Kat believed she was married to Joe Bristow but upon his death, she found out he was committing bigamy and she was the other woman! Now, years after Joe’s death, the last person Kat ever expected turns up at her door. Charlotte Bristow claims Joe was murdered and had amassed a small fortune before he died. She seeks Kat’s help locating the fortune and Joe’s murderer. 

At a little over 300 pages, this book was a quick and easy to follow mystery. I have not read books 1-5 in this series but I would assume based on the synopses there was slightly more detective work done on Kat’s part. A lot of the crime solving here wasn’t actually due to her possessing any extraordinary skills, more just associations (in particular one fairly handsome and equally as charming friend) and being a fairly empathetic individual. I’m curious if this is a departure from the previous books, so I will definitely be checking it out. I want to know more about Kat and how started to help solve crimes. 

That being said, reading the previous books in the series is not required to enjoy The Secret of Bow Lane. The author does an excellent job of recapping important plot points without interrupting the flow of this story and a lot of the mystery is new information to Kat too.

There’s a dash of romance sprinkled in amongst the mystery which has been building since previous novels. I think my romance loving self found a good place to start the series because it seems like something really pivotal in the evolution of Kat and Daniel’s relationship took place in this book. 

My thanks to Berkley for providing an advanced reader copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Secret Of Bow Street is the sixth book in the A Below Stairs Mystery series by Jennifer Ashley.

Kat is surprised by the woman who has come to see her. It is Charlotte Bristow. Mrs. Joseph Bristow. The wife who’d been married to the man and who Kat had thought she was married to. Twelve years ago, Kat was informed that Bristow had died at sea and that he had been married when he married Kat. Charlotte knows of Kat’s reputation for solving crimes and working with the police. Charlotte informs Kat that Bristow did not die at sea but was murdered, had a lot of money, and was killed for it. Charlotte is willing to share the money with Kat if she can find the murderer and the money. Kat isn’t interested in the funds but would be interested in learning more about him and how he met his fatal end.

Kat will enlist her gentleman friend Daniel, Tess, Lady Cynthia, and Elgin Thanos to help in her investigation. Their searching will take them to the docks of London and some of the seedier parts of London.

The reader will also learn more about Kat's life after Bristow's death until she arrives at her present employment. Another subplot deals with Daniel McAdam. The reader will know why he still owes Monaghan at Scotland Yard. Daniel assumes their relationship is farther along than it is and wants them to be a couple. Kat is not at this point yet; will they be able to resolve the differences?
The story is well-written, plotted, and historically accurate. The author does a beautiful job of describing the cooking aspects of the 1880s. Most of the characters from previous books are back again; they are fascinating and believable. There were plenty of twists and turns in the book that I was kept guessing until the end when the murderer was revealed.

I’m looking forward to the next book in this exciting series.

Hmmm, it looks like my favourite Below Stairs mystery, Death In Kew Gardens, has a rival in The Secret of Bow Lane. While I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy the “ensemble cast” of characters, especially the butler Mr. Davies and assistant cook, Tess, The Secret of Bow Lane gave us more of Kat Holloway’s and Daniel McAdam’s backstories and brought them closer together. It was most pleasurable to read. In contrast to A Death at the Crystal Palace, the mystery held together, with a consistent, cohesive sequence of revelations leading to the resolution.

The Secret of Bow Lane refers to Kat’s childhood home, as well as where she was bamboozled by her bigamist husband and where she had her lovely baby, Grace, now baby no longer, but a perspicacious lady of eleven. She and Daniel McAdam call on Kat’s closely-held heartstrings and, at least in this latest volume and to the reader’s great delight, loosen them. But first, the back-cover blurb for clarity:

In Victorian-era London, amateur sleuth and cook Kat Holloway must solve a murder to claim an inheritance she didn’t know she had…



A stranger who appears on Kat’s doorstep turns out to be one Charlotte Bristow, legal wife of Joe Bristow, the man Kat once believed herself married to—who she thought died at sea twelve years ago. Kat is jolted by Charlotte’s claims that not only was Joe murdered, but he had amassed a small fortune before he died. Charlotte makes the cook an offer she cannot refuse—if Kat can discover the identity of Joe’s murderer, Charlotte will give her a share of the fortune Joe left behind.

