Serious readers are wary of abridgements, often for good reason. Not having read this book in its unabridged form, I have my suspicions of what got cut from the audio version of "The Case" -- the background of the various suspects seems a bit less developed here, although I still wondered "whodunit" until the protagonists arrived at their conclusion. There also may have been some deleting of the descriptions of the bleak Lincolnshire fens, but with little loss to the overall effect of the tale.

And what a tale that is! Not so much due to Grimes taking the English detective mystery to any new level - she doesn't do that nor intends to. The real laurels here go to reader/actor Tim Curry. He gets all of the character nuances just right, moving with ease and flair across British class, age and gender lines. He brings out with brio the fullest comedic potential of the text, clearly relishing his fleshing out of the eccentricities and peculiarities of Grimes' range of characters and situations. This is the perfect tape set for anyone facing a long commute. You'll be well entertained and amused. For Curry's perfomrance: six stars!!

What a book!! The best I've read since I've forgotten when. It made me realize why I love the English language so, beautifully written. I understand perfectly why Miss Cornwell says Grimes' work is poetry for the way she writes and the words Miss Grimes uses are those of a poet. Beautiful scenery, lifelike characters and a thoroughly satisfying end. Undoubtetly it has been said before but for once I don't mind repeating another man's words: an absolute must!! Since this was the first Richard Jury (and Martha Grimes) book I've read I'll be drawn inside every bookshop by an irresistable force: the other books by Martha Grimes!!

This is the first of Martha Grimes' books that I have read, so I don't have much to compare it with, but I really loved it. The characters are vivid and interesting, and there is a wonderful sense of place here. I hadn't thought much about the English fens, but this book makes you want to look at pictures of them or go there. Grimes' descriptions of the light on the fens are particularly good.

I figured out who the murderer was fairly early on here, but, as with many of the mystery writers that I like, who did it isn't as important as how you get there, and this is an excellent book from that perspective. The characterizations are wonderful, and the child character of Zell is particularly spendid.

One comment here is that this books seems to exist out of time. I know that it is supposed to be set in the present, but there is very little way to tell that as you read. Some might say that this is not a good thing--is English life that changeless in the upper classes? but I found it interesting and perhaps intentional.

As a regular traveller, I was most disappointed with the latest edition of Fodor's 2000: Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket. It was very concise in its information about the area, but as one who arranges travel, shopping, and accommodation over the internet, I was amazed that in the Year 2000 edition, it completely lacked any web sites/addresses. For instance, Martha's Vinyard Chamber of Commerce has the most informative web site for local travel, accommodation, weather, etc., but Fodor's has not listed it, just the 1-800 phone number...coming from London, England, this is of little help. Unfortunately, this was the case throughout the whole book. Fodor succeeds in its advice and desciptions, but it may want to think about updating its books for the millions of global web surfers out there, wanting to plan a holiday