The Horse You Came in On

Richard Jury, Book 12

By: Martha Grimes

Narrated by: Steve West

The murder is in America, but the call goes out to Scotland Yard superintendent Richard Jury. Accompanied by his aristocratic friend Melrose Plant and by Sergeant Wiggins, Jury arrives in Baltimore, Maryland, home of zealous Orioles fans, mouth-watering crabs, and Edgar Allen Poe. In his efforts to solve the case, Jury rubs elbows with a delicious and suspicious cast of characters, embarking on a trail that leads to a unique tavern called The Horse You Came in On.

©2014 Martha Grimes (P)2014 Simon & Schuster

Another A+!!!

I am so amazed by these books!! Martha Grimes is so talented!! This time she not only has Richard Jury and Melrose Plant trying to solve 3 murders but she writes 2 others stories within the main story. I can’t imagine writing a book and decide to write as part of your main story-line a manuscript found and then have one of our favorite main characters decide to write a book and read part o it.

As usual we have some of our favorite characters in this book along with some from past books return. We travel to the USA, to Baltimore, Maryland. Where Richard Jury has been asked to take a look into the death of a young man who police believe was killed in his home by a burglary. He takes with him Wiggins and Melrose Plant. It’s full of surprises, quick wit, and laughs.

My most favorite talented and beloved narrator, Steve West, does a fantastic job in bringing this story to life. All the different American accents he is able to do will take your breath away. He does such wonderful work that you get lost in the story and can really see and hear each character as though you’re listening to a stage production with a full cast!.

You will love this book and the series. Richard Jury Mysteries is worth getting and listening to Steve West narrate it makes it 1000 times better!!

Really Off Color

I have read most of her books. The number of times she described a person as black was so ridiculous l wondered what was going on. She even wrote "the black did .." it was just weird. The story didn't make a lot of sense. The one redeeming thing is that we got more insight into some peripheral relationships.
Just okay

American accents are killing me

I’ve listened to and enjoyed all of the Jury/Plant books….except when there are American characters. The accents are caricatures of Americans. They all sound whiney and unsophisticated. There’s a published author that sounds like a sixth grade dropout that throws some big words in once in awhile. It’s very off putting and makes it hard for me pay attention to the plot.

Ruined by falsetto

I'm a fan of Martha Grimes novels, and generally enjoy the narration of Steve West, but this audio book was a huge disappointment. It takes place in Baltimore, and thus there are American accents to imitate.
Steve West speaking "English " is a joy to listen to. His attempt at a Baltimore American is horrid, grating and annoying. Worse yet, there are a number of female Americans in the story, which West renders with a falsetto that does not ring true. It so distracted me, that I found myself losing the plot.

great story

wonderful characters and a great story.bi love Richard Jury and especially Melrose Plant. I'm happy that his aunt was not much in this book.

My Favorite Mystery Characters

Martha Grimes has put together the perfect set of characters. I love them all! And the stories are varied and intriguing. This one is set in part in the US, giving a change of scenery, and a bit of a break from Agatha. Thank you MG!

One Review Fits All

I have mowed through the first eleven and well into the 12th now, First, the driving force is Steve West's narration. I give five stars for every performance. The scene descriptions and the subtlety of observation is first rate. I also greatly enjoy when the reader can listen into Jury or Plant's internal voice.
I'm not sure if I'm missing something by listening and not reading, but I never have much of an idea what's going on with the mystery itself. Am I following Jury now or Plant? Why is he there? How do Plant and Jury communicate with each other? A plan is afoot, but I don't feel that the reader is let in on it. Each story, I'm convinced that I'll keep track of the mystery, but within 45 minutes I just rely on Mr. West to simply entertain me,.
One feature I like is that the mystery winds up and then there's a lengthy epilogue that leads you toward the next book in the series.
It's nice to read stories not loaded with angst. I never can get enough of the scenes when Cyril agitates Racer.
I hope I have motivated you to start the series.

Love this series!

Any additional comments?

I am making my way through this series and am so totally enjoying it. Richard Jury and Melrose Plant and all the characters are so wonderful. I'm on book 14 - The Case Has Altered - and will regret when I am all caught up and have to wait years for the next book. The Horse You Came In On I loved because I enjoyed hearing their opinions of and experiences in the USA .

Dreadful narration

Would you try another book from Martha Grimes and/or Steve West?

I read Martha Grimes' Richard Jury books in the past, and I think I was less discerning then. I've been listening my way through the series on and off and getting some pleasure from them. The books are quite light, the characters are fun, if stereotypical English people. This book, however, finished me off. I had noticed that Ms. Grimes doesn't seem to care for women or Americans very much. It's mostly been subtle; there are some beautiful and elusive Englishwomen who she is more or less kind to. Steve West is challenged in portraying women's voices and his American accent is pretty terrible. This book takes place partly in the U.S. and he has a southern American woman character who he does so very, very badly, it is like nails on chalkboard for me. He can't do southern, his women screech and his American accents have that extra flatness that British readers with a tin ear use. I literally could not finish listening (I have it on kindle). And I'm finally tired of Grimes' attitude toward Americans as well. I don't know Ms. Grimes' personal history, but these books definitely feel dated, both in class elitism and in attitude in general. They are not particularly clever or challenging as murder mysteries either, so I guess they would be classified as a cozy read, but not for me anymore. So, no I won't read anymore Martha Grimes and I will avoid Steve West as a reader forever.

If you’ve listened to books by Martha Grimes before, how does this one compare?

Worse for me, because I'm fed up with her attitude, but the books are pretty consistent, so if you like one, you will probably like her others. (Do beware this one, don't say I didn't warn you about the screechy flat southern American woman's accent.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Could not listen.

Could you see The Horse You Came in On being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No, not interesting enough. Her books are more about atmosphere than plot.

Any additional comments?

I do not understand how this terrible narration got by the producers. Publishers need to understand that the quality of the narration is crucial and take it much more seriously than some seem to.

Not my favorite

I love this series so much, but I fast forwarded through much of this book . It was weird , she had a bunch of books within a book. As you listen to this book, one if the characters is reading another book out loud and the plot really had nothing to do with solving the crime.

The author also added @40 minutes at the end that seemed weird and out of place.