New Scotland Yard Superintendent Richard
Jury returns to the page with a visit to Vertigo
42, a stylish high-rise champagne bar in London. Jury is meeting
friend-of-a-friend Tom Williamson, whose wife, Tess, died 17 years earlier. Her
fatal fall down a flight of garden stairs was ruled a result of a misstep, but
Tom isn't convinced. He asks Richard Jury if he'll use his connections to
investigate.
Five years before Tess's death, she'd hosted a party for some children at her estate; tragically, nine-year-old Hilda Palmer fell into a drained pool on the grounds and died. Could Tess's death been an act of revenge?
For the next seven days, Martha Grimes (The Man with a Load of Mischief) plots the journey of Jury and his dependable sidekick, Sergeant Wiggins. As they travel through the English countryside, they seek out the five surviving party guests (all now adults with secrets of their own), hoping to unearth new insights into Tess's death. Their quest is complicated by two more deaths--in Long Piddleton and Sidbury--that may or may not be related.
With each new discovery and red herring, Grimes leads readers deeper into dark, winding labyrinths of suspicion and doubt. Jury remains an engaging protagonist: smart, witty, sarcastic and wholly unafraid to follow his instincts. As in the other 22 books in the series, Grimes's fondness for classic movies, literature and cleverly named British pubs resurface. In Vertigo 42, Grimes, a master of the genre, pays homage to Alfred Hitchcock. While some of the identifying descriptions of the large supporting cast are a bit sketchy, Grimes surprising mystery gives just enough information to refresh old fans and whet the appetites of new readers.
Five years before Tess's death, she'd hosted a party for some children at her estate; tragically, nine-year-old Hilda Palmer fell into a drained pool on the grounds and died. Could Tess's death been an act of revenge?
For the next seven days, Martha Grimes (The Man with a Load of Mischief) plots the journey of Jury and his dependable sidekick, Sergeant Wiggins. As they travel through the English countryside, they seek out the five surviving party guests (all now adults with secrets of their own), hoping to unearth new insights into Tess's death. Their quest is complicated by two more deaths--in Long Piddleton and Sidbury--that may or may not be related.
With each new discovery and red herring, Grimes leads readers deeper into dark, winding labyrinths of suspicion and doubt. Jury remains an engaging protagonist: smart, witty, sarcastic and wholly unafraid to follow his instincts. As in the other 22 books in the series, Grimes's fondness for classic movies, literature and cleverly named British pubs resurface. In Vertigo 42, Grimes, a master of the genre, pays homage to Alfred Hitchcock. While some of the identifying descriptions of the large supporting cast are a bit sketchy, Grimes surprising mystery gives just enough information to refresh old fans and whet the appetites of new readers.
Scribner
Books, $26.00 Hardcover, 9781476724027,
326 pp
Publication Date: June 3,
2014
Note: This review is a
reprint and is being posted (in a slightly different form) with the permission
of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (6/3/14),
click HERE
To read the full review of this novel
as originally published as a special feature of Shelf Awareness: Maximum Shelf (5/21/14)--a much longer and much more comprehensive review--link
HERE