Mrs. Jeffries Pleads Her Case [Kindle Edition]

Emily Brightwell (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

When a magistrate rules Harlan Westover's death a suicide, something smells fishy. Amidst a sea of unanswered questions, the clever Mrs. Jeffries wants to get to the bottom of it-and make sure someone doesn't stage another "suicide"...

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 405 KB
• Print Length: 211 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0425189473
• Publisher: Berkley (April 1, 2003)
• Sold by: Penguin Publishing
• Language: English
• ASIN: B001LQYT0Y
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,004 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 After my entry in the "unpublished authors" contest run by this chapter was announced as a finalist - I was delighted, but the New York editor who read my entry was scathing in her criticism.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

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars charming, upbeat British police procedural cozy, April 12, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mrs. Jeffries Pleads Her Case (Paperback)

His peers admire him; his subordinates emulate him; His superiors think that he is the perfect policeman in Scotland Yard. Very few people have any inkling that his servants, who adore him, use their connections and their wits to help Inspector Witherspoon solve his homicide cases. The housekeeper, Mrs. Jeffries uses guile and flattery to subtly direct the investigation. Aside from helping their employer, his servants like working behind the scenes to see justice done and know they had a part in making it happen.

Mr. Westover's death was originally ruled a suicide but Inspector Witherspoon's superior wants him to take another look at the case because the victim's landlady knows he was not the suicidal type. When the inspector begins his own investigation, he discovers that the victim was in a locked room with the key outside the door. He also learns that he was very angry just before he was shot and it was had something to do with work. Using information subtly given to him by Mrs. Jefferies he begins to get an inkling as to who committed the murder.

MRS. JEFFRIES PLEADS HER CASE is a charming, upbeat British police procedural cozy. Readers might guess early on why Westover was killed but they won't be able to deduce who the perpetrator is because many of the suspects had means and opportunity to perform the deed. Emily Brightwell, the author of this long running series, has written another fine work that fans Of British cosies will just love.

Harriet Klausner

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Mrs. Jeffries winner., December 23, 2005

By 

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

This review is from: Mrs. Jeffries Pleads Her Case (Paperback)

I truly enjoy this series, and the biggest part of that is the liking that I have for the characters. The staff at Upper Edmonton Gardens are truly wonderful, and I think of them as old friends by this time. In this mystery Mrs. Jeffries and her crew are sussing out an apparent suicide. Their Inspector Witherspoon and themselves all think that it wasn't a suicide, but a carefully plotted murder. As they are all digging further they uncover all kind of unsavory things, such as marital discord, fraud and yes, murder. This is a wonderful series with truly believable characters. A Victorian cozy series that is worth reading!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Mrs. J Mysteries, August 13, 2008

By 

Mary Ingram (Asheville, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mrs. Jeffries Pleads Her Case (Paperback)

I had not read any of the "Mrs. Jeffries" mysteries but now I,m hooked.
Around the late 1800's Mrs. J is the Inspector,s housekeeper. Unfortunately for the Inspector, he isn't quite as swift as he should
be solving his cases so Mrs. J nudges him here and there to get the
cases solved with the help of all of the other servants in the household.
She finds out what his latest case is and gives her helpers different
chores to do then when she has a glass of wine with him before he eats
his dinner, she casually gets in, "have you ever thought of this; well,
of course you have then he begins to think he has and eventually solves
the case. Needless to say, the poor inspector has no idea that his
own housekeeper and her gang are the ones respondsible for actually
solving the case. I just hope Brightwell keeps on writing these
stories as I hate to get to the last one and not a new one in sight!