I feel like The Red Queen is a swan song, a chance to say hello and goodbye to characters in the long running series. The crime and its solution are as intricate as always, the details are perhaps scarcer. As a fan I am just happy to get to read once more a story with Richard Jury and Melrose Plant.

The only way I can think to describe this book is perfunctory. The plot has all the hallmarks of Grimes’ usual ingenuity and cleverness, but there’s not a lot of flesh on these bones. The dialog is mostly short, sharp sentences and the descriptive narrative sparse. Jury and Wiggins are grumpy, snarky old men, which is actually pretty entertaining at times, but I miss the lush prose of Grimes’ earlier books. That said, it was nice to be immersed in the world of Richard Jury and Melrose Plant for one last time.

One quiet night in a village pub wealthy businessman Tom Treadnor is killed with an arrow shot through the window. This unusual crime lands in the hands of intrepid Richard Jury of Scotland Yard. He soon discovers that everyone in his life had different ideas about the man which arouses Jury's suspicions. An engaging side plot is his long time partner Wiggins 's investigation into the disappearance of his sister years ago. When his mother receives a postcard. bearing her name Wiggins sets off on the trail. I have followed this series for many years and I find the cast of recurring characters to be delightful from eccentric Lord Arbry Melrose Plant, his scheming aunt Agatha and Carol Anne his upstairs neighbor. A Jury novel always presents an interesting investigation with touches of lighthearted humor and insights into the human condition. Jury is dogged and cerebral rather than a hard nosed cop. After a six year hiatus veteran wordsmith (94 years young!) delivers another cracking good read. If you are a mystery lover and have not dipped into this engaging series I highly recommend that you do, They are well worth the time.

Oh, to be back in the world of Richard Jury, Detective Sergeant Wiggins, Melrose Plant, his loyal butler Ruthven, Carole-Anne, Mrs. Withersby, and the rest of the delightfully eccentric crew created by Martha Grimes’ clever imagination and stellar writing. How I’ve missed you all!

When a pub in the village of Twickenham is the scene of an unbelievably brazen murder, Jury and Wiggins of New Scotland Yard are asked to investigate. While gathering facts from suspects and witnesses, the two men are sidetracked by a missing sister, farm animals, the antics of their friends, and more than few cocktails.

I was honored to receive an advance ebook copy from publisher Grove Atlantic via NetGalley (thank you), and the story—with Grimes’ memorable characters and signature humor—did not disappoint.

Because I was reading an early, uncorrected galley, there were some rough patches, particularly with the transitions between plots.

However. the Red Queen seems to be Grimes’ love letter to her devoted readers who’ve followed the Richard Jury series through twenty-five previous novels, because every regular character and location makes an appearance in this book, no matter how brief. It makes me want to go back and read them all again!

Note: If you’re new to the Richard Jury series, I’d suggest starting with any other book before reading this one (they don’t have to be read in order), to get the most enjoyment from it.

Inspector Richard Jury is back, along with your favorite sidekicks (Wiggins, Melrose Plant, and more.). In the coziest entry in the series by far, Jury is working to solve a seemingly impossible crime. Diehard fans of the Richard Jury series and fans of cozy mysteries will enjoy it.

The Red Queen sees the return of Richard Jury and Melrose Plant and I welcome them back.

This book fell a little bit flat for me and I cant quite put my finger on it but nevertheless I did enjoy the mystery even though at times it felt far fetched.

Tom Treadnor a local business man is shot in the local pub The Queen and the list of suspects is long as it turns out Tom is not well liked. His wife and business partner are included on that list.

Wiggins in the meantime goes off on his own mission to find his missing sister which seemed strange and out of character.

There were twists and turns and I did want to see what happened and who painted the sign The Red Queen but sadly it was not one of my favourite books of the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atantlic/Atlantic Monthly Press for the opportunity to read and review The Red Queen.

Richard Jury is back! Martha Grimes is a master at the British mystery. The setting comes alive. A twisty, intricate well-]plotted thriller. Loved it.

I'm torn about this one. There's less of the quirky villagers in this one, but also it feels like there's less Jury investigating. At times it feels like the author is going through a checklist; Jury and Plant at the club... Jury gets Plant to help investigate... Wiggins has complaints (less in this one!)... Racer hates the cat... children love Jury... etc..

As far as the main mystery goes, it's interesting and implausible at the same time. There are a few red herrings, but overall there are fewer clues and more intereviews than there might have been had the checklist not existed.

eARC provided by publisher via NetGalley.

