The Knowledge by Martha Grimes Narrator: Steve West
Series: Richard Jury #24
Published by Simon & Schuster Audio on April 3, 2018
Genres: Mystery
Length: 12 hours, 3 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble
With their signature wit, sly plotting, and gloriously offbeat characters, Martha Grimes’s New York Times bestselling Richard Jury mysteries are “utterly unlike anyone else’s detective novels” (Washington Post). In the latest series outing, The Knowledge, the Scotland Yard detective nearly meets his match in a Baker Street Irregulars-like gang of kids and a homicide case that reaches into east Africa.
Robbie Parsons is one of London’s finest, a black cab driver who knows every street, every theater, every landmark in the city by heart. In his backseat is a man with a gun in his hand—a man who brazenly committed a crime in front of the Artemis Club, a rarefied art gallery-cum-casino, then jumped in and ordered Parsons to drive. As the criminal eventually escapes to Nairobi, Detective Superintendent Richard Jury comes across the case in the Saturday paper.
Two days previously, Jury had met and instantly connected with one of the victims of the crime, a professor of astrophysics at Columbia and an expert gambler. Feeling personally affronted, Jury soon enlists Melrose Plant, Marshall Trueblood, and his whole gang of merry characters to contend with a case that takes unexpected turns into Tanzanian gem mines, a closed casino in Reno, Nevada, and a pub that only London’s black cabbies, those who have “the knowledge,” can find. The Knowledge is prime fare from “one of the most fascinating mystery writers today”
The Richard Jury series is another one of these mystery series with more than 20 books which I have read and loved since the 1980s. I tried it on audio recently when I discovered it is narrated by Steve West!!!! He’s one of my favorites.
I love the character development and how Jury brings in his whole motley crew into his investigations. They are long-loved characters. One could never start with this book as not only would you miss so much but the characters would not be as well-developed or dear to you.
This story had the added character developments of the cabbies of London and a group of street children. Patty Haigh is amazing! Everything is clever and not quite what it appears.
Narration:
I listened at my usual 1.25 speed. I could listen all day to the voice of Steve West. I was thinking now there are 24 in this series I could just listen to two each month and have his voice year round! It looks like someone else narrated just one of the 24 audiobooks. He really does all the character voices so well, both male and female. There are also different social and regional dialects which are also excellent. I’m have no idea if they are accurate since I’m not knowledgeable about them, but they sound great. The performance is amazing and makes me want to listen to the whole series from the start, since I read the earlier books in the 1990s.
Listen to a clip here:
About Steve West
A London native, Steve began his career by winning the Stage & Television Today acting scholarship at the age of 17 (after ironically believing that he had bombed the audition!). What followed took him through one of London’s top drama conservatories, onto the West End stage in ABBA’s musical phenomenon Mamma Mia! and then to working opposite the likes of Chucky the killer doll and Don Draper in TV’s Mad Men.
Having moved to the States in 2009 he earned a place as a highly respected and award winning voice over artist working across commercials, films, documentary, audiobooks and video games. He starred as Galahad in Sony’s epic motion capture release The Order 1886 which took over 2 years to film and employed the most up-to-date filming and audio techniques in the field.
Versatile in a multitude of ways from acting to singing to dancing to dying 100’s of different ways in a sound booth he continues to enjoy work both on stage, screen and behind a mic. Check out his latest news on the home page, join the conversation on Facebook and twitter and even head back to the 1800s and ‘be’ Steve/Galahad on the PS4!
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2018 Audiobook Challenge
- 2018 Library-Love Challenge
- 2018 New Release Challenge
- COYER BSBB
I used to read this series decades ago, when it was in its early days. Martha Grimes did a book signing at the bookstore where I was an assistant manager, and even came to tea at my house! (The former went well, the latter did not.) I had no idea she was still writing the series. I’ll have to check it out and see what has changed over the years.
It’s really awesome I think. So layered and clever with plenty of quirky characters. I’m hoping the library has even the earlier ones on audio so I can go back and listen to them all again in a binge since I am such a fan of Steve West.