Martha Grimes

Jury investigates the death of a young escort who has been murdered behind a local pub. The only witness is the establishment's black cat, who gives neither crook nor clue as to the girl's identity or her killer's.

Richard Jury investigates the death of a wealthy bachelor with a mysterious past who was last seen in a club named Dust.

The bestselling author of the Richard Jury novels delivers a razor-sharp and raucously funny send-up of the cutthroat world of publishing. And the praise is pouring in:

"A hilarious and wicked caper-adventure on the evils of the book business."
—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Does laughing uncontrollably on a subway train constitute legitimate literary criticism? If it does, then Foul Matter...gets a great review from me." —New

...

Young Andi Oliver is an amnesiac and drifter who awoke in a Santa Fe bed and breakfast with a man's belongings tossed about the room. Adopting a name from the initials on her backpack, Andi moves from one waitress job to the next, from Idaho to North Dakota, until she takes a job at Klavan's, a massive pigfarming facility that specializes in the dark art of modern livestock management. As Andi begins to uncover the truth about Klavan's and a slaughterhouse...

"The dog came back."
"This is a joke, right?"
"No, it isn't…So do you want to hear the rest of it?" Dumbly, Jury nodded.
The rest of it is told by Harry Johnson, who sits down by Richard Jury in the tavern, The Old Wine Shades. Over three successive nights, Harry spins out this story of a good friend of his whose wife and son (and dog) disappeared one day when they were Surrey. No trace, no clue, no lead...