The Lamorna Wink

Richard Jury, Book 16

By: Martha Grimes

Narrated by: Steve West

Detective Richard Jury is back in the 16th novel in Martha Grimes' extraordinary New York Times best-selling series - now enmeshed in a series of strange crimes and disappearances and an age-old tragedy that consumes his sidekick, Melrose Plant....

©1999 Martha Grimes (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Another winner from a reliable author

I thoroughly enjoyed this finely wrought story. The characters are completely believable and with depths of character and compassionate that add dimension. Full of twists and turns, this story entertains and at the same time doesn't hold back from the reality of brutality and sorrow every "copper" has to deal with.

Love Melrose

Because I am a great Melrose Plant fan, this is my favorite of the Jury series. (Full disclosure - Richard Jury has begun to really bore me) The characters, the interactions and the atmosphere of the story remind me of Grimes early books in the series and remind me why I loved the series in its earlier days. Since for me Plant is by far the most interesting character in the series, this book with its limited appearance by Jury (who seems less suicidally depressed than in some of later books) is almost perfect. If only the rest of the Long Piddleton gang had been part of the story, I would have been totally in heaven.

The narrator is fine. The voices fit fine with the voices I had in my head when reading the novel.

A twisted tail

As always, Martha Grimes and her characters surrounding Richard Jury, deliver an entertaining yet ugly story , this one with Melrose Plant involved with the setting and characters. Enough humor to keep it light, enough darkness to make one doubt the inhumanity of some people.

Needs More Drury

What did you love best about The Lamorna Wink?

Some of Melrose Plants' history was revealed.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Richard Drury because he helped move the story along.

What about Steve West’s performance did you like?

He sounds like Richard Drury and Melrose Plant to me.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The Worst Kind of Murder

The Lamorna Wink ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the 16th book in the Richard Jury Mysteries series. Martha Grimes finally gives us some history into the life of Melrose Plant and answers a few questions as to why Melrose gave up his titles, a bit about his childhood, and about his relationships with his parents. We also get some background in the life of Brian Macalvie. I found that to be a pleasant surprise. In both cases these discoveries endeared me more to both Melrose and Macalvie and help me understand them better. There is even romance for Melrose which is pretty rare since so far most of the romance we get is that of Richard Jury. I absolutely loved this book!!

As for the story itself it’s a murder mystery which surrounds the death of 2 small children 4 years earlier. A case of Macalvie’s that still haunts him. As the mystery comes to a head we feel the emotional toll it’s taking on Macalvie. This story is the most chilling and gruesome I have listened to so far. There is a point in the story where we learn the why and how the children were murdered and as a character in the book begins to weep so did I it was that chilling and heartbreaking.

As for the narration Steve West is all I need to say. He is top notch the very best brilliant. He is the most gifted at his craft. He brings out all the emotions in a scene and of the characters. He tells a story beautifully!

I’m not one who likes to give negative remarks. I’m completely ignorant as to what it takes to produce an audio book. But I do know that up until now I have listened and enjoyed all of Martha Grimes books. Concentrating on the story and not much else. But this production was different. No more theme song no more was there a woman to make introductions. Steve West began with the introductions and than began to narrate. My issue is with the sound itself. It was very poor quality so muffled that Steve West didn’t even sound like Steve West! Throughout his reading I had to rewind and listen again because I wasn’t sure what he was saying. The distortion was so bad that the characters we all know and love didn’t even sound like themselves. I kept getting distracted by the lack of sound clarity. I don’t understand how the production group, (persons or person), could have thought everything was ok to release it that way?! To me it showed a lack of respect to the author, the hard narrator, and the fans who enjoy listening to Martha Grimes books. Especially since this book was written for the fans who wanted more details on one of their favorite characters Melrose Plant. I hope this was the only time this production group or person was used for her books?

But because of my love for Martha Grimes her Richard Jury Mysteries and for Steve West I hung on till the end. It was sadly the last 3 chapters that the sound became clear and the characters sounded like themselves. So despite all of it, (sound), you will throughly enjoy this book and learning more about our beloved Melrose Plant and Brian Macalvie!!

Audio quality lacking

I am slowly revisiting these books, having read most of them many years ago. This is one of my all-time favorite series.

Beyond the first, maybe half dozen entries, these books become much less about the mystery and much, much more about the characters. While that is frustrating to some readers, I don't mind at all. Especially with these audio versions, it's a bit like visiting with old friends, hearing their news, thoughts and feelings, etc. The mystery provides some structure for that to take place around.

One note on this book, the audio quality of this Audible publication is significantly poorer than the previous books. Steve West's narration is still spot on, but his voice has a muddy quality and his volume has dips and spikes, something I believe could have evened out by post-production technology.

I'm certainly glad to have Martha Grimes in my library and hope that the production improves with the next book.

A nice surprise

I love Richard Jury but it was wonderful spending a few days “alone” with the equally loved Melrose Plant. Enjoyed much!

Another winner

This is great series with wonderful characters. The mysteries are challenging and the plots are ingenious.

Excellent Writing

I’ve been steadily making my way through all of Martha Grimes’ Richard Jury series. This has been an engaging read with several story lines. Inspector Jury doesn’t make an appearance until much later in the book with my favorite character in this series, Melrose Plant, taking the lead role for most of the book. The Lamora Wink is darker than most of the other 15 preceding books. Those that are sensitive to crimes involving children may want to give this one a pass. There’s no graphic descriptions, but still there are disturbing parts. Grimes is a master at storytelling. While some may find her style “over descriptive”, I find the detail brings the characters and settings to life. I’m looking forward to the next one in the series.

Misery Porn

I mostly listen to these books because I love the narrator. The plots are average, there’s good character development, the supporting characters are endearing. But this book- twisted and sick. Did the author run out of ideas and spend too much time on the dark web unearthing the perverted horrors humans are capable of?! I could have done without hearing this. I skipped over the most disturbing parts.  Additionally, the juxtaposition of good-natured banter between characters and the horrific murder of children was just bizarre. I really hope Martha lightens up in the next installment of this series.