He’s a fascinating bloke, this Harry Johnson—rich, handsome, unattached, and brainy about the esoteric subject of quantum mechanics, a field in which the vanished woman’s husband, Hugh Gault, excels: He’s an authority on string theory, which has some pretty funny notions about the nature of reality.

Jury wonders, Is Harry Johnson winding him up? Or did it really happen? The dog did come back—but how? And from where? And when Jury investigates, all seems to be just as Harry described it.

Until they find the body.

The Old Wine Shades

FROM OUR EDITORS

At a London pub called the Old Wine Shades, Richard Jury hears a slightly convoluted story about a wife, a son, and a dog who disappear one day on a visit to Surrey. For nine months, they have been gone; except for the dog, who inexplicably returns. Skeptical yet curious, Jury probes deeper. Before long, what begins as a diverting yarn becomes a homicide investigation of the most perplexing sort. A finely turned British mystery.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The latest in New York Times bestselling authorMartha Grimes?s Richard Jury mystery series "The dog came back." "This is a joke, right?" "No, it isn?t. . . . So do you want to hear the rest of it?" Dumbly, Jury nodded. The rest of it is told by Harry Johnson, a stranger who sits down next to Richard Jury as he?s drinking in a London pub called the Old Wine Shades. Over three successive nights Harry spins this complicated story about a good friend of his whose wife and son (and dog) disappeared one day as they were viewing property in Surrey. They?ve been missing for nine months?no trace, no clue, no lead as to what happened.

He?s a fascinating bloke, this Harry Johnson?rich, handsome, unattached, and brainy about the esoteric subject of quantum mechanics, a field in which the vanished woman?s husband, Hugh Gault, excels: He?s an authority on string theory, which has some pretty funny notions about the nature of reality.

Jury wonders, Is Harry Johnson winding him up? Or did it really happen? The dog did come back?but how? And from where? And when Jury investigates, all seems to be just as Harry described it.

Until they find the body. Praise for Martha Grimes: "One of the established masters of the genre." ?Newsweek "[Grimes?s] gift for evoking mood and emotion is as keen as her talent for inventing a demanding puzzle, and solving it." ?The Wall Street Journal "[Grimes] excels at creating a haunting atmosphere and characters both poignant and preposterous." ?USA Today "Grimes is gifted at exploring the private, sometimes horrifying, yet utterly mundane thoughts of ordinary people." ?San Francisco Chronicle

Author Biography:
Martha Grimes is the bestselling author of twenty Richard Jury mysteries and also the acclaimed fiction Belle Ruin, Cold Flat Junction, Hotel Paradise, Foul Matter, The End of the Pier, and The Train Now Departing.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

At the start of bestseller Grimes's compelling 20th Richard Jury mystery, the Scotland Yard detective is on suspension because he decided to save lives rather than wait for a warrant in his previous outing, The Winds of Change (2004). With time on his hands, Jury is ensnared by the intriguing tale spun by Harry Johnson, a man who, apparently, just happens upon him in a London pub, the Old Wine Shades. Despite himself, Jury is drawn in by Johnson's account of the baffling disappearance of a mother, her autistic son and their dog-and the more baffling reappearance of the pet nine months later. The detective diligently follows every lead to determine the fate of the missing people, even as Johnson's digressions into the paradoxes of quantum physics lead Jury to question the truth of the man's narrative. The scheme Jury ultimately detects is ingeniously clever and sufficiently consistent with the personalities Grimes has created to overcome disbelief. The author's gift at melding suspense, logical twists and wry humor makes this one of the stronger entries in this deservedly popular series. 8-city author tour. Mystery Guild main selection. (On sale Feb. 21) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

At the Old Wine Shades (yes, it's one of Grimes's whimsically named bars), Richard Jury hears a puzzling story about a missing wife and child. The family dog does return home, but of course there's a dead body somewhere. With an eight-city tour. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews