Mrs. Jeffries Aims to Win is the 41st book in this long-running, historical cozy mystery series and I’m a huge fan. If you’re not familiar with the series, here’s the premise. Mrs. Jeffries was married to a policeman, but after her husband dies, she becomes a housekeeper to police inspector, Gerald Witherspoon. Witherspoon inherited a house with servants from a wealthy aunt but is seemingly content to live a rather dull life in the mail room at Scotland Yard. Content until Mrs. Jeffries and the other servants decide to help the inspector solve a murder. The twist is, that the inspector doesn’t know that he’s receiving help. Over the course of the series, the inspector has become a skilled and highly capable investigator, but his household and a few close friends have come to enjoy helping their inspector see that justice is served. Now, one of the most successful detectives in the history of Scotland Yard, Inspector Gerald Witherspoon has become famous, but he also has enemies who would love nothing more than to see him fail.
In this latest mystery, Inspector Witherspoon must figure out who murdered Jeremy Marks. The biggest problem here is that Marks wasn’t very well-liked. In fact, pretty much everyone who knew Marks had a reason to dislike him. Mrs. Jeffries and the rest of the staff have an abundance of suspects and must figure out which one of them finished him off.
There are a couple of factors that make this case more challenging for Mrs. Jeffries and the Inspector’s staff. First, is the fact that the murder takes place fairly close to the Inspector’s home, making it hard for the staff to ask questions without being spotted by the Inspector or other members of the police who would recognize them. The second challenge is that Brightwell brings back Witherspoon’s nemesis. Inspector Nigel Nivens, who has been a thorn in Inspector Witherspoon’s side has used his political connections to get reinstated with Scotland Yard. Nivens is not only back at the Yard, but he has been reassigned to the same station as Witherspoon, Ladbrook Station, and is working in the Record’s Room. Coincidence? I think not. Nivens is up to no good, but what?
I enjoyed this book as much as the previous books in the series. I love seeing how Inspector Witherspoon has developed into a successful detective worthy of the accolades he has received. Each character in this series has grown over the years, too. Two of the servants marry and now have a family. In fact, I am anxiously waiting to see if Inspector Witherspoon will pop the question. Brightwell has a cast of characters who have become well loved over the course of the series. Forty one books and these characters are like old friends. I feel like I know them and I enjoy spending time with them as much now as I did when I met them in the first book, The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries. Still, Brightwell managed to slip in a surprise. No spoilers, but BRAVA Emily Brightwell!
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.