Housekeeper Mrs. Jeffries and her employer, Inspector Gerald Witherspoon, investigate the drowning of the owner of a medical supply company, a man without greedy relatives or business rivals but a flair for amateur sleuthing that may have caused his murder.

Under a bundle of mistletoe, art collector Daniel McCourt lies with his throat slit, a bloody sword next to his body. Inspector Witherspoon is determined to solve the case--preferably before the eggnog is ladled out on Christmas Eve--but of course he will require assistance from the always sharp-witted housekeeper, Mrs. Jeffries, who has a few of her own theories on why McCourt had to die by the sword.

Mrs. Jeffries is back in the "New York Times" bestselling Victorian series, perfect for fans of "Downton Abbey." "" NIPPED IN THE BUD The ladies of the Mayfair Orchid and Exotic Plant Society are known for a bit of friendly rivalry, but the backstabbing has never been literal until now. When Hiram Filmore, an orchid hunter and supplier, is found dead in Mrs. Helena Rayburn s conservatory, Inspector Witherspoon is called in to weed out a murderer....

"Orlando Edison is a stockbroker using London's infatuation with foreign mining ventures to make a fortune. He has curried favor with the nation's most respected aristocrats, even inviting three of the most influential investors in England--known as the Merry Gentlemen--to be part of his latest enterprise. Despite his mysterious past, Edison is now welcomed in the highest circles and moves with ease among the rich and powerful. Yet a few days before...

It's the week before Christmas, but the festive mood in Inspector Gerald Witherspoon's household fizzles when he' called to Richmond to investigate the murder of Sir George Braxton, found lying face down in a frozen fountain with the back of his skull bashed in. The case is complicated by a distinct lack of holiday cheer in the victim's three agrumentative middle-aged daughters -- and their sullen houseguests.

"Mrs. Jeffries always keeps her friends close and now must keep an enemy even closer if she is going to catch a killer. . . . Inspector Nigel Nivens is not a nice man or a good investigator. In fact, he's terrible at his job and has always done everything he can to make life difficult for Inspector Witherspoon. But even his powerful family can't help him after he maliciously tried to hobble Witherspoon's last homicide investigation. He's been sent...

Mrs. Jeffries, housekeeper to Scotland Yard Inspector Witherspoon, helps solve three murder cases, including one in which a theater critic known for his harsh reviews turns up dead in a canal.