With the help of Daniel McAdam, her attractive and charismatic confidante, Kat plunges into her own past to investigate. When it becomes apparent that the case of Joe’s death goes far deeper than simple, opportunistic theft, Kat and Daniel’s relationship is put to the test, and Kat herself comes under scrutiny as her connection to Joe is uncovered. She must race to catch the real killer before she loses her job and possibly her life.

One of the series’ aspects I initially found off-putting and which I’ve come to enjoy is Kat’s matter-of-fact voice and manner. Now that Ashley has developped her backstory sufficiently, Kat’s reticence is nicely balanced with her need to help those who come to her cook’s backdoor and a desire to seek justice. (Daniel beautifully plays into this and this volume gives us even more of his backstory, making him as rounded and interesting a character as Kat.) Kat’s personality and voice are evident from the opening scene, when Mrs. Bristow seeks her help:

But these days, as an acquaintance of Daniel McAdam, who had the habit of sending all sorts to me for my help, I felt an obligation to discover what this person needed…It was her. Charlotte. Mrs. Joseph Bristow. The woman who’d been married to my husband in the years I believed I’d been his wife.

Kat has reason to be cautious and frightened, given what the punishment, social and legal, would be for bigamy. Whether she is the injured party or not, Victorian society was not forgiving to a working-class woman, no matter how wonderful her cooking skills, who was also the mother of an illegitimate child. I’m glad Ashley brought this aspect of Kat’s life to a closure in this novel and opened the way for Kat and Daniel to be more to each other than friends. It is a deliciously slow-burning romance that adds to the mystery at the heart of each novel.

Given Joe Bristow’s abusive and negligent treatment of Kat (he was long dead by the time Grace was born, thank goodness), Ashley has skillfully developped Kat’s character with a going-towards-pulling-away-from friendship and intimacy. It is a joy to read about the good people who surround Kat; to start, Daniel, love-interest and friend:

Daniel laid his hands on mine again, the comfort of his touch too beguiling. “You begin at the beginning,” he said. “Where it all began for you, and for him. Bow Lane.”…This first step, he’d said, I must make on my own. I expect he wanted to give me time to settle my nerves without him watching every emotion that crossed my face.

Kat’s “upstairs” friend, Lady Cynthia:

Cynthia lounged back in the chair, crossing her well-made boots…”Beatrice and Benedick had much to work through before they declared their undying love at the end of act five. but they suited well, as do you and McAdam. Perhaps you are only in act four, when everything seems lost.”

Lovable butler, Mr. Davies, who often champions Kat, especially when Kat’s snooty employer, Mrs. Bywater, threatens her livelihood:

“If you decide to tell me any more of it, you are welcome to. I can be discretion itself.” Mr. Davis sent me a wise look, then continued out on silent feet. I finished straightening the newspapers, wondering if Mr. Davis knew more than he let on. He’d come to my defense several times when I’d clashed with Mrs. Bywater, and I’d be forever grateful to him for that. But I wondered now if he knew my secrets and had chosen to help keep them hidden rather than expose me. It gave me a warm feeling, a realization of friendship, but also a worry that I’d opened myself to far too many people.

(Let’s not forget: absent-minded mathematical genius, Mr. Thanos; Daniel’s sly, droll foster-brother, the vicar Errol Fielding; cook’s assistant, Tess, and boyfriend, Constable Caleb; the aristocrat-artist, Miss Townsend; even the Scotland Yard Inspector McGregor!)

