Emily Brightwell
Hardcover | Pages: 272 pages Rating: 4.04 | 695 Users | 60 Reviews
Itemize Appertaining To Books Mrs. Jeffries and the Feast of St. Stephen (Mrs. Jeffries #23)
| Title | : | Mrs. Jeffries and the Feast of St. Stephen (Mrs. Jeffries #23) |
| Author | : | Emily Brightwell |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 272 pages |
| Published | : | October 2nd 2007 by Berkley Prime Crime |
| Categories | : | Mystery. Holiday. Christmas. Cozy Mystery. Historical. Historical Fiction |
Relation As Books Mrs. Jeffries and the Feast of St. Stephen (Mrs. Jeffries #23)
The first of the Mrs. Jeffries Victorian mysteries series was published in 1997 and Emily Brightwell has churned one out every few months since then. Twenty-two of the books had preceded Mrs. Jeffries and the Feast of St. Stephen, (published 2007) the one that I just read, and there have been at least a half-dozen written since then! Yes, Ms. Brightwell is quite prolific. Not particularly original or interesting, but certainly prolific.This is the first of the series that I have read, and, obviously, a lot of exposition and water have flowed under the bridge since the beginning. This entry somewhat supposes that the reader has a familiarity with the characters and is invested in their stories. I wasn't, and that made the book less enthralling than it might have been. It is the selection of my local Mystery Book Club for the month of December and that was my excuse for reading it.
Mrs. Jeffries is the housekeeper for Inspector Witherspoon of Scotland Yard. The unmarried inspector has a household staff of five people to take care of his needs! (Seems a bit excessive, doesn't it? Oh, well...) The thing is, this household staff - unbeknownst to the inspector - investigate all of his murder cases right along with him and they solve the cases and then manage to pass the solution along to him so that he can shine before Scotland Yard's brass. As a result, Witherspoon has a reputation as one of the most successful investigators in Scotland Yard.
As we meet the characters in this particular entry of the series, it is nearing Christmas and the household is getting ready for the season when their inspector is suddenly presented with a murder to solve. It turns out to be an upper class twit who has died. He died at a dinner party in his own home after drinking some wine that had been brought by a couple who were among his guests for the evening. The investigation quickly reveals that the twit, Stephen Whitfield, was not much loved by any of his guests, but did any of them actually have sufficient motive to do him in?
The household staff jump into action and parallel the investigation by the inspector and his constable. This inspector, it turns out, needs all the help he can get and he gets plenty, from his staff, his constable, the doctor who is called to the death scene. They all seem extremely devoted to the man and eager to make sure he succeeds. I have no idea what the impetus of all these warm feelings might be.
The situation reminded me of Upstairs, Downstairs or even of Anne Perry's Victorian mysteries featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt or William and Hester Monk. Unfortunately for Brightwell, her writing suffers from such comparisons.
Brightwell strews clues and red herrings plentifully throughout the book and I found that I was able to sort through them and solve the mystery long before both the professional and amateur investigators in the book. There's a certain satisfaction in that, but actually, I like my mysteries to be a bit more challenging.
This is very light reading and will not tie the reader down for very long at all. It's the sort of thing that might be good for a plane trip, but not something that one really wants to burrow into and think about overly much.
Mention Books Concering Mrs. Jeffries and the Feast of St. Stephen (Mrs. Jeffries #23)
| Original Title: | Mrs. Jeffries and the Feast of St. Stephen |
| ISBN: | 0425217310 (ISBN13: 9780425217313) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Mrs. Jeffries #23 |
Rating Appertaining To Books Mrs. Jeffries and the Feast of St. Stephen (Mrs. Jeffries #23)
Ratings: 4.04 From 695 Users | 60 ReviewsJudge Appertaining To Books Mrs. Jeffries and the Feast of St. Stephen (Mrs. Jeffries #23)
As described by the publisher, Mrs Jefferies was the Miss Marples of Victorian mystery. Based on this I was keen to read the novel, but alas no, nothing cunning and confusingly complex about the plot here, nor was the acquired knowledge and razor keen mind of an intelligent woman present either. I missed those acerbic asides and ironic comments. Why will publishers do this comparison business? Any real Miss Marple fan is bound to be disappointed. What the series is about is a group of householdI probably would have enjoyed this more if I'd read others in the series first. Seemed a bit choppy and hard to follow.
Another mystery for Mrs Jeffries, the housekeeper who secretly helps her employer, Inspector Witherspoon of Scotland Yard, solve his cases. Mrs Jeffries and the rest of Inspector Witherspoon's loyal staff do their own investigating among the community, then pool their information. mrs Jeffries drops hints in her conversations ith Inspector Witherspoon that guide him in the right direction, and he never suspects that it is really his servants who solve the murders.This is an enjoyable addition to
This mystery was different from all the other mysteries in the series. For that reason, it was a bit slow going in the beginning. Stephen Whitfield died at his own pre-Christmas dinner party, after drinking wine given him by one of the guests. None of the other guests drank the gift Bordeaux; they had sherry, the usual before-dinner drink. Whitfield considered himself a wine expert. He even bottled his own wine and gave bottles to his friends; two of the guests had received bottles from
A man invites guests for dinner, but he's dead before they're served the second course. Murder or natural causes? Silly question. There would be no need for a story and for Mrs. Jeffries and the rest of Inspector Witherspoon's staff to investigate if it wasn't murder.I've got my mojo back. I knew how the murder was committed early. I was just a little fuzzy about the "why."The book captures the usual charm of our favorite Victorian-era crime fighters.
Great story! I always love these books, they are easy to read cozies, fun and full of top notch snooping. The characters are well rounded, have back stories and interactions are interesting. Again, like the past few "holiday" stories, there wasn't much Christmas involved as far as decorations, carols, or other things we associate with the holiday. It was mentioned quite a bit but that was all. I did like the story itself on this one, it was different all the way through. I can't say more without
A delightful cozy historical mystery with a wonderful murder plot & quirky characters that bring the book to life.
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