apologies but this book was not for me as I realised very early on when reading so it was a DNF within the first few chapters

What a great idea to have a pub only the taxi drivers who have passed the knowledge can find! This story starts with a double murder and the taxi becomes the getaway vehicle only they have not counted on the other taxis who give chase. Throw in orphan kids at the stations who are mini Sherlock Holmes and you have a really exciting start to this thrilling mystery. You will not be disappointed in the twists and turns in this chase and you will really fall in love with Patty.
I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Martha Grimes is what you call a prolific producer of excellent crime fiction having released a book (sometimes two) annually for the past 25 years! Now that's dedication! Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, where her father was the City Solicitor. Her mother owned the Mountain Lake Hotel in Western Maryland where Martha and her brother spent a substantial period of their childhood. Later, Grimes earned her B.A. and M.A. at the University of Maryland and put them to good use writing page-turning tales that have been described as falling into the mystery genre and into the "literary mystery" niche sub-genre. Her stories place emphasis on well-written character-driven aspects and less on violence. In 1983, Grimes received the Nero Wolfe Award for best mystery of the year for "The Anodyne Necklace". In 2012, Grimes was named Grand Master by The Edgar Awards Mystery Writers of America.

"The Knowledge" is the 24th(!) book in the critically acclaimed Richard Jury series, and features Jury as an inspector with Scotland Yard and his friend Melrose Plant, a British aristocrat who has given up his titles. A little known fact is that each of the Jury mysteries is named after a pub and this one is no different - named after the extensive testing cab drivers go through in order to gain a licence. Some of her other books include the Emma Graham quartet of novels and the Andi Oliver duology. She is also a passionate animal activist and donated two-thirds of her royalties for "Biting The Moon", the first book in the Andi Oliver series released in 1999, to animal abuse organisations.

Although I haven't had the pleasure of reading all the previous 23 novels in this wonderful series, the ones I have read have lead me to having extremely high expectations as Grimes writes such unique books and I would say she is certaily a masterful writer within this genre. There are so many authors writing very similar stories yet Grimes can write an inordinate amount of titles without resorting to "borrowing ideas" from others. I am blown away by how intriguing each story is and how engaged I was from the beginning right until the conclusion.

This is an authentic British mystery that keeps you enthralled and excited and manages to do so without using violence at the every turn, something that takes a lot of skill to achieve. Her characters are exceptionally drawn, especially Mr, Jury who has to be one of my favourite and most enduring characters in modern literature. There are some delightfully curious details that you won't find elsewhere and one of my most loved elements - the prose, it's simply spectacular and pulls you into the book immediately. All of these aspects combine to create a magical reading experience.

I do hope that Grimes continues to publish the Richard Jury series as it has swiftly become a favourite of mine. I plan to go back and read the rest of the books that I haven't read yet and also delve into her other titles. Jury is an eccentric and loveable character that I would surely miss should this series come to an end. Brilliant, just brilliant!

Many thanks to Grove Press for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Atlantic Books for an advance copy of The Knowledge, the twenty-fourth novel to feature Superintendent Richard Jury of New Scotland Yard.

When astrophysicist Dr David Moffitt and his wife Rebecca are shot dead outside The Artemis casino Jury appropriates the case as he had recently met and liked them and so feels the need to investigate personally. It gets complicated as the murderer took the dead couple's cab and the cabbie who is driving at gunpoint, enlists some unorthodox help, one of whom, 10 year old street kid Patty Haigh, takes it too far and ends up travelling to Nairobi with the killer.

It must be twenty years since I read a Richard Jury novel, so I was unsure what I was going to get but, reassuringly, not much has changed and I could remember most of the regular characters. There is still the same sense of the ridiculous and cosy humour and, of course, the naming of a pub in the title. The plot is a wonderful romp through London with cabbies and their encyclopaedic knowledge featuring prominently, although, not satisfied with London, Ms Grimes includes Nairobi in a side trip. The plotting itself is clever and compulsive as I had no idea what was behind the shooting and, to be fair, neither does Jury until it all comes together piece by piece.

No Jury novel would be complete without a pub and in this case it's The Knowledge, named for the training and testing London cabbies go through to get a licence, a pub whose location is a secret known only to the cabbies. This is a running gag throughout the novel and I loved the final scene there which is a delicious counterpoint to what has gone before. As an American Ms Grimes has obviously done her homework on London geography and odd snippets of esoteric history, it's rather reminiscent of Bryant and May novels, but as I don't know London much of it passed over my head as uninteresting.

The rather ageing Jury (he must be at least seventy) is still ably assisted by the valiant if prosaic Sergeant Wiggins and feuding with his boss, Chief Superintendent Racer. His methods are old fashioned, interviews and conversations, so there is very little mention of technology, save the ubiquitous mobile, and no forensics or computers. It makes for a charming read. He enlists the help of his friends from the Northamptonshire village of Long Piddock his endeavours and they all bring slightly eccentric skills to the investigation.

The Knowledge is a fun, enjoyable read which I have no hesitation in recommending.