Cozy mysteries are predominantly series rather than stand alone books. There is a new villain and list of suspects in each book but the protagonist (sleuth) and supporting characters remain the same. If you think about each book in a cozy mystery series like an episode of Murder She Wrote, you will see the challenge. How do you keep the series so that new readers are able to pick up any book in the series and follow along without rehashing the past? Add the challenge of keeping the avid readers of all the previous books entertained and interested at the same time. Whatever the trick, Emily Brightwell does it well.
In Mrs. Jeffries and The One Who Got Away, Mrs. Brightwell reaches back to one of Inspector Witherspoon’s previous cases. A body is found strangled in a cemetery in Victorian England and even though the murder doesn’t take place in his district, Inspector Gerald Witherspoon is asked to investigate. This isn’t unusual because Gerald Witherspoon has solved more murders than anyone else in The Metropolitan Police’s history and is often called in when a quick resolution is needed. However the victim isn’t wealthy or politically connected. But the murdered woman, the owner of a boarding house, was found holding a newspaper clipping which referred to one of Witherspoon’s past cases. This case was the only one where the murderer escaped justice. Despite all of their best efforts, the police were unable to find Edith Durrant. When Witherspoon looks at the murder victim, he recognizes her immediately. Calling herself Mrs. Robinson, Edith Durrant has finally received justice for her heinous previous crimes. Neither Inspector Witherspoon nor anyone else feels inclined to locate Miss Durrant’s murderer. But justice is blind and no one has the right to take another’s life. So the inspector starts his investigation. Unbeknownst to him, Gerald Witherspoon doesn’t solve crime alone, but receives help from his housekeeper, Mrs. Jeffries, his servants, neighbor, and friends. The Inspector’s household has helped him solve his cases from the beginning and this case is one of the most complex cases the household has ever faced.
In The One Who Got Away, Brightwell unravels the threads of a previous mystery and weaves a colorful mixture of theft, murder and revenge into a new tapestry. It’s the same old yarn (pun intended) with a new twist. Thirty-three books into the series and old faithful readers of the series will find the puzzle just as challenging as the new readers to the series.