What do you think?
Rate this book
Mrs. Jeffries #2
Mrs. Jeffries Dusts for Clues
In Victorian London, housekeeper Mrs Jeffries sends the staff to inquire for Luty Belle Crookshank's missing blonde friend Mary Sparks. Employer, Scotland Yard Inspector Witherspoon, digs up blonde body wearing Mary's dress, not her shoes, a stolen brooch and betrothal ring. Mary's flirty friend Cassie cannot be found with any of her three claimed boyfriends.
7 pages, Audiobook
First published June 1, 1993
172 people are currently reading
794 people want to read
About the author
Emily Brightwell
68 books536 followersCheryl Lanham was born on 11 October 1948 in the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia, USA. Her family moved to Southern California in 1959 and she grew up in Pasadena. After graduating from California State University, she decided to work her way around the world and took off for England. She didn’t get much further because she met Richard James Arguile, the Englishman who became her husband, got married on May 1976, and had two children, Matthew and Amanda. While working in international shipping, she decided to pursue her dream and become a writer – which, of course, is the best job ever. She has written romance novels as Sarah Temple, and Young Adult novels as Cheryl Lanham. As Emily Brightwell, she is the author of the “Mrs. Jeffries” mysteries.
Cheryl Lanham Arguile returned to California, where she lives with her husband and a cranky old cat named Kiwi.
Cheryl Lanham Arguile returned to California, where she lives with her husband and a cranky old cat named Kiwi.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 226 reviews
September 17, 2024
Relaxing read!
December 16, 2022
Mrs. Jeffries Dusts for Clues (Mrs. Jeffries, #2)
by Emily Brightwell
I really enjoyed this book. I am not good at figuring out mysteries anyway and when I do it's late in the book. This one I figured out very late in the book!!! I like the fun characters in the Inspector's household and how they all work to help solve the cases he is on. The characters themselves are appealing and fun. The plot complex and enjoyable.
Love these Victorian times mysteries! Purchased from Chirp and a super low cost and enjoying them all. Very good narration.
by Emily Brightwell
I really enjoyed this book. I am not good at figuring out mysteries anyway and when I do it's late in the book. This one I figured out very late in the book!!! I like the fun characters in the Inspector's household and how they all work to help solve the cases he is on. The characters themselves are appealing and fun. The plot complex and enjoyable.
Love these Victorian times mysteries! Purchased from Chirp and a super low cost and enjoying them all. Very good narration.
April 3, 2020
Another fun, light and often comical adventure with the Witherspoon household! A mystery to the end, with a few uh-huh moments.
I love the simple and infectious enthusiasm of Mrs. Jeffries' staff. I also love that they're not perfect; like any "family" there will be some disagreements, tempers flaring and the like, but in the end they're all in it for the same reason. To help their wonderful employer, Scotland Yard Inspector Witherspoon.
This time, it's one of their own - a servant from another home, and friend of Luty Belle Crookshank, has gone missing. In Victoria-era splendour, they run around town chasing clues to help solve the latest murder mystery. They rely on the fact that household staff gossip and know a lot more than their proprietors realize.
Great as a reprieve in between reading books with serious or heavy topics.
I love the simple and infectious enthusiasm of Mrs. Jeffries' staff. I also love that they're not perfect; like any "family" there will be some disagreements, tempers flaring and the like, but in the end they're all in it for the same reason. To help their wonderful employer, Scotland Yard Inspector Witherspoon.
This time, it's one of their own - a servant from another home, and friend of Luty Belle Crookshank, has gone missing. In Victoria-era splendour, they run around town chasing clues to help solve the latest murder mystery. They rely on the fact that household staff gossip and know a lot more than their proprietors realize.
Great as a reprieve in between reading books with serious or heavy topics.
February 16, 2023
An enjoyable second entry in a long running cozy mystery series.
August 29, 2016
disappointing overall. I liked the subject of the story-line, but the execution was completely wrong. It didn't grip me and I found the majority of the book repeating itself over and over again. Too many characters that didn't mean anything to me.
