Lamorna Wink by Martha Grimes (1999)

I remember that I lost my initial infatuation with Martha Grimes and her Richard Jury mysteries at some point years ago and then picked one up later and once again was pleased. Recently the library was getting rid of The Lamorna Wink so I thought it was time to see what was going on with Jury and his friends.

Surprisingly it is aristocratic Melrose Plant who has traveled to the Cornwell coast while Superintendent Jury is away. His delight in meeting the people in the area draws the reader in. Magic enters the plot through the remarkable young man, Johnny Wells, who's Aunt Chris suddenly disappears. Melrose is intrigued and decides to rent the magnificent cliff home where two young children drowned in the recent past. How all these unconnected strands of story finally converge is satisfying. AND you want to find the next

This is a series that benefits by being read more or less in order. There are 21 titles and The Lamorna Wink is number 16. The characters reoccur and it helps to explain some of the nonsense and humor that Grimes injects into her stories. It has been stated that she has a way of combining humor with shock and the playfulness of this story gives way to an awful unpleasantness at the end.

If you haven't discovered Martha Grimes, you have a wonderful reading experience waiting. If you have read some of these titles, then you know they are all pub names!

1. The Man With A Load Of Mischief
2. The Old Fox Deceiv'd
3. The Anodyne Necklace
4. The Dirty Duck
5. Jerusalem Inn
6. Deer Leap
7. Help The Poor Struggler
8. I Am The Only Running Footman
9. The Five Bells and Bladebone
10. The Old Silent
11. The Old Contemptibles
12. The Horse You Came In On
13. Rainbow's End
14. The Case Has Altered
15. The Stargazey
16. The Lamorna Wink
17. The Blue Last
18. The Grave Maurice
19. The Winds of Change
20. The Old Wine Shades
21. Dust