The Anodyne Necklace

Richard Jury #3

by Martha Grimes

A severed finger found at the scene of a baffling murder in the village of Littlebourne leads local constables on what seems like a wild goose chase. But Richard Jury prefers to take the less traveled route to a slightly disreputable pub, where drinks all around loosen tongues and provide clues galore.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Audiobook, British Literature, Mystery Thriller, Detective

310 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1983

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

[Adina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this 3rd volume from Richard Jury series even more than the 2nd. We are back to 4* rating. The mystery here was more complex and I liked how the setting moved from the village and London. The humour was less pregnant in this novel as the previous books but it was still present. Looking forward to reading the next, probably in a few months.

[C. (Comment, never msg). · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Anodyne Necklace” came out in 1983 and won awards; which must have been gratifying as Martha Grimes’s third novel. Richard Jury instantly befriended earldom-relinquishing Melrose Plant and I became a fan in the second volume. Richard’s hypochondriac lieutenant, Henry Wiggins, is hilarious; particularly in the squalor of poor but energetic children they step around this time. I liked the last mystery better, amid more secrecy and environmental ambiance. There is no danger for any principal characters, nor urgency and much of the tone is jocular. However, it is a standard adult mystery that pulls no punches; killing three characters and implicating an unexpected person as the villain.

Suspicion is cast around an array of people so exceptionally well, Martha clearly found her stride by her second book. I will not wait as long as I usually do between authors, to rejoin her! This premise is less appealing to me but I admire so much nevertheless. For one, I can’t believe how distinctly she sketches a cascade of tertiary personages, memorably. For another, I admire that each novel is different. England provides numerous terrains and tableaux like my own Canada but ideas for mysteries and motives are new each time, too. Martha shows a fondness for kids and their welfare and now, for music. The titular necklace is far at the back of this story; a superficial filler. I wanted a secretive quest or history but enjoyed the growth of Richard and Melrose.

A talented teenaged violinist, busking and meeting an exemplary tutor in London, is injured in the subway. An unknown woman was dead in Littlebourne woods shortly before. The connection is stretched and there were more decoy threads than needed. However, the widespread legwork of Martha’s trio keeps us tuned-in. The violinist’s equestrian friend is another special girl.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've enjoyed the Richard Jury mystery series by Martha Grimes very much. The first three or four books were read out of sequence but I've recently begun to read them in order. The Anodyne Necklace is the third book in the series and definitely one of my favorites. While it might not be overly deep and provocative, there is something about the story that draws you in and emotionally attaches you to the characters, whether Jury, his ever-present Sgt Wiggins and best friend Lord Ardry, AKA Melrose Plant, or the suspects and people involved in the case.

Jury is just setting out for a weekend vacation time with his friend Melrose when he receives a call from his boss and bane of Jury's existence, DCI Racer. Jury has been tasked to assist a local police force investigate a murdered body found in the woods near the tiny village of Littlebourne, a town near London. Bringing Wiggins along and asking Plant to come as well, to do some 'undercover' investigating, Jury heads to the town. What an interesting place and such interesting people. We soon discover that a crime, possibly related to the murder, has also taken place in London. Katie O'Brien, a young lady from Littlebourne, who traveled to London for violin lessons, had been struck on the head and is in hospital in a coma. (This is how the story opens). As well, there have been other incidents that make for both a fascinating town and that might also be related.

Thus begins Jury's investigation. And it will involve so many fascinating characters, Polly Praed, the local mystery writer, the Bodenheims (Sir Miles and family) who are the subject of Praed's murder plots, the Ashe family in London, a more rascally but lovable bunch you will never meet, the local Bobby, Peter Gere, but especially young Emily Louise Perk, an independent, stubborn, wonderful girl who will so influence both Melrose and Jury in this story.

