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The Black Cat: A Richard Jury Mystery Audiobook
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(3.01) - 1,527 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The inimitable Richard Jury returns in a thrilling tale of mystery, madness, and mistaken identity Three months have passed since Richard Jury was left bereft and guilt- ridden after his lover's tragic auto accident, and he is now more wary than ever. He is deeply suspicious when requested on a case far out of his jurisdiction in an outlying village where a young woman has been murdered behind the local pub. The only witness is the establishment's black cat, who gives neither crook nor clue as to the girl's identity or her killer's. Identifying the girl becomes tricky when she's recognized as both the shy local librarian and a posh city escort, and Jury must use all his wits and intuition to determine the connection to subsequent escort murders. Meanwhile, Jury's nemesis, Harry Johnson, continues to goad Jury down a dangerous path. And Johnson, along with the imperturbable dog Mungo, just may be the key to it all. Written with Martha Grimes's trademark insight and grace, The Black Cat signals the thrilling return of her greatest character. The superintendent is a man possessed of prodigious analytical gifts and charm, yet vulnerable in the most perplexing ways.
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"Detective Richard Jury has a case of 3 young women dead. They all worked for different escort services, which seems to be the one thing that connects them. Jury realizes you can't always find the answers through the obvious. Meanwhile, he plays a bit of a game with his old nemesis Harry Johnson and some black cats."
— Tracy (4 out of 5 stars)
The Black Cat Listener Reviews
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" As good as all the prior Richard Jury mysteries. "
— Rebekah, 2/17/2014 -
" Grimes was on my soon-to-be-abandoned list, given that her past few were not compelling. This one regains some of the pacing and interest of her earlier titles, although I'm not sure what's with the channeling Rita Mae Brown. That degree of cute doesn't sit well with her otherwise somewhat grim and careful tone, and I'm not sure she's carrying it off entirely successfully. Still, it was a pleasure to be reacquainted with some of the old series regulars. "
— Savannah, 1/31/2014 -
" Pretty standard Grimes, which is to say it includes a decent mystery embellished with precocious children, animals and offbeat Melrose Plant (whose Aunt Agatha is strangely missing this time). Grimes harkens back to previous mysteries (and pubs), but crosses the line this time by introducing a dog and cat conversing with one another. It smacks of gimmickry and detracts from the story. "
— Nick, 1/6/2014 -
" Nice use of designer shoes and pets who telepathically communicate with each other when it matters. "
— Berrendsci, 1/4/2014 -
" Richard Jury is an Inspector for New Scotland Yard. A quick read and not unenjoyable. I think my main detraction from the book is how he writes from the perspective of a dog, which is apparently a recurring character in the Richard Jury series. The same can be said for the other characters in the book. "
— Chris, 12/31/2013 -
" I just like Jury mysteries. This wasn't the best of them, but I enjoyed it and found it a quick, fun read. "
— Amelia, 12/24/2013 -
" Grimes seems to be writing by formula. The asides and thoughts and angst and silliness ... Even the rhythm of the story is the same. "
— Kathryn, 12/20/2013 -
" Likes but he chatty dog and cat conversations are becoming tiresome. Jury and Melrose Plant never stop amusing me however and this one made our road trip go much faster as we listened to the book on ibooks "
— Hanley5545, 11/18/2013 -
" All the elements are there - a little girl, talking cats and dogs, but not as egregious as in the past. The case is solved, but Jury is still stuck in a relationship limbo, as much in a coma as the female detective he once worked with. "
— Deb, 11/10/2013 -
" One cannot go wrong with Martha Grimes and Inspector Jury. "
— Susan, 11/9/2013 -
" The Strangers on a Train theme was an interesting plot feature but the talking dog (Mungo) was not. Still and all, I still like Richard Jury and Melrose Plant. "
— Sharron, 11/6/2013 -
" Interesting piece I picked up on the fly, not realizing it was part of a series. Very little back reference so there was no distraction there. Grimes is clever if a bit transparent as the plot unravels. The reader is well ahead of the chief investigator. Okay but not one to rush out and get "
— Charly, 10/30/2013 -
" I like Richard Jury mysteries. He is a great character and I like Martha Grimes style of writing. "
— Linda, 10/13/2013 -
