Martha Grimes’ THE KNOWLEDGE does not break any new ground for the Richard Jury series. Still it is an appealing story with plenty of entertaining characters and a pleasingly complex plot.

London cabbie Robbie Parsons knows every street, every landmark, and every attraction in the city. But his latest fare is holding a gun, and a few minutes ago shot a couple outside of the Artemis Club, a combination art gallery and casino. Yet the man with the gun seems calm, unconcerned, and leaves a generous tip when Parsons drops him off.

Then Detective Superintendent Richard Jury learns about the murder and recognizes one of the victims. Jury enlists his associates Melrose Plant and Marshall Trueblood to help find the murderer. They are assisted by a group of amazingly resourceful youngsters who hang out a various London train stations. As events progress, the investigation involves Tanzanian gems, a defunct casino in Reno, Nevada, and a secret and hidden pub known only to London black cab drives as The Knowledge.

Grimes wastes no time and immediately involves us in the murder from the opening of the first chapter. Our interest grows as Jury learns more about the victims and the various suspects.

Jury is the usual charming and quietly self-absorbed detective we’ve come to know from the previous 23 series novels. The other secondary characters are equally familiar as they take part in the hunt for the killer and the motive for the murders. Then there are the various London cabbies who cleverly keep the location of The Knowledge hidden from curious tourists.

If there is a fault to this latest novel, it is the overly long time Melrose Plant spends in Nairobi searching for the shooter with one of the train station youngsters on his heels. But the plot resumes its vigor when Plant finally returns and Jury takes over the investigation.

THE KNOWLEDGE provides plenty to keep fans of the series pleased, and is also a suitable introduction to Jury and his reliable crew for new readers. Those new readers will soon understand why this Grimes series has lasted as long as it has, and why Richard Jury is one of the most popular police detectives working today. —Alan Cranis

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