untruths in the hope of stopping a very determined killer. (from back cover)

Martha Grimes is one of my favorite writers.

Very good. Another winner for Martha Grimes