January 6, 2020
Silly as can be but I stayed up until 1 am to finish so I have to say it was entertaining.
September 20, 2023
4⭐️
These Mrs. Jeffries mysteries are so enjoyable!
In this one, one of Mrs. jeffries’ friends comes to her asking for her help in finding her dear friend whose gone missing.
Simultaneously, the inspector is assigned a case of an unidentifiable young woman’s corpse.
Language: 4 Ba, 1 abuse of God’s name
These Mrs. Jeffries mysteries are so enjoyable!
In this one, one of Mrs. jeffries’ friends comes to her asking for her help in finding her dear friend whose gone missing.
Simultaneously, the inspector is assigned a case of an unidentifiable young woman’s corpse.
Language: 4 Ba, 1 abuse of God’s name
October 27, 2017
"So many in the upper classes failed to notice that many servants were diligent, perceptive and oftentimes highly intelligent human beings."
This sentiment is the theme of this mystery. The Victorian fictions often had protagonists who were ambitious lower class men and wome, who tried to make their lives better by hook or by crook and inevitably met a doomed end. The Victorians fiercely adhered to the class hierarchy. Any rebellious thought was seen as an unholy abberration.
"Not that she condoned murder, naturally. But she couldn’t help but be elated by the fact that she and the rest of the household would now have two cases to work on."
Mrs. Jeffries has her own case now. Her friend Luty Belle Crookshank is searching for a young maid Mary Sparks who has been missing for two months. Inspector Witherspoon has got an unidentified, badly decomposed female body buried in a cellar of an abandoned house on Magpie pie. Soon Mrs. Jeffries sees many "coincidental" connections between the two cases. The body is wearing Mary's dress, pinned on that dress is the silver brooch which Mary allegedly stole from her former employer Lutterbanks. The body has an engagement ring worn in a gold chain too. The ring has been lost by the fiance of Mary's employer Miss Everdene, a Mr. Malcolm Farnsworth. The body has been found on the property owned by Andrew Lutterbank's friend Emery Clements. Mary's friend Cassie is missing too. Cassie has relationships with all the three gentleman - Lutterbanks, Clement and Farnsworth and the gentlemen are close friends.
While Mrs. Jeffries and her crew are enjoying solving the cases, Inspector Witherspoon is having an acute spell of bad days. Thankfully he has Mrs. Jeffries.
"The inspector dutifully followed her into the drawing room and sat down in his favorite wing chair. A fire blazed in the hearth, a glass of amber liquid was sitting on the table next to his chair, and Mrs. Jeffries was gazing at him sympathetically. He felt much better already."
Though he doesn't know just how much she does for him. Mrs. Jeffries makes sure he never knows. The author continues to manipulate the norms of Victorian society just enough to keep things interesting.
Overall this is a charming cozy. I read it in one sitting and quite liked it.
This sentiment is the theme of this mystery. The Victorian fictions often had protagonists who were ambitious lower class men and wome, who tried to make their lives better by hook or by crook and inevitably met a doomed end. The Victorians fiercely adhered to the class hierarchy. Any rebellious thought was seen as an unholy abberration.
"Not that she condoned murder, naturally. But she couldn’t help but be elated by the fact that she and the rest of the household would now have two cases to work on."
Mrs. Jeffries has her own case now. Her friend Luty Belle Crookshank is searching for a young maid Mary Sparks who has been missing for two months. Inspector Witherspoon has got an unidentified, badly decomposed female body buried in a cellar of an abandoned house on Magpie pie. Soon Mrs. Jeffries sees many "coincidental" connections between the two cases. The body is wearing Mary's dress, pinned on that dress is the silver brooch which Mary allegedly stole from her former employer Lutterbanks. The body has an engagement ring worn in a gold chain too. The ring has been lost by the fiance of Mary's employer Miss Everdene, a Mr. Malcolm Farnsworth. The body has been found on the property owned by Andrew Lutterbank's friend Emery Clements. Mary's friend Cassie is missing too. Cassie has relationships with all the three gentleman - Lutterbanks, Clement and Farnsworth and the gentlemen are close friends.
