Set in the 18th century, The Lady in the Cellar is a gripping story based on true events following the discovery of a woman’s body in the basement of a reputable boarding house in London.

When the novel opens, in May 1879, a woman’s body is found in a coal cellar of a basement of a boarding house on number 4 Euston Square. The boarding house belongs to Severin Bastendoff, a bamboo cabinet maker who runs the lodge with his wife Mary and several employees. This disturbing discovery raises questions and there are speculations surrounding her death.
Who is she? How did she get there? How did she die? Was she strangled? Did she commit suicide?

Inspector Charles Hagen is called in from Scotland Yard to investigate this gruesome death. The police attempt to identify the victim by tracing her dental history. Their leads are promising when an orthodontist near Euston Square tells them that a female client had come in to get new dentures and he had taken a cast of her mouth and remaining teeth. He says the woman never returned for the dentures but he kept the cast. Surprisingly, the cast matches the victim’s teeth.

Shortly afterwards, an elderly gentleman, Edward Hacker finally comes forward and relays his concerns to the police after reading about the Euston Square mystery in the papers. He identifies the victim as his sister, Matilda Hacker, whom he has not heard from in two years. It appears some of Matilda’s personal effects are missing, in particular, a gold watch, which Edward claims is a family heirloom. Hagen follows the trail of the gold watch and it leads him to a pawnbroker, who runs a pawnshop in Euston Square. The pawnshop owner identifies a Hannah Dobbs as the person who pawned the gold watch.

We come to learn that Hannah Dobbs once worked as a maid in the boarding house but was discharged on account of stealing from the lodgers. She’s currently serving a prison sentence in London for petty theft. The inspector also gathers evidence that puts Hannah Dobbs in the lodge at the same time, where the victim once stayed while in London.
Why did Hannah pawn Matilda’s gold watch? More important, why did she pawn the watch under the name of one of Severin’s daughters?

Inspector Hagen gathers more evidence that proves that Matilda was murdered, and this raises more questions: Who killed Matilda? Was it the maid? Was it the owner of the lodge or one of his brothers? Or maybe an employee? Was it a fellow lodger? How come the occupants of the boarding house have no idea there was a decomposing body in the cellar for two years?

As the story progresses, we get some insight into the history of boarding houses in the 18th century and how they were run, citing a few incidents that occurred between lodge owners and their tenants. The reader also learns about Matilda Hacker’s background: a rambunctious and wealthy lady in her mid-60s and a native of Canterbury who moved to London following her sister’s death, how she finally took up residence at the lodge on number 4 Euston Square, and the events leading to when she was last seen in the boarding house.

Hannah, now a prime suspect in the murder of Matilda Hacker has been arrested and is put on trial. During the court proceedings, witnesses are called to the stand to give an account of any evidence that might shed some light into the death of Matilda Hacker. Severin and his wife, Mary are also called to the stand.

There are gaps and inconsistencies in their testimony: Mary claims she has no idea who the victim is and has no recollection of seeing any woman who matches the victim’s description in her boarding house. Severin goes on to recall one or two incidents where he saw a drunk woman who stumbled on the footsteps of his home but he sent the woman away. The reader gathers more about the case from the courtroom scenes and snippets of information from the Press.

In the succeeding chapters, the reader gets a glimpse into Severin’s personal life: a native of Luxembourg who moved to London with his sister and his brother-in-law, his foray into furniture making, his thriving business which he runs with his brothers, how he met his wife, Mary Pearce in London, and finally acquiring the lodge from its previous owner, a sculptor named Mr. Milnes.
From his backstory, the reader can surmise everything about Severin Bastendorrf; a decent family man who works hard to provide for his wife and four children. Wonderful isn’t it? Well, no it isn’t, because under this veneer of modesty lies something very dark.

As trial finally comes to an end, Hannah is acquitted and the story takes an unexpected turn. 

Following her release, Hannah returns to her home in Bideford, Devonshire. The reader learns about her background: her birthplace, her family, her dreams and aspirations, and circumstances leading to her working as a maid in the boarding house on 4 Euston Square.

Back in Scotland Yard, the investigating officer, Inspector Hagen is not satisfied with the court ruling and tries to gather more evidence for a retrial. He even offers £100 to anyone who would come forward with any relevant information that could be used to convict Hannah.

But Hannah Dobbs makes a preemptive move that shocks everyone. With the help of a ghostwriter, she shares a chilling account of what really happened to Matilda Hacker in number 4 Euston Square. In her tell-all memoir, she also divulges some bizarre incidents that occurred during her stay in the lodge, revealing some dark secrets about the occupants of the boarding house on number 4 Euston Square, including her clandestine meetings with one of the brothers, and providing fresh new insights into their behavior. But are her stories entirely true?

To say more would be giving away spoilers.

The Lady in the Cellar is a blend of history and historical crime steeped in mystery. I enjoyed reading this book and had a hard time putting it down. There are so many twists and turns and even the aftermath of this case was shocking.
I admire McKay's work and the amount of research he has undertaken in writing The Lady in the Cellar. This is my first book by the author and I will definitely read more from him. If you like true crime mysteries set in this era—even if this isn’t your genre of choice—give this book a try. You will not be disappointed.

I would like to thank NetGalley, White Lion Publishing, and Sinclair McKay for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Eye-catching book covers have always been like siren calls to this reader. When I came across the cover of this book on NetGalley, I didn’t think twice before I clicked on the request button. The title told me what the book was about and the cover made it plain that it would be a 'whodunit', set in one of my favorite reading genres.

Unfortunately for me, what I failed take into account was the fact that the book was actually based on fact. It is the study / thesis of a particular case that occurred in London sometime in  the late 1800’s. I only twigged onto the fact somewhere around the 25% mark.

Now, being a person who does not read non-fiction if it can be avoided and one who is also extremely fond of a good murder mystery, this book presents a pretty conundrum. It is certainly not a 'rush through it' kind of read. The author takes detours from the telling of the account of the investigation to explore the social structure of the society at that time, the past lives of the members involved in the investigation and their place in the changing society of the those times. The author has also placed minute details of the investigation in front of the reader, who enters the story at the point of the discovery of the body of the lady in the cellar. Once you get into the rhythm of reading this book, it will certainly provide entertainment in a more scholarly fashion.

Sadly, this book is not for the likes of me. While I did read the book, it felt  too much like work at some point and thus was not as much fun as I would have wished it to be. True crime aficionado's with a deeper well of patience and time on their hands will certainly appreciate the time that the author has taken to provide an account as detailed as possible about one particular case. It is indeed interesting to note how the police force goes about the job of determining the identity of a corpse to then trying to track down the killer at a time when no modern methods of detection were available to them.

I would recommend this book to readers who are patient and do not mind scholarly takes in their reading material.

Finding the bones of a woman in a coal pile in a cellar of a boarding house seems like the start to a great story. Unfortunately, I found this one verbose and boring.

The Lady in the Cellar
By: Sinclair McGay
Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion Publishing
4 Stars

By 1879 in London there were 14,000 homes that were licensed to rent rooms to lodgers. The house at 4 Easton Square was one of those homes. From the outside it looked like a reputable boarding house. Inside, however, it was teeming with secrets. One of those secrets was revealed on May 8th, 1879 when the family’s errand boy went down to the cellar to make room for a coal drop. There he discovered a foot bone, and eventually a whole body was discovered. The bones were found to be those of a former boarder, Matilda Hacker. Scotland Yard was called in to try and solve the mystery.

This true crime mystery book was very captivating. We are led through the murder mystery facts that were uncovered during research, and to a certain extent the author’s interpretations of them. It was interesting to read about the techniques that the Victorian Era Scotland Yard detectives used to solve crimes.

I found myself absorbed in the plot and connected to the main participants. The two main “sides” seemed to provide convincing arguments that the other committed the crime. This isn’t a happy tale, and it was sad to see how the different real life people suffered because of this murder. I found myself constantly pondering who committed the crime. A crime the author does a superior job of telling. This story will keep you entranced all the way to the end. I think anyone who enjoys true crime mysteries will enjoy this book.

Thanks to Net Galley & Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion Publishing for an ARC of this book. #NetGalley #TheLadyInTheCellar

A true life crime investigation.
The book gives an insight into investigation and court procedures in the Victorian era out of which, fortunately, more modern investigation, policing and trial methods grew.
Unlike TV drama it allows the reader to paint their own pictures which are probably more realistic than those of set manufacturers and screen artists.
Given the nature of the crime and the allegations, counter allegations and complexity of life in that era it also sheds light on many aspects of a particular house, its owners and inhabitants and the resulting breakdowns.
It is an interesting read, especially for anyone with a curious background and an interest in crime.
It is not a novel, something which the reader may, at times, struggle to believe. It appears well researched and referenced. It took me a little time to "get into" the book but the read was rewarded and I would suggest readers stick with it, it is well worth it.

