Mrs. Jeffries Stalks the Hunter

When Sir Edmund Leggett is shot to death while stumbling home from his engagement party, very few people mourn him: not his fiancee who had no intention of marrying him, not his fiancee’s wealthy father who sold off his daughter because he desperately wanted to have a “title” in his family tree, not his creditors who will now never be repaid, not the myriad women whom he had seduced and cast aside throughout his unsavory life. Indeed, only his mistress seems upset at all about his death, and she is a suspect too since he had promised to marry her and then threw her over for the richer girl. Inspector Gerald Witherspoon and Constable Barnes must sort through the mess of this man’s life, and Mrs. Jeffries and the household staff show more must discreetly provide the Inspector with clues gleaned from their own investigations, which are many and various indeed…. The 19th entry in this long-running cozy series set in late Victorian London is as delightful as always, although of course by this point the plots are rather formulaic; nevertheless, the relationships between the main characters are always enjoyable, like meeting up with old friends for a good natter over tea; recommended! show less

In this mystery set in Victorian England, Inspector Gerald Witherspoon is in charge of the investigation of the murder of Sir Edmund Leggett, who was killed on his way home from his engagement party. Witherspoon has plenty of suspects, beginning with a young woman who has been stalking him. But there's plenty of other people that wanted him dead, including his fiancée who hates him (he was marrying her for her money, her parents agreed because they wanted his title), his mistress who is furious at the upcoming wedding, his cousin who inherits everything, and the numerous people he owes money to. But Witherspoon will have no problem solving this case, not while his housekeeper Mrs. Jeffries and the rest of his household staff are show more working behind the scenes to help him!

I really enjoy this series. The mysteries are always well written and well plotted. Brightwell switches back and forth between Witherspoon's investigation and the servants which I like, because it gives insight into all the characters. What I like the most is that, even after nineteen books in the series, the characters continue to grow and in each book we learn more and more about them. In this particular book, it was a little tidbit about Hatchet that made him come even more alive to me as a character. And Witherspoon's detecting abilities develop more and more each book, which is a nice touch as it would have been easy for him to become a caricature.

I highly recommend these books for fans of cozy mysteries. show less