The Knowledge by Martha Grimes

The Knowledge

by Martha Grimes

I’ve long been a fan of Martha Grimes and though this is #24 in the Richard Jury mysteries, she has not lost my interest.

The author brings us into the story with the fascinating culture of London cabbies. The Knowledge is a bar that only cabbies can find, and no amount of bribery or threatening will ever induce them to bring one who is not their own to the location, not even the royal family.

The story begins with cabby Robbie Parsons being forced to drive someone through London, at gunpoint, after he has just been witness to a double murder.

Richard Jury has spent a lovely evening talking philosophy with the murdered astrophysics professor and his wife very recently. Have you ever met someone that you just connected with almost immediately? Maybe you have a fantastic conversation and can’t wait to chat again? That’s Jury with the professor. Sadly, that can’t happen, and Jury wants to find out why.

As with many fun stories, we find a precocious young girl, living by her wits, who follows the murderer through the airport and onto a plane, all the way to East Africa. Strangely, the murderer is particularly kind to the young girl, quite fatherly, assuming her to be traveling alone.

Wonderfully quirky characters, Melrose Plant and Marshall Trueblood fill out the cast as they run leg work and experiments for Jury.

Fun, relaxing, and charming. Too many coincidences and too easy for the girl to get through airport security? Perhaps. But it didn’t dim my enjoyment. Definitely lighter fare than some of her other stories, it was a welcome bit of relaxation.