The Deer Leap

Book Description

In a village plagued by missing pets, Scotland Yard's Richard Jury and sidekick Melrose Plant face the worst of human nature when a chilling old crime leads them to a brand new way to die.

Customer Reviews:

This One Packs an Emotional Punch.......2007-07-02

The Deer Leap, by Martha Grimes, is the 7th book in this excellent series. This entry introduces us to the lovely and eccentric Carole-Ann Palutski who will become Jury's neighbor and friend. This setting for this moving novel is Ashdown Dean, and its local pub The Deer Leap. Mysterioulsy, people and pets have been disappearing or meeting their accidental demise. A local fox hunt takes place and a sad 15-year-old girl with a troubled past takes center stage. Melrose is summoned and he will need every bit of his wits and cunning to help Jury. This is another very strong entry in this compelling series. The melancholy mood never disappars in this novel, even in moments of fun. This one packs an emotional wallop. A strong 4 star novel.

For those of you new to the series, I would recommend reading them in order for the best reading experience; however, they are also fun as stand alone novels.

Here is the series in order:

The Man with a Load of Mischief
The Old Fox Deceived
The Anodyne Necklace
The Dirty Duck
Jerusalem Inn
Help the Poor Struggler
The Deer Leap
I am the only Running Footman
The Five Bells and Bladebone
The Old Silent
The Old Contemptibles
The Horse You Came In on
Rainbow's End
The Case has Altered
The Stargazey
The Lamorna Wink
The Blue Last
The Grave Maurice
The Winds of Change
The Old Wine Shades
Dust

A tragedy.......2005-07-03

One of the main problems I have with Martha Grimes is that she uses references to things peculiar to England without really explaining them. In this novel she has a side plot about fox hunting with references to details that the readers have to figure out for themselves. Perhaps readers in the UK are more familiar with the issues. This is compounded by the repetition of some plot material from one novel to another.

There are young children running about who do not seem to be in school, some of them exploited by their parents (a cook in an inn, a dog watcher in London). One has to wonder, expecially when an Inspector from Scotland Yard is on the scene. Does the country have no child welfare?

The novel does have its moments. Inspector Jury meets his new upstairs neighbor, Carole-ann Palutski, who figures into following plots. Carole-ann is a 19 year old bombshell who can look 30 if the occasion calls for it. Fool that he is, Jury fends off Carole-ann's advances because he considers her too young. Instead he becomes involved with an older woman which almost leads to his death.

The novel has a dark ending which was not really necessary to the plot. I guess the author has a fixation on tragedies (kill the good people along with the bad. Let God sort them out).

The Deer Leap.......2003-07-02

I am very much a fan of Martha Grimes; but in this offering, she loses the battle when trying to balance her sparkling, dry humor and an almost depressing sullenness. I don't want to ruin the book for anyone, but the ending leaves us completely drained emotionally. I am a big fan of Ms. Grimes and have read most of the Jury novels. I am not one to always expect a "storybook" ending; but the resolution of this one is decidedly dark (even Melrose Plant does something totally out of character). I would rate this the weakest entry of the 10 or so that I have read so far, although it is still superior to most current books of the same genre.
My advice is not to read this one if you are feeling blue and want a pick me up!

Poignant, unfinished story.......2002-04-14

This is one of Martha Grimes' early Richard Jury novels, where some of the characters are almost stereotypical and not quite real--sometimes these early novels seem to me to be played out against cardboard sets in my mind. Despite this, this is a poignant, rather unfinished story about a child who seems to belong to no one and have no past and has given herself to protecting animals. Not even Richard Jury is able to protect Carrie Flood, and this is parinfully sad.

One of the fun things about this novel is the introduction of Carole-ann, definitely a mutilayered character, and to see the development of Mrs. Wasserman.

Perhaps The Most Poignant Of The Jury Series.......2001-11-27

One sign of a well-crafted character is that the reader comes to care about that character with more than the detachment typical of fiction. Martha Grimes is one of a few talented authors who can create such characters seemingly at will, not only the repeating theme characters such as Richard Jury and Melrose Plant, but those whose appearance is abbreviated to the confines of a single volume.

