Mrs. Ellen Langston-Jones is found shot to death on the stairs of Sir Donovan Gaines' home. Why would anyone kill this recently arrived lady, who was tutoring Gaines' nieces?

Inspector Gerald Witherspoon of Scotland Yard is given the case to solve. His high number of successes makes him the number one choice, which irritates Inspector Nigel Nivens who feels himself far superior to Witherspoon. Nivens feels that Witherspoon can't be that successful on his own, and has help. This 'help' comes from Witherspoon's household staff and their ability to ferret out information. Sort of Witherspoon's Baker Street Irregulars...that he doesn't know he has!
Mrs. Jeffries and staff are ready to do their own investigation of people in and around Gaines' home. Gaines' niece and her twin girls and her brother are currently living under Gaines' roof and have grown very accustom to the rich lifestyle. Could one of them have something to do with the murder? Is there someone from Langston-Jones' past who has it in for her?

The primary suspect seems deserving of being guilty, due to his snobbishness, rudeness and general disagreeable personality, but Mrs. Jeffries is hesitant to accept it. She feels there is something more to what is obvious.

An enjoyable cozy read, set in Victorian times. The household staff are not dedicated to just solving crimes, they view themselves a a family with Witherspoon being the patriarch. The thing is, he isn't aware of it! ( )

I love Mrs. Jeffries and her crew, and this book was one of the best in this series. For those not in the know Mrs. Jeffries and the rest of the staff at Upper Edmonton Gardens work for Inspector Witherspoon. They love to get involved in his murder cases and with their access and their Mrs. Jeffries smarts, they always end up helping their beloved inspector. The setting for these books is Victorian England. I just completed watching the entire Upstairs Downstairs original series as it was appearing weekly on a televison station, and totally loved it all over again. And when I read this book I couldn't help comparing the characters from the tv series to the characters in this book. Mrs. Jeffries is like Rose in Upstairs Downstairs. Mrs. Goudge is the cook is so like Mrs. Bridges in the television series. Phyllis is the maid in the books and is very much like Ruby in the series. Wiggins is the footman, so is like a young Edward, the footman in Upstairs Downstairs. Smythe is the coachman in these books. No real correlation in the tv series, but in a way he's like Hudson who is the butler in the tv series. It was fun reading this book with these comparisons. For anyone who likes Victorian cozies, this series is a treat. ( )