Mrs. Jeffries Appeals the Verdict (A Victorian Mystery)

by Emily Brightwell

Book Overview

GUILTY BYSTANDERS After 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... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425209695
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Berkley
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 0.6" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

A good addition to the series

I adore this series; indeed, it is one of my all time favorite cozy series ever, as it combines my two loves: Victorian England and a cozy mystery. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because the author drops a huge clue - almost a giveaway - in the first few chapters as to who the killer is. In the previous books, I've always been surprised at the killer's identity when it is finally revealed, but in this one, Brightwell practically gave it away fairly early on. Other than that, I enjoyed the book. The staff at Upper Edmonton Gardens have become like family and Brightwell is superb at painting a vivid picture of Victorian England. Even though Luty and Hatchet weren't there, we got to see more of Ruth Cannonberry. Overall, this is a great book that fans of the Mrs. Jeffries series are sure to enjoy.

A very strong Mrs. Jeffries mystery!

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.

A race with the hangman

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.

Appealing Mystery

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!