Mrs. Jeffries Forges Ahead

Few people are pleased at the marriage of Lewis Banfield and Arlette Montrose - not her artist parents, who feel the Banfields are philistines without an artistic bone in their collective body, not Lewis’s elderly aunt who believes he married beneath himself and therefore tainted the family honour, not the various movers and shakers of High Society who feel uncomfortable about the apparent egalitarianism of the match. So when Arlette is poisoned in front of 200 guests at the annual Banfield Summer Ball, Inspector Witherspoon has no shortage of suspects under his eye, difficult as it is to get the aristocracy to cooperate with the police. Mrs. Jeffries and the household are equally nonplussed by the task, especially as they also need show more to take into account the reluctance of the new housemaid Phyllis to join them in their clandestine investigations….By this, the 28th book in the series, the reader knows all of the characters very well, and we can predict (to some degree) how they each will act and react as the story unfolds; thus, it is nice to bring in a new character, namely Phyllis, who turns out to have hidden talents herself. As I’ve come to expect with this series, the mystery is carefully clued and misdirection is well-placed while still leaving the reader with enough information to perhaps solve the crime before the characters do. And I continue to love how the characters interact and evolve throughout the series, as each of them are people one would like to know in real life. Recommended! show less

Inspector Gerald Witherspoon seems to always get tough murder cases and his latest case is no different - Arlette Montrose Banfield was killed with poison at a dinner party in front of hundreds of guests. There are plenty of suspects for Witherspoon and Constable Barnes to deal with - luckily for Witherspoon his household staff and close friends are there to help him (even if he doesn't know it). Mrs. Jeffries and gang are excited to have another case to work on - but will new maid Phyllis spoil the whole thing?

"Mrs. Jeffries Forges Ahead" is another delightful entry in Emily Brightwell's "The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries" cozy mystery series set in Victorian England. Although this is the 28th book in the series, Brightwell continues to show more find ways to keep the series fresh - in this book it is the addition of Phyllis. Phyllis's desire to do the right thing in order to not lose her job is very believable as is the fear of Mrs. Jeffries and staff that Inspector Witherspoon will finally realize what they are doing. The household staff and Luty, Hatchet, and Ruth are old friends to readers now and it is nice to have a new character shake things up. What I like so much about the series is the way Witherspoon really cares about his household staff - he thinks of them as family (I loved the way he referred to "Our Betsy" being pregnant). Ruth plays a major part in solving the mystery and it was nice to see so much of her in the book. As always, Brightwell alternates between showing readers Witherspoon and Barnes in action questioning suspects and his household staff investigating the case and she cleverly links all the evidence and clues together. The mystery is well plotted with plenty of suspects and readers will keep guessing until the very end who the killer is. The motive for the murder is truly one of the saddest I've come across in a cozy mystery.

"Mrs. Jeffries Forges Ahead" is another great entry in Emily Brightwell's "The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries" cozy mystery series. show less

I do enjoy this Victorian cozy mystery series, and look forward to each new book that comes out. This was a respectable showing, but I did find that the book was not as well plotted as most of the others in this series. A young, modern woman is poisoned at her own dinner party. There is no shortage of suspects in this fairly complex case. The characters are realistic, and I do love the people that live in Upper Edmonton Gardens. The mystery was a good one, and there were lots of red herrings to distract the reader. Will Mrs. Jeffries and her intrepid crew be able to solve it in time? I look forward to the next book in this long-running series.

Same people, similar circumstances, Victorian cozy....

Inspector Witherspoon's friend & neighbor, Lady Ruth Cannonberry is in attendance of a popular London Ball, invited by Arlette Bandfield (the younger). Lady Banfield (the elder, now no longer the head of the household) is in the corner with two of her friends dishing dirt about Arlette.

Prior to dinner being served, Arlette & Ruth are in conversation when Arlette complains she does not feel well, her breathing becomes labored, she falls to the floor, she convulses and dies.

With quick thinking, Lady Cannonberry, calls for a doctor, and refuses to allow the table to be cleared of "evidence". Inspector Witherspoon & Constable Barnes are called in and the investigation begins.....

Many show more people disliked Arlette for: her shunning of "social graces", her political stance, her artistic patents' background, her marriage to Lewis Banfield, & her social circle of artist friends..... In other words because she openly defied convention!

As the Inspector's investigation is hampered by the aristocratic women involved, Mrs Jeffries & her cohorts do what they do best.... gather evidence from sources not available to the Inspector.

I figured out who done it & why, but that did not take away from the story. The more I read this series, the more I am able to ignore the triteness of Mrs. Jeffries. I have one more to go, then I have finished my goal of 4 and I will most likely not continue with the series. show less