The Winds Of Change: A Richard Jury Mystery

Book Description

As he leans over the body of an unidentified five-year-old girl shot in the back on a shabby London street, Superintendent Richard Jury knows he'll be facing one of the saddest investigations of his life. His colleague DI Johnny Blakeley, head of the pedophile unit of NSY, thinks he knows where this child came from—an iniquitous house on that same street, owned by well-known financier Viktor Baumann and fronted by a woman named Murchison. Blakeley has been trying to wreck their operation for a long time.

While examining the body of an unidentified woman murdered in the gardens of Declan Scott's estate, Angel Gate, Brian Macalvie, commander of the Devon and Cornwall police, realizes he's been here before. Three years prior, Declan's stepdaughter, four- year-old Flora, was abducted while she and her mother Mary were visiting the Lost Gardens of Heligan. Shortly after that, Mary Scott herself died, and Declan was devastated by the loss of his child and his wife.

“He really doesn't need a body in his garden,” says Macalvie.

Joined by the intrepid Melrose Plant, now a gardener at Angel Gate, Jury and Macalvie rake over the present and the past in a pub near Launceston called the Winds of Change. With one of their most serpentine investigations under way, all signs point to the guilt of Viktor Baumann, Mary Scott's first husband and Flora's father. But when no one in this case is exactly who he seems, how can Jury be sure?

Customer Reviews:

JOINING THE PARTY.......2007-05-26

This recent Inspector Jury novel by Martha Grimes will have readers in two categories, those who know the series already and newcomers to it like myself. I find that I take to the style, and I suppose the best commendation I can offer is that this story has interested me enough to go back to the start of the series and get to know Jury and his associates. The author does not do much to introduce them to first-time readers by this stage of the game, the cast of new characters is quite large and I was constantly having to flip back a few pages to remind myself who was who, and Grimes shows awareness of this matter on p217 with a quiet and wryly humorous reference to the 87th Precinct series in which readers are likely to experience the same problem.

Ms Grimes is apparently American, and her command of the idiom of British crime-writing is impressive. Slip-ups are few and minor. In Britain we write `ploughed' and not `plowed', we do not refer to a cell-phone but to a mobile, and it should hardly even have needed a glance at a map to tell one of her characters that Kirkcudbright (so spelt) is unsurprisingly in Kirkcudbrightshire and not in Dumfriesshire. The style of crime novels and TV detective series in Britain has come on a bit since the palmy days of Hercule Poirot and Lord Peter Wimsey. I could not imagine Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers and the rest of them going anywhere near the topic of paederasty that features strongly in The Winds of Change - even Chandler would never have touched such a theme - but I recall it from the TV series A Touch of Frost. Detective inspectors with cultivated tastes are also now familiar from Inspector Morse, Jury and his friends give a good deal of prominence to Henry James, and I will be surprised if both of these series have not influenced Ms Grimes to some extent. Influences are perfectly legitimate and to be expected, but Grimes has the first quality that I look for in any novelist, namely a distinctive tone of her own. This is rather understated, in what is sometimes thought to be a particularly British way. Two people are found murdered near the beginning of this story, but the scenes are described with detachment. Indeed even the more sordid aspects to the narrative are treated with that, and this way of doing it is definitely to my own liking.

There is not a lot of `action' in the ordinary sense (shooting and whatnot) until near the end. The main focus is on the detectives as people, and they spend most of their time talking, and not talking exclusively about their investigations. The actual plot-line is not, I must say, my idea of the strongest I ever came across. It depends heavily on not one case but two of mistaken or unperceived identity which seemed to me approximately as convincing as those in Cosi Fan Tutte or Twelfth Night. However I finished the book with a reasonably strong idea of the more important identities of Jury, Cody and the others who are presumably delineated clearly for beginners in the earlier novels. To that extent, Ms Grimes has got herself one genuinely interested new reader who is likely to pursue his new interest, and I don't suppose I can say fairer than that.

