The End of the Pier

By Martha Grimes

Book Overview

In a sleepy resort town, Maud Chadwick waits tables at the Rainbow Cafe. Her confidant is Sheriff Sam DeGheyn and what they have in common is obsession. Maude doesn't want her son to leave home, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345376579
• Release Date: April 1993
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.9" x 0.7" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

The Human Touch

"The End of the Pier" is my favorite of Martha Grimes' mysteries. Not as "mysterious" as the works named after pubs, this one has a relationship between a divorced mother and son, and a romance of the heroine with a married man, none of which is salacious or spectacular and both of which are touching. It's more like a novel without the self-pitying tone I've seen in some of Grimes' novels and though there is enough weirdness of character, there is more of a celebration of the heroine's own eccentricity, which I like. One can always use the laughs between Melrose Plant and his cohorts, and Richard Jury our emotionally damaged detective, which are the hallmark of most of Grimes' mysteries. But this small mystery, a moving little novel, successfully stands on its own.

A Mystery with Character

Grimes' English Detective Jury mysteries have always been delightful because they are English mysteries that move with American speed. Her characters are special - charming and funny. A well-developed character is sometimes hard to find in a good mystery novel. The characters in The End of the Pier are so real that you will feel your loss when you finish the book. I still miss them. This is a beautifully written and unforgettable book - and a mystery to boot