British Mystery-Blimey, It Was Boring!

Mrs. Jeffries and The Feast of St. Stephen by Emily Brightwell
(Cozy Mystery)

I do so love a British mystery.  I love it when the pages just eek out tweed and Earl Grey and scones.  British mysteries are so very staid and so very proper and so very un-American.  It's refreshing.  But alas, this one was a dud.

There were so many characters to keep track of that's it's hard to find one to focus on and identify with.  Of all, Mrs. Jeffries (of the title, duh!) seems to be the character the action centers around although we don't really learn much about her or from her.  The mystery itself was a small pleasure--the main characters made for a lot red herrings so that did keep me guessing and there was a surprise at the end.  My favorite part was the on-again/off-again romance of two minor characters in the list of seven or more detectives.

Overall, it was a BOOK and I never forgot that, I never got lost in it.  Mrs. Jeffries, you and I shall part ways here.  I wish I could have said it was a pleasure.....