Time to blog about books again. Because I am known to be a reader of mysteries, I will start with one of my favorite series, Mrs. Jeffries and the Inspector by Emily Brightwell. The premise of the series is simple. Mrs. Jeffries, widow of a Yorkshire policeman and now housekeeper for Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Witherspoon, is an expert at solving murders. Inspector Witherspoon is not quite as good at it so Mrs. Jeffries and her staff go to work behind the scenes to help gather clues and nudge the Inspector in the right direction.
Everyone of the staff has their own assignment as they go about their hunt. Smythe, the coachman, covers the pubs and darker alleys of Victorian London. Wiggins, the general house boy, has a way of making other young staff from the houses of murder victims and suspects talk. Betsy, the maid, can smile at a grocery clerk and learn all sorts of things about the houses in question. Mrs. Goodge, the elderly cook, never leaves her kitchen but bakes up goodies galore to feed her “sources” that come through and stop for a spot of tea and scones. And always at the end, Mrs. Jeffries puts all the clues together and helps solve the mystery and sends the Inspector to catch the murderer.
Within this pattern, Emily Brightwell sets up mystery after mystery, always just different enough to hold the reader’s attention. She also allows these delightful people their own lives and so reading through the series, we watch them grow, change, fall in love, discover some clues to their own identities and watch with pride as their Inspector gets better at ferreting out clues himself and becoming the most famous detective at Scotland Yard.
If you enjoy “gentle” murders and Victorian England, I highly recommend Mrs. Jeffries. Although nice to start at the beginning, each book stands alone enough that you can pick up one at your library or used book store and spend a lovely afternoon indulging in mystery ~ especially nice if you add tea and scones.
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