Death At The Crystal Palace (Below Stairs Mystery, #5)

by Jennifer Ashley

Intrepid cook Kat Holloway puts aside her apron to delve into Victorian London’s high society and catch a killer in this thrilling new mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Murder in the East End.

While attending an exhibition at the Crystal Palace, young cook Kat Holloway is approached by a woman in distress. Lady Covington is a wealthy widow convinced that her entire family is trying to kill her. Kat feels compelled to help. So, she escorts the lady home to discover whether she is delusional or in true danger.
 
When it quickly becomes apparent that the threat is all too real, Kat promises aid. Her charming confidant Daniel McAdam is busy infiltrating a plot against the Crown, and she worries he will not have time to lend his sleuthing expertise. This might be for the best, as Kat fears her growing emotional entanglement with Daniel can only lead to disaster. But soon, Kat faces a more serious threat when her involvement in both investigations plunges her into peril.

• ISBN10: 0593099397
• ISBN13: 9780593099391
• Publish Date: 6 July 2021
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780593099391

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Death at the Crystal Palace is the 5th Kat Holloway Below Stairs mystery by Jennifer Ashley. Released 6th July 2021 by Penguin Random House on their Berkley imprint, it's 332 pages and is available in paperback, library binding, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is another intricately plotted and well written historical mystery featuring clever and intrepid cook Kat Holloway. The author is adept at showing the differences in social status and class through the well wrought and believable characters whose motivations and actions drive the story arc. For fans of the series, this is another very well done mystery, two mysteries actually, which are full of intrigue, poison, political machination, and murder.

The action is woven around a framework of actual history and it's done so seamlessly, it's not always easy to discern where fiction shades over into reality. It was very easy to set myself into the story and I never found my interest flagging or felt that the narrative dragged. The denouement and resolution were exciting and satisfying and there was a real sense of danger, especially in the climactic scenes in a stately townhouse in London.

For readers who enjoy lots of romance content with their historical mysteries, there's quite a strong romantic element here. For readers who prefer little or none, it's something of which to be aware. The language is mostly clean, PG(ish), and there's no graphic sexual content (some consensual kissing).

Four stars. Engaging and fun to read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.