Below is the complete list of Martha Grimes’ Richard Jury books in publication order. For this series, the chronological reading order is the same as the order of publication.
Richard Jury Books in Publication Order
- The Man With a Load of Mischief (1981)
The Man With a Load of Mischief was published in 1981 and is listed as book #1 in the Richard Jury series. - The Old Fox Deceiv’d (1982)
Published in 1982, The Old Fox Deceiv’d is listed as book #2 in the Richard Jury series. - The Anodyne Necklace (1983)
The Anodyne Necklace is a 1983 release and appears as book #3 in the Richard Jury series. - The Dirty Duck (1984)
In the Richard Jury series, The Dirty Duck is book #4 and was published in 1984. - Jerusalem Inn (1984)
Jerusalem Inn was first published in 1984; within the Richard Jury series, it is listed as book #5. - Help the Poor Struggler (1985)
Help the Poor Struggler was published in 1985 and is listed as book #6 in the Richard Jury series. - The Deer Leap (1985)
Published in 1985, The Deer Leap is listed as book #7 in the Richard Jury series. - I Am the Only Running Footman (1986)
I Am the Only Running Footman is a 1986 release and appears as book #8 in the Richard Jury series. - The Five Bells and Bladebone (1987)
In the Richard Jury series, The Five Bells and Bladebone is book #9 and was published in 1987. - The Old Silent (1989)
The Old Silent was first published in 1989; within the Richard Jury series, it is listed as book #10. - The Old Contemptibles (1991)
The Old Contemptibles was published in 1991 and is listed as book #11 in the Richard Jury series. - The Horse You Came In On (1993)
Published in 1993, The Horse You Came In On is listed as book #12 in the Richard Jury series. - Rainbow’s End (1995)
Rainbow’s End is a 1995 release and appears as book #13 in the Richard Jury series. - The Case Has Altered (1997)
In the Richard Jury series, The Case Has Altered is book #14 and was published in 1997. - The Stargazey (1998)
The Stargazey was first published in 1998; within the Richard Jury series, it is listed as book #15. - The Lamorna Wink (1999)
The Lamorna Wink was published in 1999 and is listed as book #16 in the Richard Jury series. - The Blue Last (2001)
Published in 2001, The Blue Last is listed as book #17 in the Richard Jury series. - The Grave Maurice (2002)
The Grave Maurice is a 2002 release and appears as book #18 in the Richard Jury series. - The Winds of Change (2004)
In the Richard Jury series, The Winds of Change is book #19 and was published in 2004. - The Old Wine Shades (2006)
The Old Wine Shades was first published in 2006; within the Richard Jury series, it is listed as book #20. - Dust (2007)
Dust was published in 2007 and is listed as book #21 in the Richard Jury series. - The Black Cat (2010)
Published in 2010, The Black Cat is listed as book #22 in the Richard Jury series. - Vertigo 42 (2014)
Vertigo 42 is a 2014 release and appears as book #23 in the Richard Jury series. - The Knowledge (2018)
In the Richard Jury series, The Knowledge is book #24 and was published in 2018. - The Old Success (2019)
The Old Success was first published in 2019; within the Richard Jury series, it is listed as book #25. - The Red Queen (2025)
The Red Queen was published in 2025 and is listed as book #26 in the Richard Jury series.
About Richard Jury
Martha Grimes’s Richard Jury series is a long-running detective sequence that blends Scotland Yard investigation with the atmosphere of English villages, eccentric country houses, old pubs, and damaged private lives. The series begins with The Man with a Load of Mischief, introducing Detective Chief Inspector Richard Jury, a thoughtful and restrained police detective whose cases often lead him far beyond the official routines of London policing. Alongside him is Melrose Plant, a wealthy aristocrat who has renounced his title and becomes Jury’s unofficial ally, friend, and social interpreter.
The series is famous for its titles, many of which are taken from the names of pubs, inns, or similarly evocative places. That naming pattern gives the books a distinctive flavor before the mysteries even begin. Grimes is interested in place as more than scenery. A pub, village, hotel, estate, or seaside town often carries memory, rumor, class tension, and old secrets. The setting usually feels lived-in and slightly theatrical, filled with people who may be funny, irritating, lonely, or quietly tragic.
Richard Jury himself is one of the series’ great strengths. He is not flamboyant, violent, or theatrically brilliant in the Sherlockian sense. His power lies in patience, empathy, and the ability to notice what grief or fear has done to people. Jury is often drawn to children, outsiders, and emotionally wounded characters, and his investigations are shaped by compassion as much as deduction. He can be dry and reserved, but he is rarely cold. That quiet emotional intelligence gives the series a deeper mood than a simple clue puzzle.
Melrose Plant provides a different kind of intelligence. He has access to upper-class spaces, country-house circles, and social absurdities that Jury may encounter from a professional distance. His relationship with his difficult aunt Agatha, his friendships in Long Piddleton, and his ironic view of privilege give the books much of their comedy. Plant is not merely comic relief, though. His outsider-insider status lets Grimes examine class, performance, and the boredom or cruelty that can hide behind polished manners.
The early books, including The Old Fox Deceiv’d, The Anodyne Necklace, Jerusalem Inn, and Help the Poor Struggler, establish the recurring pattern of murder disrupting places that already feel uneasy. Later novels such as The Old Silent, The Blue Last, The Lamorna Wink, and The Knowledge show how flexible the series becomes, moving through London, villages, coastal settings, wartime memory, art, children’s stories, and increasingly layered emotional histories. The books can be witty and whimsical, but they are often shadowed by loss.
Grimes’s style sets Richard Jury apart from more procedural detective fiction. The police work matters, but the novels are equally interested in conversation, atmosphere, literary allusion, and character eccentricity. Some mysteries unfold almost like social comedies darkened by murder, while others move toward melancholy studies of loneliness and memory. This tonal mixture is part of the series’ identity: light and dark are rarely kept separate.
The Richard Jury books are best read as atmospheric literary mysteries rather than fast, mechanical thrillers. Each case can stand on its own, but the pleasure grows through familiarity with Jury, Melrose Plant, Sergeant Wiggins, Long Piddleton, and the recurring social world around them. Across the series, Martha Grimes builds a version of England that is witty, haunted, theatrical, and emotionally bruised, with Richard Jury moving through it as a detective who understands that solving a murder rarely solves all the sorrow behind it.