Reviews
I feel like my rating is rather scathing, but I couldn’t find it in me to finish this one 😬 which is super weird bc I’m rather fond of Jennifer Ashley’s books as a great choice for an easy, relaxing read… idk if it’s bc I’m not in the right mood or if it’s the book itself, but this one is going to be sitting on my dnf shelf until I muster up the energy to chug through the last six chapters
3.5 Stars
*An interesting historical mystery focused on the working class in 1881*
In 2023, I have been making a concerted effort to read through my backlist TBR. Mysteries are my go-to genre, so when it looked like I might be in a little bit of slump, I went straight to the Mysteries on my list.
Death Below Stairs is narrated by Kat Holloway, a cook for the wealthy in London, 1881. Barely has she started at a new, prestigious job when someone in the household is murdered.
“Simple explanations are usually the wisest ones - a person can complicate a straightforward situation with unnecessary dramatics and end up in a complete mess.”
The story is told in first person, past tense by Kat. As a main character, Kat was interesting. I liked her no nonsense attitude. And it was nice to have a historical mystery that wasn't an idle rich person investigating. As a cook, she also included a lot of yummy food descriptions in her narrative.
From the first few pages, I felt like I was missing something. Death Below Stairs was labeled as #1 in the series. It even says “First in a new series” right on the cover. So I was confused at the frequent mentions of previous events and obvious past interactions between certain characters. Apparently there was a prequel novella published first, so I’m guessing the events that kept being alluded to were from that. It did leave me disgruntled that the publisher was misleading about this being the start of the series. The events from the novella were recapped enough that nothing critical was missing, but I felt like I was missing things in the character development area. I also didn’t realize until that point that the author is the same Jennifer Ashley who wrote the Shifter Unbound series which I tried to read and hated. Thankfully, Death Below Stairs had a noticeably different writing style far less questionable content.
The missing character development included Kat’s love interest, Daniel, who had the whole "slightly shady but I swear he has a heart of gold" trope going on. And it seems like the story will frustratingly drag out the revelation of his secrets. Anyway, he was some sort of master of disguise who impersonates everything from servants to gentility while investing things. So he goes undercover as a footman to help Kat investigate.
The plot quickly escalated from a murder of one staff member to a larger plot to do with treason, bombings, and the fight for Irish home rule. In fact, the original murder was almost forgotten and was barely a footnote in the end. And while I can see a person being compelled to investigate shady goings on in their workplace, I had a much hard time buying Kat’s continued involvement in the case and her ability to go traipsing off after terrorists.
This isn’t the type of historical fiction that overly sanitizes the past. There was plenty of visibility of classism, misogyny, colonialism, and prejudice about single mothers. Main character put herself down a lot repeatedly calling herself a hussy and a fallen woman. And while that was absolutely accurate to the time period (women were dismissed from employment for the slightest perception of immorality), it was tiring to read. Also, Daniel bowled over her fears for her reputation several times saying he'd take care of it or not to worry and was dismissive of her very real fear that any misstep would get her fired and unlikely able to find other employment.
One other thing to nitpick: as a narrator, Kat explained things that someone of the time would know and not bother explaining. Little things like "playing mother" being the person who pours the tea. She frequently explained colloquialisms and period vernacular which was probably helpful to readers, but it simply didn’t make sense within the narrative. This was essentially an internal monologue. Who explains their own slang to themselves?
Overall, I had some qualms about the story, and it wasn’t what I’d originally expected. But I did like the story and characters enough to check out the next book in the series at some point.
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars
This is a book I should have DNF'd but I was in so deep I finished it so I could hate it properly. It's not the worst thing I've read this year, but it sure as heck ain't good. There are mild/medium spoilers in this review. First, this largely reads like a love letter to the oppression of women prevalent in the 1800's, and to a point, Imperial Britain itself. While I don't know Ashley, this book oozes with internalized sexism it appears she hasn't properly dealt with, and at one point it's insinuated that the worst outcome of this very weak plot is that other colonized peoples would rise up against their oppressors. Are thoughts along these lines potentially historically "accurate"? Sure. But why is a woman in modern America choosing to centralize them in her work? (spoilers particularly in this paragraph) The primary example of the internalized sexism Ashley douses you with is Mrs. H's former marriage. Because she was unwittingly married to a man who was already married with children, Mrs. H refers to herself several times as a "hussy." Because this fraudulent marriage produced a child Mrs. H routinely references her ruin, diminished value, shame, and need for secrecy. Again, would a woman be treated that way in the late 1800's? Quite possibly. But why Ashley would choose to perpetuate that, and not challenge it within the narrative of the book, is beyond me. The love interest is given several opportunities to tell her point blank she has it all wrong about herself, and while he does flatter and seem to value her, he never contradicts her understanding of her marriage or her status as a result. Other issues: -Who is this book written for? I mean specifically, who is Mrs. H telling this story to? The narrative is so over written it feels like Mrs. H is explaining some pretty basic facts of life to a child. No thought can be shared without a full paragraph explaining why she felt that way, and no implication is left an implication - every single one is drawn out. Ashley does not trust you in the least to remember an event from earlier in the book, to draw your own conclusions, or even to know basic facts about every day life. Is this a diary? A report? A defense? -This is a wild and weak plot. -Continuity errors. There are a handful of small ones, but the biggest on revolves around the status of the egg supply in the kitchen - three times the eggs are mentioned. 2/3 indicate there are no more eggs, and the 3rd time they've magically restocked even though she hasn't been to the store and the assistant hasn't either. -Lots of back explaining, which is why I know the eggs weren't restocked. If Mrs. H goes out and is late in returning home, she will explain the things she had done prior to leaving that make the current situation not a problem. This happens several times, and is very convenient. -There is so much commentary on the physical abilities of women I'm not sure if Ashley believes her own body has muscles that work. -Ashley choses to have a main female character dress as a man, which is considered scandalous for the time (and this point is belabored - you are beaten over the head with it, because again, Ashley doesn't trust you to remember). This character is asked by someone upon their first meeting if she is a hermaphrodite. Later, it's explained that when asked this question she was really being asked if she was a lesbian. 1) This book was published in 2018 - to use the offensive term at all is highly questionable, but to then also misuse the term is unacceptable. -I've already addressed this, but I just want to reiterate: Ashley doesn't trust your intelligence so much that she explains why blowing up a bridge is a problem. Literally, everyone understands why bridges are important - it's mind blowing that this was explained to us. tl;dr: This was a train wreck and very little about it is redeemable.
I had read the first novella to this series and enjoyed it so much I got the entire series. I love that this is a fun, light read mystery with so much Victorian history mixed in. It’s like a mystery Downtown Abby. These were books I couldn’t not put down and could not wait to read the next. I hope more books will be published in this series.