" Have been reading Martha Grimes almost as long as she has been writing the Richard Jury mystery series. Love Jury. This book is not as complicated or sophisticated as some of her others, but no guessing the ending, that's for sure. "
— Helaine, 10/8/2013 -
" This was good, not great but good. I missed Melrose Plant, he needed to be in the book more than he was. "
— Shoehn, 10/3/2013 -
" Great series with delightful recurring characters. The quality of the mystery varies from book to book. The earlier books are better than more recent volumes. "
— Kim, 7/2/2013 -
" I liked it, but it was a little harder than other Jury novels to get into. "
— Beverly, 1/31/2013 -
" I'm back on Martha Grimes. How could I have left her?! "
— Linda, 10/2/2012 -
" Nice summer mystery. Enjoyed that designer shoes were part of the plot. Good summer read. "
— Mary, 9/28/2012 -
" This book I just cannot plod through. Maybe if I had read some of the earlier Jury books I'd be able to appreciate the characters more, but for now, I'm done at around page 85. "
— Debbie, 9/15/2012 -
" I love Melrose Plant and the animal participation was excellent. There is always a precocious child too. "
— Delta, 7/2/2012 -
" A terrific read. My favorite Richard Drury so far. "
— Janet, 3/24/2012 -
" I thought this book was tediously long. The sentient dog and cat angle to the mystery wasn't whimsical or even relevant, but just unnecessary silliness. "
— Ethan, 12/16/2011 -
" It's been a while since I read a Superintendent Richard Jury mystery. Nice writing. Enjoyed. "
— Kathy, 12/2/2011 -
" An enjoyable Richard Jury novel. "
— Robyn, 9/20/2011 -
" loved Mungo and morris interaction the best.. especially Mungo covering his eyes with his paws at the idiocy of humans. loved that. "
— Ruth, 5/19/2011 -
" I just like Jury mysteries. This wasn't the best of them, but I enjoyed it and found it a quick, fun read. "
— Amelia, 5/17/2011 -
" Martha Grimes is one of my favorite mystery writers. I always enjoy her books and recommend them if you like a good, Agatha-Christie-type book. "
— Trudy, 5/2/2011 -
" All the elements are there - a little girl, talking cats and dogs, but not as egregious as in the past. The case is solved, but Jury is still stuck in a relationship limbo, as much in a coma as the female detective he once worked with. "
— Deb, 4/6/2011 -
" As always, I enjoyed checking in on Richard Jury. But I miss those Long Piddleton characters, and wish that Ms. Grimes would feature them more prominently in a future story. "
— Pamela, 3/30/2011 -
" As always, convoluted, surprising ending. But thenm, it didn't end, left the fate of Lu Aguilar unknown as she continues to lie in a coma. Will they pull the plug? Will she awaken from the coma? What will happen to the relationship between Jury and Dr. Nancy? "
— Sharon, 3/27/2011 -
" B; Took me awhile to get into this; think it was the English perspective and my first listen to the series. Might want to start at the beginning to better understand the characters. <br/> "
— Cathy, 3/17/2011 -
" Grimes seems to be writing by formula. The asides and thoughts and angst and silliness ... Even the rhythm of the story is the same. "
— Kathryn, 3/6/2011 -
" I lisitened to this book on cd. I may not have liked it as much if I'd read it. I really enjoyed the reader, Mr Lee, and hearing the fun british voices. The talking dog and cat were a little strange, but fun! "
— Chris, 2/28/2011 -
" I love Melrose Plant and the animal participation was excellent. There is always a precocious child too. "
— Delta, 2/16/2011 -
" I love Martha Grimes and Richard Jury. In this mystery, black cats play rather important roles, backed up by a clever dog. The main mystery, however, lies with the woman in the red dress. Lots of cool references to classic movies adds spice to the story. "
— Bonnie, 2/15/2011 -
" Pretty good but I could do without the dog/cat conversations. Also, as usual, the Briticisms are forced and overused, but I still enjoyed it. "
— Priscilla, 2/15/2011 -
" Likes but he chatty dog and cat conversations are becoming tiresome. Jury and Melrose Plant never stop amusing me however and this one made our road trip go much faster as we listened to the book on ibooks "
— Hanley5545, 2/8/2011
About Martha Grimes
Martha Grimes is the author of more than thirty books, twenty-four of them featuring Scotland Yard Inspector Richard Jury. In 1983, she received the Nero Wolfe Award for best mystery of the year for The Anodyne Necklace. She is the winner of the 2012 Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Award.
About John Lee
John Lee is the winner of numerous Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. He has twice won acclaim as AudioFile’s Best Voice in Fiction & Classics. He also narrates video games, does voice-over work, and writes plays. He is an accomplished stage actor and has written and coproduced the feature films Breathing Hard and Forfeit. He played Alydon in the 1963–64 Doctor Who serial The Daleks.