Emily Brightwell
Author of The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries
About the Author
Emily Brightwell is the pen name of Cheryl Arguile. She is the author of all 26 published titles in her Victorian murder mystery series, The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries. Mrs. Jeffries and the Yuletide Weddings is her most recent addition to that series. The hardcover edition was was published in show more November 2009. Ms. Arguile was born in West Virginia. She has two children, Matthew and Amanda, who are now grown. She lives with her husband, and a black cat called "Kiwi". (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
Cheryl Lanham Arguile writes as her maiden name, Cheryl Lanham, and under the pseudonyms of Sarah Temple and Emily Brightwell.
Image credit: Emily Brightwell
Series
Works by Emily Brightwell
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Arguile, Cheryl Ann Lanham
- Other names
- Temple, Sarah
Brightwell, Emily
Lanham, Cheryl - Birthdate
- 1948-10-11
- Gender
- female
- Education
- California State University, Fullerton
- Occupations
- novelist
- Organizations
- Romance Writers of America
- Short biography
- Cheryl 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. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Richwood, West Virginia, USA
- Places of residence
- Richwood, West Virginia, USA
Pasadena, California, USA
England, UK - Disambiguation notice
- Cheryl Lanham Arguile writes as her maiden name, Cheryl Lanham, and under the pseudonyms of Sarah Temple and Emily Brightwell.
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
Nobody is terribly upset when someone murders banker Lawrence Boyd - he had many enemies and no friends. The murderer tried to cover up the murder by setting fire to the studio where Boyd was painting, but the police quickly catch on and Inspector Gerald Witherspoon is assigned the case. There are a lot of suspects and it will take time to question them all, but Witherspoon needs to solve the case fast because his rival, Inspector Nigel Nivens, will do anything to discredit him. Luckily show more Witherspoon has some help - unbeknownst to him his household staff, led by his housekeeper Mrs. Jeffries, have helped him solve cases in the past and are eager to work on this one, especially since it will take maid Betsy's mind off her upcoming wedding to coachman Smythe. But the staff needs to be very cautious as they investigate this one - not only do they not want Witherspoon to catch on to what they are doing, but someone is following footman Wiggins as he investigates and they are afraid that someone even higher up in the police department will realize that Witherspoon is not solving these murder cases alone.
"Mrs. Jeffries and The Best Laid Plans" is another delightful entry in a cozy mystery series that never disappoints. One of the things that make this series so good is the characters and they are at their best in this book. You can just picture Mrs. Jeffries, Mrs. Goodge, Wiggins, Betsy, and Smythe sitting around the table talking to the wonderfully eccentric American Luty and her butler Hatchet who also help solve the cases. While Witherspoon remains blissfully unaware that his staff is helping him, he is hardly a buffoon and uncovers several useful clues himself. He has a wonderful scene in this book when he confronts Nivens and shows some real backbone. Constable Barnes, his partner, is also well written, fully aware that the staff is helping solve the case, he is happy to pass clues their way. The mystery is set in Victorian England and author Emily Brightwell does a perfect job in capturing that time period and bits of that era are weaved throughout the book like when Witherspoon is amazed by someone using a typewriter. The mystery itself is well written and well plotted with plenty of suspects and red herrings. Careful readers will figure out the murderer at the same time that Mrs. Jeffries does which is very clever writing on Brightwell's part.
Longtime readers of the series may be surprised and a bit disappointed by something that happens at the end of the book. Now I can't wait until the next book comes out in October to find out what happens next. show less
"Mrs. Jeffries and The Best Laid Plans" is another delightful entry in a cozy mystery series that never disappoints. One of the things that make this series so good is the characters and they are at their best in this book. You can just picture Mrs. Jeffries, Mrs. Goodge, Wiggins, Betsy, and Smythe sitting around the table talking to the wonderfully eccentric American Luty and her butler Hatchet who also help solve the cases. While Witherspoon remains blissfully unaware that his staff is helping him, he is hardly a buffoon and uncovers several useful clues himself. He has a wonderful scene in this book when he confronts Nivens and shows some real backbone. Constable Barnes, his partner, is also well written, fully aware that the staff is helping solve the case, he is happy to pass clues their way. The mystery is set in Victorian England and author Emily Brightwell does a perfect job in capturing that time period and bits of that era are weaved throughout the book like when Witherspoon is amazed by someone using a typewriter. The mystery itself is well written and well plotted with plenty of suspects and red herrings. Careful readers will figure out the murderer at the same time that Mrs. Jeffries does which is very clever writing on Brightwell's part.