While Mrs. Jeffries and her crew are enjoying solving the cases, Inspector Witherspoon is having an acute spell of bad days. Thankfully he has Mrs. Jeffries.
"The inspector dutifully followed her into the drawing room and sat down in his favorite wing chair. A fire blazed in the hearth, a glass of amber liquid was sitting on the table next to his chair, and Mrs. Jeffries was gazing at him sympathetically. He felt much better already."
Though he doesn't know just how much she does for him. Mrs. Jeffries makes sure he never knows. The author continues to manipulate the norms of Victorian society just enough to keep things interesting.
Overall this is a charming cozy. I read it in one sitting and quite liked it.
June 6, 2016
In this second book in the Mrs. Jeffries Mysteries series, Inspector Witherspoon's loyal house staff is at it again, sneakily sleuthing to help their employer. The Inspector is just a little too nice and a lot too absent minded sometimes. He has a difficult time solving crimes and murders on his own. So his Housekeeper, Mrs. Jeffries, gives him a bit of help by sending maids, footmen and other members of the house staff out to help find clues and information to assist the Inspector. But, they have to do so in ways that won't make him, or anyone else, suspicious. Nobody can know that they are helping with investigations.
Mrs. Jeffries Dusts for Clues finds the staff fretting over a missing house maid, Mary Sparks, who was supposedly fired for stealing an expensive silver broach from her employer. The maid found new employment, but soon disappeared and hasn't been seen for two months. The police discover a woman's body, buried with a silver broach and a betrothal ring. The only problem is the feet -- the body is wearing expensive new shoes in a size much too big for the diminutive Mary. Could this be Cassie, another maid who was seeing 3 men at once and who supposedly left the area to get married? Or perhaps the dead woman is Sally Comstock, a maid who got pregnant and left for Australia? The staff jumps in to help identify the dead girl, and find out what happened to the other two maids.
This was a fun read. Victorian footmen and parlor maids gathering information from other people's servants, sneaking about after dark to find clues and doing it all without getting caught by their employer is just a cute premise for a mystery series. I do wish the Inspector was not portrayed as such a bumbling idiot sometimes though. He would rather be sitting at home with his feet up enjoying tea than investigating a murder case. Mrs. Jeffries wheedles case information out of him without once arousing any suspicion. Surely after 20 direct questions about his current investigation he would get the idea that it was strange his housekeeper cared that much about a murder investigation. But, he is always pretty oblivious, never realizing that he's been slipped important clues and information by his staff. When he's been gently coaxed onto the right track, the Inspector always rises to the occasion and solves the crime. But without that sneaky help, he would most likely bungle every case. I find myself talking to my book at times...."Oh my, how can you be so thick, Inspector??'' But part of the joy of the series is the gentle, sweet Inspector being totally oblivious that his housekeeper and employees are assisting him.
The books are quick, enjoyable reads. The story moves relatively quickly in the general cozy mystery fashion. The stories are not big on character development or deep plot lines, like most cozies. But the books have a nice humorous feel to them with just enough mystery and suspense to keep the reader wondering til the end.
If you enjoy cozy mysteries and stories set in the Victorian Era, I highly recommend this series. I will definitely be reading more! There are 34 books in this series. Oh my! I have a lot of reading to do!
Mrs. Jeffries Dusts for Clues finds the staff fretting over a missing house maid, Mary Sparks, who was supposedly fired for stealing an expensive silver broach from her employer. The maid found new employment, but soon disappeared and hasn't been seen for two months. The police discover a woman's body, buried with a silver broach and a betrothal ring. The only problem is the feet -- the body is wearing expensive new shoes in a size much too big for the diminutive Mary. Could this be Cassie, another maid who was seeing 3 men at once and who supposedly left the area to get married? Or perhaps the dead woman is Sally Comstock, a maid who got pregnant and left for Australia? The staff jumps in to help identify the dead girl, and find out what happened to the other two maids.
