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Death Below Stairs A Below Stairs Mystery Jennifer Ashley Books

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Death Below Stairs A Below Stairs Mystery Jennifer Ashley Books

Really enjoyed this admittedly improbable historical romantic suspense tale. Other reviews provide great recaps, so not spending my time or yours repeating those. What other reviews justifiably skewered is the story’s many improbable elements. Foremost is that the h is a crime-solving cook who can leave work for days at a time to go galavanting around England sniffing out bad guys yet keep her position preparing daily menus of fabulous meals for aristocrats and staff at an upper class household. As you do. Murders happen at every house where she works (no she’s not a killer —just weirdly unlucky.) Hmmmm. Servant(s) jump class lines to challenge nobility about their crimes. Nope, not odd at all (insert pointed stare here). I found suspending disbelief wasn’t enough. I had to waylay my disbelief and stuff her in the closet, and yet she was still in there yelling, “That wouldn’t happen! No way! That’s insane!” If you can give your disbelief the day off, tho, there’s a lot to like here. My favorite elements of the story are: The heroine is a no nonsense, crime-solving savant. As mysteries are presented, she makes mental connections that others don’t, directing investigators to the threads that ultimately unravel the case. The hero is a gorgeous man of mystery who pops in on the heroine and into the action regularly, tho in many different guises — one day a lower class itinerant worker, the next an upper class gentleman. Definitely a mystery within the mystery and series that will no doubt be revealed in a future book. He may be a detective, a spy, the queen’s undercover agent, an bored aristocrat in disguise, or none of those. We (and the other characters) just don’t know (yet). What we DO know about him is that he’s fallen in (as yet unspoken) love with the heroine, and they have a slow burn attraction that is as delicious as the heroine’s cooking. Just a couple of stolen kisses and yearning looks so far, but there’s obviously plenty of romance ahead for the couple. And speaking of the cooking (actual, not metaphorical) — there are frequent descriptions of the heroine’s meals and duties (shopping, baking bread, training and supervising assistant cooks, etc.) that this history and cooking buff found simply wonderful. The descriptions are great! The author spends pages describing elements (usually in the heroine’s down to earth voice) of the Victorian world the characters inhabit — how they cook, travel, furnish their homes, dress, equip and operate their kitchens, are expected to behave, and more. Both upper class and below-stairs life is presented in sufficient detail to make the world building and scene setting very real. The book often has a you-are-there feel that I found irrestible. And the mysteries are interesting — multiple, interlaced, and complex enough that you can’t unravel them too quickly. Each story so far (the prequel and this Book 1 of the series) have a murder and another mystery too. The other mystery is usually what draws the hero to the scene, usually something related to espionage, a criminal conspiracy, etc., that suggests he has some authority directing his involvement. And there’s also a murder that gets the heroine involved. The multiple mysteries may or may not connect. We eventually find out tho. That’s a lot of crime and mayhem for one story, tho, which adds to the improbability. (We’re way past making sense here so just roll with it.) Part of the action, there are multiple enjoyable secondary characters — the other servants, the nobles who employ the heroine, other nobles, extended family, etc. These include some unique personalities such as this book’s trouser-wearing lady and a math nerd, both Victorian era oddities who help solve the crime(s) in this story. Two other secondary characters who will likely continue to appear in every story as they have so far are the H/h’s children. Each has a child of their gender (H has a teen son, h a 10 yr old daughter), and both are illegitimate (we think), but we probably won’t know for sure until future stories. I suspect (and hope) these two may ultimately have a romance of their own in about 10 book-years. The next book of the series is expected out in July, and I’m on board. The price is a little high, frankly (grrrr to the publisher), but for me it was worth it. My rating —delicious!


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Death Below Stairs A Below Stairs Mystery Jennifer Ashley Books Reviews

I loved the intro to this series, A Soupçon of Poison. So of course I ordered this pricey sequel -- almost pre-ordered the third in the series, too. I'm so glad I didn't.

The first novelette was a fine Swiss watch of a Victorian mystery, and a fascinating glimpse into the life of an upper servant in those days -- I recommend it VERY heartily. Every little detail was precise, correct, and informative. This second is a romance novel -- much sloppier about the structure -- why the heroine got so involved in this that she risked her cherished job was never really established, except that she was "spirited," meaning bull-headed, in the fine and stupid tradition of romance novels.

Details, including those of the heroine's job, are dealt with sloppily, and the writing is much clunkier and more awkward, and features the repetitive thinking (about the Love Object) which I so dislike about second-rate romances. You could throw that 20% of the book out and not affect a thing. I almost quit at the halfway point -- quite a surprise, considering how enraptured I was with A Soupçon of Poison. I sure will not be buying the upcoming third installment in this series.
FINAL DECISION A lively main character combined with a far reaching mystery and the presence of a man with many secrets makes this Victorian historical mystery an enjoyable read.

THE STORY Cook Kat Holloway has found herself a new position which almost immediately embroils her in the murder of one of the servants. Determined to discover who has murdered the young girl, Kat asks for help from her friend/acquaintance Daniel McAdams, a man with a lot of secrets. Kat and Daniel's search takes them far from the murder of an Irish servant to the possibility of treason.

