Grimes, Martha 1931-

PERSONAL:

Born 1931, in Pittsburgh, PA; daughter of D.W. (an attorney) and June (a hotel owner) Grimes; divorced; children: Kent Van Holland. Education: University of Maryland, B.A., M.A.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Silver Spring, MD; Santa Fe, NM; and Sarasota, FL. Office—Department of English, Montgomery College, Takoma and Fenton St., Takoma Park, MD 20012. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Educator and writer. University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, former English instructor; Frostburg State College, Frostburg, MD, former assistant professor of English; Montgomery College, Takoma Park, MD, professor of English, 1970—.

MEMBER:

Authors Guild, Authors League of America.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Nero Wolfe Award for best mystery of the year, the Wolfe Pack, 1983, for The Anodyne Necklace.

WRITINGS:

"RICHARD JURY" SERIES; MYSTERY NOVELS

The Man with a Load of Mischief, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1981, reprinted, ImPress (Pleasantville, NY), 2006.

The Old Fox Deceiv'd, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1982.

The Anodyne Necklace, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1983.

The Dirty Duck, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1984.

The Jerusalem Inn, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1984.

Help the Poor Struggler, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1985.

The Deer Leap, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1985.

I Am the Only Running Footman, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1986.

The Five Bells and Bladebone, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1987.

The Old Silent, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1989.

The Old Contemptibles, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1991.

The Horse You Came in On, Knopf (New York, NY), 1993.

Rainbow's End, Knopf (New York, NY), 1995.

The Case Has Altered, Holt (New York, NY), 1997.

The Stargazey, Holt (New York, NY), 1998.

The Lamorna Wink, Viking (New York, NY), 1999.

The Blue Last, Viking (New York, NY), 2001.

The Grave Maurice, Viking Penguin (New York, NY), 2002.

The Winds of Change, Viking (New York, NY), 2004.

The Old Wine Shades, Viking (New York, NY), 2006.

Dust, Viking (New York, NY), 2006.

"EMMA GRAHAM" SERIES

Hotel Paradise, Knopf (New York, NY), 1996.

Cold Flat Junction, Viking (New York, NY), 2001.

Belle Ruin, Viking (New York, NY), 2005.

OTHER

Send Bygraves (poetry), Putnam (New York, NY), 1989.

The End of the Pier (novel), Random House (New York, NY), 1992.

Biting the Moon (novel), Holt (New York, NY), 1999.

The Train Now Departing: Two Novellas (contains The Train Now Departing and When the Mousetrap Closes), Viking (New York, NY), 2000.

Foul Matter (novel), Viking (New York, NY), 2003.

Dakota, Viking (New York, NY), 2008.

ADAPTATIONS:

Many of Grimes's books have been adapted as audio books, including The Old Wine Shades, Penguin Audio, 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Martha Grimes's mystery novels have prompted critics to commend the wit and elegance of her writing and to compare her work to that of such masters of the classic British detective story as Dorothy Sayers, Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh, and Agatha Christie. Unlike her celebrated peers, however, Grimes is an American rather than a native Briton and relies on frequent trips to England and knowledge gleaned from reading and research to supply her with materials from which to create her stories' settings and her characters' backgrounds and dialects.

Grimes's idea for her first novel was sparked by a British pub name, and she has continued in each subsequent novel to use a British pub as both the title and part of the setting. In addition to bearing the name of a pub, most of Grimes's novels feature as their main characters Richard Jury, a handsome, dedicated, sensitive, and urbane Scotland Yard detective; Jury's aristocratic, agreeable, yet dilettantish assistant, Melrose Plant, whom critics have considered to be a literary descendant of Dorothy Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey; and Plant's obnoxious, snobby, interfering, American-born Aunt Agatha.

Grimes's first detective novel, The Man with a Load of Mischief, concerns five murders in the English village of Long Piddleton. One of the murder victims is drowned in a keg of ale at the village pub called The Man with a Load of Mischief. In the course of his investigation into the Long Piddleton murders, Inspector Jury and the reader make the acquaintance of a number of eccentric villagers who are suspects in the case. According to Washington Post Book World contributor Jean M. White, the denouement of Grimes's "tangled plot" is "untidy." However, White, who commented that Grimes "has learned her sleight-of-hand from Christie and delights in the rich characterization of Marsh," concluded that this untidiness is "a minor complaint for readers who value wit, atmosphere, and charm in their mysteries."

