Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20)

The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20)
The Old Wine Shades - Richard Jury, Bk 20
Author: Martha Grimes
ISBN-13: 9780670034796
ISBN-10: 0670034797
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 352
Rating:
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 45

3.8 stars, based on 45 ratings
Publisher: Viking Adult
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

17 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20) on + 43 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Recent entry in the Richard Jury series. I was my first one, but easy enough to read without having read previous books in the series.

A man walks into a bar and tells a tale to Jury. It all comes down to the question, "Why didn't they take the dog?"
reviewed The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20) on + 33 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
If you like the Richard Jury series and gang, you'll like this one. It starts with a man telling Jury a story about a wife, child and dog disappearing -- and only the DOG returns!
Spuddie avatar reviewed The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20) on + 412 more book reviews
#20 Chief Supt. Richard Jury mystery set in the UK. This story sucked me in right from the beginning, with a man in a pub telling Jury a story about his friend whose wife, autistic son and dog disappeared into thin air about nine months previously. They had made a trip to a small town in Surrey that had a good private school for autistic children, and where they hoped to move if things checked out well.

While she looked at one cottage she was scheduled to view, the estate agent stated she'd never come back to return the key for the second one, which was an unoccupied estate with a spooky history. "But the dog came back," Harry Johnson says, and produces a shaggy mutt called Mungo. Jury, on administrative leave from Scotland Yard, spends several pleasant evenings talking with Harry explaining about his friend Hugh, who became so distraught at his wife's disappearance that he is now in a private psychiatric facility attempting to gain his equilibrium back.

Jury quietly (and unofficially) investigates, and of course brings his friend Melrose Plant into things as well. All went relatively well until the ending, which I found to be anticlimactic and rather lame--and I did see the plot twist coming. But still, I enjoy these visits with this set of characters that I have come to know and love over the years.
reviewed The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20) on + 108 more book reviews
The latest Richard Jury book. It tries your patience at first with allusions to quantum physics and the story within a story format but about halfway through it I found it enjoyable as the others in the series.
JK avatar reviewed The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20) on + 139 more book reviews
Ms. Grimes appears to be spending time with Tom Stoppard--the action is slowed by lengthy discussions of physics.
DEC avatar reviewed The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20) on + 134 more book reviews
Another excellent Martha Grimes.
reviewed The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20) on
Not up to Grimes's usual standard, imho.
mtb avatar reviewed The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20) on + 30 more book reviews
This is one of my favorite of the Richard Jurys. The elusive, splendidly written character of handsome & wealthy Harry Johnston (who vaguely resembles Melrose Plant)is a fascinating addition to the usual cast. I esp like the use of physics concepts to solve this particular & baffling mystery - the Super String Theory being one, (and how the Little Piddleton gang get involved with their own theories, of course). I love meeting the dog Mungo (with his need to move tiny kitten Elf around while he thinks) and the cat Schrödinger (Shoe for short), who will show up again in the next 3 books. Great reading experience, could not put this one down!
reviewed The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20) on
It kept me enthralled to the WONDERFUL ending! No spoilers.
reviewed The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20) on + 9 more book reviews
Witty mystery.
reviewed The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20) on + 2 more book reviews
While Jury languishes on a semi-suspension he's drawn in by a man whose story about the mysterious disappearance of a woman and her child one year before is just the kind of complex mystery Jury thrives on. Appealing characters, especially the antagonist. Has Jury met his nemesis in the wily Harry Johnson?
reviewed The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20) on + 5 more book reviews
a maze of a story, a dryish British wit and the Old Wine Shade bar actually exists! I ran across it by accident on a visit to London last summer.
reviewed The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20) on + 9 more book reviews
Richard Jury is sort of a modern Holmes and Miss Marple combined. Good detective stories set in England with a few entertaining recurring characters!
AZmee avatar reviewed The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20) on + 65 more book reviews
I sincerely enjoyed the whole series of these books. Light mysteries but no gore.
reviewed The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20) on + 43 more book reviews
As always Richard Jury gives a top thrill in reading and deduction.
reviewed The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20) on + 3 more book reviews
Getting more than a little hackneyed by book 20.
saber avatar reviewed The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury, Bk 20) on + 159 more book reviews
liked the way this book provoked my thoughts but a lukewarm ending