When a body is found in the cellar of 4 Euston Square, in Victorian London it sets off a chain reaction of far reaching consequences. Matilda Hacker was an eccentric older lady who rented a room at no. 4 - the home of the Bastendorff family. She was only there a matter of weeks before suddenly taking her leave and disappearing. Did the Bastendorffs have something to do with her disappearance or was their maid, the last person to see Ms Hacker alive, involved?

Victorian Britain is one of my favourite eras to read about and this book was not a disappointment. I thoroughly enjoyed this reconstruction of the events and characters that appeared in this true crime account. The level of research was plain to see in the detail that was provided by the author, but it never became dry and dull to read. On the contrary, the twists of the court case and the fallout were enthralling. The only criticism I have is that the conclusion seemed a little rushed to me but this is a minor quibble overall.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion Publishing, for the opportunity to review an ARC.

I’d like to thank Netgalley and White Lion Publishing for allowing me to read The Lady in the Cellar.

I really enjoyed this book. The subject matter was very appealing as it combined my two favourite things - history and crime.

The writer has done fabulous research and the characters and settings are brought to life through his writing. At times the book has a dark, macabre and menacing feel to it but I think that only makes the story more authentic.

Overall, a good book the kept me entertained and interested throughout.

In the late 1800s, the remains of an elderly woman were found buried in the coal cellar of a respectable house in London of a furniture maker and his family who took in tenants. The book explores the murder and its fallout for all concerned, the evidence gathered by the police, and the court cases that followed.

I’m torn on how to rate this book. I found the first part, that followed the discovery, the uncovering of the woman’s identity, and the evidence gathered to be fascinating. The first court cases were also rather interesting. But then I could have done without the prolonged recounting of the pamphlet that the accused released and the court cases about perjury and libel that followed that. (I felt that these could have been recounted a little more concisely because it dragged a little bit.) The ending, and how things played out for all the people involved was again more interesting. A bit sad and cautionary in many ways, but also a unique look at what life was like for some in turn of the century London. In some ways, this is not an entirely satisfactory true crime story in that there was no clear resolution to the mystery. The author presents several theories in addition to the one the police chose and which ones have the most evidence and logic to back them up, but in the end they are just theories. The mystery is still a mystery. Now those who like unsolved mysteries should gobble this up. If you prefer your true crime with solid resolutions, happy endings, and few lurid details, this probably isn’t for you. Personally, I liked some parts and could have done without others. And really wish I could send a time traveler to give the Scotland Yard detectives some modern forensics tools so they could solve the crime. But alas, time travelers are really hard to contact and then there’s the whole messing with the time continuum conundrum that probably shouldn’t be messed with. Those who like gothic Victorian mysteries and unsolved true crime stories should give this a try.

Notes on content: A few random swear words in quotes. The perjury case revolves around an accusation of an affair. The witness and pamphlet of the accused includes several clinically stated accounts of sexual activity. It is lurid in tone but not graphic in content. The discovery of the body and description of the autopsy is a bit gross as the body was in advanced states of decay. And the stories of supposed other violent crimes in the pamphlet are a bit gruesome. Several of the key players had issues with alcohol.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In the world before DNA and modern forensics, police relied on confessions to solve most crimes. If there was no confession then logic had to be used as Mr Holmes said "when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth". In this well written true crime story neither confession or logic was able to provide an answer as to the mysterious death in Number 4 Euston Square.
The author provides both a well laid out series of the events and characters involved. He also weaves into his book interesting and relevant aspects of the police, society and values of the 1870 and 1880s London. Maybe the most depressing parts were the ghoulish response by the hoi polloi and the treatment of the insane.

*Many thanks to the Author, Quatro Publishing Group and Netgally for granting my wish in exchange for my honest review.*
Sinclair McKay wrote a book which is definitely worth reading if you are interested in true crime and the Victorian times. I wanted to read The Lady in the Cellar as some years ago I read a short article about the mysterious case of a woman who was killed, and discovered after some time at 4, Euston Square. Killed? Murdered? McKay undertook Herculean effort to try to investigate and uncover the truth. The amount of information regarding the dramatis personae is incredible. Moreover, the Author provides us with lots and lots of details about Victorian London and rituals and customs behind room letting. Also, it took many months of research into newspapers and court procedures to present this case as meticulously as possible and yet, the book reads smoothly till the very last page. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in an intiguing case of a Victorian murder.