In Grimes's second novel, The Old Fox Deceiv'd, Jury solves a series of mysterious deaths and disappearances connected with the Crael family household. Set in a Yorkshire fishing village, the story opens with the discovery of a corpse wearing a costume from a Shakespearean play in an alley near the pub of the book's title. A New Yorker contributor described The Old Fox Deceiv'd "a pleasure from that classic start to its equally classic finish." White remarked that Grimes had improved upon the plot of her first novel, and concluded: "This time Grimes has put it all together with a tidy plot with a clever twist, an assortment of fetching characters," and "sly wit and atmosphere." Charles Champlin, in a Los Angeles Times Book Review critique of The Old Fox Deceiv'd, deemed Grimes "a new and charming American disciple" of the classic detective novel genre whose writing "confirms that the spirit of Mmes. Christie, Allingham and Sayers … lives on."

The setting in Grimes' award-winning third mystery, The Anodyne Necklace, is divided between London's East End and the British village of Littleborne. Its plot centers on murders in both locations and their connection to a jewelry theft. Jury performs much of his detective work while watching gamesters play Wizards and Warlocks in the Littleborne pub called the Anodyne Necklace. New York Times Book Review contributor Newgate Callendar noted that the plot of this book "is carefully structured, including the surprise ending." Callendar considered Grimes to be "a superior writer who brings a strong touch of poetry to her imagery." White, reviewing The Anodyne Necklace in the Washington Post Book World, called attention to the eccentric villagers of Littleborne and the "marvelously alive characters" with which the author peoples London's East End, adding that Grimes's "rowdies are masters of communication in street jargon." White further remarked that Grimes possesses a "sharply observant eye for social comedy while offering sly detection," and deemed The Anodyne Necklace "a literate, witty, stylishly crafted mystery of detection in the finest British tradition." Callendar, however, qualified Grimes's part in this tradition, refuting the idea that Grimes is a "combination of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers" and asserting that The Anodyne Necklace "is stamped with the author's own exquisite sensibility."

Callendar considered Grimes's next book, The Dirty Duck, to be "even better than The Anodyne Necklace." Commenting that "it is hard to overpraise this book," the critic described it as a "beautifully written" and "well-worked-out murder mystery with something of a surprise ending." White also praised Grimes's writing in The Dirty Duck, reporting in the Washington Post Book World that the author "is in good form with her literate style and witty eye" and that she "could hardly miss" with the "assortment of colorful characters" portrayed in The Dirty Duck. Many of these characters, aside from the usual trio of Jury, Melrose Plant, and Plant's Aunt Agatha, are rich Americans touring Britain who find themselves the targets of a razor-brandishing murderer. One of the tourists, a computer buff, is determined to prove that Shakespeare was involved in the 1593 slaying of his literary rival Christopher Marlowe. Coincidentally, the murders, which take place in London and Stratford-on-Avon, home to Britain's Royal Shakespeare Theatre, are linked by quotations from Elizabethan poetry that the murderer leaves next to the victims' bodies. In the end, the controversy surrounding Marlowe's death, in conjunction with the killer's poetic clues, provides the key to the identity of the tourists' slayer.

The Jerusalem Inn, Grimes's fifth mystery, features a classic British mystery situation—the house party—and begins with an aborted romance. While Jury spends the Christmas season with unpleasant relatives in the English countryside, he shares a poignant moment with a woman he meets in a graveyard. Before their acquaintance can develop, however, she is found murdered. Jury joins the investigation into the woman's death, and shortly thereafter another killing occurs in a nearby hall, where Jury's assistant, Plant, his Aunt Agatha, and their friend Vivian are staying as part of a holiday house party composed of eccentric, artsy aristocrats. Jury solves the two murder cases, which turn out to be connected, and does so in part through clues to the victims' past that he finds in the local Jerusalem Inn.