This Grimes does in the person of a young lady named Carrie Fleet. She, and the events surrounding her mysterious origin, constitute the central structure of the Deer Leap. Among other things, Carrie loves animals, and detests a local laboratory that engages in animal testing of consumer products. It is the graphic nature of Grimes' description of this that has put some readers off; however, it should be emphasized that Grimes has not jumped onto a PETA soapbox here. These scenes are tightly and economically written, and are necessary to the plot and especially to its harrowing denouement. Without giving too much away, it is in the resolution of these circumstances that we discover to our surprise that we care about certain characters perhaps more than we thought we did, and it is this resolution that makes The Deer Leap perhaps the most poignant of the Richard Jury series. The reader may curse Grimes for having gotten to him or to her, and that is one sign of a superb performance in authorship.

This is a necessary continuation of the Jury series in other ways as well, for example, along the way we get to discover why Melrose Plant now carries a cosh instead of the more stylish sword-cane he used to carry. And that is really all this reviewer can squeeze in without giving away the surprises. Once a reader has finished The Deer Leap he or she will not be able to read any of the Richard Jury series quite the same way again.

Average customer rating:
Deer Leap
Martha Grimes
Manufacturer: Unknown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MZAJ18

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The Deer Leap

Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:

The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury Mysteries)

The Horse You Came In On

The Blue Last

Dust: A Richard Jury Mystery

Rainbow's End

ASIN: B000FVCIIQ

Product Description

This is Grimes' seventh crime novel.

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One Summer at Deer's Leap
Elizabeth Elgin
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

War | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Romance | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0006510515

The Leap of the Deer: Memories of a Celtic Childhood

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The Leap of the Deer: Memories of a Celtic Childhood
Herbert O'Driscoll
Manufacturer: Cowley Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Religious | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Celtic | Earth-Based Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1561010863

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THE DEER LEAP
GRIMES MARTHA
Manufacturer: A DELL BOOK
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PGR9SU

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THE DEER LEAP
Martha Grimes
Manufacturer: Little Brown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RJP9GY

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The Deer Leap

Manufacturer: Onyx Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GRRR1W

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The Deer Leap
Martha Grimes
Manufacturer: Dell Distributing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UEO55W

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The Deer Leap
Martha Grimes
Manufacturer: Dell Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NSKFKE

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purchased 5 times!

This book will have you learning about local southern plants!

PASSALONG PLANTS

Sharing God's Beauty!

The Way to Write
Passalong Plants
Steve Bender
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Ornamental Plants | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Reference | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Tough Plants for Southern Gardens

Gardening With Native Plants of the South

Gardening Southern Style

The Southern Gardener's Book of Lists: The Best Plants for All Your Needs, Wants, and Whims

The Southern Living Garden Book

ASIN: 0807844187

Book Description

Passalongs are plants that have survived in gardens for decades by being handed from one person to another. These botanical heirlooms, such as flowering almond, blackberry lily, and night-blooming cereus, usually can't be found in neighborhood garden centers; about the only way to obtain a passalong plant is to beg a cutting from the fortunate gardener who has one.

In this lively and sometimes irreverent book (don't miss the chapter on yard art), Steve Bender and Felder Rushing describe 117 such plants, giving particulars on hardiness, size, uses in the garden, and horticultural requirements. They present this information in the informal, chatty, and sometimes humorous manner that your next-door neighbor might use when giving you a cutting of her treasured Confederate rose. And, of course, because they are discussing passalong plants, they note the best method of sharing each plant with other gardeners.

Because you might not spy a banana shrub or sweet pea in your neighborhood, the authors list mail-order sources for the heirloom plants described. They also give tips on how to organize your own plant swap. Although the authors live in and write about the South, many of the plants they discuss will grow elsewhere. from the book Amid the clamor of press releases touting the newest, improved versions of this bulb or that perennial, what keeps people interested in old-fashioned plants? Nostalgia, for one thing. It's hard not to feel a special fondness for that Confederate rose, night-blooming cereus, or alstroemeria lovingly tended by your grandmother when you were a child. Such heirloom plants evoke memories of your first garden, of relatives and neighbors that have since passed on, of prized bushes you accidentally annihilated with your bicycle. Recall the time you first received a particular plant, and you'll recall the person who gave it to you.

