The Inspector Richard Jury Mysteries by Martha Grimes

Jury is initially a chief inspector, but later becomes a superintendent, He is moody and sometimes depressed. He didn't have a happy childhood; he was a child during World War II, where he was orphaned. His father was lost in combat and his mother died in the last German bombing of London. He lived a short time with his uncle's family but when his uncle died, Jury had to go to a group home, which he hated.

Jury is good looking and attractive to women, but he doesn't have a successful love life. In the first book, The Man with a Load of Mischief, Jury is about 40 years old. He ages slowly in the rest of the books of the series. You don't need to necessarily read these books in order, but this first book is a good introduction for not only Jury, but to Melrose Plant, who helps him out in his cases.

Photo of a pub sign from wikipedia.

Melrose Plant is about the same age as Jury.  He is single, wealthy, and educated. Plant lives in the local manor house, Ardry End, near the little village of Long Piddleton in Northamptonshire. 

Plant is the only son of his deceased father, the seventh Earl of Caverness.  He is the eighth Earl of Caverness (and other titles), making him Lord Ardry.  However, he gave up his titles, a decision that infuriated his Aunt Agatha, wife of his deceased uncle.

While in Long Piddleton, Plant is often at the local pub, the Jack and Hammer.  At home he doesn't do much except read and try to avoid his Aunt Agatha, who longs to be the "lady of the manor."  She's a snob and obsessed with the aristocracy, which is why she is so angry that Plant gave up his titles.  Aunt Agatha shows up without invitation, usually at tea time, where she stuffs herself with sweets.  

I love the interaction between Melrose Plant and his Aunt Agatha.  She is terrified he is going to get married and she won't get to live at Ardry End.  But Plant has no intention of allowing his aunt to live there and can't understand why she thinks she might inherit come day.  After all, she is much older than he is.  And Aunt Agatha is always showing up at the Jack and Hammer, expecting Plant to pay for her drinks.

Jury and Plant first meet in the book, The Man with a Load of Mischief.  Melrose Plant is clever with a good mind, and helps Jury with this mystery.  They form a close friendship even though Plant is an aristocrat.  Jury has no qualms about asking Plant to help him when he's investigating crimes, and Plant likes to feel needed.  Sometimes Jury has Plant appear as an aristocratic and other times asks him to impersonate a tradesman or servant.

 Photo of pub from wikipedia

Long Piddleton is the town where many of the recurring characters live, including Melrose Plant and his Aunt Agatha. 

~ Ruthven and Martha, husband and wife, manservant and housekeeper for many years, from when Plant was a small boy.  Ruthven loves to lie to Aunt Agatha when Plant is hiding from her. 

~ Dick Scroggs, the publican and owner of the Jack and Hammer pub, where Plant and the other residents gather.

~ Mrs. Withersby, the charwoman at the Jack and Hammer, spends most of her time sleeping by the fire and trying to get free drinks from the regulars.

~ Theo Wrenn Browne, a pompous owner of the local bookstore.  Plant can't stand him, but Aunt Agatha frequently joins him in stirring up trouble.

~ Ada Crisp, a mild and meek shopkeeper whose shop is next door to Browne's bookstore.  Browne tries various schemes to take over her store so he can expand his. 

~ Marshall Trueblood, an antiques dealer, who dresses flamboyantly.  He's quite knowledgeable about antiques and helps Plant when he needs advice to play various roles Jury assigns him.

~ Diane DeMorney, single, wealthy and attractive, but can only count Jury and Plant as friends. She knows nothing about astrology, but writes a column for the local paper (she just makes things up).

~ Vivian Rivington, Jury is in lover with her, but she is secretly in love with Plant. Vivian was engaged to an Italian count for years and Plant and Trueblood often try to sabotage her engagement. 

These characters sometimes have a large role in some books and other times are barely mentioned.  But it's fun to have such a large cast of quirky characters.

 Photo from wikipedia commons.