This was a fun read. Victorian footmen and parlor maids gathering information from other people's servants, sneaking about after dark to find clues and doing it all without getting caught by their employer is just a cute premise for a mystery series. I do wish the Inspector was not portrayed as such a bumbling idiot sometimes though. He would rather be sitting at home with his feet up enjoying tea than investigating a murder case. Mrs. Jeffries wheedles case information out of him without once arousing any suspicion. Surely after 20 direct questions about his current investigation he would get the idea that it was strange his housekeeper cared that much about a murder investigation. But, he is always pretty oblivious, never realizing that he's been slipped important clues and information by his staff. When he's been gently coaxed onto the right track, the Inspector always rises to the occasion and solves the crime. But without that sneaky help, he would most likely bungle every case. I find myself talking to my book at times...."Oh my, how can you be so thick, Inspector??'' But part of the joy of the series is the gentle, sweet Inspector being totally oblivious that his housekeeper and employees are assisting him.
The books are quick, enjoyable reads. The story moves relatively quickly in the general cozy mystery fashion. The stories are not big on character development or deep plot lines, like most cozies. But the books have a nice humorous feel to them with just enough mystery and suspense to keep the reader wondering til the end.
If you enjoy cozy mysteries and stories set in the Victorian Era, I highly recommend this series. I will definitely be reading more! There are 34 books in this series. Oh my! I have a lot of reading to do!
November 28, 2015
In book two of the series, Mrs Jeffries is asked by neighbor, and American ex-pat, Luty Belle Crookshank to help find a missing servant girl. The investigation barely gets started, however, when Inspector Witherspoon lets his housekeeper know that the body of a young woman has been discovered buried in the cellar of a demolished tenement house. Could this be the missing servant girl?
I enjoyed this cozy mystery, featuring Mrs Jeffries and other household staff who keep Inspector Witherspoon at the top of his game. He seemed a bit quicker on the uptake in this outing, though still dependent upon his housekeeper, the other servants, and Luty Belle Crookshank to do much of the leg work. I thought the reveal was a bit rushed and a little too convenient. And the epilogue added absolutely nothing to the story.
All told, a reasonably satisfying cozy mystery.
I enjoyed this cozy mystery, featuring Mrs Jeffries and other household staff who keep Inspector Witherspoon at the top of his game. He seemed a bit quicker on the uptake in this outing, though still dependent upon his housekeeper, the other servants, and Luty Belle Crookshank to do much of the leg work. I thought the reveal was a bit rushed and a little too convenient. And the epilogue added absolutely nothing to the story.
All told, a reasonably satisfying cozy mystery.
August 3, 2024
This is definitely a character driven series, and this book brings out more details about the servants who help the inspector. I really enjoyed this one, even if I did guess who the villain was fairly early in the book. After all, some books are really focused on plot, some are quite balanced, and others really are about the characters.
March 25, 2016
Mrs. Jeffries and the rest of Inspector Witherspoon's domestic staff are working to find a missing servant girl at the behest of their friend, Luty Belle Crookshank. In the meantime, the Inspector and his Scotland Yard team find the body of a young woman in the building being destroyed to build an underground railway. Mistaken identities, disinherited sons with roving hands, an heiress looking for a husband, a lecherous preacher and a girl with loose morals make for a delightful adventure in the daily life of Victorian England. Inspector Witherspoon is a wonderfully kind employer who doesn't realize that his household staff is helping him solve the murders he gets stuck with. All he wants to do is be back at his old job in the records room, because dead bodies really is not his thing. For a wonderfully comforting adventure, read this series.
February 26, 2016
Mrs. Jeffries Dusts for Clues by Emily Brightwell is the second book in A Victorian Murder Mystery series. Mrs. Jeffries and her crew are asked by a friend to help find a missing maid and when a body is dug up they unofficially assist their employer Inspector Witherspoon of Scotland Yard.
