There was lots of English food in this book and I almost suspect that Martha Grimes wrote this mystery to showcase that food. Such as Toad in the Hole, Bangkok Duck, and the Fool dessert. Yes, this book made me curious about English cuisine and now I feel the need to try my hand at making some of these dishes.
What of the mystery? Well, I guessed who the culprit was in Chapter 12, a little before the midpoint of the book. But the story was entertaining, with all the fun characters and the locations, so I quite enjoyed the book even though the mystery part wasnt that mysterious. Dont get me wrong; there was plenty of anticipation, even drama, watching Jury and Macalvie and the ever cough-drop redolent Wiggins try to figure it out and then catch the culprit. This book was plenty entertaining and I listened to it in 2 days.
The Warboys family that runs the inn& pub The Mortal Man were quite entertaining with their crazy meals, the pants-leg pursuing dog, the accident prone family wait staff, and the little fire that occurred but was easily put out. One of the younger sons was trying his hand at story writing and ran some of his ideas past our detectives, much to their consternation and my amusement. Yes, plenty of interesting characters in this book!
The Narration: Steve West did a great job and I cant imagine any other voice for Richard Jury or the gruff Macalvie. His voices for the ladies were distinct and feminine.
"LITERATE, WITTY, AND STYLISHLY CRAFTED." --The Washington Post
Not far from a fashionable Mayfair pub called I Am the Only Running Footman lies the body of a blond shopgirl. She has been strangled with her own scarf--a fact that reminds Scotland Yard's Richard Jury of an unsolved murder in Devon, where the irascible local constable Brian Macalvie presides.
Macalvie is convinced the two deaths are connected. Jury has nothing to tie them together but the fatal scarves...until he visits the stately home of his only suspect. And there, amid marbled halls and venerable family portraits, he finds a thread of tragedy that may lead him to yet another victim...and her killer.
"EVERYTHING ABOUT MISS GRIMES'S NEW NOVEL SHOWS HER AT HER BEST...[SHE] GETS OUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION...SHE HOLDS IT, HOWEVER, WITH SOMETHING MORE THEN MERE SUSPENSE." --The New Yorker
Two blond young women are found strangled by their own scarves in two different towns. Scotland Yard's Richard Jury is not sure they are connected until he visits the upper class home of his only suspect and views a family portrait. Jury's friend Melrose Plant and his hypochondriac sergeant, Wiggins, aid him in his investigation. Martha Grimes at her best!
New Scotland Yard superintendent Richard Jury is convinced it's more than coincidence when two beautiful young women are found strangled to death with their own scarves -- one in Devon, the second outside a fashionable Mayfair pub. Both women were as strikingly similar in life as they were in death. Neither had enemies that Jury can find. Now, somewhere in the night, a killer is biding his time, beckoning Jury and Devon's local divisional commander, Brian Macalvie, down an elusive trail of tragic family secrets and even more fatal lies.
Cheryl R. (Spuddie) - 
