Mrs. Jeffries Appeals the Verdict [Kindle Edition]

Emily Brightwell (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"Mrs. Jeffries is the Miss Marple of Victorian Mystery."—The Paperback ForumGUILTY BYSTANDERSAfter a perfectly decent local woman is killed during a robbery, the Witherspoon household receives a surprising visit from a stranger named Blimpey Groggins. He claims his best buddy was convicted of the crime. He also claims the peaceable chap didn’t even know how to fire a gun. And considering he’s to be hanged in three weeks, Blimpey’s desperate to find the real killer. With the trail cold, the crime allegedly solved, and the evidence mucked up, Mrs. Jeffries and her belowstairs cohorts have their work cut out for them if they want to save an innocent man from the gallows.A Mrs. Jeffries MysteryShe keeps house for Inspector Witherspoon…and keeps him on his toes. Everyone’s awed by his Scotland Yard successes—but they don’t know about his secret weapon. No matter how messy the murder or how dirty the deed, Mrs. Jeffries’ polished detection skills are up to the task…proving that behind every great man there’s a woman—and that a crimesolver’s work is never done.First Time in Print!

About the Author

Emily Brightwell is the author of the "Mrs. Jeffries" series of mysteries. She lives in Lake Forest, CA.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 406 KB
• Print Length: 228 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0425209695
• Publisher: Berkley (May 2, 2006)
• Sold by: Penguin Publishing
• Language: English
• ASIN: B001LQYT2M
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,228 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

I was born in West Virginia, the middle sister to Nanette and Linda. My parents moved the family to Los Angeles in the early sixties, and I graduated from Pasadena High School. I attended California State University at Fullerton and earned a Degree in American Studies.
On a visit to England in 1975, I met my future husband, Richard. We were married in May 1976 and lived in a small village outside London. We came back to California in September 1977.
In 1988 I began my new career as a fiction writer. Although I was working in the shipping industry, and enjoyed my job, I wanted to fulfil my long-held desire to write!
I began by writing romances. I joined the Romance Writers of America - Orange County chapter. After my entry in the "unpublished authors" contest run by this chapter was announced as a finalist - I was delighted, but the New York editor who read my entry was scathing in her criticism. I was crushed for a day or so, but it hardened my resolve to continue writing. My very next proposal was the one that my agent sold to Silhouette. It was published under my pen name of Sarah Temple as KINDRED SPIRITS. I was thrilled - a published author!

I wrote two more Special Editions for Silhouette but I jumped at the chance to write a Victorian mystery series for Berkley - I've always had a keen interest in mysteries. I called my brother-in-law, Robert, who lives in London and he found old,original London newspapers from the 1880s and a host of books on Victorian households. These books and newspapers were priceless guides to my understanding of the real Victorian world of Inspector Witherspoon and Mrs. Jeffries.
I have also written some Young Adult novels,which are not currently in print - writing as Cheryl Lanham - my maiden name. These were such fun to write because teenagers are so emotional and it was great therapy to switch from the lives of a Victorian household involved in solving murders to the angst of a contemporary California teenager! By some strange quirk of events, the Young Adult books sold really well in Norway - translated into Norwegian, I hasten to add. Sales in the United States were not as dramatic and the series was cancelled.

I quit my part-time job in October 2010 so I could write mysteries full-time. I live in southern Orange County.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Appealing Mystery, May 10, 2006

By 

drebbles (Arlington, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Mrs. Jeffries Appeals the Verdict (Mass Market Paperback)

In this installment in the Mrs. Jeffries mystery series, Smythe's friend, Blimpey Groggins asks Inspector Gerald Witherspoon's household staff, to investigate a murder. His friend, Tommy Odell, has been found guilty of killing a woman and is scheduled to hang for the crime in a few weeks, but Blimpey is convinced that Tommy is innocent. The staff agrees to help, but they realize it's going to be difficult to find clues in a case that is considered already solved. To complicate things further, it wasn't Witherspoon's case; it belonged to Inspector Nivens, Witherspoon's nemesis. Mrs. Jeffries and the rest of the staff have their work cut out for them if they wish to save an innocent man from hanging.

Emily Brightwell has done it once again. Even after writing over 20 Mrs. Jeffries books, she manages to keep the series from going stale. Having the staff investigate a murder that is considered already solved was a great plot device and worked well. It also ups the animosity between Witherspoon and Nivens and opens up lots of possibilities for plot developments in future books in the series. What makes this series so good is how the characters continue to develop in each book and especially Inspector Witherspoon in this book. Some fans of the series will be disappointed that there's no Luty and Hatchet in this entry, but there is plenty of Ruth Cannonberry in exchange. It was also nice to see more of Blimpey and Brightwell adds a neat twist at the end of the book to make his character even more likable. The mystery is nicely plotted and while I thought I knew who the murderer was, I was pleasantly surprised to find out I was wrong.

Highly recommended!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A race with the hangman, May 30, 2006

By 

S. Saunders (Rocky Mountains USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mrs. Jeffries Appeals the Verdict (Mass Market Paperback)

Mrs. Jeffries and her band of amateur investigators are racing the hangman in the latest entry in this series. And they are at a disadvantage because the case was not handled by their own Inspector Witherspoon. Worse yet, the case was investigated by the dread Inspector Nivens, an ambitious detective who envies and despises Witherspoon.

Late one night in an apparent street robbery, Mrs. Caroline Muran was efficiently shot to death and her husband was hit in the head. Soon after the crime, pickpocket Tommy Odell was found to have pawned Mr. Muran's pocket watch.

After an investigation by Nivens, Odell was convicted of the murder and scheduled to hang. But a friend of Odell's mother doubts his guilt and asks the Witherspoon household's servants for their help - just a few days before the execution date.

Others have doubted the thoroughness of Nivens' investigation. When the victim's brother - thought to have died in the US - turns up alive and well in London and asking questions, the investigation is reopened. Nivens is livid - and then he's beyond rage when the reopened case is assigned to Witherspoon.

The victim was a good woman who ran the family business well and cared for the welfare of the workers. Mrs. Jeffries and her crew must sort through facts implicating people who had business or personal reasons for wanting her dead - and find the killer before more deaths occur.

A strong book in the series. We don't see Luty or her butler, but the lovely and spirited neighbor Ruth Cannonberry lends her talents to this investigation.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very strong Mrs. Jeffries mystery!, July 22, 2006

By 

S. Schwartz "romonko" (alberta canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mrs. Jeffries Appeals the Verdict (Mass Market Paperback)

Even though we don't get to see Luty or Hatcher in this book, it is still a very entertainlng book. In it we have Mrs. Jeffries and her crew trying to stop a hanging of a man convicted of murder. They are convinced that the man is innocent of murder, and they have to work against the clock to prove it. This series continues to remain fresh and new, and I look forward to each book.