Richard Jury is a fictional character in a series of mystery novels written by Martha Grimes. Initially a chief inspector, later a superintendent, Jury is invariably assisted in his cases by Melrose Plant, a British aristocrat who has given up his titles, and by his hypochondriacal but dependable sergeant, Alfred Wiggins. Many of the novels include Divisional Commander Brian Macalvie of the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary. In addition, there is a recurring ensemble of background characters. Description Jury is melancholic and moody. He was orphaned as a young child in the Second World War (his father, an RAF pilot, was lost in combat, his mother died in the German bombing of London); he lived briefly with his uncle's family but the uncle also died and Jury spent most of his childhood in an unpleasant group home. Although he is handsome, kind, and attractive to women, he is unlucky in love (spectacularly so — one of the novels involves the death of a woman with whom he has a sudden, passionate affair). His good looks - including an attractive smile and chestnut hair - and the ease with which he wins the hearts of women and children arouse envy in his wealthy and cultured friend, Plant, but neither man is successful in romantic relationships. Age Jury was five years old when his mother died in "the last German bombing of London". The heaviest bombardment of London occurred during the Blitz, 1941–1942, but the Germans targeted London with V1s and V2s as late as March, 1945. The books are set in the present day, and Jury gives his age as 43 in The Dirty Duck, which was published in 1984, so he must have been born in 1940 or 1941. In "Dust" (published in 2007), he was not 62, however, as Ms. Grimes long ago opted to keep him (and Plant) under 50 by slowing down the fictional time between cases. Recurring characters Recurring characters in the series include his neighbors in his Islington flat, personnel at his New Scotland Yard office, and friends of Plant in the Northamptonshire village of Long Piddleton. Islington neighbors Mrs. Wassermann, resident of the "garden" (basement) flat, a Holocaust survivor who depends on Jury to reassure her that she is safe. (Jury lives in the flat above Mrs. Wasserman.) Stan Keeler, a jazz/blues guitarist living in the flat above Jury, often away from home. Carole-anne Palutski,