A new upstairs, downstairs Victorian murder mystery in the Kat Holloway series from the New York Times bestselling author of Death in Kew Gardens. When young cook Kat Holloway learns that the children of London’s Foundling Hospital are mysteriously disappearing and one of their nurses has been murdered, she can’t turn away. She enlists the help of her charming and enigmatic confidant Daniel … and enigmatic confidant Daniel McAdam, who has ties to Scotland Yard, and Errol Fielding, a disreputable man from Daniel’s troubled past, to bring the killer to justice. Their investigation takes them from the grandeur of Mayfair to the slums of the East End, during which Kat learns more about Daniel and his circumstances than she ever could have imagined.
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I love this series. Page-turner about missing children, and I love Kat, Tess, Daniel, and the gang. Highly recommend!
Series: Kat Holloway Mysteries #4
Publication Date: 8/4/20
Number of Pages:320
The ONLY problem with devouring this book in one sitting – as I did – is that I now have to wait a year for the next one. I always have great intentions – of reading the books in this series slowly and savoring each word – but I’m weak and can never put them down once I start reading. The writing is excellent, the plot is tight and perfectly paced, and the characters are full and interesting. I love that we learn more and more about Kat and Daniel in each new book – and their relationship deepens. Daniel is one of the most enigmatic characters I’ve ever read and I can hardly wait to learn his full story. Then, of course, there are the returning secondary characters that we already love, but get to know better with each new book. Definitely, a wonderful ensemble cast within a compelling and exciting mystery.
Kat Holloway is a gifted cook in an aristocratic home – and she also has a soft, giving heart and a penchant for solving mysteries. When Kat learns that it is suspected that children are missing from London’s Foundling Hospital, she determines to get to the bottom of the mystery. Are the children missing, or aren’t they? If they aren’t missing, then, where are they? If they are missing, then, where are they and how did they end up missing? Kat’s greatest fear is that they’ve somehow ended up in the clutches of flesh peddlers and she’ll stop at nothing to rescue them from that fate.
Kat knows she cannot do it alone and asks for help from Daniel McAdam. Daniel has been her friend for several years and yet she still doesn’t know his full story. She knows she admires him; she knows he has some loose connection to Scotland Yard, but she knows very little of his early history. She’ll learn more in this book and even meet his ‘brother’. (It will be interesting to see in that brother has any roles in upcoming books.)
The search intensifies when a lovely nurse from the foundling home disappears. What could have happened to young Nurse Betts? Several days later, Daniel discovers that her body is in the morgue at Scotland Yard. She was literally beaten to death and Daniel’s brother, Errol Fielding, a vicar, is incensed because he had a tendresse for the young woman.
Kat and Daniel definitely have their hands full trying to keep Fielding in check and still uncover the fate of the children as well as the murderer of Nurse Betts. They’ll need all of their friends to help them – James, Bessie, Tess, Lady Cynthia, Mr. Elgin Thanos, Bobby – and new friend Miss Townsend. Of course – all of the investigating and crime-solving have to be worked around so Mrs. Bywater, Kat’s employer, is unaware of what is happening below stairs in her home.
This was an exciting, unputdownable read and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. You certainly cannot go wrong when you have such engaging characters solving such intriguing mysteries. I did like that there was move movement on the romantic front between Kat and Daniel, but it is definitely moving too slowly to suit me. I can hardly believe that I now have to wait a year for the next installment!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
When I find an author I enjoy I binge-read everything they write. After reading Murder in the East End I was saddened to realize that I am all caught up on the series and I now have to wait for the release of the next book. Jennifer Ashley introduced me to the modern Victorian mystery and I find that I love them.
A favorite series, main character, storyteller & narrator. Always an immersive, enjoyable listening experience! . . . But, Ms. Ashely, can we please let things progress between Daniel & Kat? I promise it won’t ruin the tension or lose you any fans. 🙂
As reviewed at Roses Are Blue: https://wp.me/p3QRh4-1iG
Kat Holloway is a talented cook, working in a fine London household. She’s also an intelligent woman, one with an inquiring mind, and a knack for solving mysteries. Kat is a single mother whose circumstances forced her to board her daughter with friends. She lives for those two days a week when she is able to spend time with Grace, and dreams of the day when she’ll have the means to keep her daughter with her all the time. During the course of her employment, Kat has come to be acquainted with Daniel McAdam, a deliveryman and so much more. Daniel occasionally works in assisting the police with investigations, many of which have him requesting Kat’s assistance. Still, Daniel has a mystery about him. Though he and Kat have grown closer, there’s a part of his life he withholds, keeping his true occupation a secret, either by choice, or by demand.