A long-dead body is found in the captivating, and true, Lady in the Cellar.

In London in 1879, many people were looking to make their fortune by living together in boarding houses. In one, at Number 4 Euston Square, a well-to-do older woman’s body is found in the coal cellar. Her putrefied skeletal remains are clothed partially in silk along with a clothesline tied roughly around her neck. Though her time of death is years before, the London constabulary discovers through extremely thorough detective work her identity. The victim was Matilda Hacker. She was a wealthy heiress that never married. Despite being in her sixties, she dressed as a young girl. When her sister died, she seemed to have increasing mental issues. Convinced people were stalking her, she frequently used assumed names and moved around England. One such place she moved was Number 4 Euston Square.

I loved the great descriptions of how police work was done in England in 1879. Victorian England was a time of significant change in policing. Investigations were beginning to use the scientific method rather than intuition to solve crimes. The setting in London is vivid and makes the reader feel that they are there. However, the plot takes many wrong turns following what the police probably did at the time. It is disconcerting to spend fifty pages on a potential suspect only to have him eliminated in a few paragraphs. Also, the resolution was not what I expected. Some of my hesitancy in recommending Lady in the Cellar for its plot is perhaps my issue with being used to clear conclusions in fiction. I do recommend this book for writers setting their story in the same location and time. 3 stars!

Thanks to White Lion Publishing and NetGalley for granting my wish for an advance copy.

"Standing four storeys tall in an elegant Bloomsbury terrace, number 4, Euston Square was a well-kept, respectable boarding house, whose tenants felt themselves to be on the rise in Victorian London. But beneath this genteel veneer lay a murderous darkness. For on 9th May 1879, the body of a former resident, Matilda Hacker, was discovered by chance in the coal cellar. The ensuing investigation stripped bare the dark side of Victorian domesticity, revealing violence, sex and scandal, and became the first celebrity case of the early tabloids.

Someone must have had full knowledge of what had happened to Matilda Hacker. For someone in that house had killed her. So how could the murderer prove so elusive?

In this true story, Sinclair McKay meticulously evaluates the evidence and, through first-hand sources, giving a gripping account that sheds new light on a mystery that eluded Scotland Yard."

True Gothic grimness? YAS!

I like the story of this book and it is really a page-turner as you want to know more about it. It seems it is inspired from a true crime story so this is quite interesting. I spent a great moment reading this book.

I found myself disappointed with the outcome of this true crime story which makes no sense, as it's based on a true crime and the repercussions of said crime on the community. It just seemed so unjust, and there was no recourse for most of those suffering the most from this travesty of justice. I felt the most angst for Mary Bastendorff, with all those youngsters....

I would like to think that in our time things would have been handled if not better, then our modern techniques would uncover more and truer information concerning the crime at the root of this problem. Most likely wishful thinking. In any case, Sinclair McKay brings to us all the known facts of this crime which affected so many people before it was over. The Lady in the Cellar made me very grateful to be living in our time.

I received a free electronic copy of this true crime drama from Netgalley, Sinclair McKay, and White Lion Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

I was granted access by netgalley.com to an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book was hooked my in the first few pages, and I had a tough time putting it down! Intriguing and suspenseful, I'll recommend to all lovers of psychological thrillers!

As someone who is passionate about both true crime and Victorian social history, I was thrilled to read this book. This tells the story of the Euston Square mystery, where the remains of a women were found in a coal cellar of a lodging house. Once the body was identified as a former lodger, supposed to have left in a secretive manner, the former maid was arrested and sent to trial. This book takes the reader through the complexities of the trial and the aftermath. There are so many twists and turns, it is a compelling read.
In so many true crime books the case and trial are the opening of the book, followed by a slow descent into padding for much of the remainder of the book. In contrast this book keeps the reader gripped throughout.
I loved this book, it is an example of true crime at its very best.

Excellent book with a great storyline. Characters that are so well written. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!

This might be one of the most incredible true-crime books I’ve ever read - and I’ve read plenty. If you wrote this case as fiction, it would be derided as too ridiculous to be believed. However, it all really happened in the late 1870s, and reading it is an absolutely fascinating insight into both the lives of everyday Londoners and the methods of police investigations at the time.

(I also found out about the Illustrated Police News, which was basically the first printed sensationalist tabloid and boasted headlines The Onion and The National Enquirer would both be proud of, but I digress).

