Book reviews

The Stargazey
Martha Grimes Book Review

Read a book review online (click here to search reviews)
Books Movies  
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Mystery/Thriller Literature Romance Biography History
Martha Grimes Books
New book search
Martha Grimes Message Board
Get more information about this book
Plot Summary of The Stargazey
"In “The Stargazey,” the 15th of the Richard Jury mystery series, author Martha Grimes has once again displayed her command of the genre with a compelling storyline,
cast of characters, and a knack for landscape and atmosphere. (Remember, the Jury novels are all titled after actual pubs, most of them in England.)

The Stargazey is a pub on Fulham Road in London, where one can easily access it by taking Bus No. 14. Supt. Jury of Scotland Yard, on a whim, boards it and eyes one of
the passenger as being noteworthy. But he thinks nothing about it, other than to try to visualize the “character” of the person. A day or so later, a body is discovered murdered at Bishop's Palace and there is something alarmingly familiar about the person. Supt. Jury
feels it is the same person he had seen on the bus. He is intrigued and thus begins the investigation, of finding out the who and the why of this particular murder. The resolution of this crime is not without its surprises and it is not without the keen intellect of Jury,
a complex but fascinating protagonist in his own right.

Grimes once again shows how she is one of the best in modern crime fiction. She has amazing abilities to create memorable characters: Melrose Plant, Sgt. Wiggins, Marshall Trueblood, Aunt Agatha, to name a few (readers who have followed the Jury series have come to recognize that they are all integral parts of Grimes' novels).   For good
English “detecting” this series is at once charming yet fascinating. Grimes' ability to tell a police procedural is top notch, not to be missed. "
Bill Hobbs, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of The Stargazey
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).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of story - Dry-cynical - very upbeat
How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story: - 1980's-1999
Spying/Terrorism Thriller Yes
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here? - finding a known killer

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - government investigator
Age: - 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use? - none
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some
Motive of antagonist - power
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK

Style
Part of a series? Yes
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey descriptions deaths/dead bodies
How many deaths? - 1
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to The Stargazey
Yeats is Dead: A Mystery by 15 Irish Writers by Joseph O'Connor
The Secret Ingredients Murder by Nancy Pickard
Twanged by Carol Higgins Clark
Death and the Chaste Apprentice by Robert Barnard
Last Suppers by Diane Mott Davidson


Click here for more information about this book


Martha Grimes Resident Scholar Profiles

 TOP SCHOLAR:
  Laura Adamson  

SCHOLARS:


Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
Three ways to search for Thriller/Action books!

1) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot or subplot below!

Big vehicle disaster?

Crime Thriller

Disaster, natural or nuclear

Exploring into the wild

Horror Story?

Legal Thriller

Medical Thriller

Religious overtones?

Spying/Terrorism Thriller

War Thriller

Water adventure

Western



or 2) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
3) Even more search options available with a Detailed Booksearch (click here)

Use our site!
Feedback
About us
Bribe your congressman!
Rudy Giuliani



Most recent discussions:

General Book Talk
Book writing discussion
Off-topic message board
.
George W. Bush 7:43:57 PM
J.K. Rowling 6:03:45 PM
Christina Crawford 5:33:22 PM
General Discussion (All Topics) 4:53:38 PM
Janet Evanovich 4:47:57 PM
Erin Hunters 4:04:59 PM
Anna Fynn 2:53:32 PM
Suzanne Collins 1:57:43 PM
Iris Johanson 12:45:32 PM
Robert Segarra 10:42:54 AM
Terry Goodkind 5:36:55 AM
Larry D. Bohall 3:24:51 AM
Robert James Waller 1:17:35 AM
Josie Litton 8:51:10 PM
Dave Pelzer 8:47:07 PM
Lilian Jackson Braun 7:23:32 PM
Deric Longden 5:56:29 PM
Thomas Kinkade and Katherine Spencer 5:22:48 PM
Mary Downing Hahn 4:22:15 PM
Ellis Peters 3:53:42 PM

More message boards