Help the Poor Struggler is a tale of revenge and child murder set near Dorset, England. In this book Grimes introduces Brian Macalvie, a cynical, experienced chief constable with whom Jury must work to find the party responsible for a series of child killings. Macalvie, meeting Jury at a bleak, shabby pub called Help the Poor Struggler, aids Jury by linking the recent murders to one that occurred twenty years earlier and resulted in an erroneous murder conviction. According to a Time contributor, the book is written with "a deadly earnest tone and a climactic burst of violence befitting its story of long-calculated revenge." Robert Barnard, reviewing Help the Poor Struggler in the Washington Post Book World, also noticed a shift toward solemnity in Grimes's tone and viewed it with favor, commenting: "The best thing about [Grimes's] early books was a Sayers-like boisterous humor, and it is odd to find that growing seriousness suits Grimes as it never did Sayers. Where Sayers became dull, Grimes takes on a new tautness and purpose." Barnard, an Englishman, also remarked that in Help the Poor Struggler Grimes fine-tunes her portrayals of English society, which, according to Barnard, had in earlier books been a "slight but disconcert- ing bit off-key, out of focus." Barnard also noted that "the feel is now right, the narrative confident and convincing."

Grimes takes her characters across the Atlantic to solve a U.S.-based mystery in The Horse You Came in On, which concerns the murder of a Ph.D. candidate. The deceased student was the object of considerable jealousy within the academic community because she possessed a fragment of manuscript allegedly written by Edgar Allan Poe. Strange links are gradually uncovered between her death and that of a homeless man in a nearby city. Rainbow's End also finds Jury in the United States, this time traveling to New Mexico to unravel the puzzle behind the deaths of several women there.

The Stargazey opens with Jury impulsively following a beautiful woman who is wearing a fur coat. Later, the same woman is found murdered. The coat leads Jury to an aging movie star and into the world of art. A Publishers Weekly contributor found the plot "at best wild and at worst totally indecipherable," but added that "it doesn't matter because her cast is so wonderfully daffy and endearing." Plot is not the focal point of the novel, according to Barbara Hoffert, who wrote in Library Journal: "The emphasis here is less on mayhem than character development, which is very good indeed." Hoffert also rated the solution to the mystery as likely to be "a satisfying surprise even to astute mystery readers." The novel proves Grimes to be "one of today's most gifted and intelligent writers."

Grimes focuses on Melrose Plant in her sixteenth Jury mystery, The Lamorna Wink. Readers learn much more about Plant's complex personality and his past in this story, which begins with his vacation retreat to Seabourne, a house on the ocean at Cornwall. The lovely setting includes a gruesome mystery concerning the death of two children who inexplicably fell down a flight of stone steps. The plot is laden with real clues and red herrings, as well as "richly portrayed characters and stunningly described settings," reported a Publishers Weekly contributor. Jury does not make an appearance until near the end of the book, when he arrives on scene to help wrap up the case.

In The Blue Last Jury investigates the murder of an author who was writing about a scandal involving the substitution of a child's nanny for a financier's grand-daughter during World War II. Francine Fialkoff, writing in Library Journal, commented: "The plot is as devious and convoluted as any Jury mystery." The Grave Maurice finds Jury in the hospital after being shot. When his assistant is in the pub the Grave Maurice, he hears two women discussing the disappearance of the daughter of Jury's physician. Jury is soon on the case, albeit from his hospital bed. Writing in Booklist, Connie Fletcher called the novel a "satisfyingly old-fashioned detective tale."

Jury has been put on suspension by Scotland Yard and begins working on a case alone in The Old Wine Shades. The case revolves around a missing wife and child and what appears to be her husband's emotional breakdown and growing madness. In a review for Publishers Weekly, a reviewer commented: "The author's gift at melding suspense, logical twists and wry humor makes this one of the stronger entries" in the series. In The Winds of Change, Jury is on the case of a murdered five-year-old girl who was shot in the back, leading him to suspected pedophiles. Stephanie Zvirin, writing in Booklist, called this installment a "stellar entry in an outstanding series."