The mystery is the crux of the story but it's the interrelationships and the characters that make it such a joy to read. I found myself becoming invested in so many of them and turning pages to find out how they would further develop. The story was such a pleasure to read, bringing out many emotions, sadness, happiness, anger... I so enjoyed the story, a lovely little gem. Oh and a nicely satisfying mystery as well, with an excellent ending. (5 stars)

[Stacey Namiotka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy reading this, but not as much as some of the other Richard Jury mysteries. The Old Fox Deceiv'd and Man with a Load of Mischief both had much more interesting mysteries. Also, the murderer reveal made sense in those books. In the Anodyne Necklace, no reader would be able to figure out the murderer and their motive. One of my favorite characters in the series, Melrose Plant, was portrayed as kind of an insecure loser, which isn't his personality at all in the other books.
I did enjoy the interactions between Melrose Plant and his nemesis in this particular book, ten year old Emily Louise Perk. Those chapters were quite entertaining. I also enjoyed Richard Jury's ventures into the dungeons and dragons bar and Jury's interactions with the Cripps family. The Cripps father, mother, and dirty children were very funny.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I debated how many stars to give this Martha Grimes. I loved so many of the supporting characters in this book, but I thought the solution to the mystery too unbelievable.
The chemistry between Jury and Plant is great, also love the comic scenes with Racer, his boss. The characters in the village where the mystery is set was funny and fully formed. There was also secondary character's in London that were hilarious. I don't want to go too much into detail, because you should discover these wonderful characters for yourselves.
The ending was sad, I hated the outcome to one of the characters.
All in all a great book, just not the solution to the murder.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another enjoyable Jury & Plant outing. I'm reading these totally out of order, but that doesn't seem to be a problem. The story starts off with an assault on a young busker (street musician), who is innocently playing her violin when someone hits her on the back of the head and then flees. The scene then shifts to a woman trying to shoo a dog, which promptly drops a human finger at her feet. The connection between the two crimes is not immediately apparent.

Richard Jury is called out to investigate with his friend (and ex-peer) Melrose Plant. It eventually becomes apparent that everything is tied to the theft of priceless emeralds from Lord Kennington a year earlier. The suspected thief was his secretary, who was killed in an accident. Apparently, he hid the emeralds, which have never been found. It is believed that he had an accomplice, but the person was never identified. Jury and Plant's investigation lead to a "Wizards and Warriors" group (somewhat similar to D & D) that the secretary belonged to. Does the game have anything to do with the hiding place of the emeralds?

This is one of the more humorous Jury & Plant mysteries and is full of amusing characters. For example, Polly Praed:

"A moderately successful mystery-story writer, she often, when her plots came unglued, would divert herself by practicing various modes and styles of murder on the Bodenheims, singly or together. She favored the denouement which had the entire village coming together to murder the titled family."

The Bodenheims are the odious "lords of the manor" in Littlebourne and never let anyone forget it. In most mysteries, they would be the ones to be bumped off. However, this isn't most mysteries, so they are kept around for amusement.

Then there is Emily Louise Perk:

"The next person to enter the Magic Muffin was Emily Louise Perk, ten years old with no sign she had grown since she was eight. Her small-boned frame and triangular face, mournful brown eyes, strings of yellow hair hanging about her pointed chin, shabby little hacking jacket and jeans, all proclaimed her to be quite a pitiful child."

Like the book says, "Emily Louise Perk was anything but pitiful." In fact, she is formidable and able to hold her own even with the nasty Bodenheims. Resourceful, smart, and downright scary, she is my favorite character in the book after Polly Praed. My only caveat is that she seems older than her eight years.

This mystery is good fun with humor, but also suspense. Things take a serious turn later in the book. I was very surprised by who the accomplice/killer was. Ms Grimes does an excellent job combining an amusing English village (reminiscent of D.E. Stevenson) and an intriguing mystery. I have read several of her books and have never been disappointed.

Very recommended.

[Suzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This third in the Grimes' Richard Jury series has all the hallmarks of her storytelling. Stereotypical characters of village life, an oddly named pub where suspects and witnesses alike hang out, a couple of murders that seem unconnected, a precocious child who helps out with the solve, Scotland Yard detective Jury, his aristocrat pal Melrose Plant, some shuttling back and forth between the village and London, lots of red herrings and a heap of humor. It also reminded me that when I listen I need to have a hard copy of the book to keep track of all the oddball people and place names! Speaking of listening, Steve West is the perfect voice of Richard Jury. Loved it!

