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| Plot Summary of The Blue Last |
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Viking, Sep 2001, 24.95, 384 pp.
ISBN: 067003004X
Detective Chief Inspector Mickey Haggerty is dying from cancer and his work to complete his final case borders on obsession. Mickey begs his long time friend and fellow cop Richard Jury to take over the investigation because he knows Rich will not rest until he solves the investigation. Two skeletons were found amidst the ruins of THE BLUE LAST Pub. Forensics proves that the remains are that of a young woman and female infant killed during World War II.
Haggerty believes that the adult is Alexandra Tynedale, daughter of brewing magnate Oliver Tynedale. However, it is the infant that interests the dying cop. If she is who he thinks she is, then someone planted an impostor baby inside the Tynedale family and that child, now an adult, stands to inherit a fortune as the grandchild of a wealthy man. Though he wants nothing to remind him of the WW II bombings since his parents were killed by them, Rich begins to investigate for a friend. When a murder of a Tynedale friend occurs, Richard wonders if there is a tie to a cover-up of a five-decade-old scam or is Maisie really a Tynedale?
Richard Jury is always welcome and his latest tale includes a strong dose of his personal side through Haggerty and his thoughts about his deceased parents. The moving story line centers on the police investigation from a possible mystery over fifty years old; if there really is a mystery. Richard remains his irascible but lovable self in his sixteenth appearance and his creator, Martha Grimes, still has the magic touch to keep him fascinating.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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"Richard Jury, Scotland Yard Inspector helps a friend with a case going back to the London bombings in WWII. The character-driven story flows from the finding of human remains under an old pub, bombed out in "The Blitz". Who these people were, and the implications of their identity, lead, ultimately to a murder in the present. Wealthy families, unusual relationships, quirky characters fill the story and raise it above the average mystery."
David Summers, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Blue Last |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30%
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 50%
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- "All in the family" murder
- solving long-past murder
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Mostly a criminal POV story
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 60's-90's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- mastermind
- police
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
- physically sick
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
City?
Yes
City:
- London
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 2
- 3-4
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Martha Grimes Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Laura Adamson
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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