DUST

When Billy Maples is found murdered in a hotel room, Richard Jury and the case's lead detective show up at the same time. As they grapple with an investigation that takes them from Billy's favorite club, Dust, to trendy London galleries and a small town in Sussex, they also grapple with each other. The case's detective, you see, is named Lu Aguilar, and she is drop-dead gorgeous. The normally stellar John Lee catches Grimes's round-about approach to plotting in his relaxed narration. Yet it's too relaxed, with strangely long pauses between phrases. Also, Lee often emphasizes inconsequential words, hinting at significance where there is none. Martha Grimes addicts may be content with the meandering length of this rendition; casual listeners will not. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 07]