ARC Review: Death Below Stairs by Jennifer Ashley

Recommended Read!

“Ashley has presented us with an interesting mystery with a cast of very likable characters, a dash of action and a hint of romance.”
~ Under the Covers

Kat Holloway is a cook, which is a well-respected below stairs position and she feels responsible for those under her care. So, when she finds her assistant dead, murdered, she is determined to find out who killed her. To do that she calls for the assistance Daniel MacAdam. Daniel is a delivery man and man of all work…or at least that’s what people are supposed to think. Kat doesn’t quite know who or what he is, but she knows he’ll help. But the mystery of her assistant’s death is more complicated and more dangerous than she imagined.

Jennifer Ashley writes one of my favourite historical romance series, so when I saw that she was digging into the historical mystery genre, I knew I had to give it a shot. I had a feeling before I started that I was going to enjoy it, and there’s nothing I love more than being proved correct. Death Below Stairs proved me correct. Ashley has presented us with an interesting mystery with a cast of very likable characters, a dash of action and a hint of romance.

Normally when I am reading something within a historical context, it will be a historical romance, which for the most part focuses on the lives of aristocrats and those with a fortune. What I liked about Death Below Stairs is that I got a completely different point of view as we see life through the eyes of a servant. Namely, through Kat from whose eyes this story was told. Kat was a great character, she was practical and intelligent with a streak of compassion and I enjoyed seeing the story unfold from her perceptive eyes.

The mystery itself wasn’t quite as interesting as the characters involved in solving it. It involved a few too many leaps of intuition for the characters to figure out the dastardly plot. However, I was genuinely interested to see what would happened and the whole thing had an element of conspiracy and danger that was exciting to read about.

This was a great start to the series and I can’t wait to read the next one and see what else life has in store for Kat. If you want a mystery with a little romance and adventure I recommend you give this a read.

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