Reviewed by annieb123 on
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.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 17 August, 2021: Finished reading
- 17 August, 2021: Reviewed