In Victorian London, valiant cook and amateur sleuth Kat Holloway must help the man she loves solve the murder that will finally uncover his mysterious past, from the New York Times bestselling author of A Silence in Belgrave Square.
Kat Holloway’s beau, Daniel McAdam, has always had a past shrouded in mystery. He knows nothing about his origins, only that a kind man rescued him from the streets all those years ago. So when a man claiming he knows where Daniel comes from turns up dead moments before meeting with them, Daniel goes on the hunt for the killer. It soon becomes clear that to see justice served, Daniel will have to figure out who he truly is and where he came from. When Daniel asks Kat for her assistance, she readily complies, knowing she’ll do whatever it takes to protect the man she’s come to love.
The quest takes Kat and Daniel deep into the East End, where they face dangerous foes from Daniel’s rugged past, many of whom aren’t happy that Daniel now works with the police and will stop at nothing to keep Kat and Daniel from uncovering their secrets. As Kat begins to learn things about
Daniel’s history she’s not certain she wants to know, she fears that the darkest secret—his true name and lineage—will tear apart the tender bonds they’ve begun to form.
My Review:
This is one of my favourite historical mystery series. Kat’s no-nonsense approach to any dilemma stands her in good stead when amateur sleuthing is required. As does her courage and compassion. There’s also some tender poignancy in this ninth ‘Below Stairs Mystery’ as Kat grapples with a personal challenge that tugged at my heartstrings!
And then there’s Daniel. Swoony sigh. We finally get some answers about his mysterious back story and it was agonizing and riveting! Love the way the author weaves so many intricate details together to form a compelling plot full of intrigue and danger…and, of course, romance!
And I’m just as enamoured with the cast of secondary characters who are so well developed that I remember everything about them from one book to the next. Keeps me hoping for many more books to come because we need to get everybody sorted!
Side note: This is definitely a series that needs to be read in order. There is so much character development and back story plots that carry over from book to book. Relationships too. A reader will get so much more out each story by starting at the very beginning. Well worth playing catch-up!
I listened to the audio edition of ‘Murder in Blackfriars’ and while I appreciated Kymberley Cochrane’s performance, I was a wee bit disappointed to see the change in narrators this late in the series. Funny, how my mind associates a certain voice with these characters even if it’s been months since I last heard them. So, it took a bit of adjustment in the beginning but I soon warmed to this new narrator’s style and her interpretation of these beloved characters.
My thanks to Dreamscape Media and Net Galley for providing me with an audio copy of this book.
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