A Below Stairs Mystery Novella #6.7
by Jennifer Ashley
GENRE: #Christmas-cozy-mystery #historical-mystery
My rating: ★★★★☆
Actually 3.8 rounded up to 4 stars
A short and very enjoyable Christmas mystery novella.
This short story is part of a mystery series ( indeed book #6.7 ) set in England at the end of 19th century, but it's perfectly readable as a standalone.
The peculiarity of the series is that the main character is not part of the rich and noble society, but is the cook in an aristocratic house, which is why the title of the series is:
" A Below Stairs Mystery Series".
___PLOT__ December 1882
When Cook Kat Holloway is blamed when a dinner guest mysteriously takes ill after eating one of her meals, she sets out to prove she had nothing to do with the gentleman’s sickness.
Helped by her closest friends, she investigates the patient's family and acquaintances, thus discovering that there are many who have a valid motive to kill.
In the meantime, Kat must also manage to prepare an impeccable Christmas meal and who knows what Christmas Day will hold for her together with her daughter and Daniel who cares so much about her...
________ ******** ________
Even though I hadn't read the previous books (which were mostly longer novels), I still managed to enjoy the story and understand the role of each character. The author was in fact very good at describing their personality and what binds them to the protagonist.
As I already said, the story is short and can be read in a couple of afternoons, but it is intriguing enough to make you want to read all the other books and find out more about the various CHARACTERS:
- Kat, a skilled cook, single mother with a great love for her daughter who is raised by another family.
- Daniel, her friend and lover, skilled in disguises and undercover operations and her young son James, affectionate and kind, skilled and cunning like his father.
- The terrible, grumpy and overbearing landlady and Lady Cinthia, her niece, modern, friend of Kat and kind to the servants, loves dressing as a man and is reckless.
- The rest of the staff under the stairs and other friends who never fail to help Kat in the investigation.
The final part of the story is reserved not only for the solution of the case but also for a sweet and convivial Christmas atmosphere, thus giving the reader that touch of goodness and magic that each of us seeks when approaching a story set at Christmas.
Thanks for reading my opinion and please be lenient with my English as it is not my native language.
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