The End Of The Pier

by Martha Grimes

Two similar murders within a one-year period lead La Porte deputy sheriff Sam DeGheyn to the conclusion that the man serving time for the first murder is innocent. 10,000 first printing. (Mystery).

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Novels

335 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 1992

About the author

Martha Grimes is an American author of detective fiction.

She was born May 2 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to D.W., a city solicitor, and to June, who owned the Mountain Lake Hotel in Western Maryland where Martha and her brother spent much of their childhood. Grimes earned her B.A. and M.A. at the University of Maryland. She has taught at the University of Iowa, Frostburg State University, and Montgomery College.

Grimes is best known for her series of novels featuring Richard Jury, an inspector with Scotland Yard, and his friend Melrose Plant, a British aristocrat who has given up his titles. Each of the Jury mysteries is named after a pub. Her page-turning, character-driven tales fall into the mystery subdivision of "cozies." In 1983, Grimes received the Nero Wolfe Award for best mystery of the year for The Anodyne Necklace.

The background to Hotel Paradise is drawn on the experiences she enjoyed spending summers at her mother's hotel in Mountain Lake Park, Maryland. One of the characters, Mr Britain, is drawn on Britten Leo Martin, Sr, who then ran Marti's Store which he owned with his father and brother. Martin's Store is accessible by a short walkway from Mountain Lake, the site of the former Hotel, which was torn down in 1967.

She splits her time between homes in Washington, D.C., and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Reviews

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 1 out of 5]

This novel was an absolute slog, and it should not have been. The End of the Pier is only 240 plus pages and where characterization should have bulked the book, instead the reader is treated to stream of conscience drivel. The murder mystery that after all is the reason one reads the story, is treated as an afterthought.

Sam De Gheyn, the sheriff protagonist, is not the star of this show. Maud Chadwick, the waitress that crushes on the married sheriff is treated as the star, and her profound reflections are no more than gazing at belly button lint. Her thoughts are held as sacrosanct by Martha Grimes, which would not be so bad except that she rambles for pages upon pages. It really does not make sense or hold together well.

I got this book at a thrift store for pennies and still feel, I got ripped off. Clearly, I'm not impressed by this writer, and I will never read her work again. The first ten pages gives the mystery 220 pages are stream of conscience gossip and the final ten pages are resolution. This could have been an unsatisfactory short story instead of an unsatisfactory novel.

[Holly in Bookland · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this like I do the Emma Graham series. I really enjoyed Sam but the rest I could have done without.

[Gabby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never been able to "get" Martha Grimes. It's not that I outright don't like her books; it's more that I just don't know what she's trying to get her characters to convey. The End Of The Pier is the perfect example of this. I'm not sure if the characters in this book are deep (as in profound thinkers), crazy, or maybe just flat out stupid.

There's a serial killer loose in Elton County, a small town-America rustic area, only no one seems to have put together the clues indicating that the murders of women which have taken place over time are connected. What law enforcement exists in the area is lazy at best and clueless at worst. Except for the local sheriff, Sam DeGheyn, who believes the wrong man has been tried and convicted for the murders. However, Sam's got a screwed up personal life, so his full attention is not quite concentrated on the murders. Besides that, Sam isn't getting a lot of cooperation from his fellow county law enforcement officers.
One of the main characters through whom this story is revealed is Maud Chadwick. Maud's thought process is all over the place which, to me, made her annoying and ornery rather than helpful in figuring out what is going on around her. I wanted to like Maud, I really did, but just about the time I thought she'd offered some genuine insight, she'd go and spoil it all by uttering stream of consciousness drivel.

As for the mystery of who is killing the women of Elton County: by the time I reached the end of the book I really couldn't have cared less. I was just glad I'd reached the last page so I could pack this book up to donate to Good Will.

[Bobbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It is the prequel to the Emma Graham series which I read first. I don't know if I would have enjoyed this one as much if I had not read the series first. So reading them backwards seems to have worked very well for me, since I enjoyed having already been acquainted with the main characters. I was glad to get to know these main characters better in this book, since they seemed rather sketchy in the series. This book had a much more satisfying ending than the later books, as well. I really enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down, especially once I got to the second half.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to get my head around this book having been written BEFORE the Emma Graham books as the world that is pictured contains Emma's world so seamlessly. The characters and the place feel so real they could be real, but that's probably just the artistry of the author. Obviously they are based in her childhood world but she has spun a web with cunning and passion.

[Jim Thomsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An undercooked plot, and soft in a whodunnit level, but that’s fine because this works better as a noir novel, a story of character abd setting and observation in a cool blue distinctly American hue. Does that sound like an odd observation about an author of traditional British procedural? Maybe so, but I appreciate Martha Grimes’ willingness to step out if yet comfort zone. And her ability to let a scene happen on its own time serves her well here in this moody, minor-key story, told in an unhurried way that seems unconcerned with audience expectations. And if the killer emerges in a way that doesn’t seem wholly established of earned, well … that seems somewhat beside the point. In a way that won’t bother you too much. This book’s heart seems to be in a better place.

[C.C. Yager · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this stand-alone novel from Martha Grimes many years ago and loved it so much I kept it rather than donating or selling it. Since COVID-19 has set me on a de-cluttering course this year, including cleaning out my bookshelves, I decided to re-read this novel to see if it still passed the "keeper" test.

Grimes focuses on three characters: Maud, Sam, and Maud's son, Chad. Sam is the local sheriff and he's obsessed with solving the gruesome murders of three women. He doesn't believe that the man arrested for two of the murders is actually the one who committed all of them because he was in jail when the third was committed. Maud is obsessed with the summer people who live in the house across the lake and like to party late into the night. She likes to sit at the end of her pier and watch the action of those parties. She's also obsessed with Chad, although reading this time I could see that she's actually obsessed with motherhood and what that means, how the meaning can be different for different women. Sam worries that Maud sitting alone on the pier at night leaves her vulnerable to the murderer he's convinced is still out there.

While the murder mystery occupies Sam's thoughts and most of his action, the story is more about how people relate to each other. This is especially true in the section focused on Chad visiting his friend from college. No one really understands other people, especially if no one is willing to open up and communicate their thoughts and feelings in this story.

I have to admit, I kept wondering where this story is set, the location. The town is on a lake, Maud's house is on the lake, and there are small towns all around the area. The location is fictitious, but I wondered what state or general area Grimes was thinking of. There is no sense of culture, just kind of a stereotypical small town with its diner, hardware store, sheriff, and motley crew of residents.

The questions about the murders kept me reading. I didn't particularly like Maud. I liked Sam and Chad. Maud doesn't really change, that I could see, but I think Chad does. Sam also remains the same. The mystery, however, is solved at the end, and in this regard, it is a satisfying read. But I wasn't nearly as impressed this time as I was the first time I read it. Grimes is a strong writer, using images to create suspense, as well as the isolation that Maud feels.

I'd recommend this novel to mystery readers who like something a bit different, or Grimes fans who haven't found this novel before. For me, however, I'm putting it in the "to sell" pile.

[Reggie Billingsworth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Despite the evocative title (I asked myself, was I attracted to it from some other author's similarly titled work?) this Martha Grimes novel was for me just plain strange and tiresome.
The characters while intended I suspect to be profound and deep, I found erratically grouchy, accusing, despairing and truly screwy when it came to wallowing in Grimes's special kind of melancholy world...in this case a woman who's upset over her son's departure to college. Wha..?
A sad commentary on someone who clearly has no self-respecting identity beyond her tenure as mother and so selfishly indulges her own self-pity to a mildly nauseating degree. I kept hearing myself saying out loud "Oh PULLeeeese!"
I used to like the Jury mysteries but over time even that character's melancholy began to grate and without the Greek Comic Chorus Grimes uses in that series, this story was simply too tedious for me to endure.
Skipped to the last chapter and was relieved by the cheat as the last 10 pages proved a just retribution for the plot without the hassle of the full read.

