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Book Review By Laura Adamson
The Grave Maurice by Martha Grimes

While in the hospital recovering from gunshot wounds, Scotland Yard superintendent Richard Jury begins an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of the 15-year-old daughter of Jury's surgeon. The girl was apparently kidnapped, along with a valuable race horse, from her grandfather's stud farm one night while she was tending to the sick horse. No ransom demand was made and the trail is stone cold.

At Jury's urging, Melrose Plant, wealthy, brilliant, and eccentric former nobleman, takes on the legwork of the investigation by presenting himself at the stud farm as a potential horse buyer. But a dead body is found on the farm's training track.

Jury is discharged from hospital, the missing girl reappears on her own along with several "liberated" horses, and Jury travels to London, Wales, and the stud farm, trying to make sense out of multiple storylines including the girl's kidnapping, an insurance scam involving a supposedly dead jockey, animal abuse, murder for jealousy, and killing for revenge. Most of the horse racing details are wrong, by the way, and the dead jockey plotline is absolutely impossible.


Plot & Themes
Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10 %
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 %
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 %
Crime Thriller Yes
Crime plotlets:
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status:
Age: - 40's-50's
Ethnicity/Race

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status:
Motive of antagonist - revenge
How sensitive is this character?
Intelligence - Average intelligence

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
Farm/Ranch? Yes
Farm/Ranch: - lots of descript of animal care

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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