What Child Is This?.......2007-04-18

I've avoided the last few Richard Drury mysteries because Martha Grimes loves to finish on a depressing note and I haven't been much in the mood for that recently -- I think I'm getting soft. But, without doubt Grimes is one of the finest detective story writers working today, so it is inevitable that I would eventually put aside my finicky attitude and read another one. I chose the Winds of Charge to start off, and what a lucky choice it was.

The story starts with a child shot dead in a London street. The prose of this opening section, centered on the lonely body and Jury's conversation with the pathologist is unnervingly poetic and even when Grimes returns to her normal writing style the images of this opening scene stay with you throughout as each character enters, plays their part and displays their own haunting wounds. The second murder is at the mansion of Angel Gate in Cornwall, Brian McAlvie's territory, where a few years ago another child disappeared and her mother dies not long after. Now a nameless corpse follows and the two mysteries, the two unknown dead, seem related somehow.

Related in part by the dark shadow of a child abuser who, thanks to his wealth, has been able to operate just beyond the reach of Scotland Yard. Piece by piece, aided by Sergeant Wiggens, Jury assembles a story which yields glimpses of a tragedy that may very well surpass Jury's own abilities to cope. This is a very dark tale indeed, and underneath the set piece humor of Wiggens' strange health habits and Plant's inept efforts at being a consulting gardener are the people who think that children are a commodity and that what they do to them is a form of love.

My hat is off to Grimes for managing to do all this without getting lost in unnerving, gritty details. There is a time for that, as Andrew Vachss has demonstrated, but Grimes chooses a more urban style that gets the point across without destroying the nerves of the reader. This is an altogether satisfying read, with some hints that there may be more to follow. If there is, I'll be in line to read it.

Better than Old Wine Shades, but it helps if you have read others in the series.......2007-04-15

Richard Jury is definitely a too-good-to-be-true character, but no less likeable for that. There is great humor and dry wit scattered among the personal tragedies of various characters, including the investigating police and the victims/suspects in crimes. I liked this one better than her more recent Old Wine Shades because of Jury's introspection and Melrose's difficulties with gardening and children. I recommend this one to anyone who has read other books in the series, so that you're already familiar with the main characters and typical situations they find themselves in, and so that you can appreciate the references to characters who usually appear in the Jury novels but are met here only as 'off-camera' asides.

Excellent.......2006-04-16

I have to come to the defense of Martha Grimes on this book in view of the many detractors. Having read all of her Richard Jury mysteries I was glad to see a new one after what seemed like a long time. Jury is , of course up to his usual dark gloomy, melancholy ruminations, but, that is to be expected. It is for the excellent plots and characterization of others in the story that keeps me coming back and in this book, Grimes has not let me down. Tho a little short on the Long Pid menagerie's appearance (Plant excepted) her portrayal of the adult interactions with children is superb! Loved every line of it and as a Grandpa I can attest to it's accuracy and entertainment value.

Though dark in subject matter the outcome was especially satisfying and Jury's actions and "detecting" were again suberb. Contrary to some of Grime's Jury novels, this one left me feeling satisfied at the end

Note to Ms. Grimes: Please End This Series.......2006-03-26

I've read all the Richard Jury mysteries, and most of Martha Grimes other works. This despite the fact that, beginning about 10 years ago, the quality of the books declined steeply. Her large stable of regular characters seemed to be trotted out in each volume just to air them out, most adding little to the substance of the book. Worse, the plots became paper thin, often relying on very shaky devices. In "The Winds of Change" we have three crimes in play, two murders and a disappearance. Not to give the plot away, at the conclusion of the book one realizes that the connection between these crimes is tangential, and that two depend on assumed identities that are incredible.

Martha Grimes still writes well -- her descriptions are evocative, her dialogue crisp, and her regular characters amusing. But for the last decade they seem to be plodding along in very predictable ruts.

