Mrs. Jeffries and the One Who Got Away

Written by Emily Brightwell

Narrated by Jennifer M. Dixon

OLD SINS CAST LONG SHADOWS

Normally dead bodies in a graveyard are buried-but not this one. When a woman is found strangled in a North London cemetery with an old newspaper clipping clutched in her hand, Inspector Witherspoon is surprised to find that he and the victim have crossed paths before.

Alice Robinson was a respectable widow who ran a quiet Islington lodging house. None of her lodgers have any apparent motive to murder their landlady. But nagging suspicions are lodging in the Inspector's mind-only he knows that "Alice Robinson" is not her real name. Now he'll need the help of Mrs. Jeffries to revisit an old case that has haunted him for years and to get the real story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Feb 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781541402898

Reviews for Mrs. Jeffries and the One Who Got Away

[auntie0nanuuq · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Inspector Witherspoon is called upon to handle the murder of a woman outside of his jurisdiction... She was strangled w/ a heavy red cord and left in a cemetery, in her hand was an old news clipping about Inspector Witherspoon....

As it turns out, the victim, Alice Robinson, in reality was Edith Durant, the one murderess that got away before she could be apprehended & brought to justice by Inspector Witherspoon.

As Alice Robinson, she was running a shabby overly expensive boarding house for traveling businessmen/salesmen, but had recently been having problems with missing rent payments & their tenants personal items.....

Elsewhere in the area are a large number of local homes experiencing burglaries, but the local "fences" & pawnshops are not the ones getting the "goods".

An interesting story, I was able to put it all together well before the end. Again a bit trite, but not overly annoying. The one thing that does bother me is: The way Mrs Jeffries in pictured on the covers of the books, this is Victorian era, and she is always dressed as if in her night clothes made to look like a silly old lady, which in normal circumstances would make me ignore the series completely and choose another....

[drebbles · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When Alice Robinson is found strangled in a cemetery, inspector Gerald Witherspoon is called to investigate even though the murder is outside his area. He has become well-known for his ability to solve murder cases but he immediately knows this will be one of his toughest cases ever - for starters the murder victim's real name wasn't Alice Robinson. Unbeknownst to him, his household staff, led by Mrs. Jeffries, usually helps him with his murder cases but they have doubts about getting involved in this one as they too know the real identity of the murder victim. With all these obstacles has Witherspoon finally come across a murder case that he can't solve?“Mrs. Jeffries and the One Who Got Away” is the delightful thirty-third book in Emily Brightwell's “The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries” cozy mystery series. With that many books in the series you might think the series would be stale by now but it is not - this book is as wonderfully done as all the other books in the series. Brightwell always manages to add some fresh twists to each book in the series and there are several in this book including a character from a past book (you don't have to have read that book to enjoy this mystery but I'd recommend reading each book in the series since it is so good); many characters who are not what they seem to be; and the household staff’s struggle as they wonder if they are doing all they can to solve the case. I love these characters and how close they have grown throughout the series - the addition of Phyllis a few books back has only made the series richer - she fits right in and I look forward to learning more about her back story in future books. The mystery itself is well plotted with more than one mystery and there are plenty of twists and turns during the course of the book. I did figure out who the killer was close to the end of the book but even then I was surprised not only at the motive but with some very tense moments toward the end of the book – this was very well done by Brightwell.“Mrs. Jeffries and the One Who Got Away” is another delightful cozy mystery by Emily Brightwell – I just wish we didn’t have to wait so long between books in the series!

[romonko · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a totally delightful series, and even after so many books (I think this is the 37 in the series), the series remains fresh and enjoyable. That is quite a feat for a long-running cozy mystery series. In this book Inspector Witherspoon has been tasked to find the murderer of an old nemesis of his. The woman was one that had gotten away from the law many years previously, and then she suddenly is found dead right in the middle of Highgate Cemetary. There are a lot of long-buried skeletons in closets and old and new grudges surrounding the dead woman. Witherspoon and Constable Barnes keep on finding more clues and many dark secrets as they turn over stones during their investigation. The case is confusing enough that even Mrs. Jeffries is flummoxed for awhile. It is always wonderful catching up with these old Victorian friends, and I thoroughly enjoy this series. It is one of my favourites in this genre for sure.

[rretzler_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Inspector Witherspoon of the Metropolitan Police has solved more murder cases than anyone in the history of the force, but he is never quite sure how he manages to do it. Mrs. Jeffries, his housekeeper, manages more than his household - she and the household staff investigate the cases using their considerable connections, and along with Constable Barnes, she guides the Inspector to the proper conclusion. The books are set in Victorian London.In [Mrs. Jeffries and the One who Got Away], the most recent release in the series, Alice Robinson is found strangled in Highgate Cemetary, with a newspaper clipping in her hand. Inspector Witherspoon is quickly called onto the case, as the clipping refers to his only investigation in which the main suspect was never apprehended. The case quickly becomes a difficult one for both the police and Mrs. Jeffries, but in the end, the household once again pulls through and Inspector Witherspoon makes the arrest.The Mrs. Jeffries/Inspector Witherspoon series is one of those fun, easy reads for those who enjoy cozy mysteries. The series is well written and the plots show no signs of becoming banal, as with other authors on the 30th-plus book in their series. Although, I figured out who the murderer was early on, I'd like to think it was not completely obvious. The clues were there, but they were not necessarily blatant clues, so one would have a chance to figure it out, but might not necessarily have done so. I have not yet read all of the Mrs Jeffries series, but I enjoy them enough for light reading, and will definitely keep making my way through the series.