Customer Reviews

Mrs. Jeffries Speaks Her Mind

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In Victorian London, wealthy spinster Olive Kettering hears footsteps and tries to flee to safety, but knows someone is following her. She gets out of her mansion and runs to a person she is happy to see only that individual shoots her in the head. Inspector Witherspoon, who has a 100% homicide clearance rate thanks to his servants secretly assisting him, leads the inquiry.

He learns no one liked Olive, not her peers or servants whom she treated like vermin. She was also estranged from her blood relatives, Dorien who refused to get married and Patricia of whom Olive disapproved of the man she married. Olive was involved with the Society of the Humble Servant led by Reverend Samuel Richards. The victim rejected the concept he was a con artist as she believed in a vengeful god like he preaches. All the suspects offer viable alibis, but some lied. Using the information Witherspoon unknowingly gives her, the housekeeper Mrs. Jeffries and her team is determined to find the killer for their boss, not aware of the danger this endeavor provides.

Every Mrs. Jefferies historical cozy is a special unique treat as the recurring characters change and grow, and this time a new member to the household joins the crew and Betsy provides a surprising revelation. The whodunit is straightforward fun with Mrs. Jefferies and the rest of the servants finding clues and Mrs. Jeffries feeding them to her employer with him remaining clueless to what she is doing. The sleuthing cast makes for a wonderful Victorian mystery.

Harriet Klausner

Olive Kettering was not a very nice person and had very few friends, so no one is particularly surprised when she is murdered during a nasty storm. It is up to Inspector Gerald Witherspoon and Constable Barnes to find her killer and they have plenty of suspects to deal with. But Witherspoon has a lot of help with this case, even if he doesn't know it - his household staff, led by housekeeper Mrs. Jeffries, are working behind the scenes to make sure he catches the killer.

"Mrs. Jeffries Speaks Her Mind" is the 27th book in Emily Brightwell's engaging mystery series set in Victorian England, a series that never disappoints. Despite there being so many books in the series it never gets stale, with the characters growing stronger in each book. In this particular book it is maid Betsy who takes center stage as she is happily married to Smythe but adjusting to not living with the rest of the servants and afraid she will be replaced by newcomer Phyllis. This storyline is an example of what makes this series so strong - the characters. They think of each other as family (which is especially evident in this book. I had wondered how Brightwell would handle the series now that Betsy and Smythe are married and she does an excellent job.

As for the mystery elements, like all the other books in the series they are well done and the mystery is well plotted with plenty of suspects and some good motives. The fun in this series is watching both Witherspoon and his staff tried to solve the case and finding clues, as they do, and trying to figure out the solution before Mrs. Jeffries does. Astute readers will pick up some clues that Brightwell scatters throughout the book but it may still come as a bit of a surprise when the killer is revealed. The ending is action packed and danger filled and will keep readers at the edge of their seats for a few pages.

"Mrs. Jeffries Speaks Her Mind" is another great cozy mystery by Emily Brightwell.

I love the Mrs. Jeffries and the Inspector series. This one was as excellent as all the others. I wish I could get the ones from 1994-2000. I didn't discover this series until after those were out of print. While reading, I become part of the household family.

Having read all of the Emily Brightwell, Mrs. Jefferies, series , this series continues to be entertaining and well- written. This series is definitely a winner! I highy recommend this series to any mystery fan.

Have most of the books in this series also!! they are too quick a read is the only flaw i see in them!! i love them, the characters (including the pets) and anticipate every new one with complete and utter enthusiasm!!

As usual, a good story with characters who are constantly being developed. The author never seems to run out of ideas.

This book doesn't disappoint and has the usual charm, civility and wit of the series. Enjoy a leisurely visit with Mrs. Jeffries and the gang.

I truly do enjoy this historical cozy series. I love the people that live at Upper Edmonton Gardens, and that's what makes the stories so much fun. In this book Betsy and her Smythe are married and living next door, not in the house so that's a big change for Betsy and for the rest of the staff, but that does not stop them from getting involved in the inspector's cases. A woman is found shot to death on her grounds. The shooting took place in the morning but there was a terrible rainstorm occurring and no one could figure out why Olive Kettering was in her garden with no coat and house shoes on her feet. Miss Kettering had a lot of people who wanted her dead and its up to the brilliant Mrs. Jeffries to figure out who and why. I did figure out who the killer was about halfway through but did not take away from enjoyment at all because I love these characters so much.

Are you a Miss Marple fan? Do the Snoop sisters' adventures ring your chimes? Then you're in for a treat with Mrs. Jeffries. She and the other servants at Inspector Witherspoon's house run rings around the other detectives on the force in the search for the killers of poor Miss Olive. True to form seen in other volumes of this British mysteries by Brightwell, the mainstay characters show a few new talents and quirks as they run afoul of the villains as well as some among the "law" who believe servants should be seen and not heard. Mrs. Jeffries is not one to keep silent, not when she has information that will solve the case. A good addition to the series.

Love the characters. So much fun interacting with all the household help and how they go about helping the inspector solve the murders. It's always fun to see how each one develops their clues and then comes together over tea and crumpets to report each ones findings. Its just a fun series and I feel and what I look for when I want to take the time to just read a good cozy, get lost in the plot and charactes and not have to think too much. I've read most of them and would certainly recommend this series to anyone who likes mystery cozies, especially British ones.