[Anne Patkau · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not to my present interests, so quit early. An unambitious waitress, after work in a pokey redneck cafe, drinks martinis alone at the end of a dock, to observe lights from a summer cottage party across the lake, seek meaning in poor poetry, avoid participation in life, and wish her son not to leave for university early.

I could not be curious about the where, who, why, and obscure un-rhymes, enough to read beyond a tiny positive - wry humor from a silent customer and his quiet pal, named for their similar license plates. I prefer heroes and lovers to love, villains to hate and fear, and situations to cause real laughter and tears.

[Edward Creter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a departure from her Richard Jury novels but I think you might enjoy this one. In a quiet town, three women are brutally murdered by a man who hates women to the core, but ironically it's not the male sherriff--but his wife!--who stares her killer down and solves the murder. Cool!
The descriptions of the small town of Hebrides adds flavor and suspense, and the soiree is straight out of F. Scott Fitzgerald, who I think woulda been proud of Ms. Grimes. She's one of the best mystery writers living today and I hope you enjoy 'em!

[Jacque · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very hard to describe. A lot of it takes place in the minds of two people, Maud and Sam. Maud is a single mother, whose son has left for college. She has a very strange way of looking at the world around her. She is always an observer, almost voyueristic. Sam is a sheriff, whose knows his wife is cheating on him. He stakes out all the lonely women in the county, trying to prevent the next murder in a chain no one else can see. Maud's son also gets his own story line, which plays off of his mother's fantasies.

[Victoria Miller · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book strayed outside my comfort zone so far as mysteries go. Don't care for graphic violence. Also, it seemed to veer all over the place. While there were some interesting character portrayals, it just didn't seem to go deep enough into the characters to make them seem like real people. It's a small, short book, but I found myself feeling annoyed that I wasn't able to like the book overall. I've read other books by Martha Grimes which I've really liked. This one, I could have done without.

[Katie Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit disjointed, I thought. But I didn't know who the killer was until it was revealed. Partly because it wasn't that intriguing, almost like that was an entirely side story or something. odd. I'm not sure which characters you were supposed to like or not like. Nice to not have it ridiculously mapped out for you, but also would be nice if you were interested in them or the story.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books ever. Also sort of a starting point in the Emma Graham series, my favorite series ever. "Sort of" in that we meet many of the town characters that will be in those books, but the time period is off, which REALLY bugged me! The setting in The End of the Pier is the later part of the 1980s, since there are mentions of rock bands and movies. The Emma Graham books are set decades earlier, which REALLY bugged me! Maybe Ms. Grimes didn't set out to make this the first in a series, and Emma just didn't fit into the 80s. She wouldn't have.

Anyway, this is a such a well written story. If you are familiar with the Richard Jury books, this is not the same writing, you wouldn't know it's the same author. That's good! So, like Jury or not, you may like this one.

Then, accept that the era is changed, and read Hotel Paradise and the rest of that series. It is tremendous.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Greg loved this one because it's about being uncertain in parenthood, but I found it a little trying to read. The story sort of whiplashes between all these small town nuts -- with their kooky but non-threatening ways -- and the killer who is all like "it is time to stick knifes into ladies mwah hah hah."

And then, near the end of the book, there is a diversion where nobody stabs anybody and when the book is over and the mystery is solved, you can think about that diversion and how it relates to the rest of the story and that's kind of fun to do.

[Chuck · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't have much to say about this book, however, I do not want to meet any of the characters and don't want to visit their towns or homes. A study in aberrant behavior that is neither funny, clever or entertaining.

[Lauretta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nonostante il titolo da romanzo harmony, in realtà si tratta di un giallo. Ma la trama è talmente frammentata e confusa che forse sarebbe stato meglio se l'autrice si fosse data ai romanzi d'amore...