The author’s research is incredibly well done, and he weaves direct quotes from court transcripts, police interviews, newspaper articles and other sources seamlessly into his narration of the story, while using beautifully descriptive language to paint a picture of London in the latter part of the 19th century, with uncontrolled immigration bringing skilled migrants from across Europe to ply their trades serving the rising middle class. At the time, there were rising numbers of domestic servants in London households too, and an awkward dynamic between servants and masters who were really not far apart at all on the social scale.

These dynamics and relationships are superbly explored in the book, as they are essential to understanding what may have happened in the case which transfixed a nation. Some of the things which happened are frankly incredible to modern sensibilities, such as the partly decayed body of the victim being displayed to the public in an attempt to get an identification. Queues for viewing stretched around the block. When I mentioned this to a friend who has an interest in Victorian literature, she laughed and said “Yeah, Victorians were hardcore!”

Quite apart from a fascinating look at a never-solved murder, this is a wonderful resource for any writer interested in writing Victorian fiction. Sinclair McKay’s writing will plant you deep in the 1870s and 1880s, alongside tradesmen rising to the middle class, servants who were choosing their own positions and demanding better working conditions, a London which was thriving and growing at a rate faster than many could even comprehend.

This might be the best true crime book I’ve ever read. It’s certainly the best I’ve read this year. If you have the slightest interest in Victorian era crime and police work, you will definitely want to read it. Wish I could give it more than five stars.

McKay wrote a descriptive narrative that mixes true crime and Victorian social norms with the emergence of a middle class that kept me entertained. A decomposed body is found in the basement of a boarding house. The owner and his family are soon questioned as well as a former maid. McKay goes on to explain how an investigation, trial and prison sentences were carried out in England during the 19th century. This was a different sort of true crime novel and I really enjoyed it.

The Lady in the Cellar – Sinclair McKay

So the darker nights have encouraged another foray into Victorian true crime with this, the second book I have read by Sinclair McKay this year.

The Lady in the Cellar refers to a Miss Matilda Hacker who was found amongst the coal in a cellar in a boarding house in Euston Square in London, she’d been dead for quite some time by the time her body was found in 1879 and at first the police were at a loss even as to her identity. You see her final resting place in a boarding house in a fast expanding London lends itself to a more anonymous lifestyle, one where the occupants lived alongside strangers in rooms of varying sizes and facilities.

Matilda Hacker was an eccentric, she’d moved to London from her native Canterbury on her sister’s death – these two spinsters were a familiar site when they took their daily promenade in their lavish silk dresses, dresses which were far too youthful for the ‘elderly’ women who wore them. After her sister’s death she moved away pursued for rates and other bills she could easily afford to pay and took up residence in boarding houses in the capital. The rise of this ‘new’ way of living is expertly explained within the book.
When she came to Mr & Mrs Bastendorff’s bording house it was to be given a furnished room, the use of the water closet and a cupboard to store food and other perishables. She could buy her own food for the servant, Hannah Dobbs, to cook or she could give Hannah to fetch the items herself both means were used to be fed, watered and generally kept an eye on. As Matilda Hacker was in her late sixties by this time, it doesn’t seem to bad a way of life.

We are also treated to the background of the Bastendorffs, the move of Severin from his native Luxembourg to London alongside his sister and a troupe of brothers is also a fascinating insight into how foreigners assimilated into life at this point in history. Severin was a furniture maker who had set up his own business by the time a body was found in the basement of his house. His wife was English and the pair had four small children. This was the rise of the middle classes, the house, the servant and regular income from the business in the back yard as well as the money they made by renting out rooms within their stylish house.

As you can tell there is plenty of contemporary details to be gleaned and Sinclair presents his story well long before we get to the trial, which lets face it is where the fun begins. The police decided that the perpetrator was Hannah Dobbs, yes the servant! That must have caused more than a little disquiet amongst the middle-classes, no-one wants a murderer living in their home. There were links to pawn-brokers amongst other clues as to what happened to Matilda’s belongings, but the trial was only the beginning.

This was a meaty story with the tendrils once again illustrating that the Victorians were not quite how they have been painted in more recent history. For those of us who were taught they were all prudes, this seems far from the racy story that Hannah sold to the papers! If you want to know more, you should read The Lady in the Cellar.

I'd like to thank the publishers White Lion Publishing for allowing me to be immersed into this story that ends sadly for more than one of those who, perhaps completely innocently, got caught up in a murder that captured the nation's attention. This unbiased review is my thanks to them, and to Sinclair McKay for his diligent research which was relayed to this reader in such a well-structured manner that it became a compulsive read.