Wow! Just WOW! I love Jennifer Ashley’s writing but was a little concerned about whether I’d like this book and series or not – simply because it takes place at a time later than I usually enjoy reading - 1881. Color me pleased and full of enjoyment! I greatly admire Kat Holloway who is NOT your standard heroine in a novel. I was also concerned about how a cook in a very busy and demanding household was going to manage to have time to flit about England investigating crimes. In this book, that was well explained and the absences were accounted for – but – I do wonder how that will work in the future.

Kat Holloway is a straight-laced, no-nonsense, intelligent, logical and strong Victorian woman who is twenty-nine years of age, plump, brown-haired, attractive and kind. She has a past and secrets to protect. She also has a need to protect the underdog and those who cannot protect themselves – not to mention harboring a soft-spot for a certain, very mysterious man and boy who keeps popping into and out of her life. We learn more about Kat’s secrets and her past as we move through the story and come to understand a lot of how she came to be who she is. I definitely came to admire her for her fortitude in dealing with issues that would have broken a weaker woman. I’ll really be looking forward to learning more about her in future additions to the series.

Daniel McAdam is a complete and total mystery – and you won’t know a whole lot more about him at the end of the book than you did at the beginning. What an enigma he is! Is he noble? Is he common? Is he wealthy? Is he poor? Is he a spy? Is he part of the police? He is a total chameleon. What we do know is that he has a real admiration and a soft spot for Kat Holloway. He also has a son (James) who is on the cusp of manhood and theirs is a complicated relationship. I really like Daniel and can’t wait to see how the relationship between him and Kat will unfold. I love mysteries, but am not a fan of them if they don’t have a large, serious romance as well – so I’ll be looking forward to seeing this one grow.

Our episode begins with Kat heading to the home of Lord and Lady Rankin to be interviewed for the post as their new cook. Kat had left her last post because the family was permanently moving out of London and for personal reasons Kat wanted/needed to remain in the city. Kat’s first day on the job was uneventful and she met and liked the staff with whom she worked. She was especially drawn to her young assistant who wanted to be called Sinead, but everyone insisted on calling Ellen because it was more English sounding. Actually, neither was her name. Kat was overcome when she walked into the larder a couple of days later to discover Sinead’s body – cold and hidden in a dark corner. She felt guilty and blamed herself because just the night before, she had left the young girl folding the table linens rather than helping her – and she had just promised the girl that she’d look out for her.

Kat wants to make sure that the coroner and constables don’t just sluff off the death as an accident or some such. Because she feels guilty, she wants to assure that the death is properly investigated and that the perpetrator is identified and brought to justice. She really wants to find Daniel so he can see the scene before the coroner and constables get there, but that doesn’t happen. He does come into the investigation to help – and to further an investigation of his own. The two might be related.

The investigation takes off and the safety of the queen and England itself could be at stake. They must solve the crime and assure that nothing happens to the queen. Multiple investigations, multiple perpetrators, and many bad guys. Quite a wild ride! LOVED IT ALL!

What did I not like so much? Well …
• I never did really understand if Lord Rankin was actually knowledgeably involved in the plot or if his money-hungry ways sucked him in.
• Not learning about the final outcome for all of the plotters involved – especially ‘Minty’. I wanted him to fall in a bog someplace.
• I really, really wanted to see Lady Cynthia get her HEA. Maybe that will come in the next book or something
• I wanted to see Daniel and Kat receive recognition from the queen (if only in secret). I know we don’t know anything about Daniel, but I’d like to think the Queen knows and recognizes him. He and Kat did a lot! Maybe some of that will come later as well.

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"I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher."

There is a prequel novella that features the characters in Death Below Stairs and I recommend you read it first. I did not. As a result I found the hints to the backstory frustrating. They did not tell me all I wanted to know. Other than that I loved the book and the characters. Kat Holloway is a gem. She is strong and has managed to support herself in spite of her past. Daniel McAdam is a bit of a mystery. How and what he is changes throughout the story. The mystery was two fold and well developed. The characters are interesting and the look into the past feels very authentic. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Oh dear, well...........I usually love Victorian mysteries. Liked that Kit was a cook in a wealthy household, upstairs, downstairs kind of scenario. When her young assistant cook is found dead in the larder, Kit tries to find out the who and why.

My favorite parts were the food description and learning about the inner workings of a largish household. This was such a scattered plot, too much happening, to much running here and there. A new job one she needs, and she has all this time to chase someone here, to just leave to investigate? Just didn't hold together. The premise and setting were enticing but I found the execution lacking.

A sisters read where once again we were in agreement.

ARC from Netgalley.

The first in a series with a cook of a home taking center stage as she takes a new position and shortly after a murder occurs. Kat Holloway, our cook, has to decide whether she is going to get to the bottom of this murder or let someone else do the job. Of course she has to take on the investigation, but it takes her to a place she couldn't have predicted!

When pitched this book to review, I remember a nod to Downtown Abbey and even though I didn't watch that show, I still love a Victorian set anything like most folks. I love the commentary on class system and reliving the days where women had their place to be and nowhere else!

I loved the combination of historical fiction with a mystery involved. It was so fun to read two of my favorite genres at the same time, I am not sure I get to do it that often! Although the murder takes an interesting turn and sent Kat and her friend Daniel down a road that I couldn't have imagined, it was interesting. I will have to admit to being a little disappointed that it veered off so far from the murder, but still a good read.

I am intrigued to see where this series could go and what characters will be in the next book and what mystery they will have to solve.

Every so often I like to read an historical mystery. I like being able to imagine myself living in those circumstances and then go along for the ride of the mystery. In Death Below Stairs author Jennifer Ashley’s main character is the new cook for a prominent Mayfair household. She’s not quite thirty years old and is a bit of a mystery herself. I suspect there’s even more to learn about Mrs. H. in future books.

Death Below Stairs is chock full of interesting characters who fall on one side or the other of abhorrent (evil) and sympathetic (good). It has its share of eccentrics too – which I loved. And there’s the matter of Daniel McAdam. It seems he has a crush on our Mrs. H. He’s a mystery to her though.

I won’t spoil with plot points and such but I’ll say if you’re looking to try the genre there’s no better time than with this first book in the Kat Holloway series. Kat has me hooked and I look forward to finding out what challenges she, Daniel and their friends face next. Fans of the below stairs goings-on of Downton Abbey or Victoria will surely enjoy the world of Kat Holloway.

Kat Holloway has taken a new post as Cook for Lord Rankin an eccentric gentleman, when her kitchen maid turns up murdered in her pantry. With the help of sometime deliveryman Daniel McAdam Kat investigates and finds herself embroiled in a treasonous plot against the crown. Death Below Stairs while providing an entertaining mystery, also unveils aspects of the working class in historical London that gives the novel depth and heart.

This novel was set up previously in a novella, A Soupcon of Poison, which I immediately read upon finishing Death Below Stairs. Kat was not necessarily happy to see Daniel show up on Lord Rankin’s doorstep, this time disguised as a gentleman. When the maid turned up dead, Kat begrudgingly turned to Daniel for help, implying something had happened in their past that put him in the doghouse. The fact that Daniel was a chameleon, changing roles in her life, created a mystery within the mystery, giving their relationship a little tension adding depth to the danger of the mystery.

If you like light mysteries, Death Below Stairs will be right up your alley. As a heroine, Kat is very easy to like, and the light romance between she and Daniel added an element of romantic suspense to the already mysterious plot.

This book kept hoping up all over my Twitter feed and I had my eye on it for so long. I had been searching for something a little different from the usual high society murder mystery series.

And this looked like the perfect combo, cook from a big house tuned sleuth…sounds intriguing. So I was thrilled when I got the chance to review an early copy!

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 (summary from Goodreads).

Ok so yet again I feel like I gained 10 pounds just reading this book. There were a lot of foodie references and I found myself constantly hungry while I was reading this book….ironically by the end though I felt like I could be Gordon Ramsey and whip up quite the feast. Not sure why but for some reason every time I put a bookmark in, I walked away feeling like I could slay my kitchen!

That said, there were a lot of references to food which may or may not work for all readers. Personally I didn’t mind but sometimes I felt like the author was trying a little too hard to remind us that Kat was a cook.

The thing that didn’t work for me in this book was I felt like I got dropped into this complicated back story without any way of navigating. Clearly Kat and Daniel had a history. A complicated history. One that includes Kat having been in-prisoned, that was never really fully explained or explored. That bothered me. I gather that at some point we will know more but having left these big questions marks only slightly addressed bothered me.

I almost felt distrustful of the narrator/protagonist because some things were mentioned, roughly addressed, but never fully explained. I also didn’t know how I felt knowing so little of Daniel. I suppose that was the intention of the author….make the audience just as hesitant to trust him as Kat is, but for me it just rang shallow. I needed to know at least a little more about him before the book was over.

I also expected more heat from this author. She’s written quite a few romance novels and many of which look quite provocative, so just based on what little I knew of her other books, I expected there to at least be a little more romance between Kat and Daniel. Maybe not a bodice ripper per say, but something a little more than just a kiss here and there….some sexual tension at least. In that regard I was little disappointed.

