Cold Flat Junction

Emma Graham #2

by Martha Grimes

Martha Grimes's Hotel Paradise was hailed by Booklist as "superb...beyond genre...one of the year's best." Now, Grimes returns to the same small town, intertwining the threads of one young girl's unexplained death with another young girl's attempt at making sense of her own life.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Coming Of Age, Audiobook

390 pages, Hardcover

First published February 12, 2001

About the author

Martha Grimes is an American author of detective fiction.

She was born May 2 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to D.W., a city solicitor, and to June, who owned the Mountain Lake Hotel in Western Maryland where Martha and her brother spent much of their childhood. Grimes earned her B.A. and M.A. at the University of Maryland. She has taught at the University of Iowa, Frostburg State University, and Montgomery College.

Grimes is best known for her series of novels featuring Richard Jury, an inspector with Scotland Yard, and his friend Melrose Plant, a British aristocrat who has given up his titles. Each of the Jury mysteries is named after a pub. Her page-turning, character-driven tales fall into the mystery subdivision of "cozies." In 1983, Grimes received the Nero Wolfe Award for best mystery of the year for The Anodyne Necklace.

The background to Hotel Paradise is drawn on the experiences she enjoyed spending summers at her mother's hotel in Mountain Lake Park, Maryland. One of the characters, Mr Britain, is drawn on Britten Leo Martin, Sr, who then ran Marti's Store which he owned with his father and brother. Martin's Store is accessible by a short walkway from Mountain Lake, the site of the former Hotel, which was torn down in 1967.

She splits her time between homes in Washington, D.C., and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The prequel to this book, Hotel Paradise, is one of my favorite, read-over-and-over books. Unfortunately, it seems Grimes hadn't even read it recently before writing this. The first few chapters contradict previous events so many times I wanted to scream in frustration. It also seems to have lost the dreamlike, meandering quality I liked so much, as the 12-year-old narrator seems to have matured the 10 years or so that passed between the writing of the two novels, and is now looking back on the events that took place immediately following, while previously, she seemed to be telling about things as they happened. She explains things a lot more now. While some of this is exposition to remind us of what happened in the last book (with the aforementioned contradictions and just plain inaccuracies), it continues through new events, so that what seemed before to be a kid's eye view of things, is just plodding and mechanical. It was so disconcerting reading these virtually back-to-back; Emma didn't even seem like the same person. Sheriff Sam DeGehyn also seemed to have undergone an abrupt makeover. Emma's high praise of him being someone who didn't treat her like a kid and actually listened to her as though her thoughts were just as important as an adult's completely vanished, as he discounted her and her investigation of the murders, basically telling her to keep her little nose out of it. Especially if you consider Sam's actions in The End of the Pier where Sam is the only one who doesn't believe the convenient suspect is guilty, it's hard to see Sam here acting like he wants to pin everything on Ben, just because it's so coincidental and obvious. In fact, come to think of it, the two mysteries are quite similar in that there are several murders, an obvious suspect, and then a less obvious guilty party. Only Sam's attitude has done a complete 180 in terms of who he'd prefer to blame.

Two other small nit-picks with Emma's character are that she seems to spend a lot of time going off places with strange men she just met, one even an admitted poacher(!), and aside from said poacher mentioning this one time, no one seems to have any problem with it. Second, I really could have done without Emma's intermittent descriptions of her imaginary vacation to Florida.(Emma's vacation is imaginary because her mom took off on a real vacation to Florida with Lola Davidow, co-owner of the hotel, and Davidow's daughter, ReeJane. Emma was not even invited.) In an almost-400-page book, a little more editing is definitely necessary. Also, who goes on vacation and leaves their two kids, aged 12 and 14, with no supervision except their 90 year old great-aunt, who never leaves the 4th floor, and a "slow-witted" dishwasher? If this story took place anywhere near reality, this kid would have been tragically raped, murdered, kidnapped, or burnt down the hotel instead of running around solving mysteries.

I did like the way the story was wrapped up, and I do look forward to the third book, Belle Ruin, mostly because I haven't any idea what it could be about unless it's another mystery entirely. I didn't really think the first one needed such an extended wrap-up (the ambiguousness of Hotel Paradise's ending was part of its beauty), but it was interesting to find out more about the Deveraus and get some confirmation of certain theories. At this point, I'm not really sure whether to recommend this book or not. It's kind of a toss-up.

[Holly in Bookland · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5 stars

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had really liked the first book in this series, Hotel Paradise, and the second is yet another romp with our 12 year old heroine, Emma Graham. As she continues her delving into the 40 year old mystery of another young girl's death, the bodies begin to pile up--and so do her new friends.

