Mrs. Jeffries Turns the Tide by Emily Brightwell

Mrs. Jeffries Turns the Tide by Emily Brightwell ISBN-13: 9780425252123 Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Released: May 7, 2013

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Beautiful and new in town, Ellen Langston-Jones doesn’t have any enemies. So, when she’s found dead in the communal gardens, Inspector Witherspoon quickly narrows the field of suspects down to one: Lucius Montague, who was seen threatening Mrs. Langston-Jones shortly before her death.

The Inspector and all of London are positive that he’s the killer, but Mrs. Jeffries, the Inspector's housekeeper, has doubts. Her biggest problem is that Lucius Montague is a very disagreeable character and no one is inclined to save his skin. Now, she must turn the tide of the investigation...or watch an innocent man take the fall for the real killer.


My Review:
Mrs. Jeffries Turns the Tide is a historical mystery set in England in the late 1800's, though we don't know the exact year. This book was the thirty-first book in the series. You don't need to read the previous books to understand this one (as we're given background information on all of the characters at the start). This book didn't spoil the mysteries of the previous books.

There were enough setting and time period details to give the story a historical feel. The characters were engaging and realistic, though not highly complex. The suspense came from wondering whodunit and from the servants trying to avoid anyone knowing that they help the Inspector.

The story was a clue-based "puzzle-it-out" mystery. From the very beginning, I strongly suspected two characters and guessed how everyone was related to each other. Whodunit and the surprise revelations weren't highly obvious, though, and I enjoyed seeing if my guesses turned out to be accurate.

There was no sex. There was a minor amount of explicit British bad language (though I think it's pretty mild stuff). Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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