Not to say that it can’t be read as a stand alone, but if you feel the same as me, you may want to pick up the prequel first. For someone like me who enjoys reading series from the very beginning to understand the character development and full picture, this kind of threw me off. So I went through they whole book a bit confused, then learned in the afterword that the author had previously written a novella prequel to this story. There were certain plot points that I felt as if I’d missed or didn’t fully grasp. I found myself to be slightly confused while reading - it reads like a sequel, but it is the first book in an upcoming series. I especially enjoyed the delicious and lush imagery of the cook’s recipes and cooking and my mouth was watering the whole time I read.

It is less of a whodunnit and more of a slow moving, character driven suspense. This is a historical mystery which shows a great deal of research and thoroughness from the author. As always, it was a pleasure reading with these lovely ladies!Ī big thank you to Edelweiss, Berkley Books and Jennifer Ashley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!Įxpected Date of Publication: January 2, 2018. We each felt similarly on this one, with one of us not even being able to finish. This was a Traveling Sister Read with Brenda, Diane and Holly. The author, Jennifer Ashley, did a fantastic job creating the Victorian atmosphere and characters. I really liked the cook’s character and enjoyed her dealings with the house staff and family, but I lost interest in the crime solving side of the book which was the main storyline. How could a head cook of such a household have time to run around town on a daily basis investigating a crime? It just didn’t make sense to me. The novel revolves around a cook of a high power household investigating a murder. Unfortunately, my connection was short lived, as the plausibility of the story became highly unrealistic once the crime was committed (about 1/3 of the way in). It had such a “Downton Abbey” feel to it that I couldn’t help but love it. I immediately loved the characters and found myself captivated by the Victorian mansion household and how it was run. I had an instant connection to this novel. This book started off much stronger than it finished.

Death Below Stairs by Jennifer Ashley