OPINION I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I began reading mysteries and I always liked the ones with relationships between the "detectives" and this book fits right in that tradition. While the mystery is interesting and keeps the pace of the story lively, what I really love about this book is the strength and independence of Kat and her relationship with the mysterious Daniel.

Kat is strong and lively and I loved reading about her struggles. Unlike most women in historical novels, Kat works hard every day and has a career that she has created for herself. It is interesting to read about her daily life and the status differences "below stairs". The struggles and limitations on women of all status is emphasized here.

Daniel's character is also intriguing as he has plenty of secrets that are slowly revealed -- although not all of them are uncovered in this book. He is a good match for Kat and his obvious caring and concern for her even while they are friends makes their romance a slow burn but an interesting one.

The cast of characters, which includes the offspring of both Kat and Daniel, are tossed into a high stakes mystery. Like all good murder suspense stories, this one begins with what seems to be an insignificant death and eventually turns into quite a big deal through a series of twisty plot turns.

I enjoyed the mystery as well as the romance in this one. Everything meshed so well so that all the interesting characters were given something important to do in the unfolding plot, but no one seemed out of place. I enjoyed this one and would read it again to see all the little turns that I missed.

WORTH MENTIONING This is a continuing series where the romance between Kat and Daniel is slow moving and part of the continuing storylines of the series with a book emphasis on a particular mystery.

CONNECTED BOOKS DEATH BELOW STAIRS is the first novel in the Kat Holloway Murders series. There is a prequel book that introduces the characters. While it is not necessary to read that novella first, it certainly provides some background to the characters here.

STAR RATING I give this book 4.5 stars.

NOTE I received an ARC of this book via First to Read by applying points that I earned. I was not required to write a review or to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.
Really enjoyed this admittedly improbable historical romantic suspense tale. Other reviews provide great recaps, so not spending my time or yours repeating those. What other reviews justifiably skewered is the story’s many improbable elements. Foremost is that the h is a crime-solving cook who can leave work for days at a time to go galavanting around England sniffing out bad guys yet keep her position preparing daily menus of fabulous meals for aristocrats and staff at an upper class household. As you do. Murders happen at every house where she works (no she’s not a killer —just weirdly unlucky.) Hmmmm. Servant(s) jump class lines to challenge nobility about their crimes. Nope, not odd at all (insert pointed stare here). I found suspending disbelief wasn’t enough. I had to waylay my disbelief and stuff her in the closet, and yet she was still in there yelling, “That wouldn’t happen! No way! That’s insane!” If you can give your disbelief the day off, tho, there’s a lot to like here. My favorite elements of the story are The heroine is a no nonsense, crime-solving savant. As mysteries are presented, she makes mental connections that others don’t, directing investigators to the threads that ultimately unravel the case. The hero is a gorgeous man of mystery who pops in on the heroine and into the action regularly, tho in many different guises — one day a lower class itinerant worker, the next an upper class gentleman. Definitely a mystery within the mystery and series that will no doubt be revealed in a future book. He may be a detective, a spy, the queen’s undercover agent, an bored aristocrat in disguise, or none of those. We (and the other characters) just don’t know (yet). What we DO know about him is that he’s fallen in (as yet unspoken) love with the heroine, and they have a slow burn attraction that is as delicious as the heroine’s cooking. Just a couple of stolen kisses and yearning looks so far, but there’s obviously plenty of romance ahead for the couple. And speaking of the cooking (actual, not metaphorical) — there are frequent descriptions of the heroine’s meals and duties (shopping, baking bread, training and supervising assistant cooks, etc.) that this history and cooking buff found simply wonderful. The descriptions are great! The author spends pages describing elements (usually in the heroine’s down to earth voice) of the Victorian world the characters inhabit — how they cook, travel, furnish their homes, dress, equip and operate their kitchens, are expected to behave, and more. Both upper class and below-stairs life is presented in sufficient detail to make the world building and scene setting very real. The book often has a you-are-there feel that I found irrestible. And the mysteries are interesting — multiple, interlaced, and complex enough that you can’t unravel them too quickly. Each story so far (the prequel and this Book 1 of the series) have a murder and another mystery too. The other mystery is usually what draws the hero to the scene, usually something related to espionage, a criminal conspiracy, etc., that suggests he has some authority directing his involvement. And there’s also a murder that gets the heroine involved. The multiple mysteries may or may not connect. We eventually find out tho. That’s a lot of crime and mayhem for one story, tho, which adds to the improbability. (We’re way past making sense here so just roll with it.) Part of the action, there are multiple enjoyable secondary characters — the other servants, the nobles who employ the heroine, other nobles, extended family, etc. These include some unique personalities such as this book’s trouser-wearing lady and a math nerd, both Victorian era oddities who help solve the crime(s) in this story. Two other secondary characters who will likely continue to appear in every story as they have so far are the H/h’s children. Each has a child of their gender (H has a teen son, h a 10 yr old daughter), and both are illegitimate (we think), but we probably won’t know for sure until future stories. I suspect (and hope) these two may ultimately have a romance of their own in about 10 book-years. The next book of the series is expected out in July, and I’m on board. The price is a little high, frankly (grrrr to the publisher), but for me it was worth it. My rating —delicious!