Dust

April 13, 2008 - Dust (Martha Grimes). Old wounds from World War II are exposed in this entry in the series from Martha Grimes featuring Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent Richard Jury. The book follows an arc that began four books earlier with The Blue Last and which, hopefully, will continue with the next book in the series.

Our story begins in a newly trendy section of London at a newly trendy restaurant/hotel called the Zetter. Benny, the homeless teenager who helped save Jury's life in The Blue Last, has lied himself into a job at the Zetter. He takes a tray up to a room and discovers the body of a young man named Billy Maples. Benny's first call is to Jury, who interrupts a night of passion with police pathologist Phyllis Nancy to go to the scene. Of course, the local police are there, too, including Detective Inspector Lu Aguilar. She's smart and stunning and she and Jury can't keep their hands off each other. Poor Phyllis. Poor Jury.

As for the victim, Billy Maples was the grandson of a famous codebreaker from WWII, a man Jury met in The Blue Last. Maples lived in London and made anonymous donations to help out promising young artists. He also had taken up residence at Lamb House, the seaside home that belonged to famous author Henry James. Jury installs his aristocratic friend, Melrose Plant, at the house to see if he can find out why anyone would want to kill Billy Maples.

Jury and Plant find the answers to the present case in the past. Documents and anecdotes from WWII, along with some assistance from a boy named Malcolm, provide the clues they need to solve the mystery.

But, perhaps more interesting than the murder, is Jury's personal life. He's continuing his relationship with Harry Johnson, the too-clever-by-half wine afficionado who seems to have outsmarted Jury in The Old Wine Shades. And then there are the women. Beautiful, mature and faithful Phyllis Nancy. The younger and hotter Lu Aguilar. The dazzling upstairs neighbor, Carole-Anne. What is Jury to do? I can't wait to find out.