[Mary Ladd · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm tempted to give it one star but gave it two because I find Jury and Melrose so very likable. The rest of the charters in this story range from annoying (the 10 year old girl), a bit odd (mystery writer, spinster sisters), cartoonishly offensive (the wealthy family) or absolutely disgusting (the flasher, his wife and their trashy children). As for the mystery, when the murderer is revealed my immediate response was "Who?" and the last paragraph left me thinking "What?!?".

[Teresa Rokas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy these mysteries with Superintendent Jury, Melrose Plant and Sergeant Wiggins. Great fully drawn characters with an intriguing story with lots of twists and turns.

[Karschtl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dieses Buch gilt als "Klassiker der Kriminalliteratur" und hat es sogar ins Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher geschafft. Wieso allerdings hat sich mir nicht ganz erschlossen. Ich habe mich eher durchgequält, ganz besonders am Anfang. War auch schon kurz vor dem Abbruch, habe dann aber nochmal Reviews gelesen wie toll Martha Grimes hier Milieustudien und Charakterbeschreibungen vorgenommen hat und unterschwelligen Witz eingestreut. Mmmh, ich habe dann tatsächlich den Nebenfiguren etwas mehr Beachtung geschenkt (vorher fand ich es mühsam, mir all die verschiedenen Leuten und ihre Funktion merken zu müssen), und ich war wahrscheinlich auch schon etwas mehr in der Geschichte drin. Jedenfalls war der 2. Teil des Buches tatsächlich besser. Aber ein wirklicher Lesegenuss war es dennoch nicht.

Auch den ersten Inspektor Jury-Roman, den ich vor ein paar Jahren gelesen habe, habe ich mit nur 3 Sternen bewertet. Jetzt habe ich noch ganze 16 weitere Teile der Reihe im Regal stehen. Tut mir ja schon leid, die jetzt alle ungelesen auszusortieren, auch wenn es alles nur second-hand-Erwerbungen waren. Soll ich mit einem Teil nochmal einen Versuch wagen, wird es nochmal besser? Nehme gerne Empfehlungen entgegen, habe alle Teile bis Band 19 da.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was... weird. Other than getting to spend more time with Melrose Plant, I'm not really sure this is worth reading. The mystery is odd, and the whodunnit seems to fade into the background as we follow the antics of the townspeople of Littlebourne.

Two seemingly disconnected things happen: Kate O'Brien is hit over the head in a subway stop in London and falls into a coma. Two weeks later, Jury gets a phone call that a body has been found in Littlebourne, a woman no one in the village knows, and her fingers have been cut off on one hand to boot. He and Melrose meet there. Along the way we meet a murder mystery writer, a family who thinks they are better than everyone else, two spinster sisters and a precocious ten-year-old named Emily Louise Perk (does Grimes put a precocious basically-orphaned child in every story she writes?). On top of this, crayoned "poison pen" letters were distributed to some of the townsfolk but none of what they say was true. What is happening in this sleepy village?

Obviously it ends up that Katie and the fingerless corpse are connected. Katie was hit because she found a map (NOT related to the Wizards and Warlocks game played at the local pub) but that leads to the necklace stolen a year ago by a corrupt secretary named Trevor Tree. The woman who was killed was wearing a ring that was stolen by the same man, and the murderer was afraid that Lady Kennington, to whom she was going to meet, would recognize it and ask where she got it (Tree was her lover). The murderer/ accomplice to Trevor was the local constable Pete Gere. We barely spend any time with Gere, though, so it's not a very satisfying ending, nor did I care about many of the inhabitants, even Emily Perk who was just too much. I did get a kick out of how Melrose wanted to ask out the mystery writer, Polly Praed, but she only had eyes for Jury.

[Jazz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why, oh why, did I wait so long to start reading Martha Grimes? The only advantage is knowing I have 20+ books of hers to look forward to. This is my favorite so far of the first four I've read. Amusing characters, quaint village setting, and an intriguing puzzle all add up to a great read. I particularly liked the mystery writer Polly Praed who spends her time planning the individual murders of a particularly annoying family of village gentry, the Bodenheims, and then decides they should just kill each other off in her book. Ms. Grimes writes children particularly well and this mystery is no exception. Little Emily Louise Perk and her pony Shandy are delightful characters. Martha Grimes has become one of my favorite mystery writers. I recommend her novels highly—particularly the Richard Jury series.

