Mrs. Jeffries Stalks the Hunter (A Victorian Mystery)

I agree that it is difficult to keep a long-running series fresh and exciting, but Ms. Brightwell has found the right formula. This Victorian mystery series keeps its charm through book after book. As I read I begin to think of the staff at Upper Edmonton Gardens as old friends, and can't wait to see what murder they'll be trying to help solve next. In this book the victim was not a well-liked man. He was a bounder and profligate, so no one was really upset when he was killed, but Inspector Witherspoon has to find the killer regardless. That means his staff have to help him. By this time Witherspoon is able to do some real detecting on his own, but that doesn't mean that he's ungrateful when he gets a break somewhere. This series is pure delight.

Emily Brightwell has give us yet another wonderful book in her Mrs. Jeffries series. I read this one in three hours without putting it down. I loved it!

It is very difficult to keep a series fresh. Plots easily become stale, and begin to sound like the last book you read by the same author. Emily Brightwell has found a method in which she keeps her readers interested and her endings reasonable. I like this book because it touches on real feelings of loyalty in the inspector's house and among other characters. The series continues to be a welcome distraction from a busy day and really fine entertainment.

In this mystery set in Victorian England, Inspector Gerald Witherspoon is in charge of the investigation of the murder of Sir Edmund Leggett, who was killed on his way home from his engagement party. Witherspoon has plenty of suspects, beginning with a young woman who has been stalking him. But there's plenty of other people that wanted him dead, including his fiancée who hates him (he was marrying her for her money, her parents agreed because they wanted his title), his mistress who is furious at the upcoming wedding, his cousin who inherits everything, and the numerous people he owes money to. But Witherspoon will have no problem solving this case, not while his housekeeper Mrs. Jeffries and the rest of his household staff are working behind the scenes to help him! I really enjoy this series. The mysteries are always well written and well plotted. Brightwell switches back and forth between Witherspoon's investigation and the servants which I like, because it gives insight into all the characters. What I like the most is that, even after nineteen books in the series, the characters continue to grow and in each book we learn more and more about them. In this particular book, it was a little tidbit about Hatchet that made him come even more alive to me as a character. And Witherspoon's detecting abilities develop more and more each book, which is a nice touch as it would have been easy for him to become a caricature. I highly recommend these books for fans of cozy mysteries. My only complaint is I read the book in one night and now have to wait for the next one!

In Victorian England, Sir Edmund Leggett is so in debt he is marrying heiress Beatrice Parkingtom for her money even with her parents in trade and the chit not wanting to marry him. A woman stalks Edmund hanging outside his home every day and follows him wherever he goes. Afraid that his cash cow will cry off if she learns about the stalker, Edmund announces their engagement at a society gala so she cannot dump him. Later a drunken Edmund heads home; someone he knows shoots him and calmly walks away leaving him dead. Inspector Gerald Witherspoon is assigned the case and finds too many suspects with motives as Sir Edmund played fast and loose with women, abused his servants, and was late paying off his gambling debts. Even his fiancée loathed him and the female stalker is assumed to have been one of the many women he discarded. The inspector worries that this will become a cold case, but his housekeeper Mrs. Jeffries and the rest of his household staff are helping him although he remains unaware of their assistance. The nineteenth installment in this long running series retains its fresh, unique "police procedural" premise due to a terrific who-done-it, the fabulous Witherspoon and his unofficial experts, and a solid secondary cast loaded with reasons to kill Edmund. Although his nasty behavior provides much of London as suspects, perhaps the only weak link is the odious Edmund, who was so nasty and hedonistic that no one cares that he died. However, what makes this well done who-done-it shine even brighter is the vivid look at Victorian England from the perspective of several lifestyles. Harriet Klausner