The Knowledge: A Richard Jury Mystery
By Martha Grimes
(364 pages, mystery, 2018)
A gunman shoots two glamorous people outside of a London casino/art gallery. The gunman then jumps into a London black cab and goes for a long ride around London, exactly as if he wasn’t guilty of a crime. The cab driver Robbie Parsons fears for his life and signals to other black cab drivers along the way. They contact the local young pickpockets (think Baker Street Irregulars), who join in the chase. And street urchin extraordinaire Patty Haigh catches up with the gunman at Heathrow. Patty befriends the gunman, and they both catch a flight to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya!
Back in London, Detective Superintendent Richard Jury is on the case. It is especially difficult for Jury because he had met and liked the victims, David and Rebecca Moffit. Jury questions witnesses and family members, and enlists the help of one friend, Truelove, to become a croupier in the casino, and another, Melrose, to go on a safari to Kenya to help solve the case.
There’s a connection between the murders and the blue gem tanzanite, which is mined only in Tanzania. And there’s a link to “The Knowledge,” a secret bar that only London cab drivers can use. Cab drivers are not allowed to bring anyone to The Knowledge, and that includes the Queen!
This is a classic Richard Jury mystery, with wonderful characters, interesting clues, and a diabolical killer, who may just get away with murder!
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Robbin Bailey
