Paperback, 313 pages
Published: January 2nd, 2018 by Berkley Books
Original Title: Death Below Stairs
ISBN 0399585516 (ISBN13: 9780399585517)
Edition Language: English
Series: Kat Holloway Mysteries #1
Characters: Kat Holloway, Daniel McAdam
Setting: London, England, 1881
Goodreads Synopsis:
Victorian class lines are crossed when cook Kat Holloway is drawn into a murder that reaches all the way to the throne.
Highly sought-after young cook Kat Holloway takes a position in a Mayfair mansion and soon finds herself immersed in the odd household of Lord Rankin. Kat is unbothered by the family’s eccentricities as long as they stay away from her kitchen, but trouble finds its way below stairs when her young Irish assistant is murdered.
Intent on discovering who killed the helpless kitchen maid, Kat turns to the ever-capable Daniel McAdam, who is certainly much more than the charming delivery man he pretends to be. Along with the assistance of Lord Rankin’s unconventional sister-in-law and a mathematical genius, Kat and Daniel discover that the household murder was the barest tip of a plot rife with danger and treason—one that’s a threat to Queen Victoria herself.
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So I was apparently on a Victorian England kick because this was the third(?) book set in Victorian England I read in less than a week. (Note I might still be on said kick, I have at least three or four more books set in Victorian England on my immediate #TBR list.)
Death Below Stairs was a fast read for me–I stayed up probably far too late reading it. (“I’m only going to read a few pages before I go to bed–oh, whoops, its three in the morning! Oh well, who needs sleep? What’s that?)
Tiny salty rant: while I understand that generally speaking, starting a book with an action, or pretty close to the start is supposed to be a good way to draw a reader in. Now, that being said, for the love of all that’s holy, stop starting a story where characters have already established relationships with other characters, but you write their introduction to the reader as if the reader is already supposed to know who these people are!
Salty rant continued (I guess its not that tiny . . . oops. *sweatdrop and sheepish smile*): do not start stories in the middle with the assumption that world building isn’t required. How does an author with very detailed writing have such a difficult time establishing a scene? And I think there’s a difference between a red herring and a useless distraction–but then again I am so difficult to please.
Okay, saltiness aside, I really enjoyed Kat and Daniel’s interactions–actually I just like Kat in general. They had a really interesting back and forth dynamic (even if I spent a lot of time wondering at the backstory they kept referencing and never fully explained).
Ashley has a deft hand for detail and better than a passing knowledge of Victorian history, though there were the occasional moments where I wondered about the accuracy of certain interactions, especially those between characters of different classes.
With the exception of the last fifty pages or so(?), the pacing was strong and Ashley’s attention to the character’s action is clear, especially Kat’s cooking–I’m going to have to do the research to see if anything can be recreated, because some of the dishes sounded quite tasty.
Overall, a quick read and a solid addition to the Victorian mystery genre.
3 stars from me and I will definitely be looking forward to the next book in the series.
These Salt-Stained Pages 