Emily Brightwell's

Victorian Murder Mysteries

featuring the detective team of

Mrs. Jeffries and Inspector Witherspoon

Emily writes:
"I was given a contract for three books and realised from the start that the key character was Mrs. Jeffries so after the first book, you will see that it is always Mrs. Jeffries that appears in the title.

In reality, someone like Inspector Witherspoon working at Scotland Yard wouldn't be able to afford such a domestic staff. So, in my mysteries, he has inherited the house from his aunt Eugenia and promised her that he'd take care of the staff that was there.
I am very fond of Inspector Witherspoon, a kind and very decent person, but he lacks the detecting skills of Mrs. Jeffries. (She is the widow of a Yorkshire policeman.) However, I didn't want the Inspector to appear "bumbling" and "inept" so he does do his own investigation, assisted by the reliable Constable Barnes, and gets some clues himself by his hard work, but it is the domestic staff led by Mrs. Jeffries that uncover the secrets that the "well-to-do" Londoners didn't think their own servants would notice! These servants were invisible, not worthy of much consideration, which makes them the real stars of this series.

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Thirtieth Mystery in the Series