Customer Reviews:

purchased 5 times!.......2007-03-31

This is the best gardening book I own. It's so good, I've bought it for gifts over and over and over again. All of the plants listed are fabulous, the profiles are just plain funny, and all in all, the book is inspiring. Steve Bender and Felder Rushing are a great team- their essays on the plants feel like sitting down with a good gardening friend. They teach a lot, but not in a pedantic way. I can't recommend this book enough- I'd give it ten stars if I could.

This book will have you learning about local southern plants!.......2005-11-28

Unlike other members of my family. I have not inherited the green thumb. This book is fabulous if you live in the south. This book lets you know which plants can be started from others. Propagating plants either from cuttings or seeds can help you have a good deal of money.

This book is mostly geared for those of us who live in the south. While there are other plants mentioned, I think you would be better served if you live in the south. I like that this book broke plants down into types, and areas that they typically do best in. This way your not having to play any guessing games about what may grow best in your area.

If you are fond of of heirloom plants, this book is ideal for you, as it has many plants that are of older stock. It also gives you ideas for sources as well as sources for these older variety of plants. This book also tells you how to propigate the plants and make more!

This is a great resource. My only personal drawback is that while their are pictures for 80% or more of what is mentioned in the book. I am not plant savvy and when their isn't a picture, I have no idea what plant they are talking about. Do not let that stop you though, this is a great resource, and my garden will benefit from this book greatly!

PASSALONG PLANTS.......2005-09-14

A wonderful book that I will use over and over through the years!

Sharing God's Beauty!.......2005-07-09

This book was delightful in many respects. I learned alot about plants that have been around forever and "shared" with other plant lovers! I will keep this book to read and re-read. Also liked the pictures and especially the stories.

The Way to Write.......2003-07-25

Wrote with Southern charm, Felder Rushing's and Steve Bender's "Passalong Plants" is chocked full of humor and downhome anecdotes on how and why all gardeners should "share the fun and joy" of passing along a favorite flower or plant. That boils down to mean giving to others what the soil has gave to you! A fine book that will add lots of useful and practical gardening information to any home gardener's bookshelf.

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Same story, different time period.
Vampires and Stigmata
Fifteenth in the "Saint Germain" series.
Saint-Germain is our vampire-embedded-in-History
Same Old, Same Old

Night Blooming
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Manufacturer: Aspect
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Historical | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0446529818

Book Description

At the forced invitation of 8th century Germanic king Karl-lo-Magne (Charlemagne), Hiermon Ragoczy de Santus Germainius, a dark and strange man rumored to have traveled to many far places, makes the dangerous journey to France. He is called to validate the authenticity of the king's newly purchased maps, but unbeknownst to Karl-lo-Magne, Ragoczy's knowledge stems from centuries of being chased from these countries, rather than traveling through them. Despite his longing for peace, he yields to Karl-lo-Magne. What he does not expect, though, is to meet the albino woman, Gynethe Mehaut, who shares his curse of solitude. Showing signs of stigmata, she seeks peace from the church. But when she is taken to Rome, accusations of witchcraft fly, and she is left with a difficult choice-one that even Ragoczy cannot deny.

Customer Reviews:

Same story, different time period........2006-08-19

I used to love Yarbro's St. Germain books. I devoured the first 8 or so. But after a while, I got tired of the perpetually persecuted vampire, who gets himself involved with a damsel in distress while fighting religious authority amid political upheaval.

Although I tend to agree with what seems to be Yarbro's negative opinion of religion, this particular book -- in which stigmata is presented as a real phenomenon, without explanation -- was the final straw. It baffles me how one can condemn religion while at the same time showcasing one of its biggest frauds as being a real occurrence.

As much as I love the historical detail she puts into her work, I wish Yarbro would write St. Germain in the present day. But then, her formula (see above) wouldn't work quite so well.