Reviewers frequently noted strong characterizations as a hallmark of Grimes's work, and her fiction outside the Richard Jury books reflects her talent in this area, as well. The End of the Pier, Hotel Paradise, and Cold Flat Junction explore life in the town of LaPorte, frequently portraying it through the eyes of Emma Graham, a wise and curious twelve-year-old. Emma broods over the mystery of past murders in the town, but although there is a mysterious element to these stories, the focus is not on solving a puzzle, but rather on observing "the way Emma's mind works, worrying and picking over details," explained Connie Fletcher in Booklist. She found Cold Flat Junction both "fascinating" and "unnerving." Emma appears again in Belle Ruin. Here, the young detective investigates the burning of the hotel Belle Rouen and, in the process, uncovers a secret. "Emma's wry and often mature-for-her-age observations on human nature belie her young years, but make for joyful reading," according to Roz Shea on Bookreporter.com.

Grimes also shows her skill with characterization in such standalones as Biting the Moon and The Train Now Departing: Two Novellas, the latter of which was described by Stephanie Zvirin in Booklist as a collection of "thoughtful, compelling, even dark stories—for readers more inclined toward investigating emotions than searching for armchair adventure." The stories are "full of suspense and surprise," but they are not mysteries, explained Jane La Plante in Library Journal. They are "carefully written little gems" that "showcase Grimes at her best." Foul Matter focuses on the publishing industry in New York. The plot revolves around a publisher who seeks to woo one writer to his publishing house by eliminating another writer through a contract murder. Booklist contributor Connie Fletcher commented that the novel has "some grand comic moments."

Although Grimes has received critical praise for her non-mystery novels, she continues to contribute to the "Richard Jury" mystery series. In The Old Wine Shades, Jury is on suspension from Scotland Yard due to an incident in the previous Jury novel, The Winds of Change. When Jury meets Harry Johnson in a London pub, the man tells him the strange story of a physicist's wife, autistic son, and pet dog who go missing only to have the dog reappear some time later. Named Mungo, the dog takes a central place in the plot as it accompanies Johnson everywhere and even at times takes over the story's narration. "The author's gift at melding suspense, logical twists and wry humor makes this one of the stronger [series] entries," noted a Publishers Weekly contributor. Roz Shea, writing on the Bookreporter.com Web site, commented: "Of the twenty Richard Jury mysteries, this is perhaps one of the more ingeniously plotted and wittily told."

Dust features Jury joining beautiful Inspector Lu Aguilar in a case involving the murder of a man who was living at the home of Henry James, which is known as the Lamb. Sprinkling references to James's work throughout the novel, Grimes features Jury and his friend Melrose Plant wondering who could possibly have killed the inoffensive Billy Maples. Eventually, they piece together connections between the murder and James's novels, as well as a World War II incident most people want to forget. "As excellent as any in the series, the book draws the reader back and forth … without a real clue to solving the case," wrote Theodore Feit in Reviewer's Bookwatch. According to a Kirkus Reviews contributor: "Series fans will welcome the return of plausible psychopath Harry Johnson … and several key supporting players that Grimes presents with sympathetic insight."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Bestsellers 90, Issue 1, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1990.

Contemporary Popular Writers, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1997.

St. James Guide to Crime and Mystery Writers, 4th edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1996.

PERIODICALS

Antioch Review, winter, 1997, review of Hotel Paradise, p. 121.

Armchair Detective, spring, 1986, review of Help the Poor Struggler, p. 193; summer, 1986, reviews of The Deer Leap, p. 319, and The Dirty Duck, p. 320; spring, 1992, review of The Old Contemptibles, p. 151; summer, 1992, review of The Man with a Load of Mischief, p. 357; winter, 1993, review of The End of the Pier, p. 109; fall, 1996, review of Hotel Paradise, p. 479.

Belles Lettres, winter, 1993, Bettina Berch, review of The Horse You Came in On, p. 54.

Best Sellers, March, 1986, review of The Deer Leap, p. 447; February, 1987, review of I Am the Only Running Footman, p. 424.