This book lets us continue to enjoy her quirky tribe of "assistants", Ulub and Ubb, who can't be understood without the help of Mr. Root to interpret. Emma bounces between her great-aunt Aurora's demands at the hotel and Ms. Bertha's as a customer--I get exhausted just thinking of all the running this girl does to take care of the hotel AND try to solve the mystery.

My favorite addition to the story this time is Dwayne Hayden--mechanic and poacher--who introduces Emma to William (Billy) Faulkner and becomes a real supporter of this feisty young girl. He, the Sheriff Sam DeGheyn, and the mysterious Ben Queen form a triangle of men who care about Emma as she puts herself deeper and deeper into risk.

Now onto Belle Ruin, the third book in the series. Really didn't want to put the first two down! :-)

The only reason this one isn't a five star for me is the extraneous story of Emma's mother taking off for Florida with her annoying assistant and the woman's daughter (Emma's nemesis). First of all, I couldn't believe her mother left Emma in charge of the hotel and just went on vacation! This woman may be a good cook, but she's a lousy mother! And second, poor Emma tries to recreate Florida and have an imaginary vacation--which certainly shows this girl's imagination, but seemed an interruption to the story for me.

[Tiffany PSquared · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We all have cracks and don't know it; we are all pretty windy."

Emma Graham is one of my all-time favorite characters in literature. I love her unique wisdom that fits like a perfect puzzle piece with her youthful imagination.

The way Martha Grimes writes is like having a voice in your head telling you a perfect story about old friends. That's why this series is also one of my favorites (even though I read it all out of order).

I would recommend this book to anyone who doesn't mind feeling bugswirled and stumppocked and reading about a twelve-year-old girl who becomes the deus-ex-machina of her own life story.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book in this series was published in 1996. This volume in 2000, hence the first 1/4th of this book is a review of the plot and characters. But then it gets going and brings about plot developments featuring the growing cast of endearing characters. Emma Graham, girl-detective, is even more curious and clever, if possible, than in “Hotel Paradise”. All in all, it makes for a worthwhile read.

[Lark37 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love the world of Emma Graham. She reminds a little of myself when I would spend summers at my grandma's restaurant in a small town in the Midwest. I was always reading, daydreaming, wandering around town, and sometimes making up my own little mysteries. Of course, for Emma the mysteries are real enough and she's much more outgoing than I ever was. But, the world Martha Grimes has created for Emma to inhabit is so real to me. I enjoy her Richard Jury books, but I've found that I enjoy Emma's world much more. This book was better than the first Emma Graham book I read which was Hotel Paradise. Hotel Paradise was good, but it seemed like I started in the middle of a story already in progress--perhaps because I didn't read the first in the series in which I believe Maud is the central character. This one felt like coming home to familiar character and situations, and the humor in this one seemed to ratchet up a notch. This one also had more of a satisfying conclusion than Hotel Paradise as well although Grimes still left plenty to be figured out in the next book. I especially enjoyed the new character introduced in this book--Dwayne.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before there was Flavia de Luce, there was Emma Graham...

Emma Graham only preceded Flavia by about a decade, but the two are rather similar (in my mind, at least). They're both precocious preteens who are given a little too much free reign in their small towns to get into all sorts of trouble. Emma's personality is less abrasive, though, making her more lovable; and she shows vulnerability more often and sooner than Flavia.

For some reason, it took me 8 months after reading Hotel Paradise to read its sequel, Cold Flat Junction. No idea why it took me that long, as I'm really loving this series. So far it's been incredibly easy to crawl between the covers of these books and exist in the town and with the characters of the story. I can't offer any comment on the noted plot inconsistencies, as it's been so long since reading Hotel Paradise. But I do really like how the last two books (and I assume the next one) have all been concerning the same murder case.

I'll see you again soon, Emma! It won't take me 8 months this time.

[Sharon Holford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this story. Ms. Grimes has such a way of telling stories with children that are not childish. The heroine in this one is smart and yet vulnerable. This is her second story and the best. The first one left us wanting to know what happened and this one answers all our questions. I love Mr. Root and the Wood brothers, ULB and UBB - Ulub and Ubub. The two brothers cannot talk in the normal way, but they are a wonderful part of the story. While it is unlikely that a sheriff would actually interact with a 12 year old girl as he does in this story, it is gratifying to believe it could really happen. Emma is after all a different sort of character. I'm grateful for Ms. Grimes's children. This book could probably fare well in young adult, young teen reading. Many a girl would love to be Emma.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled to get into this book. This is my first of the Emma Graham series and I couldn't tell where she was going. The imaginary world of this 12 year old girl running in parallel with her detective work was a little hard to follow. She was rather intrepid for a 12 year old, who seemed to have plenty of money for cabs to get around, had no qualms about hanging out with adults and investigating in dark woods accompanied by older men. Her mother and her brother seemed to be there but only as props who really have no authority over her. I'm willing to accept these oddities in hopes that this girl who makes friends so easily will turn out to be as great a series as the Richard Jury one.