The mystery starts as a murder mystery and somehow becomes more about Ireland and treason….it’s not a bad transition really, but there was just a lot going on in the mystery parts. I would have liked to have more of the focus be on the murder rather than getting off on a tangent.

That said, I liked this novel quite a bit all criticism aside. It was fun and I liked the perspective of a worker rather than the upper class. I loved the quirky cast of household characters and I will be interested to see where Kat and Daniel’s romance goes from here.

I especially want to know more about the backstory which it sounds like we will learn more in the upcoming novels in this series…..at least I hope!

Book: Death Below Stairs (Kat Holloway #1) by Jennifer Ashley

Kindle Edition, 336 pages
Expected publication: January 2nd 2018 by Berkley
Original Title
Death Below Stairs
ASIN B06Y4RCLQX
Review copy provided by: Publisher/Author in exchange for an honest review
This book counts toward: NA

Hosted by: NA
Books for Challenge Completed: NA
Recommendation: 3 out of 5

Genre: historical fiction, mystery, detective novel, Downtown Abbey

Memorable lines/quotes:

A good entry in this series. Interesting characters, and a fascinating plot. Good view into the upstairs/downstairs world of Victorian London.

Kat Holloway takes a new position as a cook in a Mayfair mansion, home to a family full of eccentric personalities. She's fine with that, until those personalities find their way below stairs when a young assistant is murdered. Determined to find out who killed the kitchen maid, Kat learns along the way that people aren't always what they seem, and what seems like an answer can sometimes lead to more questions.

It took awhile to get into this book, probably at least partially due to the more formal way the book is written. It's true to the time period, though, so that can't be a knock against the book itself. I liked meeting the people in the Rankin home, and trying to figure out, as Kat was doing, who fit in where. The mystery was well written, and I enjoyed watching how everything played out in the end. I look forward to reading the next book in this series to find out what Kat, Daniel and the rest get into next.

This is the first novel-length story featuring Victorian era cook Kat Holloway and the mysterious Daniel McAdam. The characters were introduced in a novella, A Soupcon of Poison, a couple of years ago, and it truly is helpful to have read that first. Otherwise, you miss the backstory of their meeting which is alluded to multiple times in this story.

In this book, Kat has just taken a new position in a Mayfair household when a member of the staff is murdered. In addition to the murder, there appear to be some strange goings on with the head of the household and yet others with Irish separatists. Kat’s keen observations embroil her in the mysteries, and Daniel, who has a habit of appearing in unlikely places but often when needed, works to solve them with her help.

Kat is an engaging protagonist. She works hard and takes great pride in her ability to make a respectable living for herself and her daughter but has a soft heart and a keen sense of right and wrong. Her story gives a sharp look at class differences in Victorian England (think Downton Abbey thirty-plus years earlier) and I have to admit I was driven to do some baking of my own from some of the (not too extensive) cooking descriptions. My family is happy.

The one mystery Kat can’t seem to solve is Daniel himself. She learns a bit more about him in this investigation, but there is much left to discover. I’ll read the next book just to find that out.

DNF. Could not get past the first 20% of this book. Odd word choices coupled with dull and overly descriptive scene that neither added to nor piqued my curiosity.

Ah, British and set in a Victorian house. It's the standard house split. Servants below and the owners and guest above. Kat Holloway is the cook and she is gutsy. I liked her spunk. When a maid is dead, Kat has to find answers.

I love the well-cut class divisions that existed at that time. It's a good mystery and I would read more in this series. Kat has my attention.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

I loved this book! I'm going to order it right away for my store. Thank you for letting me read it.

4++ stars...

Death Below Stairs is a fun and compulsively readable historical mystery! Set in the Victorian era in a “big” house, you have the upstairs-downstairs theme and characters. I love the key character, Kat Holloway the Cook. She has a great personality and is so plucky and forthright. Definite spunk which propels her throughout the story. She has heart and smarts! The historical details add so much to the ambience of the novel. I felt I was really there. It’s a first in a series, and I’m excited to read what will be in store for both Kat & Daniel, and the whole staff & family too!

*Thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing, and Jennifer Ashley for an ARC to read and honestly review*

Perfect for fans of upstairs/downstairs sagas, this is a well written, very intriguing story of a young single woman making her way as an accomplished cook for an upstairs family in Victorian London. Ashley has given us a very relatable heroine who has her own secrets to keep (a daughter from a false marriage), and a fascinating glimpse into the life of women, young and old, wealthy and poor, in the narrow straits of society at that time. Add in a spice of murder and flavor of romance, and Ashley has cooked up a real winner! Highly enjoyable! Readers will eagerly await the next story.