So, Ms. Grimes, if you read this, please hear my plea. You must be in your 70s by now, and you really ought to think about giving your stable of characters a proper ending. Have Jury bed the obviously willing Carole-anne (although, since he's a wartime child, meaning he's in his sixties, I don't understand the attraction). Have Melrose set the dogs on his aunt. Have Wiggins the hypochondriac actually get sick and have no one believe him. SOMETHING to bring a little drama to this little set piece. Agatha give a final curtain to her characters; you can too.

The Winds of Change Bestseller's Choice (Richard Jury Mysteries)

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The Winds of Change Bestseller's Choice (Richard Jury Mysteries)
Martha Grimes
Manufacturer: Penguin Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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Dust: A Richard Jury Mystery

ASIN: 0143058355

2 HBs by Martha Grimes: The Grave Maurice & The Winds of Change (Richard Jury Mysteries)

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2 HBs by Martha Grimes: The Grave Maurice & The Winds of Change (Richard Jury Mysteries)
Martha Grimes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Hardbacks

The Winds of Change : A Richard Jury Mystery (Richard Jury Mysteries (Audio))

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The Winds of Change : A Richard Jury Mystery (Richard Jury Mysteries (Audio))
Martha Grimes
Manufacturer: Penguin Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Customer Reviews:

Very enlightening book concerning Japanese transplants........1999-08-20

This book is a very good account of the process a person had to go through in order to gain employment at the Subaru-Isuzu and the working conditions that were present at the plant at the time the author worked there. There continue to be problems at the plant with them being cited by IOSHA (Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration) on August 20,1998 for not recording all safety and health violations present at the plant. The company did not document approximately 567 Manpower employees who had recordable injuries and/or illness during the years 1995 - 1997. The company also did not provide a copy of the OSHA Log 200 in its entirety for employees for the years 1995 - 1997. The reader from Lafayette needs to get the facts straight before making statements about the low OSHA statistics. The use of "temporary"workers to keep OSHA numbers down is only one way the company has manipulated, and continues to manipiulate, the system and the workers. Laurie Graham has been, and continues to be, open to imput from workers from Subaru-Isuzu and the conditions that exist there. She welcomes workers to contact her with both positive and negative information, seeking updates on the changing atmosphere and attitudes that exist as a plant grows and changes.

Fiction??.......1998-08-02

I have read this book.. What a work of fiction! I work at the same auto plant 'Laurie Graham' worked (worked??) and wrote about.. This book seems to have been written with a pre-determined opinion.. She had it in her mind before she worked in the plant to knock the SIA work place. She writes about a few months that she worked at SIA.. Well after most of us have worked at SIA (5-9yrs Union Free) Zero layoffs. Low OSHA's comparied to other autoplants and great pay and benifits! This book seems to give most of us at SIA a good laugh! Try Reading Ben Hampers 'Rivet Head'.. Good for a laugh also.. but much more accurate.

Brilliant first person account of Japanese transplant.......1996-05-17

This book is a first person account of working in a Japanese transplant auto assembly facility. Author Laurie Graham worked "undercover" in the Subaru-Isuzu plant in Lafayette, Indiana when it opened up. She finds that the fabled "Japanese system" cannot live up to its promises to the worker in the absence of a labor union. The book is very well written: clear, substantial, and full of insights into work life and the techniques used to maintain control over the workers. I recommend it very highly. --Bruce Nissen bnissen@indiana.edu

Book Description

Oprah Winfrey called comedian and actress Diana Jordan "One of the funniest people on the planet!" Slick Times magazine called comedy writer Paul Seaburn; The Funniest Man in America!; Together they have written the funniest book about marriage in the universe!

Customer Reviews:

Sharp witted, funny, accurate view of married life........1998-09-09

The authors have a keen grasp of the married state, and have tweeked some of the funniest comments about that state that I have ever read. I truly enjoyed reading this one -- and giving it to my husband!

