The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 26 books · 1981 to 2025 · Set in London

Martha Grimes

Crime and mysteryPolice procedural

Superintendent Richard Jury of Scotland Yard solves murders in English villages, each book named after a pub, helped by his aristocratic friend Melrose Plant and his hypochondriac sergeant Wiggins.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. Years follow first US publication. Grimes’s other series are left out.

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Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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Martha Grimes books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Richard Jury

26 books · Set in LondonPolice procedural
  1. 1The Man with a Load of Mischief1981With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Old Fox Deceiv’d1982With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Anodyne Necklace1983With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  4. 4The Dirty Duck1984With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Jerusalem Inn1984With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  6. 6Help the Poor Struggler1985With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  7. 7The Deer Leap1985With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  8. 8I Am the Only Running Footman1986With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  9. 9The Five Bells and Bladebone1987With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  10. 10The Old Silent1989With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  11. 11The Old Contemptibles1991With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  12. 12The Horse You Came in On1993With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  13. 13Rainbow’s End1995With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  14. 14The Case Has Altered1997With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  15. 15The Stargazey1998With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  16. 16The Lamorna Wink1999With Richard Jury and Melrose PlantBuy on Amazon
  17. 17The Blue Last2001With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  18. 18The Grave Maurice2002With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  19. 19The Winds of Change2004With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  20. 20The Old Wine Shades2006With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  21. 21Dust2007With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  22. 22The Black Cat2010With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  23. 23Vertigo 422014With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  24. 24The Knowledge2018With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  25. 25The Old Success2019With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon
  26. 26The Red Queen2025With Richard JuryBuy on Amazon

Characters

7 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Jury and his friends