[Kim]

Sadly, if Martha Grimes wrote it but didn't include Richard Jury, I just can't be brought to care.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

A subplot involves young-person peer pressure. I hate young-person peer pressure storylines.

[Bev · Rating 1 out of 5]

Less than one star, actually. Give me Richard Jury any day.

[Katie Hilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting murder mystery interspersed with fascinating character studies of a couple of lonely people.

[Jean Potter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story of small town America.

[Lesley Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. My first Martha Grimes book, and I am hooked. Loved the writing style and the characters.

[Kelsey Hanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this one, but it never quite captured the same love that I have for the Emma Graham series that takes place in the same world. When I think about what I like about that series, I think it's the world itself is what draws me in. It's present in this book, but never gets the same attention that it does in the previous series. Instead, this book almost takes itself too seriously, constantly trying to be philosophical and deep in a way that just comes across as kinda boring instead of engaging (as you can see by how long it took me to finish it). Maude in particular comes across as a manic pixie dream girl in this story. In the previous series, Maude was somewhat whimsical but kind and practical. In this one, she is almost too musing and quirky to the point where it's hard to take her seriously as a character. The mystery itself is also backseated too much to be enjoyable. The random whimsical musings of the main characters are constantly front and center when the plot points that are actually interesting are moved to the background and hastily wrapped together with Chekov's floor lamp. Overall, my love for Martha Grimes has been waning quite a bit in recent years and this book certainly did not help with that.

[Peyton Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in a few days several months ago and am now getting around to the review, as I do not usually write any reviews.

I wanted to take a moment to comment on this one because it is not the kind of book I typically care to read.

Having read a few Grimes novels, this one was quite different.

It is not a typical mystery. She does write them and if you are wanting that, check out her Richard Jury novels. She has a few others that are more plot driven outside of Jury (like Foul Matters). However, for The End of the Pier, we are looking at a more atmospheric, character driven novel.

This novel is not something many writers are able to pull off. Something that is stream of conscience/character study is not something I enjoy very often. However, she makes it work. Beautifully written. If you enjoy that kind of thing, then give this a try.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved Martha Grimes' Richard Jury books, even though the quality faded in the last few books. When I saw this, I thought it would be fun to try her work in a different genre. It like a series of unfinished thoughts. Other than Sam the sheriff, none of the characters was particularly likable, especially Maud. I kept reading it because I kept thinking it would get better, something meaningful would be revealed, Maud would get a grip. I empathize with Maud's depression, but it was hard to care about her. As for the other characters, there was little character development and as a result, little interest on my part. In any event, I feel I wouldn't have missed anything had I not read this.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book - my lovely neighbour gave me this book to read. I hesitated, the print was small and I wasn’t confident that I would enjoy it. Pulled it out the other day and thought I would give it a try. So happy I did - I found that I was on edge throughout the book, hoping that the characters I liked would not be connected to the crimes - super suspenseful to end. Great weekend read. Thank you, Val.

[Ginny · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded to 4.00 because I like Maud so much. This book is hauntingly strange and sad. As other reviewers have noted, it’s also disturbingly gory. The story, particularly that of Maud and Chad, feels unfinished and that was disappointing. But the sections where readers are privy to Maud’s thoughts are beautiful. It references “The Great Gatsby” and shares that novel’s feeling of exquisite tragedy.

[Andi Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, but in a passive way. I was looking for a book that I wasn’t overly invested in and that’s what I got. But if I didn’t enjoy it I wouldn’t have finished it.

The writing style reminds me of “Catcher in the Rye”, whiny people who don’t want to change their life. They do switch character POV’s and one of them was irrelevant to the story, but I guess added to the topic of mothers and motherhood.

Potential TW: deaths, rape, killers perspective

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was enjoying this book when it was focused on Sam and Maud and the murdered women, but then it veers to Chad's point of view for much too long for a diversion that had nothing to do with the story. Ultimately, this didn't leave enough room for the main plot to be developed and there wasn't enough build up for the mystery.