Martha Grimes Books in Order

Martha Grimes is a celebrated American author of detective fiction. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to D.W., a city solicitor, and June, owner of the Mountain Lake Hotel in Western Maryland, Grimes spent her childhood immersed in the hospitality industry. A University of Maryland alumna, she holds both a B.A. and M.A. and has taught at the University of Iowa, Frostburg State University, and Montgomery College. Grimes is renowned for her series of novels featuring Scotland Yard's Richard Jury and his enigmatic friend Melrose Plant, a British aristocrat turned amateur sleuth. Her character-driven "cozy" mysteries often take place in pubs, each title inspired by a unique watering hole. In 1983, Grimes received the prestigious Nero Wolfe Award for her novel The Anodyne Necklace. Drawing from her own experiences, Grimes' works often reflect her life's adventures, as seen in Hotel Paradise, which pays homage to her idyllic summers at her mother's Maryland hotel.