The first book in the Kat Holloway mystery series introduces us to our heroine; a Victorian-era cook with secrets in her past that leave her teetering on the fine edge of respectability. After starting a new position as cook for a wealthy and influential London family, Kat’s professional life takes a blow when her young assistant is brutally murdered. With the help of her long-time friend (and mysterious the secret-agent type), Daniel McAdam, Kat vows to uncover the truth about what happened to the young woman. As the plot thickens, the scope of the crime continues to grow, until even Queen Victoria placed at risk.

I love a good period mystery. Victoria Thompson’s Gaslight Mystery Series is a perennial favorite. Seeing the typical Victorian mystery through the eyes of a cook (generally depicted as tyrants or foils) also promised to be interesting and novel. And in general, Death Below Stairs delivered on its 19th century promises. Kat Holloway is intelligent but not perfect, Daniel McAdam is mysterious and reserved, and the supporting cast of characters is eccentric and entertaining.

However, I do have to say that this book doesn’t read like the first in a series. There is a lot of backstory, especially with Kat and McAdam, that is mentioned but not explained. Past events are referenced obliquely and little detail is given. I assume that a lot of this will be fleshed out in future books, so no harm done, but the book feels more like jumping in at book four or five than starting fresh. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and I’m glad the author has fleshed out her characters to this extent, but I did have to check multiple times that this was indeed the start of a series.

Nevertheless, fans of period mysteries, especially Victoeian-era mysteries, will probably enjoy this book a great deal. This a well-crafted mystery, perfect for consuming over the course of a chilly gray afternoon.

An advance copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Good historical mystery. I liked the characters - many historical mysteries have main characters who are upper class, so this was a nice change of pace.

3.75 stars

A great debut featuring the redoubtable young Mrs. Kat Halloway, a fine cook working in the best houses in London. After a disastrous early marriage, Kat stashes her daughter with a loving family and sets out to earn enough money to take care of them both. She has had some hard knocks, and they have made her stubborn, strong, and prickly.

Her current employer is a titled gentleman and his household includes his wife and her sister. It's not ideal, but allows for enough time off for Kat to spend time with her daughter. When a young maid is found murdered in Kat's pantry, she finds herself plunged into the investigation.

Her mysterious "friend" Daniel McAdam is always on the periphery. Clearly his line of work involves secrets and hidden assignments and Kat is uneasy at all she doesn't know about Daniel. But she is determined to find the murderer and flatly refuses those who tell her to stay away from danger.

A fun and well-paced read and lots of great sparks between Kat and Daniel. This is a series I will enjoy following. Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars

Death Below Stairs is the first book in a mystery series set in Victorian England. Main character Mrs. Kat Holloway is young (29) but already an established and well regarded Cook. Although, like all cooks of her station, she is called Mrs., she is in fact not only single but has a 10-year-old daughter born of a relationship that turned out not to be legitimate. Kat’s main reason for being is providing for her child, who lives with friends.

Being single, however, leaves Kat open to an undefined relationship with the mysterious Daniel McAdam, a master of disguises working as a detective? for the police? Kat doesn’t know and Daniel can’t tell her, but she trusts him all the same.

Death Below Stairs is competently written, with likable characters and room for growth. The characters are very modern in behavior, so this book may not be for those readers who want historically accurate historical fiction and characters who behave true to the times. Kat spends way too much time out of her kitchen – it is hard to imagine her keeping her position no matter how good a cook she is.

The language is very modern. For example, Kat thinks, “I next tackled Mr. Davis; metaphorically, of course.” The author skirted (ha) around two women who dress as men, one clearly a lesbian, but this never becomes important to the plot. One murder was resolved in a very unoriginal way, but the other plot line was interesting.

All the bits about the food Kat makes and serves did ring true and according to an author note were taken from Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management by Isabella Beeton, first published in 1861.

Although billed as a first in a series, I felt I was missing something as I read Death Below Stairs; it turns out there is a long short story/novella that introduced the main character. Unfortunately, A Soupçon of Poison is only available as an ebook and is not available for purchase by libraries.

If you enjoy historical fiction and don’t worry too much about historical accuracy, you may want to read Death Below Stairs. It’s a fun read and the series has a lot of potential.

I read an advance reader copy of Death Below Stairs. It will be published in January 2018 and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library in print and as an ebook.

A Victorian Era cozy mystery involving a cook. How could I resist? Death Below Stairs by Jennifer Ashley is the first in the Kat Holloway series and offered a delightful, murder mystery with unexpected twists with a clever heroine. Full review to publish @ Caffeinated Reviewer on January 5th.