Mrs. Jeffries Pinches the Post by Emily Brightwell

fun to read amateur sleuth-police proceduralby harstan

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May 21, 2001: Scotland Yard Inspector Gerald Witherspoon is a legend because he has solved every homicide case ever assigned to him. What no one knows, including the Inspector, is that his loyal staff of servants secretly assist him by obtaining information and serendipitously feeding it to him so he thinks he thought of it himself. Their loyalty is rewarded by how well he takes care of them, a radical departure for most Victorian households.

His latest case involves wealthy nabob Harrison Nye who goes out late one night following a dinner party. His corpse is found at the home of a woman who vanished two months ago. No one provides answers to why Harrison was there or what happened to the woman. It will take the combined forces of the Inspector, Mrs. Jeffries leading her staff and tons of blind luck to prevent any more murders from occurring, but even that may prove not enough.

MRS. JEFFRIES PINCHES THE POST is a fun to read amateur sleuth-police procedural tale due the varying personalities of each of the likable servants. This is one of the more complex who-done-its in this series because none of the facts tie together and clues seem scarce and not quite forthcoming. Emily Brightwell continues to brighten the well being of her fans with entertaining mysteries.

Harriet Klausner