Richard Jury, the detective in all of Grimes's novels, is unusual among most traditional fictional detectives: He is a detective by profession rather than a talented amateur. At the beginning of the series, Jury is detective chief inspector at Scotland Yard, but later receives a long overdue promotion to superintendent. Tall and handsome, Jury is a brilliant detective who is distinguished by his warmth, humor, and compassion. He has little patience with the "by the book" approach of his superior, Racer, who frequently lectures to Jury on what he perceives as Jury's shortcomings, which ironically include Jury's popularity among his subordinates. Jury accuses himself of being a melancholic: He loves winter and rain and is attracted to women who have an air of sadness. The sadness in Jury's own life is the result of the deaths of his parents when he was very young — his mother died...