[Kelsey Hanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still really enjoy this series but this sequel was not quite as good as its predecessor. Still the scenery and writing style of this series is pretty enchanting. I do feel that Emma lost some of her charm from the first one and comes across as more of a Nancy Drew wannabe. Still a large part of the mystery is revealed but there's still enough left to figure out that makes you want to keep reading the series. This series had a bit more "filler" than the other one as well and moved a bit slower, but it was still an enjoyable series and gives you at least a little bit of closure before moving on to the next story.

[Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another young fearless sleuth festooned with wonderful characters, imaginations, and lovely descriptions of food.

[Klara Gonciarz · Rating 5 out of 5]

quite sceptical at first, however, as the plot reveals itself, the book does not disappoint at all. the beginning might seem a bit annoying as the author unnecessarily recalls all of the events from the previous volume; it feels needless, tiresome and makes the read repetitious, monotonous. nonetheless, the further into action, the more gripping, fascinating the plot commences to be. Emma Graham remains one of the most vibrant, extraordinary characters with her consistent plotting, never-ending conspiracy theories and noteworthy remarks ("I read somewhere that we never completely forget a thing, that there are the imprints of everything we’ve ever seen or done, all of these tiny details at the bottoms of our minds, like pebbles and weeds that never surface from a river bottom."). even though Martha Grimes keeps the pace of the read slow, she takes her time to reveal key elements, plots, characters, the whole experience does not feel dull nor flat whatsoever. her writing feels natural, pure ("They’re an idea of home, I think. Words are. It really is like opening a door, isn’t it, to open a book. If that’s not too sentimental to say. Books, words, stories are a kind of solace.") and definitely keeps the reader at the verge of his seat till the very last page. it is truly an exceptional, imaginative series not only about crime, villainy but also about resistance, forgiveness, truthfulness, trust and faith in one's potential or abilities.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cold Flat Junction is the conclusion of the mystery/coming-of-age tale begun in Martha Grimes' magnificent Hotel Paradise (Emma Graham Mysteries. (Be sure to read Hotel Paradise first!)

It's set in an indeterminate time (there's a mention of nouvelle cuisine and the United Nations on the one hand, yet the novel is riddled with train travel, small-town drugstores with soda fountains, a McCrory's, records and horsehair sofas) in an indeterminate place (somewhere on the Eastern Seaboard north of Maryland). You get the sense that both books are a fable of sorts.

Grimes' sequel (a continuation really) surpasses the first novel in recounting the cleverness and tenacity of its 12-year-old heroine. Every character is true-to-life from the sympathetic sheriff with the philandering wife to Maude, the good-hearted waitress at the Rainbow Cafe, to the speech-addled Wood brothers to the nasty and domineering 16-year-old Reejane, Emma's nemesis. The ending gives me hope that Ms. Grimes will continue the saga with yet another book about Emma Graham.

[m. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked Hotel Paradise, the first book in this series, because it was less a conventional murder mystery than a portrait of the town in which it was set. The sequel, however, was a disappointment. Cold Flat Junction turns the main character, Emma -- previously an inquisitive kid who blended into the background of her hometown and whose flaws the narrative acknowledged -- into a coddled Plucky Girl Detective stereotype whom no one in the story is allowed to criticize (even legitimately) without being demonized. The plot took a sharp turn for the unrealistic, especially toward the end, and the only slice-of-life interludes that remain in the sequel are used to try and convince the reader that Emma is really quite adorable and charming.

Overall a disappointing departure from the first book.

[Valerie K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as fabulous as the first in the series (at least the first half or so that is how I felt) but still pretty darn great. Near the beginning I caught an actual mistake that has to do with Shirl and the Angel Pie, but I won't get into it - my delight in being a smartypants by finding it almost outweighs its being there. Plus I didn't find any others. Anyhow, once I got past all the recapping (as you may know from others of my reviews I get a tad bit annoyed by recapping), and the story got rolling, I got back into it and forgot my petty objections. By the end it was a "can't put it down" situation and I was genuinely surprised at the end. I love how this girl, in her delving into solving murders, also discovers so many forgotten or seemingly un-remarkable people. It's like she finds a dozen Boo Radleys and draws them all out of the shadows.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Hotel Paradise Emma Graham was trying to solve the case of a murder of Mary-Evelyn, a 12-year-old girl. This time Mary-Evelyn's death is connected with more recent crime - murder of Fern Queen. Fern was a daughter of Ben Queen and Rose Devereau, Mary-Evelyn's aunt. Ben is a suspect as he went out of jail days before Fern was murdered. Beside investigation Emma has to deal with small town relations and expectations. Emma doesn't use a kick-the-door method which isn't working in her town. Good read for a long train ride.