This particular passage, in a nutshell, will tell you if you’d enjoy Ashley’s series (and while you can read this as a standalone, you’d enjoy it even more if you followed Kat’s growth over the previous books): clear, straightforward prose, a strong heroine-voice, and an ensemble cast of loving friends seeking truth and justice, living lives of purpose. And frankly, my favourite kind of romance too: slow-moving and slow-burning, based on friendship and compatibility, affection and humour, attraction and tenderness. With this latest volume, releasing today, Ashley has penned, as Miss Austen wrote, “a mind lively and at ease,” Emma.

Jennifer Ashley’s The Secret of Bow Lane is published by Berkley Crime and releases today, August 2nd. I am grateful to Berkley Crime for an e-galley (for the purpose of reading and writing this review) via Netgalley.

The Secret of Bow Lane is the sixth book in the Kat Holloway Mysteries series by Jennifer Ashley. With clever writing and an intelligent plot. The Kat Holloway Mysteries is a great series if you like historical novels, with some romance, plenty of emotion, and amateur sleuthing.

Another great addition to the Kat Holloway mysteries - with [at last!] more insight into Kat's history and background. And not a little attention paid to her and Daniel's relationship!

Talk about a slow burn, and a mystery—rather close to home!

Kat Holloway is confronted by Charlotte Bristol, wife of Joe Bristol, the man Kat thought she was married to, with a wild tale of treasure he’d left behind. What follows is a mad and dangerous chase to places Kat should never go with devastating revelations.
Daniel of course is dragged into this and tales of lost coins from the mint are doing the rounds. Only these aren’t mad tales and Kat’s in it up to her eyeballs before she can blink.
So we have Charlotte wanting Kat to investigate, Inspector McGregor on the case, and Grace wanting to know more about where she and her mother lived.
And the relationship between Kat and Daniel? Well that’s in there too. Burning right or out?
All I can say is, Oh My. I’m so in love with Daniel McBride.

A Berkley Group ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

I really enjoyed this mystery by Jennifer Ashley. I really like the characters and how they worked together to solve the case. I liked that this story was about making peace with the past and was more personal to Kat. I liked that this book had you going down different paths to figure out who was behind things until you figured it out at the end. I also liked how we saw Kat and Daniel’s relationship develop more and how they are ready to move forward. I have enjoyed the books I have read in this series and thought this was well written.

I received a complimentary book from publishers, publicists, and or authors.  A review was not required and all opinions and ideas expressed are my own.

The Kat Holloway series really heats up with this dive into personal mysteries for her and her friends to solve in this upstairs-downstairs historical mystery setting.

The Secrets of Bow Lane is the sixth in the Kat Holloway series featuring a Victorian era cook who does some amateur detecting. There is an ongoing storyline about Kat’s personal life rearing her child, hiding her past, and romantic interest with Daniel McAdams along with side stories for Lady Cynthia and Mr. Thanos and her assistant cook so that reading the series in order is a must.

In this latest, Kat gets broadsided with two situations. First there is Charlotte Bristow who comes to Kat because of Kat’s growing reputation for helping the police solve some mysteries and asks her help to find out about Joe’s death because he was murdered for a pile of money he supposedly had. Kat is none too keen, but if there is a missing fortune that Charlotte is willing to split with her, she must do what she can for her daughter, Grace’s sake.
Secondly, Daniel assumes they are in a courtship and Kat is so stunned that he considers their friendship a courtship that her reaction is enough to hurt him and she watches him walk away. She’s left analyzing why she didn’t respond positively and realizes that after her experience with Joe, she needs to know more about Daniel, but at the same time, she aches for the loss of his presence and companionship especially as she embarks on another detecting adventure into her past.
Unconventional Lady Cynthia has her back and helps by sending people Kat can trust to tell her about Daniel including Thanos and Daniel’s ‘brother’ and they all help with the new case. But, with both her own past and Daniel’s being confronted, she will get to the heart of the Secret of Bow Lane.