Booklist, November 15, 1986, review of I Am the Only Running Footman, p. 474; July, 1987, review of The Five Bells and Bladebone, p. 1626; June 15, 1989, review of The Old Silent, p. 1739; September 1, 1989, review of Send Bygraves, p. 39; November 1, 1990, review of The Old Contemptibles, p. 483; March 1, 1992, Peter Robertson, review of The End of the Pier, p. 1162; November 1, 1992, Nancy McCray, review of The End of the Pier, p. 544; May 15, 1993, Emily Melton, review of The Horse You Came in On, p. 1652; May 1, 1995, Emily Melton, review of Rainbow's End, p. 1530; March 15, 1996, Emily Melton, review of Hotel Paradise, p. 1219; January, 1997, review of Hotel Paradise, p. 763; September 15, 1997, Emily Melton, review of The Case Has Altered, p. 179; August, 1998, Emily Melton, review of The Stargazey, p. 1920; January 1, 1999, Sally Estes, review of Biting the Moon, p. 792; April 15, 1999, review of I Am the Only Running Footman, p. 1457; March 1, 2000, Stephanie Zvirin, review of The Train Now Departing: Two Novellas, p. 1148; May 1, 2000, Leah Sparks, review of Biting the Moon, p. 1627; January 1, 2001, Connie Fletcher, review of Cold Flat Junction, p. 869; August, 2001, Connie Fletcher, review of The Blue Last, p. 2050; August, 2002, Connie Fletcher, review of The Grave Maurice, p. 1884; August, 2003, Connie Fletcher, review of Foul Matter, p. 1925; August, 2004, Stephanie Zvi- rin, review of The Winds of Change, p. 1870; August, 2005, Connie Fletcher, review of Belle Ruin, p. 1952; January 30, 2006, Connie Fletcher, review of The Old Wine Shades, p. 44; February 1, 2006, Connie Fletcher, review of The Old Wine Shades, p. 4; December 15, 2006, Connie Fletcher, review of Dust, p. 26.

Books, May, 1987, review of I Am the Only Running Footman, p. 13; November, 1991, review of The Old Contemptibles, p. 22; June, 1996, review of Hotel Paradise, p. 23.

Bookwatch, January, 1998, review of The Case Has Altered, p. 6.

Christian Science Monitor, February 6, 1987, review of I Am the Only Running Footman, p. B6; October 2, 1987, review of The Five Bells and Bladebone, p. B5; July 27, 1995, review of Rainbow's End, p. B1; February 25, 1999, review of The Stargazey, p. 17.

Clues, fall-winter, 2000, Carl D. Malmgren, "Truth, Justice, the American Way: Martha Grimes and Elizabeth George," p. 47.

Entertainment Weekly, March 10, 2006, Gilbert Cruz and Tina Jordan, review of The Old Wine Shades, p. 71.

Globe and Mail (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), June 12, 1999, review of Biting the Moon, p. D19; October 16, 1999, review of The Lamorna Wink, p. D27.

Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 1986, review of I Am the Only Running Footman, p. 1405; June 15, 1987, review of The Five Bells and Bladebone, p. 892; July 1, 1989, review of The Old Silent, p. 955; November 15, 1990, review of The Old Contemptibles, p. 1570; February 15, 1992, review of The End of the Pier, p. 204; May 15, 1993, review of The Horse You Came in On, p. 625; April 15, 1995, review of Rainbow's End, p. 509; March 1, 1996, review of Hotel Paradise, p. 317; September 15, 1997, review of The Case Has Altered, p. 1418; September 15, 1998, review of The Stargazey, p. 1335; March 1, 1999, review of Biting the Moon, p. 319; September 1, 1999, review of The Lamorna Wink, p. 1347; August 1, 2001, review of The Blue Last, p. 1069; August 1, 2002, review of The Grave Maurice, p. 1078; July 1, 2003, review of Foul Matter, p. 876; December 1, 2006, review of Dust, p. 1200.

Kliatt Young Adult Paperback Book Guide, fall, 1986, review of Help the Poor Struggler, p. 10; winter, 1987, review of The Deer Leap, p. 5; March 15, 1992, review of The Old Silent; October 1, 1997, review of The Case Has Altered, p. 122; August, 1998, review of The Stargazey, p. 139; July, 2002, Robin S. Holab-Abelman, review of Cold Flat Junction, p. 19.

