Mrs. Jeffries in the Nick of Time

Numerous relatives are dependent on the largess of the wealthy train enthusiast Francis Humphreys; while they appreciate his generosity, they chafe somewhat at his demand that they do his bidding. They are all gathered in the drawing room waiting for Francis to appear before tea when suddenly a gunshot is heard; dashing up to the man’s study, they find him murdered. Poor Inspector Witherspoon is at a bit of a loss concerning this situation, since all of his suspects couldn’t possibly have committed the crime; worse, Constable Barnes has been reassigned so that Constable Gates, nephew to the odious Inspector Nivens and perhaps even more reprehensible, can work with the Inspector and perhaps solve the case first…. The 25th novel in show more this long-running series has, thankfully, returned to form - I had quibbles with the previous book due to some grammatical and proofreading mistakes, but those seem corrected here. Interestingly, the removal of Constable Barnes (temporarily, one hopes!) created added tension for this entry, especially because his replacement is so incredibly awful. Meaning, of course, that I must go directly to the *next* book to see if he’s been done away with! Meanwhile, the relationships amongst the main characters continue to evolve in satisfactory ways, and the crime itself, while I solved it fairly early on, is quite inventive and well-clued; recommended! show less

Train enthusiast Francis Humphreys has invited several relatives and neighbors over for tea. Since he is always punctual, his family is surprised when he doesn’t show up on time for tea. Soon they discover there is a very good reason why he didn’t show up – while they were all together downstairs someone murdered Humphreys. Scotland Yard puts their best man on the job – Inspector Gerald Witherspoon. Unbeknownst to Witherspoon, his household staff has helped him solve several murders in the past. He is definitely going to need their help this time – not only were all his suspects together at the time of the murder, but Scotland Yard throws him a major curve ball that threatens his ability to solve the case.

“Mrs. Jeffries in show more the Nick of Time” is another great entry in a consistently delightful cozy mystery series. This is the twenty-fifth book in the series and author Emily Brightwell continues to make the series feel fresh. A lot of what makes this series work so well is the characters and they are all here – Witherspoon, Constable Barnes, Mrs. Jeffries, Mrs. Goodge, Wiggins, Betsy, Smythe, Luty, Hatchet, and for a pleasant change, a lot of Ruth Cannonberry. Witherspoon’s old nemesis, Inspector Nigel Nivens, is also there (showing a softer side for a change) as is Nivens’ nephew Lionel Gates (who adds a lot of comic relief to the book). Another thing that makes this series stay so fresh is the way Brightwell manages to throw in different plot twists – there’s a doozy of one here (which I won’t spoil) that completely changes how Witherspoon and his household investigate the case. The mystery itself is nicely plotted – readers will early on have at least an idea of how the murder was done, but not exactly how it was pulled off. Brightwell continues to create Agatha Christie-like mysteries and once you have finished reading the book you will want to go back through the pages to see how cleverly Brightwell plotted the book and left clues as to who the real killer is while adroitly pointing the finger at other characters – not an easy task but she does it well.

“Mrs. Jeffries in the Nick of Time” is another wonderful cozy mystery from the talented Emily Brightwell. show less

I have to admit I did not figure this one out quickly like some of the others. It was a great read and love this series as I have said before. The characters keep growing as we go and it is nice to see some of them come around and actually mature a bit, but they still stay funny at times.

Ms. Brightwell's attempt at a locked-room mystery with this book was a success. This is a really good historical cozy series. I have come to look forward to each book, and to renewing my acquaintance with the Upper Edmonton Gardens crew. In this book a gentleman is shot in his dressing room. Everyone that could possibly have a motive is downstairs awaiting his arrival for tea. When they all hear the shot, they all go upstairs and find the room is locked and there is no sign of an intruder, but Mr. Humphrey's is shot through the head. We have all the usual motives here, but the trick is to find out who has the most to lose. Inspector Witherspoon, with the help of his wonderful staff figure it out. This is the 25 book in this series, and show more it just seems to get better and better. show less