The latest case Daniel is investigating involves children disappearing from a foundling home, and Kat is only too willing to help. The situation grows more serious, when one of the concerned nurses at the home turns up missing, as well. Their inquiries lead them on a path that suggests someone or several someones on the very board governing the foundling home is using the children for their own financial gain. The twisted trail also reveals murder, child prostitution, and the usual assortment of bullies who are involved in such schemes.
MURDER IN THE EAST END is the fourth book in the KAT HOLLOWAY MYSTERY series, but can easily be read as a standalone without any confusion or sense of being lost. What a reader gains from having read the previous books is the knowledge of the developing relationship between Kat and Daniel, as well as their children, the other servants, and the friendships Kat has developed with those from “upstairs.” Kat is a woman to be admired – she has a toughness about her, yet plenty of compassion for others. She has a vulnerability regarding her growing feelings for Daniel which she tries to hide, but isn’t entirely successful. She knows her own worth and has a lot of pride in her abilities. Daniel is a charming and intelligent man. In each book, another small layer of his life is revealed, and he becomes more open about his regard for Kat. I love their relationship and their interactions, and look forward to their becoming even closer. MURDER IN THE EAST END is a satisfying mystery, one whose resolution left me surprised, though pleasantly so. My favorite part of the book is definitely the multiple relationships, those that cross class lines, those of family, and those of blooming romance.
my first book by ms. Aslhley. I would say it’s orginal. Fun and interesting characters. At first I thought cythnia was my favorite character but now I can’t decide. The mystery was good a bit of a page turner.
This is my first Kat Holloway Mystery and it will not be my last. I cannot wait for more about these wonderful, intriguing, and unique characters. Kat is a skilled cook for a well-to-do family but that is not her whole story. She has a way with people that gets them to trust her, to tell their stories, and to help solve mysteries that may get overlooked by others.
In Murder in the East End she is asked to find out where foundlings, children without parents, are being sent when they disappear from the London Foundling Hospital. I was intrigued, I was invested in finding the truth, and I could not stop reading.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the latest adventure of Kat, Daniel, Tess, Lady Cynthia, Mr. Thanos, and James. It is very easy to become involved in the mystery of the murder of a young woman who worked in a founder’s hospital (orphanage). It is not a simple story but Kat and Daniel work together and begin to unravel the various threads that make it very interesting. There are a few surprises in store for them but they handle them in their rather sensible way. This story stands alone but as always, I have enjoyed reading all of the earlier stories in this series and following the characters’ story lines.
An entertaining Victorian mystery. The attention to historical detail really brings the world to life, and the characters are all interesting and well fleshed-out. The writing was engaging. I felt the resolution to this particular mystery was slightly odd and underwhelming. Also, coming into this series at this point left me feeling just a bit confused/lacking in information about the main characters’ backstories. It didn’t effect the plot, but I think the book would read better if you had read the others in the series.
Content Warning below
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CW: children forced to work in brothel, abuse not on page
This is the first book I have read by Jennifer Ashley. I thought it was a really great mystery. I loved how the person working to solve the mystery was someone who still had to work and wasn’t wealthy. I liked that while they we trying to find the missing children, they were able to help stop a very bad thing that was happening. I liked that there was some interaction between those above stairs and below and I liked how forward thinking the young wealthy women were. I thought this was a good book and that the mystery kept you engaged the whole time. I would be interested in reading the other books in this series.
I received a complimentary book from publishers, publicists, and or authors. A review was not required and all opinions and ideas expressed are my own.
I received an ARC of this book. I love this series! The writing is beautiful, there’should a bit of romance and the bad guys are uncovered.
If this is your introduction, the books can be read alone, but will be much better with the background of characters and adventures. In Victorian London Kat Holloway is a cook in an upper class house. While Victorian stories tend to focus on nobility, this shows the world not just from a working class view but from that of a single, working class woman. Kathryn doesn’t see herself as special but she is observant and able to put pieces of a mystery together. Joining her is the enigmatic Daniel, who puts on and sheds personnas at will. We learn a bit more about him in each book.
In this book, Daniel asks for Kat’s help when children go missing from a foundling home. Kat looses her job, Daniel introduces her to his brother and a nurse disappears. Working with them are a couple of ladies who enjoy wearing gentlemen’s clothes, a woman painter and a scholar. It takes them all to put together the pieces of information leading to a solution. Along the way there is heartbreak and matchmaking. Enjoy!