[Lynne-marie]

Books are said to be driven by two of their four elements: character, plot, pace, plot and atmosphere. This book is all about atmosphere (in spades) and the character of twelve year old Emma Grimes who is changing and growing before our very eyes, but not her essence, which is as fixed as, say, a mule (to speak Emma-country language.) Wonderful and full characterization of other actors across Emma's stage come all from her eyes and are fascinating indeed. The intriguing mystery, one of which only Emma can perceive, marks this an all our winner with remarkable writing from Martha Grimes. Not to be missed.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The is the second in a series, and I read the third, Belle Ruin, not found on GoodReads. The first one, Hotel Paradise, sounds from the title to be some kind of cheap romance novel, but it's far from that. I was entertained by the imagination of 12-year-old Emma, whose viewpoint the books are written. She's naive but cleverly smart, shy and bold at the same time as she tries to solve a decades-old kidnapping and disappearance of a young girl. Seems as though there are still some loose ends to tie up, so there is probably a 4th book in the works.

[Mary Helene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystery? I suppose. I love the ruminations on Time - peeled back, stretched to the breaking - set in lush - or lonely - descriptions. Then there's silence, like this sentence set in the middle of a rich passage on pg. 82, talking of young girl's terror: "If a cone had dropped on velvet needles, if a star had laid a silver track across the sky, if the dead had turned in their graves - I swear, I would have heard it, that's how silent it all was."
And it's funny. The perfect book for a rainy day.

[Beth Favini · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this chapter in the Emma Graham saga...Martha Grimes writes convincingly as the precocious 12 year old...absolutely love the surrounding characters and situations, especially the implied relationship between the Sheriff and Maud, and love Aurora Paradise. Cold Flat Junction, however, was not as delightful as Hotel Paradise...it was overly long and I was actually ready to bail before the end, but was happy I stuck with it--the ending was pretty satisfying. I picked up the third in the series, Belle Ruin...but may need a little vacation from Spirit Lake before starting it.

[Susan Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second in the Emma Graham series and winds up the first mystery ...and Emma enjoys herself way too much at the end...but I guess she deserves the fun.
Waiting for the third to come out in ebook. I read the 4th book some time back, but I'm not sure I got it figured out. I was having trouble making it all come together. Probably been too long since I'd read the others.

This book and Hotel Paradise cover just a few weeks in the life of Emma Graham, age 12. This one starts a week after the first one ends.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series, the first books by Martha Grimes I have read. Hotel Paradise drew me in, and I cannot wait to find the third so I can finish the story. Emma is my favorite young heroine, surpassing the old fave, Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird. Grime's descriptions of anything from vegetation to food to personality quirks are fabulous. In-depth but not overly wordy. I would recommend these books to anyone who likes to read.

[Starry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm rereading this series (and thrilled to see that another has been added to it since my last reading of it). There's something about the tone of these books that I find gripping. I like the narrator voice (12-year-old Emma Graham) and the small town characters and the mysteries, but it's the dreamy/timeless/nostalgic/mournful tone that sucks me into these stories and that separates this series from other "cozy" mysteries.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

The special point about this book was the young heroine which draw me into her personal life of a child, showing me her world through her eyes.
This story took me by surprise as I knew not one book of Martha Grimes (and have never after that read one of her that I felt so intensily intruding into my own life when reading it).
Maybe the plot is not too complicated but the juvenile heroine makes up for everything.

[Tex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I knew this author, but I discovered a complely new side to her offers. It's nothing like the Richard Jury novels that I've come to know, but reminds me more of A Curious Case of the Dog in the Nighttime (or whatever that long title is). It's told from the perspective of a 12-year-old girl who is part Nancy Drew, part Doogie Hauser, and part Blossom.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit more plot and less atmosphere than Hotel Paradise which I rate as an astonishingly good book, but still terrific. Really difficult to put down towards the end - leaving you with the dilemma of wanting to read on, yet not wanting to finish the book too quickly. Really looking forward to Belle Ruin which I have not read yet but and my copy has arrived just in time from America.

[Bobbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enjoying this series of 12 year old Emma Graham and her small town. I'm not sure I liked this one quite as well as the first but I waited awhile between them so had forgotten some of the first. This one has a lot of humor and I can't remember if I laughed so much in the first. I will definitely not wait so long for the third book.

[Marge · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the second Emma Graham book better and just want to reach into the book and hug 12-year-old Emma and tell her how special she is as she goes above solving an old drowning mystery.

[Harry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great detective novel from of the view of a 12 year old tomboy. I was skeptical but Grimes is a good writer and really had me believing in little Emma. I will read more Grimes.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this very much