The Man With a Load of Mischief by Martha Grimes (2003, Paperback, Reprint)

This is the first in the Martha Grimes Richard Jury series, and a must for any mystery fan to read. Grimes uses the story of murder in a small town to set the stage for one of the most popular mystery series in the world, the Richard Jury mysteries. Grimes is a superb storyteller, and not only engages you with a well written mystery but draws you in with her quirky, humorous, and eminently likeable characters in their fictitious village Long Piddleton. As the first book, it lacks something of the real draw of the subsequent novels as the characters are united for the first time, but the book is still a worthy read and a must for any Grimes fan. The title of each book refers to the name of one of the pubs in each novel, and each one is a great read independent of the other books in the series. I highly recommend every installement in the series and definitely worth purchasing as opposed to just checking out from the library, as the "reread" value is fabulous. I have lost count of the number of times I have gone back and read through each Richard Jury book, and still enjoy each one tremendously.