An interesting cozy mystery. It was nice to see Inspector Witherspoons household at work behind the scenes helping him solve the mystery. A quick and comfortable read.
An interesting cozy mystery. It was nice to see Inspector Witherspoons household at work behind the scenes helping him solve the mystery. A quick and comfortable read.
May 1, 2022
Enjoying this reread.
July 17, 2022
The second in this series was even better than the first. The cast of characters is getting broader. Although the clues did not lead me astray in this mystery, there were three or four possible murderers, so I was unsuccessful in picking the correct one and, in fact, didn't even try. The Inspector is also growing on me and showing bits of unexpected insight from time to time. I really didn't like the idea of a stupid inspector being led around by the nose by his staff, so it was somewhat of a relief to see him growing into his role. I like the way Ms. Brightwell ends each book with an intimation of what the next case will be, so that I am looking forward to the next in the series.
September 5, 2017
Very nice story. If read in order this second book in the series lets you get to know a bit more about the servants in Inspector Witherspoon's house, though he remains pretty much a blank. I found myself worrying about the missing girl. I just wish this series had more historical details. Though we spend a lot of time in the kitchen, for instance, we don't really see how it functions. With a greater sense of time and place I'd rate this series higher.
June 4, 2018
Ok, so after a busy weekend I finally managed to get back to my book. This is another fun read, going rather quickly without missing anything. Usually, I can guess who-dunnit by chapter 3, but with this series that hasn't been the case. There are enough red herrings to keep me guessing but not so many that it's confusing or monotonous. I can't wait to get into the next one.
I highly recommend this series for fun, light reading that will keep you guessing to the very end.
I highly recommend this series for fun, light reading that will keep you guessing to the very end.
November 26, 2022
As usual a pleasant and interesting read (listen) with a fine narration. Clean and fun (especially if you don’t guess the outcome) and twice I haven’t . ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
May 27, 2023
2.25 ⭐
February 29, 2024
Written in the 90s. I really like this cozy crime series.
They have plenty of twists.
They have plenty of twists.
November 7, 2014
This book seems to be the third outing for housekeeper Mrs Jeffries and her motley crew of servants, helping the lovely but rather inept Inspector Witherspoon to solve major crimes in Victorian London. Set in 1886 or thereabouts, the story begins with eccentric American neighbour, Lute Belle Crookshank, asking Mrs Jeffries for help in the case of a missing servant girl, whom Lute Belle had taken under her wing.
Mary Sparks went missing some two months ago and no enquiry of Lute's has brought forth any information of the girl's whereabouts. While Mrs Jeffries and her colleagues are collecting their first clues in Knightsbridge, Inspector Witherspoon and his sidekick Constable Barnes are busy in another part of town, in Magpie Lane, where labourers digging a new stretch of underground tunnel have discovered the body of a young woman.
Dressed in a dark blue wool dress to which a silver brooch has been pinned, the petite blonde resting in the cellar of a half-demolished house is causing the Inspector some considerable headache. Who is she?
Too decomposed for identification, the young woman remains an enigma. She carries a valuable betrothal ring on a gold chain around her neck and wears nearly new shoes several sizes too large for her - if she is Mary Sparks, none of these things make sense. Where would a servant girl who has just given up her job get such trinkets and why would she waste money on buying new shoes, when her old brown ones were still serviceable?
Begrudgingly, Lute Belle concedes that this must be the body of Mary Sparks, even though she is not convinced. However, more questioning of butcher boys, green grocers, bakers and parlour maids with a grudge unearth some startling facts about the household where Mary was supposed to start work and the Lutterbank household, she left in such a hurry. Another woman has gone missing, a former servant girl from the same Lutterbank household Mary disappeared from.
This is a complex murder mystery with enough red herrings to keep the reader guessing for a while, although the eventual conclusion won't come as a real surprise. Emily Brightwell manages to put just enough period detail into her novels without overloading the reader with historical facts. The characters are well drawn, especially Lute Belle and footman Wiggins, and the Inspector is just on the right side of bumbling without being annoying. However, for my taste there's a little too much "she tucked a stray curl back under her mob cap" and "she glared at the coachman's brutish features". It get a tad repetitive.