Book Description

If the philosophy "who you know, what you know, and who knows you" can ever be considered true, it's in the music business. Every deal that goes down in the music business is almost always a direct result of a personal contact. From the well-known author of the very successful Networking in the Music Business, this book acts as a guide to making your personal strengths and relationships with others work for you in this unique industry. You'll learn the importance of connecting to others who share your aspirations, energies, and enthusiasm. You'll understand how to strategize your way to a successful career through personal relationships. Whether you're a professional or an aspirant in the music business - a songwriter, recording artist, musician, composer, music editor, music educator, music publisher, DJ, publicist, PR expert, entertainment lawyer - or if you plan on working with any of the above, this book is your key to developing the people skills necessary to achieve success in this billion dollar global industry.

Customer Reviews:

Indispensable.......2006-06-01

This book gets to the vital core of what it takes to open the doors to success in today's music business. Kimpel keeps it real by drawing from his own extensive experience and that of his many industry friends and contacts. The ideas he presents should be valuable to readers at all levels of accomplishment; it's also an entertaining read, sprinkled thoughout with humor and fascinating anecdotes.

Great book of strategies........2006-05-16

This book contains all the networking strategies you will ever need for your musical enterprise. Even if you're a veteran, I'm sure you'll be able to find lots of great tips that you will use daily. I just wish that the internet would have been covered in more detail. If that's what you're looking for, I suggest "The New Music Industry: How to Use the Power of the Internet to Multiply Your Industry Exposure, Fan Base and Income Potential Online!" by Ty Cohen.

Book Description

Internationally renowned author and activist Bharucha here analyzes a wide range of cultural pursuits and activities, from film to street theatre, from painting to literature, all of which can be seen as attempts to counter the threats of communalism and globalization. Drawing on thestom
anti-fascist and anti-imperialist legacy of movements of the 1940s, he questions what it means to be secular in Indiaich today.

In the Name of the Secular : Contemporary Cultural Activism in India

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In the Name of the Secular : Contemporary Cultural Activism in India
Rustom Bharucha
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OL3A4S

Average customer rating:
A Beginner's Guide to Producing TV: Complete Planning Techniques and Scripts to Shoot
James R. Caruso
Manufacturer: Pearson P T R
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0139441093

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A Beginner's Guide to Producing TV - Complete Planning Techniques & Scripts to Shoot
Caruso & Arthur
Manufacturer: Pearson P T R
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OIXHEO

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A Beginner's Guide to Producing TV : Complete Planning Techniques & Scripts to Shoot
Mavis E. & Caruso, James R. Arthur
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OIVI40

Amazon.com

Learn how to employ Active Server Pages (ASP) and VBScript to write powerful server-side code with the Active Server Pages Bible, a smooth introduction to Microsoft ASP technology. Although this is an entry-level text, it offers enough depth to teach you how to build database-driven Web sites.

The techniques presented can easily be used to create online shopping carts and track customer profiles and other features that make professional-looking sites. Inside is an overview of key HTML elements such as tables, anchors, and images, plus an excellent tutorial to the VBScript language. The book points out key differences between VBScript and Visual Basic, such as the way each deals with variables, and discusses the circumstances that call for certain VBScript elements such as Do/Loop structures and Select/Case structures.

Instead of making you wade through a formal presentation of the standard ASP objects, practical examples offer immediate hands-on experience. The book uses a common home page search box to introduce the Request and Response objects--the most frequently used ASP objects for any programmer. The form examples, which show how to process radio buttons and checkboxes, offer nice boilerplate code for every Web site you build. There's also an appetizing example of how to use cookies, which tracks a user's pizza size and topping preferences. This section is very accessible to readers, but it illustrates one of the most powerful features of ASP.

A large part of the book is devoted to the construction of a series of Web pages that provide database browsing and editing via the Web. Beginning with an Access database, the author shows how to create drill-down data menus, update records, and issue queries based on user-specified criteria. Since database access is central to most sites, the example code used here will serve as a reference time and time again. Database paging--a technique many programmers struggle to implement--is also demystified and explained.

