Martha Grimes. Send Bygraves (1989) A tour de force: a series of poems that tell the story of a murder and the involvement of Bygraves, an elusive detective. Each segment experiments with a different verse form. The result is a series of sketches or set pieces that together provide a handful of way-stations on the road from suspicion to moderate certainty. I started reading this some years ago, and couldn’t get past the first few pages. This time I managed to persevere to the end. What kept me reading wasn’t the story, but curiosity about how Grimes would fit her tale to each set of poetical conventions and restraints. Her experiments are generally successful. I still don’t know exactly what the story was about, or how Bygraves did or did not solve the puzzle. I did suss that Bygraves is called but never answers.
A nicely made book, with an illustrated hardcover, interesting illustrations (which may elucidate the tale, but I’d have to re-read to figure out whether and how), and deckle-edged pages of excellent paper. A gift item suitable for Grimes fans, I suppose. Not a keeper. **
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