I Am the Only Running Footman [Mass Market Paperback]

Martha Grimes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 1990

Finally back in print-a classic Richard Jury novel from "one of the established masters of the genre" (Newsweek).

Scotland Yard Superintendent Richard Jury takes on an elusive strangler in a case of family secrets-and family lies...

"Witty...stylishly crafted." (The Washington Post)

"[Grimes] gets our immediate attention [and] holds it...with something more than mere suspense." (The New Yorker)

"A superior writer." (The New York Times Book Review)

--This text refers to an alternate Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Dell (August 3, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440139244
• ISBN-13: 978-0440139249
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,963,883 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Martha Grimes is the bestselling author of twenty-one Richard Jury novels, as well as the novels Dakota and Foul Matter, among others. Her previous two Jury books, The Old Wine Shades and Dust, both appeared on the New York Times bestseller list.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Another Richard Jury novel, March 8, 2003

By 

Fred Camfield (Vicksburg, MS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Am the Only Running Footman (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a reprint of a novel copyrighted in 1986. As in other novels by this author, the title is the name of a pub. Inspector Jury is joined again by Melrose Plant who has an estate near Long Piddleton on the River Piddle. In this novel, Jury is assigned to a case where a young woman has been strangled with her own scarf. The investigation reopens an older, unsolved case where another young woman was also strangled with her own scarf. Inquiries into the pasts of the two women turn up love affairs that may be related - both women were sleeping around to some degree.

The questions are whether these are serial killings or well-planned murders, and what would be the motive. Various odd characters are introduced including the odd family that owns and operates the Mortal Man. While the plot is interesting, digressions into discussions of the various characters (many not involved in the main plot) tends to detract from the main story line. At times, the story seems to wander.

When events are finally drawn together, it seems a bit abrupt. The story comes to a climax as the solution to the mystery is revealed, but it seems to leave some loose ends. A short added chapter might have closed things out better. One is left to wonder what finally happened to some of the characters.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Average Grimes better Than Most, July 2, 2007

By 

Happy Chappy "An Avid Reader." (Elk Grove, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: I Am the Only Running Footman (Mass Market Paperback)

I Am the Only Running Footman, by Martha Grimes, is the 8th book in this excellent series. This entry features the mystery surrounding the murder of a blonde shopgirl in Mayfair. The murder, a strangling with a scarf, is eerily similar to a previous murder in devon; investigated by Brian Macalvie (introduced in Help the Poor Struggler). This is a decent entry in the series. Melrose and Macalvie are in fine form, as is Jury. nother very strong entry in this compelling series. A solid 3 star novel.

For those of you new to the series, I would recommend reading them in order for the best reading experience; however, they are also fun as stand alone novels.

Here is the series in order:

The Man with a Load of Mischief
The Old Fox Deceived
The Anodyne Necklace
The Dirty Duck
Jerusalem Inn
Help the Poor Struggler
The Deer Leap
I am the only Running Footman
The Five Bells and Bladebone
The Old Silent
The Old Contemptibles
The Horse You Came In on
Rainbow's End
The Case has Altered
The Stargazey
The Lamorna Wink
The Blue Last
The Grave Maurice
The Winds of Change
The Old Wine Shades
Dust

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Grimes seems to be losing control of her story . . ., October 14, 2008

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: I Am the Only Running Footman (Mass Market Paperback)

Eye-catching title -- though, like most in the Superintendent Richard Jury mystery series, it has sod-all to do with the story. This time, a young female hitchhiker is strangled with her own scarf in a layby in Devon; ten months later, another young woman is strangled in a similar manner near the titular pub in Mayfair. Devon is the fearsome DCS Macalvie's turf, and he (who was first seen in Help the Poor Struggler) is here again, but in a relatively minor role. The action takes Jury -- and his wealthy, ex-titled friend, Melrose Plant -- to the country homes of two families, one struck by tragedy a couple years before, the other simply pathetic. I had to reread the denouement chapter, trying to figure out just why the guilty party was guilty; I'm still not sure. This isn't really one of Grimes's better efforts.