[Julie Durnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really liking this series more and more. Ms. Grimes must have had so much fun creating these characters-they were quite unique-and she always seems to have precocious children as a foil to help solve the mystery! I was blindsided by the culprit of the murders-very well done!

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many unsavory details. Sorry, but I'm a "cozy" reader. Forgo the details of the jerk who exposes himself and his unhappy wife.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasant, easy, comfy reading.

[Andria Potter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent installment of the Richard Jury series, and I'm definitely going to continue reading them.

[IslandRiverScribe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is more driven by character than by plot. Make no mistake – there is a plot, a very complicated one involving a theft, a mugging, a series of poison-pen letters, an accidental death and a deliberate death. All of these events take place within one year’s time, are seemingly unrelated, but are all perpetrated upon or by residents of a small village close to London called Littlebourne.

It is the deliberate death, evidenced only by a dog chewing on a severed finger bone that gives Chief Superintendent Racer the gleeful opportunity to cancel Superintendent Richard Jury’s weekend plans with Melrose Plant at Ardry End. And that gives Plant the opportunity to ditch Aunt Agatha and get involved in a murder investigation. It will only take Jury, Wiggins and Plant three days to solve the murder. But in those three days, they – and the reader – will encounter some of the oddest and saddest specimens of the human race possible.

One of these characters is Emily Louise Perk, a ten-year-old girl with an affinity for horses, a need to ply crayons to coloring books, the ability to sell sand in a desert, and an intelligence for self-survival that is off the charts. Whether Martha Grimes intended it or not, Emily Louise steals the story away from Jury and Plant. She turns out to be integral to the solution of the murder; but her very existence and manner also brings out aspects of both Jury’s and Plant’s characters heretofore unseen.

Emily Louise may be central but she is just one of a large complement of characters, in both Littlebourne and London, who play a role in this complicated mystery. At first, I was aggravated that there were so many to keep straight. However, my aggravation dropped away when I remembered that, in real life, the police have to sort them all out also. So I relaxed and let Jury do all the heavy lifting.

In the end, I still picked the wrong person as the murderer. But, then, Jury had accused the wrong person late in the story also. And when the villain’s identity was finally revealed, I realized that Grimes had already told us, in a backhanded way, near the beginning of the novel, exactly whom the murderer would turn out to be. Missing that really made me hang my amateur sleuth’s head in shame and disgust.

Even though the author managed to keep her secrets to the end, she did so in a magnificent and entertaining way. The internal monologues of Jury and Plant are consistently written with tongue-in-cheek humor, satire, sarcasm, eye-rolling snark, and a 180-degree separation in what is thought versus what is said. This approach for Jury is quite different from the style in the first two books of the series. But this technique in no way lessened the psychological import of the scenes involved.

Grimes also uses, in this novel, what would be termed in visual media as “sight gags.” I do not know the appropriate term for printed media, but the equivalent in this novel is the repeated use of the “baby in a carriage” image. It turns out to be quite important to our perception of Jury.

And, in the vein of perceiving character traits, Grimes gives us new insight into Wiggins. He actually appears far less in this work than in the previous novels, but when he does speak, we find that there is a totally new layer to him beneath the hypochondria and the compulsive attention to detail. Our first clue is his reference to a famous quote from “The Wizard of Oz” that follows a jaw-sucking, skin-crawling scene in a London slum. And then Grimes expands Wiggins from there, just a bit, but a very noticeable bit.

In the end, we have a third novel in a series that is neither formulaic nor does it follow any pattern from the previous entries. The crimes are complex, woven through a loom of time and lies. So the story is convoluted to match the crimes. We don’t get all the answers by the last page either, but that is neither poor workmanship nor oversight on the part of the author. It is simply that dead people can tell no tales.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is the third in the Richard Jury series.
These mysteries are timeless.
Jury is sent to the small village of Littlebourne after a young woman is found murdered and another was attacked and now lies comatose. Wiggins and Plant join Jury in his investigation.
A strange game , a stolen emerald, a young girl that knows too much, strange letters written in crayon, and another set of odd characters have Jury perplexed, but not for long.
This was a dark mystery that explores greed and it's high cost on innocent people. This is a sad story , but we are given some closure and peace in the end. This is a tightly woven plot, thought provoking and layered with allegory here and there . Overall a very satisfying installment in this series. I give this one a A.

[ShanDizzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was a lot of profanity in this story, way more than in the previous two, which I did not like at all. I am unaccustomed to reading it and hearing it. I will read the next one to see if it continues or escalates. If so, then I will be disappointed to have to stop reading the series because the characters and setting are decent and interesting.

[Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh golly I will never get any housework done again. Aimee Hirschell has turned me on to a life of crime!

[Evelyn Brewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had an unending supply of Richard Jury books. These are just exactly what I need at this time: lots of mystery, less shock, more story, and clever dialogue. Here’s hoping they’re all as good as the last first three.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok. So this is not serious literature. Although there it is certainly serious about killing people off. It's engaging, amusing and entertaining. There are some great character studies and cariactures. Definitely my new fun series.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be delightful. The author is really hitting her stride with this entry in the Richard Jury series. I really like the interaction between Jury and Melrose Plant, who is only a Lord when he wishes to use his title for the "pull". The secondary characters are charming and memorable.

Writing this reminded me how it's been a long time since I've read a book by Martha Grimes and I need to rectify that situation, soon.

[audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

And you know what? It very nearly worked.

So much of this book does, in fact, work. The tiny village with its tiny, interwoven lives and tiny, petty concerns, all interrupted by the arrival of crime and its detectives -- that all works. The minutiae of village life and the seclusion, the tea shop and the pub and the manor house and the village fête, they all work well, and Melrose Plant being extorted by a ten-year-old at every turn is brilliant.

And it all works so well that any time we're dragged back to London, the spell is broken. I understand I'm supposed to appreciate the contrast between twee village life and the grime of the East End, but that tension doesn't hold when the East End bits feel so ragged and thin in comparison to the amount of care that gets lavished on all the village bits.

So you wind up with things like the sudden appearance of Dungeons n' Dragons feeling anachronistic, and for me, unneeded. The same effect on the plot could've been achieved by staying in the village and recasting the game between some of the villagers.

Plus I thought the ending was a bit cheaty.

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of a handful of Grimes's books I've read. Turgid and pompous, it's horrible, as are the others I've battled my way through, mostly because I'm credulous and fell for the many recommendations. Despite liking English cozies, no more. In fact I think I'll take the dozen or so on the shelf and dump them. It's rare that books really irritate me, but Ms. Grimes manages.

[Kristi Lamont · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I have come late in life to Martha Grimes and her Richard Jury mysteries -- but delightedly! Wanted to start with the very first book but my library didn't have it. Decided to at least try out the series with the earliest available, and was so very glad I did. (Of course now I want to find and read the first two before getting too much farther down the path.)

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread. A gripping murder mystery with a fine balance of humour and sadness. It was great to revisit the characters of Richard Jury, Melrose Plant and Constable Wiggins.

[mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wry, British, and complex. It's Martha Grimes.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A girl is found murdered in a field out in the country. Her fingers had been cut off. Superintendent Jury and Sergeant Wiggins of New Scotland Yard go to the small hamlet to investigate. Jury’s friend Melrose Plant comes to help as well. The town is full of unusual characters - a snobby elitist family, a murder mystery writer, and a plucky 10 year girl who sees all. Once in this strange little town Jury learns that in addition to the murder of this young stranger, an extremely valuable emerald necklace was stolen from a wealthy man just before he died. A young girl from the same town was attacked in the London subway and left in a coma. In addition, several of the town residents have received mildly threatening letters written in crayon. Jury begins to suspect that these events may be related. But how and why? Jury and Wiggins travel back and forth between the town and London chasing clues to tie all the crimes together. Melrose does his own snooping with the world-wise 10 year old matching wits with him. Jury ends up a seedy bar named The Anodyne Necklace where he finds people playing a wizard game that ends up being the thread that links all the strange events. I found the subtle humor in this book very enjoyable.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the characters, as with the first two books, they are many and varied. I thought the plot broke down a bit, and that took away from the story. While there are hints about who the murderer is, they are very vague -- it feels as if they come out of left field. But what bothered me most, and perhaps I just missed it, is why did Trevor Tree make the map? And how did Peter Gere get it? Perhaps Trevor was just being clever, but... it just didn't seem to add up.