Library Journal, September 1, 1987, JoAnn Vicarel, review of The Five Bells and Bladebone, p. 202; June 15, 1991, Kristen L. Smith, review of The Old Contemptibles, p. 122; September 15, 1992, Cliff Glaviano, review of The Anodyne Necklace, p. 108; June 1, 1997, Barbara Hoffert, review of The Case Has Altered, p. 88; October 1, 1997, Barbara Hoffert, review of The Case Has Altered, p. 122; August, 1998, Barbara Hoffert, review of The Stargazey, p. 139; April 15, 1999, Barbara Hoffert, review of Biting the Moon, p. 143; October 1, 1999, Francine Fialkoff, review of The Lamorna Wink, p. 139; April 1, 2000, Jane la Plant, review of The Train Now Departing, p. 134; February 15, 2001, Jane la Plante, review of Cold Flat Junction, p. 200; September 15, 2001, Francine Fialkoff, review of The Blue Last, p. 117.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, September 12, 1982, Charles Champlin, review of The Old Fox Deceiv'd; January 19, 1986, review of The Deer Leap, p. 9; September 10, 1989, review of The Old Silent, p. 10; November 5, 1989, review of Send Bygraves, p. 6; December 3, 1989, review of Send Bygraves, p. 10; September 9, 1990, review of The Old Silent, p. 14; January 13, 1991, review of The Old Contemptibles, p. 80; August 15, 1993, review of The Horse You Came in On, p. 9; June 25, 1995, review of Rainbow's End, p. 14; May 26, 1996, review of Hotel Paradise, p. 6.

National Review, December 22, 1997, Anthony Lejeune, review of The Case Has Altered, p. 68.

New Yorker, September 20, 1982, review of The Old Fox Deceiv'd, p. 157; August 22, 1983, review of The Anodyne Necklace, p. 95; June 18, 1984, review of The Dirty Duck, p. 117; December 29, 1986, review of I Am the Only Running Footman, p. 96.

New York Times, April 10, 1992, review of The End of the Pier, p. C33.

New York Times Book Review, September 25, 1983, Newgate Callendar, review of The Anodyne Necklace, p. 34; May 13, 1984, Newgate Callendar, review of The Dirty Duck, p. 35; March 17, 1985, Newgate Callendar, review of The Jerusalem Inn, p. 35; September 29, 1985; January 26, 1986, review of The Deer Leap, p. 40; December 28, 1986, review of I Am the Only Running Footman, p. 15; September 13, 1987, review of The Five Bells and Bladebone, p. 53; August 21, 1988, review of The Five Bells and Bladebone, p. 34; September 24, 1989, review of The Old Silent, p. 29; December 24, 1989, review of Send Bygraves, p. 23; August 26, 1990, review of The Old Silent, p. 22; January 27, 1991, review of The Old Contemptibles, p. 8; April 19, 1992, review of The End of the Pier, p. 17; July 18, 1993, review of The Horse You Came in On, p. 17; July 2, 1995, review of Rainbow's End, p. 15; October 5, 1997, review of The Case Has Altered, p. 30; December 7, 1997, review of The Case Has Altered, p. 80; November 29, 1998, review of The Stargazey, p. 24; April 18, 1999, review of Biting the Moon, p. 28; November 7, 1999, review of The Lamorna Wink, p. 36.

Observer (London, England), February 1, 1987, review of The Dirty Duck, p. 30.

People, February 2, 1987, Andrea Chambers, "The Terribly English Mysteries of Martha Grimes Are a Welcome Addition to the Public Domain," p. 64.

Publishers Weekly, April 4, 1986, review of Help the Poor Struggler, p. 58; October 10, 1986, Sybil Steinberg, review of I Am the Only Running Footman, p. 78; July 3, 1987, Sybil Steinberg, review of The Five Bells and Bladebone, p. 56; July 1, 1988, review of The Five Bells and Bladebone, p. 74; June 23, 1989, Sybil Steinberg, review of The Old Silent, p. 53; July 20, 1990, review of The Old Silent, p. 56; November 9, 1990, Sybil Steinberg, review of The Old Contemptibles, p. 46; February 17, 1992, review of The End of the Pier, p. 48; February 24, 1992, review of The Old Contemptibles, p. 51; May 17, 1993, review of The Horse You Came in On, p. 70; September 13, 1999, review of The Lamorna Wink, p. 63; May 22, 1995, review of Rainbow's End, p. 51; April 1, 1996, review of Hotel Paradise, p. 52; May 27, 1996, review of Rainbow's End, p. 76; July 14, 1997, Paul Nathan, "Grimes Sets Pace," p. 24; September 8, 1997, review of The Case Has Altered, p. 61; August 10, 1998, review of The Stargazey, p. 371; March 1, 1999, review of Biting the Moon, p. 62; September 13, 1999, review of The Lamorna Wink, p. 63; April 10, 2000, review of The Train Now Departing, p. 74; January 8, 2001, review of Cold Flat Junction, p. 46; August 5, 2002, review of The Grave Maurice, p. 56; July 14, 2003, review of Foul Matter, p. 55; July 26, 2004, review of The Winds of Change, p. 41; January 30, 2006, review of The Old Wine Shades, p. 44; November 27, 2006, review of Dust, p. 35.

