The Lamorna Wink

by Martha Grimes

2000

Status

Available

Publication

Berkley (2000), 432 pages

Description

Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:Detective Richard Jury is back in the 16th novel in Martha Grimes' extraordinary New York Times bestselling seriesâ??now enmeshed in a series of strange crimes and disappearances, and an age-old tragedy that consumes his sidekick Melrose Plant.

User reviews

LibraryThing member edwardsgt
An English detective story as written by an American and unfortunately lacking authenticity and interest for me.
LibraryThing member nepejwster
Mystery, England, Romantic whimsy--Loved it. Wanted more Grimes immediately. She almost had her Peter Pan. The answer I projected was better than her actual one. Peter Pan lured the children down the steps in the cliff. Peter Pan's mother was the youngish woman in the hospice. The pianist was with
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her the night of the tragedy. Her sister was volunteering at the hospice to care for her. The pianist was Pan's father.
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LibraryThing member ffortsa
I got through The Lamorna Wink, but it was slow going for a while. I learned a lot about Melrose Plant, and that should have been fascinating, but the book didn't take off for me until Jury showed up at about page 190! After that, I couldn't put it down.

I do think it was bleaker than it had to be -
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at least one death was, in my opinion, unnecessary to the solution. Again, I guessed both the motive and the murderer, complete with almost all the ins and outs, long before the participants did, but it was good to confirm my conclusions.

And lo and behold, the obligatory girl and dog never did show up. In the aftermath of the previous book in the series, Jury seems to have grown steelier about his own personal life, which is all to the good. I wish Melrose would just tell Agatha to stuff it occasionally, instead of being so noblesse oblige. Maybe that will come in the next installment, now that we know just how noblesse he really is.
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LibraryThing member fordbarbara
Melrose Plant the main character in this book, and it stays on track until the end when Grimes brings all the crazies down to Cornwall - can we not have one book without them?
LibraryThing member christinejoseph
R. Jury mystery always many twists + multiple links/facets — good

Five years ago in Cornwall, two children disappeared from their beds and were found mysteriously drowned. When a woman is murdered nearby, the police look for a connection between the deaths. Melrose Plant, renting the children's
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empty home, is caught up in the inquiry, and soon Richard Jury arrives to investigate.
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LibraryThing member phoenixcomet
Surprisingly short on Richard Jury (he is away in Northern Ireland), the Lamorna Wink featured Melrose Plant and Brian Macalvie working together to solve the disappearance of Chris Wells, the murder of Sada Colthrop, and the deaths of 2 little children from 4 years previous. The usual cast of
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characters, the story flowed well and tied together nicely all the different elements of the various situations thanks to Sergeant Alfred Wiggins. Richard Jury did come in towards the end. Sometimes I don't understand the endings to Martha Grimes tales and I read them because they are so engaging, in this case, this tale was top-notch with heart-breaking elements and a definite depiction of the times (the 1980s).
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LibraryThing member jetangen4571
A good read. The rich bloke with the godawful aunt decided to go to Cornwall and lease an estate at the seaside, unfortunately the aunt followed him. But the good news is that she sort of stayed out of his hair and found a new friend. A local teen worried about his own aunt and her apparent
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disappearance and help arrived in the person of a brilliant but irascible detective. Things became very convoluted and the detective work kept getting more difficult along with the body count. Well worth the read!
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LibraryThing member tkcs
. . . and I have to have a book I don't have to think about to read in bed when I'm trying to fall asleep. That's why I churn through mysteries; I save more important books for times when I'm more alert (sadly, not much of the time :)
LibraryThing member SandyAMcPherson
Generous at 3-stars thankyouverymuch. The plot starts off in a dreamy mode, setting the atmosphere of a Cornwallian countryside and a vanishing old-fashioned aristocracy. This measured pace brings the characters forward very effectively.

By 2/3rds into the story, there developed a lot of
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reader-angst about what was going on with the characters. The writing did not continue in the previous mood-setting thoughtfulness, with the reader being allowed to live in the village atmosphere of Cornwall, old houses and tea rooms. The narrative was thoroughly disrupted by unamusing side stories about Vivian and associated characters from earlier books and her dithering about marriage. These intrusions seem unrelated to the murder mysteries. The main protagonist, Melrose Plant, lost his introspective persona as his boorish behaviour with Vivian's fiancé progressed.

The final killing was especially senseless, contributing meaningless grief, and nothing relevant to the plot. What with the narrative casting such a dark tone with the horrible fate of the children, I am not reading anymore Grimes' mysteries.
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LibraryThing member delphimo
Another Martha Grimes novel with Richard Jury and Melrose Plant. This story covers Melrose Plant and his landed gentry lifestyle. Two wayward young girls captivate the story: Linda Pink and Pansy Fabricant. So many lively characters such as Mona Dresser, Sergeant Alfred Wiggins, Marshall Trueblood,
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Beatrice Slocum, and Diane Demorney. Where does Martha Grimes find these names? The story centers on a woman professional killer and her actions. The story also enters the world of painting and the thief of a priceless painting. The art description lands a little too heavy for this simple-minded reader. This novel reiterates Jury’s failure with women and so many of his loves that have died. Melrose Plant and his journey into a “Men’s Club” provides many laughs. The Cripps family brings laughter and sadness to the reader, knowing that this type of family does exist. Martha Grimes portrays a beautiful novel loaded with wonderful characters and lengthy description.
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Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1999

Physical description

432 p.; 4.2 inches

ISBN

0451409361 / 9780451409362

Barcode

1601747
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