Part of Below Stairs Mystery
First published 2025
Spring 1884. Cook Kat Holloway receives unwelcome orders from her employer. The family will take Easter dinner at a friend's residence in Portman Square. Kat must fill in for their sick cook. She protests the arrangement but cannot refuse. The assignment drops Kat into an unfamiliar household where tensions simmer beneath polite surfaces. She must navigate new kitchen routines while observing the family dynamics around her. The Easter gathering takes a deadly turn when murder disrupts the holiday meal. Kat finds herself trapped in a web of secrets and suspicion. Daniel and their trusted allies join the investigation as danger closes in. Each clue they uncover reveals deeper layers of deception within the Portman Square house. Kat must use her sharp instincts and knowledge of domestic life to unmask the killer before more lives are lost. The case tests her courage and threatens to destroy the fragile security she has built for herself.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, crime, adult-fiction
Vibes: atmospheric, domestic-intrigue, intricate, suspenseful, tension-filled
Tropes: amateur-detective, fish-out-of-water, found-family, secrets-and-deception
Setting: Portman Square, London
Period: Spring 1884, Victorian Era
138 pages · Kindle Edition · JA / AG Publishing
Content warnings: murder