Chapters on building Visual Basic COM components, using Microsoft Transaction Server, and WebClasses are included, but the coverage of components is a bit brief. The book finishes up with a walkthrough of a complete online discussion forum that shows how to construct an object-based, database-driven ASP application.

If you've previously coded static HTML pages and want to move your talents to the next level with server-side processing, this is a good place to begin. --Stephen W. Plain

Topics covered: Basic HTML, VBScript, server-side includes (SSI), ASP objects, cookies, Active Data Object (ADO), Microsoft Index Server, classes and components in Visual Basic, WebClasses, and Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) integration.

Book Description

Everything you need to build dynamic Web sites with Active Server Pages is included in this comprehensive programming reference. Step-by-step tutorials and code examples from expert developer Eric Smith enable you to program and combine Web site applications to meet your specialized needs. With easy-to-follow steps and clear examples, Active Server Pages Bible is your key to unlocking the world of ASP by presenting the following topics:

The essentials you need to better understand how ASP works with HTML
Concepts of the VBScript language
Web programming and how it differs from traditional client/server computing
Integrating client/server computing with an ASP engine and making the most of its features
Building commonly used applications that make it easier to publish data from a database
Integrating ASP with other components, libraries, and tools like Index Server, Visual Basic, and Microsoft Transaction Server
Developing an idea from concept to application

As an added feature, many of the topics discussed in Active Server Pages Bible are cross-referenced to other parts of the book or external Web sites to maximize your understanding of the material.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent for saturation in ASP.......2006-12-10

I just bought this book and I am already very happy with it. I use ASP to build tools to make my networking job easier. I am only on chapter 4, and it has already been helpful.

The best ASP book ever. It is a no nonsense book.......2006-03-03

The book is very great and straight forward. I have over 6 books on ASP. This is the best. I'm a Java person but if you want to develop a quick web application this is the book for you. You won't regret it. All the sample codes work. I will buy the author's book next time.

think before you buy it.......2002-06-09

As a professional web programmer, I can honestly tell you that this is not a good programming/reference book. The coding in the books works perfectly, but this book didn't give you much idea about connecting the database, (I need to do some researching through the internet) or sending e-mail using asp...

If you are serious about ASP, you should try WROX books

Great ASP Guide.......2001-10-10

First, let me say that after reading the other reviews listed here I found myself questioning the skill sets of the other reviewers....

This book is very good at what it is attempting to cover - ASP. The book is not entitled "The ADO Bible" or "The SQL Bible". The biggest complaint I often hear about this book is that its coverage of ADO and/or SQL Server is very incomplete. That may be true, but the main topic of the book is not ADO or SQL, it's Active Server Pages and that topic is covered quite completely and accurately.

One reviewer compains in his review that the author (Eric Smith) continuously sets up database connections using the ConnectionString property of a connection object (provider=.....) instead of establishing the DSN as a constant value (DSN=...). Perhaps that reviewer hasn't heard that using OLE DB Providers rather than DSN's is more efficient and gives the developer more control over the resulting connection. The author continuosly does it this way because that's the preferred way of doing it. If the reviewer had read chapter 10, he would have known that. I can't help taking someone's review with a grain of salt when other statements that they make clearly indicate that the reveiwer doesn't know what he/she is talking about!

The ASP object model is covered in great detail with WORKING code examples. The flow of topics through the chapters makes good logical sense (HTML,VBScript, ASP, DB Connectivity, etc.). The material is explained in plain terms (when possible) and insight into the networking aspects of ASP are covered as well. The appendicies are extensive and accuate and include a VERY useful comparison of ASP 2.0 and 3.0.

Code Impossible.......2001-08-24

The code in this book is impossible to follow and does not work. This book is great if you like confusion and frustration.