In a way, this book was no surprise. Readers have been curious about Kat and Daniel’s separate pasts for a long time and, as they drew closer, the pair of them were going to have to face their pasts and share them with each other if they were to go any further in their relationship. I also appreciated what the author was showing when she introduced Charlotte into the story and how, compared to her, Kat has gone far since being left destitute and pregnant by a man who wasn’t her real husband. Charlotte’s still nursing her woes and looking to someone else to save her while Kat has risen in her trade to save herself and Grace.
The old murder and mystery over a missing fortune drove the plot forward along with the emotional character-driven side. As a result of both mystery and personal relationship sharing plot, this story read quickly for me because I kept wanting to know more and find out what was going to happen especially in the latter half which got moving much more swiftly. There was a most satisfying conclusion though there were little bits that left me wondering about a few things that will likely crop up in the future.

All in all, this latest was full of delicious and fascinating Victorian cooking moments, detecting adventure, and the tension that a well-developed set of characters and series plot can make. Those who enjoy historical setting with their mysteries should definitely set this series on the stack.

I rec’d an eARC from Berkley through NetGalley to read in exchange for an honest review.

The Secret of Bow Lane by Jennifer Ashley is the 6th book in her wonderful Kat Holloway Mysteries. Refresher: This series takes place in Victorian, England, centered around our heroine Kat Holloway, who is a cook extraordinaire, as well as a great detective. Kat is smart, savvy, independent, loyal and is very protective of her below the stairs staff. As I have noted previously, this series has a wonderful feel of a historical Downton Abbey.

The Secret of Bow Lane was an excellent addition to this series, especially as it centered on Kat’s past life; her marriage, the death of her husband, and meeting the woman who was revealed to be her husband’s true wife. We also get more information about Daniel’s past and the people he works for.

Kat is approached by a woman, Charlotte Bristow, who was the legal wife of Joe Bristow, who died 12 years ago at sea. Kat is shocked when Charlotte claims that Joe was murdered, and had bags of money; she wants Kat to help her find the money. At first, Kat does not believe this claim, as how would a sailor get this kind of money or own land; but she begins to investigate the past. As she returns to Bow Lane, Kat finds herself in her old neighborhood, and past friends and vendors. We do learn a lot about Kat’s past, and even more about the man she thought she was married to. She will begin to learn that that Joe’s death is far deeper than possible theft, not to mention that the man she thought she knew, had a reputation of being a bad man. Who really killed Joe?

The Secret of Bow Lane was a wonderful suspenseful mystery, with Kat finding herself on the forefront in not only trying to solve this case, but also learning more about Daniel’s past, and trying to spend more time with her daughter. The romance between Kat and Daniel begins to escalate, but still in the background; we can see both of them very much expressing their feelings for each other, even though Kat worries about Daniel’s dangerous life. I also continue to love the scenes where Kat and Tess are preparing all these wonderful dishes for the upstairs family.

Once again, Jennifer Ashley gives us another fabulous story revolving around our heroine, Kat Holloway. The Secret of Bow Lane was very well written by Ashley, which I thought was the best one yet. If you enjoy Victorian stories, with a mystery theme, a Downton Abbey background, two very good leading characters and great secondary characters, you should be reading this series. If you have not read this series, I suggest you start with the first book.

This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2022/07/30/the-secret-of-bow-lane-by-jennifer-ashley/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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<i>Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i>

4.5 hearts

It is such a comfort to read a series like the <strong><em><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/170230-kat-holloway-mysteries" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kat Holloway</a></em></strong> mysteries, where you know and love the characters. Of course, in a series, at least a good one, the characters continue to grow and progress.  I love learning more about them, especially mysterious ones like Daniel.   In a historical world, the options for women are few and their lives are precarious.

In <strong>The Secret of Bow Lane, </strong>we really get to some questions I have wondered about for the whole series. Finally, we along with Kat, get some answers.  Who is Daniel?  What really happened to her "husband" Joe?  I really enjoyed learning so much more.

Things start off with Charlotte, Joe's legal wife, coming to see her.  She thinks Joe had a big score and wants Kat to help her find it and what happened to Joe.   Daniel and all her friends help her as usual.  It was fascinating to watch her follow the clues and actually solve the mystery from 12 years ago.  Kat had to deal with Grace being old enough to understand more about her father though.

Personally, Daniel indicates to Kat he wants more from their relationship.  Kat is disrupted by this and isn't sure she sees a way from the status quo.  Plus she doesn't even know who Daniel is or what he does for a living, really.  In this, her friends agree she should also research Daniel.  She feels uncomfortable with it, but she was deceived by Joe so she isn't willing to have it happen again.

So there are two mysteries and all the personal relationships to enjoy.  I really loved the further development and some closure with Kat's history.  I recommend this series and <strong>The Secret of Bow Lane</strong> is one of my favorites in the series.

1882 London

Mrs. Holloway (Kat) is in service and has a knack for solving mysteries. While this novel is the sixth in the series, I didn't feel I was jumping into the middle of something or missing details. Kat's husband died 12 years prior and she is rather surprised to find that her husband had another widow and one who was his legal wife. Legal widow Charlotte reaches out to Kat for help in finding a missing inheritance.

As the cold case unfolds, readers learn more about the deceased as well as the character of Kat and her friend Daniel McAdam. There is a lot to love about both of them. I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop.

Engaging mystery with bits of dry humor. A small amount of foul language.

"The Secret of Bow Lane" is a mystery set in 1882 in London, England. This is the 6th book in the series. You do not need to read the previous novels to understand this one, and this book didn't spoil the mysteries of the previous books.

Kat investigated the long-ago death of her husband and also learned more about Daniel's past. Kat and friends narrowed down what Joe had been doing before he died and sorted through who could have killed him. The mystery was clue-based. Whodunit was guessable yet not obvious. Plenty of people had motive and opportunity. Kat asked good questions and tracked down leads. The main characters were interesting and likable. Historical details were woven into the story. There was no sex. There was some use of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable novel.

4.5 STARS
Victorian head cook Kat Holloway gets a big surprise when her late husband’s legal wife shows up at her kitchen door. Until after his ship sunk 12 years before, Kat had no clue the man she believed to be her husband, Joe Bristow, had another wife and child. When Charlotte Bristow tells Kate that Joe had an illicit fortune and demands her help to recover it, Kat is quite taken aback. Although interested in the thought of a share of wealth that would ease Kat’s life of drudgery, she is more concerned about finding out what happened to the scallywag with whom she a has a child. Adding to the intrigue, Charlotte declares that Joe did not go down with his ship, but was actually done in on the London Docks.

Kat enlists the help of her partner in solving crimes, Daniel McAdam, for whom she has great affection. Daniel is a bit of a mystery man himself working undercover for the law with a somewhat jaded past. It becomes clear Daniel is hoping for their relationship to progress beyond working together and the occasional kiss; however, Kat is reluctant to offer her heart again after being so ill-treated despite the fact she believes Daniel to be mostly trustworthy.

Kat’s quotidian life below stairs working for a feckless and demanding lady of the house is quite grueling and challenging though she takes pride in her work. One saving grace is her relationship with some young women of the ton who help her out with investigations. Kat has dreams beyond being stuck in her present situation as well as enjoying the opportunity to work with Daniel uncovering those responsible for criminal acts. This mystery hits too close to home threatening not only Kat, but her beloved daughter, Grace, who resides with her best friend’s family.

This book is number six in the Below Stairs Mysteries; however, I read it as a standalone and was quite comfortable not having read the prior books. Fans of the series and readers who enjoy the Upstairs/Downstairs trope will be quite pleased with this story especially those who have been hoping that Kat and Daniel’s relationship would progress beyond being very good friends

This is the book Kat Holloway fans have been waiting for. I’ll tell you why, but first….

In The Secret of Bow Lane, the mystery is about Joe Bristow, the man Kat thought she was once married to until she found out he was already married to someone else. The death of her ‘husband’ left Kat in poverty, but it is also what led her to become the best cook in all of London. While he died many years ago, his actual wife contends that he left a fortune somewhere and she needs help finding it. Bow Lane is Kat’s old neighborhood and there is more than one intriguing secret to uncover there.

