In the 41st book in the Victorian Mystery series by Emily Brightwell, Scotland Yard Inspector Gerald Witherspoon is back on the case and Mrs. Jeffries and the household staff are secretly assisting in the murder investigation at an archery club in MRS. JEFFRIES AIMS TO WIN.
Luty Belle Crookshank and her butler Hatchet are attending an annual archery competition at the West London Archery Club when a storm rolls in. As heavy rain delays the event, businessman Jeremy Marks takes a lantern and searches the grass around the targets. Someone is not happy with Marks and takes aim and Marks ends up with an arrow in his neck. Who wanted the unscrupulous man dead? Marks had a list of enemies including wronged ex-fiancées, ruined business partners, and others who were collateral damage in his devious schemes. As Inspector Witherspoon and his household staff start investigating, they learn of prior attempts on the man’s life and realize that many of their suspects are accomplished in shooting to kill. Can the group solve the case before the killer takes aim again?
This long-running series is as charming and entertaining as ever. Mrs. Jeffries, the household staff, and select friends of Inspector Witherspoon, each have unique personalities and skill sets that make them effective crime solvers. Mrs. Jeffries lays out the clues and directs the staff to follow up on leads. When the group needs to gather information or evidence from the maids, barkeeps, or shopkeepers, they know how to approach their subjects and provide a shilling to get the job done. Inspector Witherspoon, oblivious to their help, pursues clues and suspects with Constable Barnes and deals with the aristocracy of London society. The mystery is well-plotted and presented and filled with Victorian England atmosphere, customs, and charm. The suspects are plenty and Witherspoon’s nemesis, Inspector Nigel Nivens stalks his every move while trying to ruin his reputation. MRS. JEFFRIES AIMS TO WIN will keep readers intrigued and entertained. Grab a cup of tea and join the Witherspoon household staff as they solve another great mystery in this outstanding series.
Mrs. Jeffries must help Inspector Witherspoon
crack a new case and catch a killer in this next installment
of the beloved Victorian Mystery series.
Successful businessman Jeremy Marks wasn’t highly
regarded by any of the members of the West London Archery
Club. Most of them considered him a buffoon and a
bore. But everyone was stunned when the fellow was
murdered during a lull in the club’s annual archery
competition. He’d been shot with arrows from a
longbow during a raging thunderstorm.
But those
who knew Marks well understood that the unkempt "court
jester" persona adopted by the late, unlamented man was as
fake as the smile he wore. As Inspector Witherspoon
investigates the murder, he discovers the victim had real
enemies among the assembled archery contestants. Marks
was notorious for not paying his bills, cheating vendors,
bad-mouthing business rivals, and worst of all, betraying
his business partners. The dead man had built a whole
career and amassed quite a substantial fortune by harming
those who trusted him. It will take Mrs. Jeffries and the
inspector’s household as well as their friends to sort
out fact from fiction and target a killer.