Average customer rating:

ASP.NET Bible
Don't buy this book!
Shallow
There are better books out there

ASP.NET Bible
Mridula Parihar , Essam Ahmed , Jim Chandler , Bill Hatfield , Rick Lassan , Peter MacIntyre , and Dave Wanta
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0764548166

Book Description

"Comprising far more than an updated reference for Web application development, the ASP.NET Bible provides crucial guidance on leveraging the significant advances ASP.NET represents for the Web developer."-Michael Lane Thomas, .NET Series Editor
100% Comprehensive
Authoritative
What you need
* Harness the power of ASP.NET for next-generation Web applications
* Build, deploy, and run distributed applications targeting any device
* Master ASP.NET development using both Visual Basic .NET and C#
* If ASP.NET can do it, you can do it too . . .
Completely revamped for the .NET Platform, ASP.NET is an indispensable tool for creating the next generation of Web applications and Web Services. This comprehensive resource gives you in-depth guidance for building dynamic, data-driven applications tailored to any browser or device. Whether you're a seasoned ASP developer or a Web development newcomer, you'll find the real-world techniques and insights you need to take ASP.NET programming to the next level.
Inside, you'll find complete coverage of ASP.NET
* Get up to speed fast on ASP.NET development with both Visual Basic .NET and C#
* Build forms with Web Controls, including Rich Web Controls like AdRotator and Calendar
* Debug ASP.NET pages - and learn how to write high-quality code
* Master ASP.NET database programming with ADO.NET and SQL Server
* Bind data and controls with XML
* Develop, deploy, and use business objects
* Create secure wireless applications using ASP.NET mobile controls
* Use ASP.NET to build, deploy, and publishWeb Services
Companion Web site includes source code from the book:
www.hungryminds.com/extras
* Test your Web Service prior to deployment with the Web Service help page
* Learn how to use page output caching with ASP.NET
Reader Level: Beginning to Advanced
Shelving Category: Programming/Web Development

Customer Reviews:

ASP.NET Bible.......2003-06-28

This book is extremely frustrating for a beginner to work with, even though it claims to be suitable for a new comer to the ASP.NET world. It doesn't go into enough detail around Web Forms and is completely useless at connecting concepts with example code. It's just plain annoying becuase it half the time it provides incomplete examples and the companion web site is missing samples that are described in certain chapters. On a positive note, the introduction to overall .NET concepts is fair but you can get this anywhere on the Internet. More important than wasting Money is wasting time and this book wasted mine.

Don't buy this book!.......2002-10-14

I bought this book in a UK bookstore. I wish I hadn't! I wanted a book that would cover C# and ASP.net. I went for this one because it covered C# as well as VB, and because there appeared to be a lot of content. Unfortunately when I got it home I found I'd wasted my money.

1. The ASP.net web site development stuff is over by about page 300. The rest is devoted to web services.
2. This book covers far too much stuff in too little detail
3. Despite the high page count, there is very little actual content. Big print, lots of repetitive code examples, make for poor reading.
4. It's poor for C# as most of the examples are in VB. Apart from the after-thought appendix at the back, there's nothing useful for someone wanting to learn C#.

Do not buy this book!!!!

Shallow.......2002-07-29

After looking through this book's table of contents at the bookstore, I thought I had found a keeper. Halfway through the book, I am bored to death. It covers a broad range of topics but provides only shallow coverage on each. I've come to the conclusion that it would be a waste of my time to finish this book.

There are better books out there.......2002-05-01

I recently bought this book, and let me be honest it was a waist of money. The language in the book is very similar to the material you get in a crash course. Author does very little to explain a particular topic, and goes by just mentioning it.
I was particulary annoyed by the treatment of web controls, there isn't much than the documentation you get with VS.NET.
You are much better of reading tutorials on the web sites than buying this book.
I will try to return it to the book store and go for professional ASP.NET by wrox. I wanted to give this book just one star, but I am in a good mood.

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