Death Below Stairs by Jennifer Ashley
A Death Below Stairs mystery series #1. Historical. Female protagonist as main lead.
Kat Holloway is hired as the head cook at the Mayfair mansion owned by eccentric Lord Rankin. Shortly after she starts, she finds her young Irish assistant murdered in the pantry. In the times when servants simply won’t talk to the constables, Kat finds herself investigating alongside Daniel McAdam, who is more than the delivery man he appears to be. With the help of a few more of their friends, Kat and Daniel discover a threat to Queen Victoria and do their best to save the queen.

An interesting group of individuals adding their unique talents into a pot and coming up with a good enough dish to prevent disaster. The way they worked out the time tables and plan was impressive and creative.
For me, there was a lot of “telling” rather than action but other members of the bookclub liked that aspect of the story and thought it worked well.
A surprising twist makes the conclusion a winner.
My favorite piece in the story really had nothing to do with the mystery but rather Kat stopping the Lord of the mansion from having his jollies with the maids that weren’t in a position to say no. Well done Kat. ( )

Cook Kat Holloway, a victim of a marriage scam and mother of a young girl in the care of friends, embarks on a new adventure in the home of Lord and Lady Rankin. The next morning she discovers her assistant's murdered body and a fragment of paper with some interesting numerical figures. She calls upon an old friend Daniel McAdam to help discover who killed the young woman because she realizes no true investigation will occur. The paper leads them to suspect a Fenian plot against the queen herself. The main characters of Kat and Daniel as well as Daniel's "son" James and Lady Rankin's sister Cynthia are all interesting and well-developed. It is, however, inconceivable that Kat would have been allowed to get away so early in her work for the Rankins. Daniel is somewhat of a mystery as he's comfortable as a servant or as a gentleman. Kat must also make a decision that will impact her future with her daughter. Although this is the first in the series, I felt I'd missed the backstory. There is a prequel novella I wish I'd read first. The series holds promise. I want to read the prequel and then move to the second book. ( )

I didn’t have strong feelings about the mystery, but I was entertained by the story unfolding, and I enjoyed the characters and their relationships. ( )

It's 1881 London and cook Kat Holloway has taken up a new position in the household of Lord Rankin. But on her second day of employment she discovers a body in her pantry. She involves old friend Daniel McAdam, but the death is only the beginning of the mystery.
I enjoyed this well-written story, and liked the characters and their interplay. I hope to read more about them in the next book.
I would recommend reading the prequel novella to get some background on the characters.
A NetGalley Book ( )

I did not realize this was preceded by a short story introducing the characters, so I was a bit confused at how established everyone seemed in the story already! I liked the idea of the story but couldn't get away from how scattered everything seemed, especially with Kat being able to just up and take off from work so often!

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