Mrs. Jeffries and the Midwinter Murders by Emily Brightwell

Mrs. Jeffries and the Midwinter Murders
by Emily Brightwell

ISBN-13: 9780593101087
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Released: November 16th 2021

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Harriet Andover had no intention of dying young like her siblings, but Harriet is strangled inside her mansion with a house full of resentful family and a friend.

The last thing Inspector Witherspoon wanted was a complicated murder case just a week before Christmas. The room where Harriet's body was found was locked from the inside and she had the only key in her pocket. He soon discovers that Harriet's own husband and grown stepchildren are not overcome with grief and neither is her friend.

Mrs. Jeffries and the household have no intention of letting their inspector down and learn that Harriet's sister may have died from foul play as well. As the clues mount, this dedicated band of sleuths will not rest until they've delivered a stocking full of coal to a crafty killer.


My Review:
Mrs. Jeffries and the Midwinter Murders is a historical mystery set in England in the 1890's. It's the 40th book in a series. You don't need to read the previous books to understand this one, and this book didn't spoil the whodunit of the previous books. This was a clue-based puzzle mystery, and there were enough clues for a reader to figure out whodunit. The story wasn't heavily historical, though there were enough details to provide a historical feel.

This wasn't one of the best in the series. We got a lot of filler, from repetition when Mrs. Jeffries thinks over the clues each night to the author giving extensive biographies on each character and telling us about them rather than showing their personalities in their interactions. Not surprisingly, whodunit was pretty easy to figure out. There was no sex. There were a few uses of bad language.


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.