Mrs. Jeffries Speaks her Mind
Emily Brightwell
Berkley, Jun 2010, $6.99
ISBN: 9780425235249
In Victorian London, wealthy spinster Olive Kettering hears footsteps and tries to flee to safety, but knows someone is following her. She gets out of her mansion and runs to a person she is happy to see only that individual shoots her in the head. Inspector Witherspoon, who has a 100% homicide clearance rate thanks to his servants secretly assisting him, leads the inquiry.
He learns no one liked Olive, not her peers or servants whom she treated like vermin. She was also estranged from her blood relatives, Dorien who refused to get married and Patricia of whom Olive disapproved of the man she married. Olive was involved with the Society of the Humble Servant led by Reverend Samuel Richards. The victim rejected the concept he was a con artist as she believed in a vengeful god like he preaches. All the suspects offer viable alibis, but some lied. Using the information Witherspoon unknowingly gives her, the housekeeper Mrs. Jeffries and her team is determined to find the killer for their boss, not aware of the danger this endeavor provides.
Every Mrs. Jefferies historical cozy is a special unique treat as the recurring characters change and grow, and this time a new member to the household joins the crew and Betsy provides a surprising revelation. The whodunit is straightforward fun with Mrs. Jefferies and the rest of the servants finding clues and Mrs. Jeffries feeding them to her employer with him remaining clueless to what she is doing. The sleuthing cast makes for a wonderful Victorian mystery.
Harriet Klausner
No comments:
Post a Comment