Mrs. Jeffries Takes the Cake - Softcover

Having married an Englishman in 1976, Cheryl Arguile lived near London for a while before moving back to California, where she had been brought up. She then decided to embark on a writing career first as a romantic novelist (Sarah Temple) and later writing for young adults (Cheryl Lanham) but is best known as Emily Brightwell for the Mrs Jeffries series.

When Inspector Gerald Witherspoon is called upon to solve a murder at the home of a Member of Parliament, he is, to say the least, surprised at the lack of mourning and reverence. It seems Mr. Roland Authur Ashbury was not a very well liked man, starting at home with the servants and a missing footman, his daughter and his member of parliament son-in-law (Andrew and Mary Ann Frommer, whom Mr. Ashbury lived with) and ending with his neighbors and business partner. For the most part anyone who ever met Mr. Ashbury had not found him the least bit friendly. That is why it seems odd that he would be entertaining a guest at teatime with tea and a walnut cake. It must have been a very important meeting, yet no one knew whom the meeting was with or why the meeting had taken place and now that Mr. Ashbury has been murdered, there seems to be even more questions to be answered. Of course, the first question that everyone wonders is...'Why didn't it happen sooner?' Inspector Witherspoon has to clear his mind of gossip, facts, and evidence in the murder case of Roland Ashbury and so, as always, he uses Mrs. Jeffries as a sounding board. Everyone in Inspector Witherspoon's household knows that Mrs. Jeffries is much more than a housekeeper - she is his friend - and when it comes to a murder case she is his confidant. What the rest of the world doesn't know, including inspector Witherspoon, is that it's usually Mrs. Jeffries and the rest of Inspector Witherspoon's household staff that cracks the case. Every one of the staff does his bit by interviewing and questioning shopkeepers, street urchins and neighbors. They are a busy and varied lot who love every minute of trying to help the inspector with his murder cases. And what's is even more helpful is that Inspector Witherspoon is usually none the wiser for their actions. A well placed thought here, or a nicely laid plan there and the Witherspoon staff is off and running. In the matter of the Ashbury case, Mrs. Jeffries and her band of cohorts decide to follow the money and the cake and then listen to the clues dropped by the people who live at the member of Parliaments own household and staff. All the ingredients start to add up to a nasty recipe for murder and, what's more, the murderer is not only cunning, but there is the possibility that he will kill again if not stopped in time. Mrs. Jeffries Takes The Cake is a clever and cunning Victorian Mystery! Mrs. Jeffries and her band of cohorts are delightfully unique and entertaining! A most delicious tea-time mystery with just the right atmosphere and a charming cast of characters! Pamela James -- Copyright © 090198 Literary Times, Inc. All rights reserved -- From Literary Times