THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC
Sept. 21, 2002
By Barbara Yost
Authenticity starts with the titles of Grimes' British mysteries
Every Martha Grimes novel starts in an English pub. The Dirty Duck. The Lamorna Wink. The Old Fox Deceiv'd.
Grimes, an American, finds pub names the perfect titles for her British mysteries, in particular her series of Richard Jury mysteries. Just don't call them "cozies."
Grimes takes umbrage when her works of literature are lumped with those precious tales of whimsical detectives uncovering murder and mayhem in quaint English villages. They're called "British cozies," evoking the image of a lace teapot cover.
"They sort of dump any woman writer of British mysteries into that category," she says. "My books are just not that kind of book."
Her latest Jury novel is, in fact, set in Cambridgeshire and deals with nothing cozy. The Grave Maurice is about a young girl presumed kidnapped. It explores the issue of horses being abused by purveyors of hormone-replacement therapy.
Grimes must have been prescient. The book, written more than a year ago, just happens to touch on two current issues - hormone replacement and child abductions. Fans can explore her talent for timeliness Monday when she reads from and signs her book at the Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale.
Some readers are surprised to learn Grimes is not a Brit. While her heart is Stars and Stripes, her soul has a touch of the Union Jack.
"I've always liked England," she says. "I like to read British mysteries."
The former teacher of English picked up a pen and wrote her first British mystery 20 years ago. Two decades have found her profoundly productive. She's written 17 Jury books plus four other novels. And all first drafts are written with a rainbow of colored fountain pens, hue selected according to her mood. Only for subsequent drafts does she hit the keyboard.
Success has afforded the divorced Grimes two homes - one in Washington, D.C., and one in Santa Fe.
She calls Santa Fe "a very relaxing place, a good place to write." But it doesn't live up to its reputation as a desert oasis for the arts, she insists.
"People like to pretend it's cultural, but it's not," she says in her distinctive whispery voice. "There's more bad art here than anywhere in the U.S."
Grimes leaves her two homes at least once a year and travels to England to absorb the Britishness of the place and haunt pubs in search of her next title. But compile a list of pubs for future use? Tut tut.
Once she selects a title, the writing juices begin to flow like warm ale. If she had a list, she'd be compelled to write multiple books at once.
"I'd go crazy," she says with a laugh.