Reviewer's Bookwatch, February, 2007, Theodore Feit, review of Dust.

Sarasota, February, 2005, Kay Kipling, "True Grimes: On the Trail of Popular Mystery Novelist (and New Sarasota Resident) Martha Grimes," p. 114.

School Library Journal, June, 1991, Katherine Fitch, review of The Old Contemptibles, p. 135; July, 1999, Molly Connally, review of Biting the Moon, p. 115; March, 2000, Susan H. Woodcock, review of The Lamorna Wink, p. 264.

Time, July 15, 1985, review of Help the Poor Struggler; February 24, 1986, review of The Deer Leap, p. 76; December 22, 1986, William A. Henry III, review of I Am the Only Running Footman, p. 76; August 17, 1987, William A. Henry III, review of The Five Bells and Bladebone, p. 63.

Tribune Books (Chicago, IL), February 22, 1987, review of I Am the Only Running Footman, p. 6.

USA Today, September 3, 1987, review of The Five Bells and Bladebone, p. 5D.

Virginia Quarterly Review, winter, 1996, review of Rainbow's End, p. 22; spring, 1998, review of The Case Has Altered, p. 57.

Wall Street Journal, April 17, 1992, review of The End of the Pier, p. A9; October 11, 1999, review of The Lamorna Wink, p. A20.

Washington Post Book World, November 15, 1981, Jean M. White, review of The Man with a Load of Mischief; July 17, 1983, Jean M. White, review of The Anodyne Necklace, p. 10; May 20, 1984, Jean M. White, review of The Dirty Duck, p. 8; December 16, 1984; May 19, 1985, Robert Barnard, review of Help the Poor Struggler, p. 9; December 21, 1986, review of I Am the Only Running Footman, p. 10; September 20, 1987, review of The Five Bells and Bladebone, p. 12; February 17, 1991, review of The Old Contemptibles, p. 10; August 2, 1992, reviews of The Anodyne Necklace and I Am the Only Running Footman, p. 9; July 18, 1993, review of The Horse You Came in On, p. 6; June 23, 1996, review of Hotel Paradise, p. 8.

Wilson Library Bulletin, February, 1986, Kathleen Maio, review of The Deer Leap, p. 49; February, 1990, Kathleen Maio, review of Send Bygraves, p. 89.

ONLINE

Best Reviews,http://thebestreviews.com/ (October 9, 2006), Harriet Klausner, reviews of The Winds of Change, The Grave Maurice, and The Blue Last.

Bookreporter.com,http://www.bookreporter.com/ (April 20, 2001), interview with author; (October 5, 2001), interview with author; (September 6, 2002), interview with author; (September 5, 2003), interview with author; (February 24, 2006), biography and interview with author; (October 9, 2006), reviews of The Old Wine Shades and Belle Ruin; Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum, reviews of The Winds of Change and Foul Matter; Ann Bruns, reviews of The Grave Maurice, The Train Now Departing, Cold Flat Junction, The Blue Last, and The Case Has Altered; Sally Fellows, review of The Lamorna Wink; (August 11, 2007), Roz Shea, reviews of The Old Wine Shades and Dust.

Martha Grimes Home Page,http://www.marthagrimes.com (October 9, 2006).

MysteryNet.com,http://www.mysterynet.com/ (August 11, 2007), Charles L.P. Silet, "Martha Grimes Author Interview."