Book Review: Mrs. Jeffries Stalks The Hunter

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

[5 stars]

Mrs. Jeffries Stalks The Hunter Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Emily Brightwell
Class/Genre: Mystery Cozy Amateur Sleuth Woman Main Character Historical
Series: Mrs. Jeffries & Inspector Witherspoon # 19
Berkley, Oct 2004, $5.99, 215 pp.

In Victorian England, Sir Edmund Leggett is so in debt he is marrying heiress Beatrice Parkingtom for her money even with her parents in trade and the chit not wanting to marry him. A woman stalks Edmund hanging outside his home every day and follows him wherever he goes. Afraid that his cash cow will cry off if she learns about the stalker, Edmund announces their engagement at a society gala so she cannot dump him. Later a drunken Edmund heads home; someone he knows shoots him and calmly walks away leaving him dead.

Inspector Gerald Witherspoon is assigned the case and finds too many suspects with motives as Sir Edmund played fast and loose with women, abused his servants, and was late paying off his gambling debts. Even his fiancée loathed him and the female stalker is assumed to have been one of the many women he discarded. The inspector worries that this will become a cold case, but his housekeeper Mrs. Jeffries and the rest of his household staff are helping him although he remains unaware of their assistance.

The nineteenth installment in this long running series retains its fresh, unique “police procedural” premise due to a terrific who-done-it, the fabulous Witherspoon and his unofficial experts, and a solid secondary cast loaded with reasons to kill Edmund. Although his nasty behavior provides much of London as suspects, perhaps the only weak link is the odious Edmund, who was so nasty and hedonistic that no one cares that he died. However, what makes this well done who-done-it shine even brighter is the vivid look at Victorian England from the perspective of several lifestyles.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner