Sir George Braxton was found lying face down in a frozen fountain with the back of his skull bashed to bits. The case is complicated by a distinct lack of holiday cheer in the victim's three argumentative middle-aged daughters and their sullen houseguests. Even the cranky cat hates everyone. To top it all off, the Home Secretary has called in Inspector Witherspoon over the heads of some touchy local lads, making matters stickier than a plum pudding. Only the help of his housekeeper, Mrs. Jeffries, and her crime-solving staff will give the poor Inspector any chance of sleeping in heavenly peace on Christmas Eve . . . Praise for the Mrs Jeffries Mysteries: 'It's murder most English all the way!' The Literary Times 'Fascinating murder mystery . . . wit and style . . . a winning series. Mrs. Jeffries is the Miss Marple of Victorian Mystery' The Paperback Forum

Author Biography

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.