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Mrs. Jeffries & The Mistletoe Mix-Up (2012)

by Emily Brightwell(Favorite Author)

3.79 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0425251705 (ISBN13: 9780425251706)

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Berkley

series

Mrs Jeffries

review 1: Daniel McCourt, an Asian art collector, has been murdered by one of his own swords. The murder occurred just after a tea party where he planned to show off his most recent acquisition. A fire in the servants hall broke up the party early and no one else was in the house when Mr. McCourt was killed. Who would hate him enough to kill him? Was it his formerly meek wife; his cousin, also an art collector; his other cousin who feels cheated out of his inheritance; his appraiser who may be a fraud; a spurned lover; or a pair of would-be lovers in need of money? Inspector Witherspoon has his hands full with this case and as usual, the Home Office wants it solved by Christmas. All poor Witherspoon wants to do is enjoy the Season now he has a goddaughter and a family to spend it wi... moreth. In the kitchen at Upper Edmonton Gardens, the staff are delighted with Betsy and Smythe's new baby daughter, Amanda Belle. When they get the news they have a murder, their feelings are torn. They were bored but it's Christmas and they want to spend it with Amanda. Betsy feels motherhood is more important than being on the hunt and she's content to stay home with the baby and let Phyllis do her job.l Phyllis is nervous she won't be able to gather any clues. She fears she's worthless and stupid. It's up to Mrs. Jeffries and the rest of the "family" to boost her spirits. This story is more vintage Mrs. Jeffries style than the last. The murder happens right on the first page and since the victim was an upper class gentlemen, the servants fear for their jobs and are more willing to gossip with Wiggins and Phyllis than talk to the police. The others tap into their network of informants and Mrs. J had to try to feed the information to the Inspector. There were so many suspects, it was difficult to figure out the mystery. I thought I knew who the murderer was, but I was wrong. The clues aren't very obvious. The ending was exciting. I find it hard to believe anybody would act like that though. The motive was very stupid. What this books lacks is the warmth of the "family." There's a little bit of the family in this book, especially as they welcome Amanda into the family. Yet, there's not as much as in previous books. I'm glad Betsy and Smythe stopped arguing but then again it takes some of the fun out of the book. I liked seeing Phyllis adjust and how they tried to help her. There's a discussion on the moral and ethical definition of murder that takes up too much plot time. I don't need to be preached to. I understand the way people thought back then. It's obvious from the character's actions and dialogue. The murder is rather grisly. Sensitive readers skip that part and the part where the Inspector views the corpse.
review 2: This is a 2 STAR book at best, but I gave an extra star for good, clean language and the Downton-Abbey-like setting. The story had waaaayyyy too many characters - couldn't remember (and didn't really care) who they were from one chapter to the next, and the daily repeated questioning and re-hashing was pretty tiresome. This is the first I've read of this series - can't believe it's number 29 - and I won't be going out of my way to look for more. less

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