An amusing read, thought no much of an intellectual murder-puzzle, this "cozy" is easily read in a day, preferably with an endless supply of hot steaming tea and buttered crumpets or sweet buns!
Mary Sparks went missing some two months ago and no enquiry of Lute's has brought forth any information of the girl's whereabouts. While Mrs Jeffries and her colleagues are collecting their first clues in Knightsbridge, Inspector Witherspoon and his sidekick Constable Barnes are busy in another part of town, in Magpie Lane, where labourers digging a new stretch of underground tunnel have discovered the body of a young woman.
Dressed in a dark blue wool dress to which a silver brooch has been pinned, the petite blonde resting in the cellar of a half-demolished house is causing the Inspector some considerable headache. Who is she?
Too decomposed for identification, the young woman remains an enigma. She carries a valuable betrothal ring on a gold chain around her neck and wears nearly new shoes several sizes too large for her - if she is Mary Sparks, none of these things make sense. Where would a servant girl who has just given up her job get such trinkets and why would she waste money on buying new shoes, when her old brown ones were still serviceable?
Begrudgingly, Lute Belle concedes that this must be the body of Mary Sparks, even though she is not convinced. However, more questioning of butcher boys, green grocers, bakers and parlour maids with a grudge unearth some startling facts about the household where Mary was supposed to start work and the Lutterbank household, she left in such a hurry. Another woman has gone missing, a former servant girl from the same Lutterbank household Mary disappeared from.
This is a complex murder mystery with enough red herrings to keep the reader guessing for a while, although the eventual conclusion won't come as a real surprise. Emily Brightwell manages to put just enough period detail into her novels without overloading the reader with historical facts. The characters are well drawn, especially Lute Belle and footman Wiggins, and the Inspector is just on the right side of bumbling without being annoying. However, for my taste there's a little too much "she tucked a stray curl back under her mob cap" and "she glared at the coachman's brutish features". It get a tad repetitive.
An amusing read, thought no much of an intellectual murder-puzzle, this "cozy" is easily read in a day, preferably with an endless supply of hot steaming tea and buttered crumpets or sweet buns!
December 27, 2013
Mrs Jeffries is housekeeper to Inspector Witherspoon – a nice but not very clever Scotland Yard detective. Because all his domestic staff are grateful to him for providing them with not too arduous jobs and a roof over their heads they work together to solve his cases for him.
In this delightful Victorian mystery Luty Belle Crookshank – an eccentric elderly American lady – asks for Mrs Jeffries’ help in finding out what happened to a missing parlour maid she had befriended. In the process of tracking down the missing maid Inspector Witherspoon’s domestic staff manage to solve a murder for him.
I like the characters in this entertaining series and it is interesting to see Victorian society from the servants’ point of view. Mrs Jeffries is resourceful and intelligent and would do well as a detective herself though of course the police didn’t employ women at the time.
The book is well written and if you like so-called cosy mysteries this would be a good one to try.
In this delightful Victorian mystery Luty Belle Crookshank – an eccentric elderly American lady – asks for Mrs Jeffries’ help in finding out what happened to a missing parlour maid she had befriended. In the process of tracking down the missing maid Inspector Witherspoon’s domestic staff manage to solve a murder for him.
I like the characters in this entertaining series and it is interesting to see Victorian society from the servants’ point of view. Mrs Jeffries is resourceful and intelligent and would do well as a detective herself though of course the police didn’t employ women at the time.
The book is well written and if you like so-called cosy mysteries this would be a good one to try.
October 11, 2016
I have thoroughly enjoyed the mystery that is solved in this series of books. They are well written, suspenseful and keep you guessing about the perpetrator. I even enjoy that the people doing the solving are a housekeeper, maid, footman, cook and stable master. They are in a unique position to gather information from others in the serving classes. I also enjoy the antics of Luty Belle Crookshank - a rich American widow who has befriended Mrs. Jeffries.