Joe’s ability to pretend he was something he was not, reminds her a little too much of her friend Daniel McAdam, who is a master of the many disguises he uses in his investigative work. So, when Daniel tells Kat how he feels about her, she pulls back. There is nothing to be done, except find out more about the real Daniel.

In her life, there are two men that Kat has gotten close to. Joe and Daniel. Throughout the story, the details of both of their lives are slowly brought to light, revealing all the sordid details of one and the worthy details of the other. So, you see, Kat Holloway fans, this book is for you.

The mystery the Kat must solve in this tale is just as fascinating and twisty as it always is. Also, all of Kat’s helpers are there to make sure they uncover every necessary clue while still allowing Kat to see to her cooking duties and her daughter. And Daniel is ever present to give his support, friendship, and a kiss now and then. I recommend you enjoy this historical mystery with a nice cup of hot tea and a biscuit.

Through NetGalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book. My review is my honest opinion.

With clever writing and an intelligent plot, the author takes us on a vivid journey of Kat’s past.

Kat is confronted out of the blue with Charlotte Bristow, the legal wife of the man Kat had believed to be her husband. Charlotte spins a tale in which Joe was not only murdered, but potentially left a fortune behind that hasn’t been found yet. She offers Kat a portion of the money in exchange for investigating Joe’s murder and finding the loot.

The Secret of Bow Lane is very aptly named. It is where Kat and Grace lived shortly after her “husband”, Joe, passed away and she learned the truth of their union. Kat is taken back to the past when she decides to find out what had really happened to Joe. She takes Grace with her and through their eyes we get an excellent picture of the events that shaped Kat.

Daniel confronts Kat with the truth of his feelings for her and we experience all of Kat’s fluctuating emotions with her. And finally, after waiting in anticipation through 5 previous books, Daniel’s past is revealed, and he opens up to Kat about his current job.

As usual, I love Kat’s methodical approach to everything, the descriptions of life in her kitchen, and her interactions with Daniel. There were some parts that were a bit tedious and slow-moving and that’s why I’m giving it a 4.

The Kat Holloway Mysteries is a great series if you like historical novels, with some romance, plenty of emotion, and amateur sleuthing. It’s not necessary to read them in order, but Kat and Daniel’s relationship is an ongoing and growing thread between the books.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This series just gets better and better! I always look forward to a new Kat Holloway series. This series is set in the Edwardian period in London and what originally attracted me to it was the upstairs/downstairs aspect of Kat being a cook in a fancy London aristocrat's home. So while we get all sorts of information on what it was like to be a cook running the kitchen during those times, she also is savvy and curious which she uses to solve mysteries.

In this book, the sixth in the series, she is shocked when she is confronted by a woman who she knows of but has never met- the true wife of the man she thought she was married to, and the father of her child. This woman approaches her with disdain, but because of Kat's skills and reputation for helping people, she asks her to help solve the murder of the man they both loved. This is a shock to Kat who was told he drowned at sea. Added to that stunner was that he had a lot of money that had disappeared and if she can help find it for Charlotte, she can have some.

And with that, Kat is pulled into a past she would rather forget and learns more than she wanted to about a man who betrayed her. And all of this threatens the new sparks she has been developing for Danial McAdam, an undercover agent with Scotland Yard.

All this makes for good fun, a great setup to see more of Kat's backstory and either solidify or wreck her fledgling relationship with Daniel. I thoroughly enjoyed it! And I want to thank the publisher for access to an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

I think this is my favorite book in the series so far. So, as I sit here tired and bleary-eyed from reading all night, I’ll try to do it justice in my review. Yes, I was up all night reading because I just couldn’t put it down. It was so interesting and exciting and poignant I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough. The characters are as wonderful as ever and the great thing about this book is that we learn more about both Kat and Daniel - but mostly Kat. I think we’ve learned most of Kat’s background now, but I think we have more to learn of Daniel – and I can hardly wait.

