Mrs. Jeffries and the Feast of St. Stephen

Mrs. Jeffries Series, Book 23

By: Emily Brightwell

Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon

Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

She keeps house for Inspector Witherspoon...and keeps him on his toes. Everyone's awed by his Scotland Yard successes - but they don't know about his secret weapon. No matter how messy the murder or how dirty the deed, Mrs. Jeffries' polished detection skills are up to the task...proving that behind every great man, there's a woman - and that a crime solver's work is never done.

A Yuletide dinner in West Brompton should have been a festive occasion, until the host, wealthy Stephen Whitfield, dropped dead before the second course. Now, Mrs. Jeffries and the busy sleuths must rally in support of their inspector, especially since the clues are harder to find than a silver sixpence in a plum pudding.

©2007 Cheryl Arguile (P)2019 Tantor

great Mrs. Jeffries story

I love the Mrs. Jeffries series and this one has a good plot. Love the characters and the way they have grown through the series. It’s great that this series is available on audible and I will continue to purchase them.

Ms. Dixon does a good job reading the stories. My only complaint is the voice they have chosen for Wiggins. His character is a young man in his twenties, whose voice would have changed by now. The voice used is high and shrill and sounds like a little girl. It’s a bit annoying.

Didn’t like Lutie’s new voice

These mysteries are absolutely fabulous. I know some voices must change, due to unforeseen reasons,
But Lutie’s was grating.

Intriguing plot

I don’t think I’ve ever read a mystery where a culprit was killed this way. It was very clever and kept on guessing until the end. As usual Mrs Jeffries and the household were their charming, helpful selfs.
There was just one problem with the way the victim was killed. To reveal that would be to give away the plot. Can you spot it?

Fun story - Narrator a thumbs down

The story was fun with lots of characters to keep straight.

The narration was horrible. I forced myself to finish the book but the squeaky voices were hard on my ears. I will not download a book with this Narrator again.

My ears hurt

I listened all the way to the end but I doubt I will ever listen to this book again. The performance was actually painful in many places. Both the maid's and the footman's voices were SO high and squeaky that I had to keep adjusting the volume to protect my ears. I have enjoyed reading the Mrs. Jeffries series but couldn't get this one as an ebook from the library so I went to Audible. In future I will buy a Kindle version rather than risk this narrator again.

Narrator

I really enjoy the Mrs. Jeffries mystery series except for one thing; the narration. The first books were narrated by Lindy Nettleton and she nailed it. After Jennifer Dixon began narrating the books, my listening pleasure went down several notches. Two of the characters have the same voice so I never know exactly which one is speaking. Unfortunately both of those voices sound like squeaky cartoon characters. Neither of these characters actually come to life. Additionally the voices are so squeaky and high-pitched that it actually hurts my ears. I’ve literally had to turn down the volume temporarily when either of those characters are speaking.