Vampires and Stigmata.......2004-11-08

This series never fails to enthrall with its fastidious attention to historical detail and its equally charming vampire hero. It's really quite amazing how subtly and so casually author Yarbro deals with the mundanities of vampirism, which never gets in the way of the plot or the history. Saint-Germain himself just gets better all the time. What a fabulous character, created from a bit of history himself! The supporting cast -- his manservant, his former-lover-turned-best-vamp-bud, and her charming and witty ghoul amanuensis --- are so well developed throughout the series, they now seem like old friends. Admittedly, Anne Rice and her Lestat, worthy of praise and adultation, tend to overshadow the more quiet seduction of Yarbro and S-G; that seems a bit unfair, but then this kind of historical fiction does not appeal to everyone. If you love Rice, you should though at least give Yarbro a try. The same is true for fans of Laurell Hamilton, whom this writer finds to be an acquired taste which just hasn't happened for him yet, if ever. NIGHT BLOOMING is a superb additon to the S-G chronicles.

Fifteenth in the "Saint Germain" series........2004-03-06

Or sixteenth, if you count "Out of the House of Life", a spinoff novel mostly about Madeline de Montalia, Saint Germain's lover from the first novel in the series, "Hotel Transylvania", by the time of "House" a vampire in her own right.

Or nineteenth, if you count "A Flame In Byzantium", "Crusader's Torch", and "A Candle For D'artagnan", all centering on the life of Olivia Atta Clemens, his lover from "Blood Games", third in the series, likewise a vampire herself in these stories.

As in all of the books in this series, Saint Germain is an unmitigated hero, gentle, kind, suave, cultured, generous, intelligent, wise. Some readers of vampire fiction don't want their vampires to be good guys; at best, they want engaging bad boys like Anne Rice's "Lestat". At worst, they want ravening demons. If you fall into this category, don't read this book (or any book in this series). You won't get what you're looking for here. In Yarbro's books, the bad guys are generally the political and religious powers that be in the historical periods that she writes about.

Which brings us to one of the most fascinating things about this series: the historical settings. Saint Germain is a vampire who has lived for 4000 years; as such, each novel sets him in a different time period; this one sets him in the court of Charlemagne, circa 800 CE. Don't read these books as vampire fiction; read them as historical romances.

One of the few negative aspects to this series is that regular readers know from earlier-written books set in later historical periods that most of the romances are doomed to tragic endings; if they weren't, the romantic interests would have become vampires, and we'd have seen them or heard them referred to in later-period books. This gets a bit depressing after a while, but is hardly enough to keep the series from being worthwhile.

I would put this book about on a par with "Blood Roses" or "Darker Jewels", not as good as "Writ In Blood" or "Better In The Dark", but better than most of the series.

Saint-Germain is our vampire-embedded-in-History.......2003-12-13

I've read every one of CQY's vampire novels. Yes, they are slightly formulaic, yes they are historical--but what do you think the life of a putative vampire who is thousands of years old would be? Most tellingly, Saint-Germain, despite his several long-lived friends, suffers boredom and loneliness, and struggles against cynicism. The beauty of these novels is their portrayal of history without the rose-colored glasses present in most history books. Partially epistolary in form, these novels allow us to see history not through the rose-colored glasses of distance, but through the eyes of those living it as their present, and then supplies "commentary" in the form of Saint-Germain, whose 4,000 years of life have allowed him the time to develop modern sensibilities, as we see them. If you're looking for a horror story, you'll be disappointed; Saint-Germain is much more. If you expect institutions such as the Church and various historical figures to come out smelling like roses because the simplistic history you learned at school or even in your church suggests that it is so, you'll be disappointed as well. The reality and politics of the dark ages, say, or religion is often much nastier than we want to suppose, though it takes looking at primary sources--rather than TV and movies--to understand this. I am grateful that CQY does do this research, and then writes these novels, so the rest of us can see history--and humanity--with new eyes. A little fresh blood never hurt anybody, so to speak.

