I Am the Only Running Footman

By: Martha Grimes

Narrated by: Steve West

In a rainy ditch in a Devon wood, a hitchhiker is found dead. Almost a year later, on another rainy night, another murder; this time, however, the victim is found just outside a pub called I Am the Only Running Footman, near Berkeley Square in London’s fashionable Mayfair District. Devon policeman Brian Macalvie is convinced that the two murders are connected. And thus, in his eighth case, Richard Jury is drawn into the so-called Porphyria killings. A particularly elusive pair of murders. From the streets of London to the village of Somers Abbas, Jury and Macalvie are joined by the stolid if hypochondriac Sergeant Wiggins and the reluctant Melrose Plant. They meet in another pub, the Mortal Man, and, amidst the clatter and cry of the Warboys family, they ponder a labyrinthine set of clues.

Terrible ending

I love the RJ series, even though I’m listening to them out of order. I’m going back to earlier books in the series, and tbh, if I’d listened to this one first, it would have been the last. I had trouble staying tuned in, it just seemed all over the place, and the ending…? Not sure what happened. Thankfully, the later books are not like this.

I miss Martha Grimes

I love Martha Grimes ‘Jury’ mysteries. Melrose Plant provides us with charm, elegance & wit, aunt Agatha making us cringe with her bad manners & utter misunderstanding of the English.
I have listened to them over & over. There are no other comparable writers.
Martha Grimes is very much missed.

Review of last 3 books.

What did you like best about I Am the Only Running Footman? What did you like least?

Ms. Grimes books are definitely growing on me, and I think more than anything the narrator really adds to the stories. I like the clever repartee and intelligent plot lines. What I am beginning to no like about this books, especially after 3 consecutive examples of this, is the dramatic endings, with the same outcome, It is almost as if she can't think of a way to end her books, or she feels the need to end with a twist. It is starting to get old, and a little predictable.

What was one of the most memorable moments of I Am the Only Running Footman?

In all of her books, I love how the stories are brought together,and of course my favorite character is Agatha...love her, love her, love her.

Which character – as performed by Steve West – was your favorite?

Steve West is an excellent narrator, and as each story gets better so does his narration.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Not sure, I'm not one for books turned to movies.

I never tire of Martha Grimes

And Steve West is amazing. He brings everything to life. It’s hard for me to listen to anyone else.

Unusually odd

law-enforcement, murder-investigation, british, friendship, humor

Extremely convoluted and yet fractured. All of the Jury/Wiggins/Plant books are more than a bit odd, but we read and reread them anyway. Me, I like to follow the freeing of Mrs Wasserman and the antics of Carol Ann of the outrageous lies.
Steve West magnifies the drollery with his sardonic narration.