Great Scott! Martha is 96!! Her last published book was The Old Success (2019).
For those of us who have enjoyed the series for years this is a nostalgic trip among many of the staple characters and humor, but the writing itself is a bit flat. However, it does make me want to go back and reread some of the older books.
I requested and received a free temporary uncorrected digital galley from Grove Atlantic | Atlantic Monthly Press via NetGalley. Avail Jul 01, 2025
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This title was a disappointment. I've enjoyed the Jury series for many years. This one reads like an outline rather than a finished book. Lackluster mystery with a murder that's never resolved. Erratic plot that jumps from murder to missing people. Anyone reading this as their first Jury will quickly abandon it..

It felt like a complicated mystery considering how short the story is, but it was still enjoyable and satisfying as far as providing a good mystery with the right amount of clues. The main mystery was about a man shot at a pub, and Jury was his usual clever self as he figured things out in conversations. While I did like that, there was another side mystery with a missing sister that I was more interested in. This might not work as well if someone hasn't read anything in this series before but this was comfortable and fun to get back with the characters.

Yet another fantastic book in the Richard Jury series. Martha Grimes has a certain way of writing that draws the reader into the mystery as if you were sitting right there and living through the story. As this is the latest book in the series it isn’t necessary to read in order.

First I would to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of The Red Queen. It saddens me to say that I was disappointed in this book. I have read all of the previous Richard Jury series by Martha Grimes and looked forward to her newest. This one fell flat. It struck me as disjointed and trying to tell two stories in one book. We begin with the first, a murder at a pub. It is an unusual crime to be sure and “the Yard” is called in due to the victim’s social status. So far, so good. Midway through the investigation Wiggins announces he needs time off for a personal matter and off he goes on a quest involving a missing family member. The resulting investigation borders on ridiculous as does Wiggins’ reason for keeping the situation under wraps.
The snappy dialogue that I usually enjoy seems forced in this book, bordering on absurd.
I will try again with Ms. Grimes’ next book and hope that this was just a blip in the road.

Martha Grimes has named all her twenty-six Richard Jury mysteries after classic English pubs. After 44 years of writing about Superintendent Richard Jury and the lovable Melrose Plant, an aristocrat who has given up his titles and is forever squabbling with his various elderly aunts, Grimes takes us, perhaps for the last time, to rural England for some delightful reading.

Grimes will be ninety-four in 2025 so her writing days may not last for many more outings with Jury and Sergeant Wiggins. It all began in 1981 with The Man with a Load of Mischief. I used to wait annually for the latest book by Grimes for my fix of cozy, fun reading. And while the latest Grimes Jury novel, The Red Queen, is probably not her best of the twenty-six, it is a continuation of characters we love.

This time the plot concerns a man shot while sitting on a barstool in The Queen Pub. Shot right off the stool from outside a window in full view of the other patrons. The quaint town of Twickenham is the setting, and of course, everyone in town becomes a suspect when no one has a very good opinion of the dead man.

Meanwhile, of course, several quirky side characters and their stories also amuse the reader. Wiggins’ sister, missing for years and presumed dead, has just sent a postcard to their mother. And Plant goes undercover at the dead man’s estate to help Jury find the killer.

Grimes is one of a few authors (she is American!) left carrying on the cozy British detective mystery tradition. Each of her Jury books can be read as a standalone story, though the characters do evolve over the years from one book to another. My advice is to go back to the beginning and read them all – starting when Grimes was at her best with the clever, darkly humorous novels.

My rating 3 of 5

This ARC title was provided by Netgalley.com at no cost, and I am providing an unbiased review. The Red Queen will be published on July 1, 2025.

I was looking forward to reading a new Richard Jury book, and the character was everything I remembered and as enjoyable to read about as ever. However, the mystery itself felt convoluted and a little all over the place, and the ending was unsatisfactory and too ambiguous. It felt like the plan for the mystery kept changing and then the author would try different tricks to make something else work. At one point, I convinced myself to keep reading because I was committed to writing a review, but then I was eventually glad that I stuck with it, so I'm giving the book 3 stars as an accurate average of how my rating went up and down while reading it.