Same Old, Same Old.......2003-07-08

I've read all of CQY's vampire stories and this is the last one for me. I loved the first few books, enjoyed the middle few, got heartily sick of the last 2 and this one I didn't even finish. Don't need to; I know how it ends. She is following the same basic formula for every book and while it was a good formula, it's time for a change! Hate to echo what's already been said here, but I'm sick of the same types of characters, the same dialog (SG and Roger seem to have the same bantering conversation in every book!), the same plot. CQY is a good writer and should not be wasting her time with this stuff. She should use her talents to explore new territory and techniques.

The Night-Blooming Cereus (A Theo Bloomer Mystery)

Average customer rating:

Great read

The Night-Blooming Cereus (A Theo Bloomer Mystery)
Joan Hadley
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0345349121
Release Date: 1989-05-13

Customer Reviews:

Great read.......2003-04-12

I wish she had written more than two books. This is one of those authors you want more of. Lovely, tongue in cheek, mystery.

The Blossoms of the Night-Blooming Cereus

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The Blossoms of the Night-Blooming Cereus
Ursula T. Gibson
Manufacturer: PublishAmerica
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Anthologies | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1413764827

Book Description

Ursula T. Gibson was born in 1930. She has been poetry editor for Poetic Voices since 1997, reading up to 300 poems a month to select those to be published. As a music/English major at San Jose State College, she won the first Dorothy Kaucher Award for Oral Interpretation in 1951. Since 1988, when she began to write seriously, her poetry output has grown to 642 poems so far, some published in USA, Canada, England, India, South Africa, and Australia. This book contains 55 of them. She has published three chapbooks (Eyes, 1990, Two Tujunga Poets, 1993, and Spirited, 19960—the poems of which she also recorded on a CD). She wrote Be Prepared, Don't Mumble, Look UP! or How to Read Poetry Aloud, which was published in 2003. She is a member and state treasurer (1997-2005) of the California Federation of Chaparral Poets, Inc., and belongs to the California State Poetry Society. She reads at local venues regularly. She has been a legal secretary since 1956, and a California certified legal secretary since 1989. Her husband, their two cats, and she live in Southern California in the mountains near Glendale.

Night Bells Blooming (Harlequin Presents)

Average customer rating:

Outstanding romance

Night Bells Blooming (Harlequin Presents)
Emma Goldrick
Manufacturer: harlequin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Harlequin Presents | Series | Romance | Subjects | Books

General | Contemporary | Romance | Subjects | Books
Accessories:

Avon ANEW CLINICAL 2-Step Facial Peel

ASIN: 0373108257

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding romance.......2001-12-23

This was a lovely romance with a protective and good guy hero and a sweet heroine, and where the hero actually treats the heroine decently and gently. Unusual for books written in this time. Evy Hart was low on courage, still suffering the effects of a very abusive marriage. She now lives in Puerto rico, where she meets the dashing Jason. Jason turns into her night in shining armor, protecting her when some of her late husband's business associates come a calling. Jason never wavered in his devotion to evy, even though Evy was not ready to embark in a relationship. I thought many times Jason's patience must be neverending, and he never failed to be gentle and sweet with Evy, with everything she's been through. I would highly recommend this book, it was outstanding romantic reading.
Cyndi

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Night Blooming Cactus: Poems
Robert Watson
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 068911091X

Night Blooming Ceruleus and Other Stories

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Night Blooming Ceruleus and Other Stories
Chet McLaughlin MD
Manufacturer: 1st Books Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1403335788

Book Description

Northwest serial killings are solved by a forest ranger in The Snowman. Daughter's bribery retros Dad to boyhood in The Value Of A Dollar. Life Without Adrian shows Josh telecommunicative powers can change to telekinesis in The Night Blooming Ceruleus.

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Night of the Blooming Cereus (SIGNED)
Joan Hadley
Manufacturer: St martins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GTNT12

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Night-Blooming Cereus
Robert Earl, 1913- Hayden
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NP2O1A

The night-blooming cereus (Heritage series)

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The night-blooming cereus (Heritage series)
Robert Earl Hayden
Manufacturer: Paul Breman Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 090377903X

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