Just after breakfast on a lovely Wednesday morning, Elsie, the scullery maid, sticks her head into the kitchen to tell Mrs. Holloway that a woman wants to see her – and the woman is waiting up on the street. Kat considers and then decides to go speak with the woman. Kat was totally shocked when she determined who the woman was. It was Charlotte Bristow – the first wife of Kat’s deceased husband. (As we know from earlier books, Kat’s husband was a bigamist who left her with child when he died at sea.)

Charlotte has quite a tale to tell Kat and begrudgingly asks for her help. Charlotte has information that their bigamist husband did NOT die when his ship sank – he returned to London where he was murdered for a fortune he had accumulated. Charlotte offers to share the fortune with Kat if she will investigate and find the money. At first, Kat doesn’t want any part of anything to do with the man who made a fool of her and left her with a fatherless child. However, being Kat, she couldn’t let a mystery go unsolved.

All of Kat’s friends, above and below stairs, rally around her and start digging into the mystery of what really happened to Joe Bristow. How could a ne’er-do-well sailor come into a fortune? How did he die? Why did he die? Since this all took place twelve years ago, witnesses may have died, moved, or just not remember, so the investigation will be slow going.

Kat ends up revisiting the neighborhood in which she grew up and where she lived as Joe’s wife. She took her daughter, Grace, with her on several visits in order to share her past – at least to a degree. Someday, she’s going to have to share the whole story with Grace – but not today.

Things begin to pop with information coming in from all over and the results are mind-blowing. Could Joe have managed to master-mind that convoluted plot? Surely not? What happened to the fortune? Will Kat actually get any of it to make her life and Grace's easier?

I can highly recommend this book – and this series. I honestly think you should read the entire series in order (no, you don’t have to) so you can see the growth in the relationships that are so evident in this book. The plot is excellent, the ends are cleaned up, the bad guys are properly dealt with, and maybe, just maybe, we see a bit of a step forward in the relationship between Kat and Daniel. WOW!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In this installment of our very favorite Victorian cook's life, we go back in time 12 years to discover what happened to Mrs. Holloway's husband. It's a different sort of mystery, since it's solving something just with hearsay and memory, but the intrepid gang of Victorian misfits keeps the story moving and satisfying.

The past always has a way of resurfacing which Kat learns the hard way when her deceased husband's wife shows up wanting her help in locating a possible inheritance. As Kat reluctantly walks down memory lane, a potentical romance takes a sharp turn making Kat wonder if her lack of trust will destroy everything. Another delightful installment in Jennifer Ashley's historical who dun it with unflappable amateur sleuth Kat Holloway. A cook in a respectable household, Kat has away of finding herself embroiled in mysteries that not only threaten her livleyhood but often her life. Smart and witty, Ashley leads us on a merry chase as she builds the mystery along side the very slow burning romance. I look forward to the next installment.

In this fifth episode in the Below Stairs series, Kat Holloway takes on a case very close to home. When Charlotte Bristow appears on her doorstep begging her to help locate her husband Joe's supposed fortune, Kat is reluctant. After all, she was part of a bigamous marriage with the departed Joe and can't believe that he ever had a fortune.

Kat gets involved because she is hoping to finally find some answers about Joe Bristow before her soon-to-be twelve-year-old daughter Grace begins to seriously ask questions about him. The case requires her to go back to Bow Lane where she was raised and where she lived with Joe.

She's not alone in investigating. Her friend Daniel McAdam is willing to help. Their relationship has been growing closer, but Daniel is a man with secrets and Kat is afraid to enter into another relationship with a man who is keeping secrets from her. She also has help from Lady Cynthia and fellow kitchen maid Tess.

Their investigation leads them to a theft of gold coins from the Goldsmith's Hall a short time before Joe was believed to have been lost at sea. The case has not been solved in the twelve years since Joe was found dead on a London Dock.

This was an engaging episode in an excellent series. I like the historical detail of the 1880s and like Kat who is content with her place among the working class in London. Fans of the series won't want to miss this latest episode.