In the twenty sixth book in the Richard Jury series, a businessman named Tom Treadnor is shot off his barstool at The Queen pub. Superintendent Richard Jury is called in to investigate, and quickly realizes that everyone in Treadnor’s life – from his widow, Alice, to the staff at his manor, to his business partner had differing opinions of him. And to complicate things further, Jury has just happened upon a photo in a newspaper of a man in the United States, who is a dead ringer for Treadnor.
Meanwhile, Wiggins, Jury’s partner at New Scotland Yard, becomes sidetracked by an investigation of his sister, missing for years and presumed dead, has just sent a postcard to their mother.
I started reading this series back in the 1990s. I enjoy the quirky characters and always look forward to checking in with them. It had been 5 years since the last book and I wasn't sure there would be another, so I was thrilled to find this on NetGalley.
In this book, the gang is back, at least for a page or two. My favorite part of this series has always been how Jury convinces Plant to work under cover. Not much to that plot line in this story, but always fun to see. Added bonus, Wiggins gets a few pages for himself. This subplot doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it gives Grimes a chance to bring back Macalvie which is okay by me.
Recommended for fans of the series.
3.5

I was very excited to read this as the Jury series has always been a favorite. Unfortunately I have to agree with what others have said. Too many disjointed stories contributing nothing to the central mystery just to have all of the beloved characters making an entrance.

As usual, the Melrose/Jury dynamic is great and all of the Ardry End characters felt right. I can never downvote this series too much because of the dialogue and characters that are so familiar to me but there just wasn’t enough here to keep the story moving. And the ending, what happened between Alice and Jury? It just….ended.

Thank you to Netgalley, Ms Grimes and the publisher for an ARC to review and read.

Maybe my expectations are too high after years of reading Grimes’ Richard Jury series but this seemed too concise, too whittled down to the to the bare bones of the narrative. It was enjoyable, just not as much as I hoped for and I will never miss a chance to read a Martha Grimes, novel .

While THE RED QUEEN presents itself as a mystery novel, it ultimately fails to deliver the compelling detective fiction elements a read of Grimes' expects. . The narrative offers little insight into Jury’s investigative process, and I don't understand his fascination with the "widow." His decision to send Melrose undercover as a Stable Master is pointless and adds nothing to the plot. Similarly, the discovery of a doppelgänger —a potentially intriguing development—is never thoroughly explored, as the supposed twin remains an abstract figure, absent from the actual investigation.

Compounding these narrative weaknesses is the introduction of an implausible subplot concerning Higgins’ long-lost sister. His brief and perfunctory search with Macalvie lacks emotional depth and investigative rigor, rendering the subplot both unconvincing and extraneous. Additionally, the inclusion of a scene involving the Long Piddleton characters naming a goat and Jury's rescuing of piglets serves no apparent purpose within the context of the mystery, further contributing to the novelistic disarray. The resolution, when it finally arrives, fails to provide a coherent or rewarding conclusion.

Ultimately THE RED QUEEN struggles to recapture the narrative depth and intellectual engagement characteristic of earlier installments in the RICHARD JURY series. Its reliance on underdeveloped plot threads, tangential diversions, and a lackluster resolution results in a novel that falls short of the expectations set by its predecessors.

I started reading the Richard Jury mysteries back in the early 1990’s, when I would go to Borders every Friday to browse their New Releases shelf and be rewarded with another journey to Long Piddleton and its cast of eccentric characters. The mysteries themselves, all named after real British pubs, were complex, well-written, and character driven. We were invested in the lives of the regulars, from neighbor Carole-Ann to Melrose Plant (and his scheming aunt) to perpetual hypochondriac Wiggins. These were old friends.

So I was looking forward to the latest Richard Jury mystery, “The Red Queen”. The last book was published over five years ago, “The Old Success”, and it was a bit of a disappointment. Was that a one-time slip? Unfortunately, no, the latest adventure continues (and hastens) the decline of this series, it is a disjointed mystery with little suspense, unnecessary scenes, and very little of our old characters.

The premise is interesting. Tom Treadnor, a wealthy businessman, is sitting at his usual barstool at “The Queen” pub, when someone shoots him through the window(!) without being noticed. Jury and Wiggins are called in (weak reasons, but still) and start their investigation. It soon becomes clear that no one had a really good impression of Treadnor, from his wife to his business partners to the servants. In fact, he was about to be divorced, so no lost tears.

Jury goes about the investigation, but there’s not much detail in the story about what he actually does, few interviews, no real forensics or anything really. He has Melrose go undercover as a Stable Master, but only for a scene or two and it doesn’t really contribute to the story, other than for a few laughs. Jury also sees a doppelganger of the dead man in a newspaper article, but no one seems to be able to track down this twin traveling in North America. Most of the action seems to take place off camera, so to speak, and we just hear about it later. So who really was killed at The Queen, and why?

Throw in a ridiculous plot about Higgins having a missing sister (this is the first time anyone is hearing about this!) that he spends a couple of days searching for with Macalvie. Also one quick scene with the Long Piddleton crew naming a goat and rescuing piglets, also nothing to do with the mystery. And finally a very rushed, unclear, and disappointing ending, and you have this short book that makes one long for the old series.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Grove Atlantic, Atlantic Monthly Press via NetGalley. Thank you!