The Man with a Load of Mischief by Martha Grimes (Richard Jury Mysteries Book 1)

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I borrowed the Kindle version of this book from my local library through the Libby app, which I highly recommend! Libby lets you browse your library's shelves, borrow a book, and then read it either on your mobile device or it will give you a pass-through code to your Amazon account, which lets you "borrow" the Kindle version.

This is book 1 in a very long-lived series written by Martha Grimes.

Synopsis

A body is found in the wine cellar of a pub in the sleepy northern village of Long Piddleton. At the Man with a Load of Mischief, a victim was garroted and pushed head-first into a barrel. Then another body is found hanging from the mechanical clock structure above another pub, the Jack and Hammer! What exactly is going on in rural northern England and its pubs? Inspector Richard Jury of Scotland Yard is sent to investigate, along with his hypochondriac sergeant, Wiggins. Bodies and snow both start to pile up and time starts to run out for them to find the killer before he or she gets away scot-free.

My Thoughts

Martha Grimes's Richard Jury series is basically my raison d'être when it comes to mystery reading. Along with Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle, Grimes was one of the very first mystery authors I got into as a kid. This book was published in 1981, and I think I probably read it (the first time) sometime between '83–'85 after I found it in a library. I realize during this pandemic, however, that local bookstores are suffering for business, so I ordered two of the later books in the series (#s 23 and 24) from my local Mystery Lover's Bookshop, and while waiting for the books to arrive, I decided to re-read the very first book, just to remind myself how it all began. Grimes writes lovely characters. From the poetry-loving Jury, to the not-snobbish, not-a-Lord, Melrose Plant, to pastel-Sobranie-smoking antiques dealer, Marshall Trueblood, to the ever imperious and annoying Aunt Agatha — every single one of the recurring characters is memorable. I also like the idea of naming each book after a pub. England's pubs often do have very interesting names and local characters within them, and Grimes is a master of creating settings that you can almost travel to in your mind's eye as you read. You'll like this if you like a really traditional British detective novel with a touch of cozy in it. (These were written before the "cozy craze," as I call it, and for all I know, Grimes is responsible for starting it. At least I like to think so.) I know I have later books waiting for me, but I might just start re-reading them all in order! Guess we'll see!

Get the Book

You can find The Man with a Load of Mischief in various formats on Amazon. You can (at the time of this writing) also read it for free via a Kindle Unlimited subscription. Inquire with your local bookstore or library about availability in those venues.