'Grimes's love of the offbeat, the whimsical and the absurd makes [the Richard Jury series] utterly unlike anyone else's detective novels.' (Washington Post)Billy Maples, former patron of London's finest art galleries and current tenant of Lamb House in Rye - the late Henry James's residence - is found murdered in an upmarket hotel in London. Richard Jury, Scotland Yard's finest, finds himself faced with yet another perplexing investigation.As Jury delves deeper into the fragments of the life Maples left behind, he finds himself entangled in a web of conflicting stories and false leads. Having enlisted the help of his faithful friend Melrose Plant, Jury must contend with both the case's lead detective, Lu Aguilar, and the surprise appearance of Maples's mysterious young nephew in order to crack the case.

Martha Grimes is a self-acclaimed Anglophile who has been publishing a book (and sometimes two) every year for the past twenty-five years.Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Grimes earned her BA and MA from the University of Maryland. Though she is best known for her detective fiction series that features Richard Jury, a Scotland Yard inspector, Martha Grimes is the author of two further book series - the Andi Oliver series and the Emma Graham series - as well as a collection of poems, a short story and a further two novels.In 1983, Grimes was the recipient of the Nero Wolfe Award for the best mystery of the year for The Anodyne Necklace. In 2012, she was awarded the title of Grand Master by The Edgar Awards Mystery Writers of America.