Longtime readers of the series may be surprised and a bit disappointed by something that happens at the end of the book. Now I can't wait until the next book comes out in October to find out what happens next. show less
When ice cart entrepreneur Bert Santorini is shot to death in an alley in the East End, it takes only moments for the police to ascertain the likely suspect: Bert was killed with a dueling pistol, conveniently left at the scene, known to be owned by Inspector Nigel Nivens. Due to past misdeeds, Nivens has recently been assigned to the police station in the East End, a far from prestigious assignment, and he has been flaunting the pair of dueling pistols that he claims as an heirloom not only show more at the station but at the local pub as well. Inspector Gerald Witherspoon is called in to investigate, not because others doubt Nivens’s guilt but in order to make sure that the public does not think that the police are covering up the crime of one of their own. Unfortunately for Nivens, the evidence against him is pretty overwhelming, but against that evidence and the pure dislike for the man that almost the entire police force holds stands Inspector Witherspoon, a man who sees justice as the highest good - and his loyal household staff, who hold that ideal in no less esteem…. This is the 39th (of 41) book in this long-running Victorian cozy series and it’s a corker; we have been “treated” to the scurrilous Inspector Nivens on several previous occasions and certainly every recurrent character in the series despises him. Yet our intrepid investigators, both professional and amateur, are determined to find out the truth of the matter even if it exonerates this highly hateful man. Recommended! 3 ½ stars. show less
As Christmas approaches, Inspector Witherspoon’s household is full of plans: Wiggins will attend several football matches with his buddies, Phyllis intends to see several plays with a friend, Betsy and Smythe are taking Amanda to Paris for a few days, Mrs. Jeffries is thrilled to attend several lectures on Egypt, Mrs. Goodge is looking forward to having the house mostly to herself, and the Inspector and Lady Cannonberry are going to the countryside where he will meet some of her relatives. show more All is great - until, that is, the Inspector is given a murder to solve. And not just any murder, but one that had taken place six weeks earlier, and that therefore will be almost impossible to solve! It had originally been thought a robbery gone wrong and had been given to the detestable Inspector Nivens, who had done almost no investigating at all. Now everyone is resentful and angry at the thought that they will lose their planned activities with probably nothing at all to show for it in the end…. This, the 36th in the long-running cozy series, may well be my favourite so far, because it emphasizes the humanity of the characters. Of course they’ve always been human, but sometimes they’re a bit too noble - all that “we work in the cause of justice” attitude, while commendable, is sometimes a bit supercilious, I think. Here, we see the entire cast of characters acting selfishly, with resentment and, at times, even a bit dishonestly. When they finally turn around and start actually investigating, the reader feels that they’ve overcome something significant - call it pettiness, perhaps - and like them even more for it. Recommended. show less
When a young flower seller is murdered during the night of a notoriously bad London fog, Mrs. Jeffries is prepared to deploy her fellow servants at Inspector Gerald Witherspoon’s home as usual - seeking clues from the immediate area, the friends of the dead woman, servants in other households etc. But she gets sidetracked by an unexpected turn of events: when the men of the household scoff at the womens’ abilities in general, the investigation turns into a race between the sexes in terms show more of who can find the most information the fastest. As this is no way to conduct an investigation, it is not long before Mrs. Jeffries is almost as completely at sea as her employer….The sixth novel in the long-running Victorian cozy series, this entry brings in a curious proto-feminist subplot, one that most likely would not have been discussed in servants’ halls in the mid-1800s. The death of the flower seller initially seems to imply a Jack the Ripper trope, but that idea is soon debunked as ideas of class and social status take shape. I’m enjoying this modest series, particularly with respect to the relationships between the servants and with Inspector Witherspoon (who here seems to be becoming a bit more savvy than in earlier books). The whole series (so far, anyway) is great fun, so recommended! show less
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