What I don't enjoy is how they treat their employer, Scotland Yard Inspector Witherspoon. He worked in the records department of Scotland Yard and was happy there -- but -- because his housekeeper, Mrs. Jeffries, wanted to solve mysteries, he ended up 'promoted' to being an Inspector. He's out of his league -- not that he isn't intelligent enough -- he's just woefully inept at mysteries -- mostly because he isn't all that curious. Anyway -- the help treats him more like he's an idiot than anything respectful.
What I don't enjoy is how they treat their employer, Scotland Yard Inspector Witherspoon. He worked in the records department of Scotland Yard and was happy there -- but -- because his housekeeper, Mrs. Jeffries, wanted to solve mysteries, he ended up 'promoted' to being an Inspector. He's out of his league -- not that he isn't intelligent enough -- he's just woefully inept at mysteries -- mostly because he isn't all that curious. Anyway -- the help treats him more like he's an idiot than anything respectful.
December 31, 2016
I have to say after the first book in the series I was a little disappointed with this one. I felt there wasn't enough of the Inspector in this one and it focused too much on Mrs Jeffries and the servants, I would have liked more and longer discussions between the Inspector and Mrs Jeffries at the end of each day over dinner like there was in the first one. I also did not fully buy into the main plot and the myriad of characters there appeared to be, perhaps this was because it was an audio version, and I think I will read the next book of the series as a physical book to see if it makes any difference. Hopefully it will revert to the quality of the first one.
October 9, 2007
Second in the Mrs. Jeffries - Inspector Witherspoon of Scotland Yard Victorian England mysteries. Mrs. Jeffries, Witherspoon's housekeeper, and her house hold staff again help the somewhat plodding Witherspoon solve another mystery. This involves a murder along with the disappearance of a girl, unsure identities, many suspects, as well as other developments which tax Mrs. Jeffries and her crew to unravel while keeping Witherspoon on the correct path along with not knowing that they are doing it.
A good convoluted story with a bit of humor.
A good convoluted story with a bit of humor.
February 4, 2020
The domestic staff of Scotland Yard Inspector Witherspoon are asked by the eccentric American Luty to find a missing girl, Mary. Mary was a maid and a friend of Luty. As the staff, led by Mrs. Jeffries goes about asking questions, they discover another missing girl. At the same time, Inspector Witherspoon investigates a badly decomposed body of a young girl. Mistaken identities, sexual escapades, love across class boundaries, and justic all swirl into unmasking the murderer in this entertaining cozy mystery. Likeable characters and a good story!
December 27, 2010
I didn't like this book as much as the first in the series. I don't know if it was because it took me so long to read, with the holidays and all, but I found myself trying not to confuse the characters when it should have been pretty straightforward.
I do enjoy the Mrs. Jeffries and the other household servants so will surely read the next in the series and hopefully it won't take as long to read as this one did.
I do enjoy the Mrs. Jeffries and the other household servants so will surely read the next in the series and hopefully it won't take as long to read as this one did.
January 9, 2020
Second reading January 5-9, 2020
I wanted to read this again as I set out to read this series in order. I remembered portions of this mystery but not everything. Very clever!
****************
This was an enjoyable whodunnit. I like how the bachelor Inspector views his housekeeper Mrs. Jeffries as a comforting maternal figure. In this mystery there as a day when he had a splitting headache all day and he kept thinking about "getting home to Mrs. Jeffries and a cup of tea." Sweet.
I wanted to read this again as I set out to read this series in order. I remembered portions of this mystery but not everything. Very clever!
****************
This was an enjoyable whodunnit. I like how the bachelor Inspector views his housekeeper Mrs. Jeffries as a comforting maternal figure. In this mystery there as a day when he had a splitting headache all day and he kept thinking about "getting home to Mrs. Jeffries and a cup of tea." Sweet.
March 20, 2014
I've read a couple of these, really stupid, can't believe I read them, don't bother!
February 14, 2019
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 226 reviews