Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Death at the Crystal Palace by Jennifer Ashley Series: Kat Holloway Mysteries #5
Published by Berkley on July 6, 2021
Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Pages: 304
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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While attending an exhibition at the Crystal Palace, young cook Kat Holloway is approached by a woman in distress. Lady Covington is a wealthy widow convinced that her entire family is trying to kill her. Kat feels compelled to help, and she escorts the lady home to discover whether she is delusional or in true danger.
It is quickly apparent that the threat is all too real, and Kat promises aid. Her charming confidant Daniel McAdam is busy infiltrating a plot against the Crown, and she worries he will not have time to lend his sleuthing expertise. This might be for the best, as Kat fears her growing emotional entanglement with Daniel can only lead to disaster. But soon, Kat faces a more serious threat when her involvement in both investigations plunges her into peril.
I was very happy to continue the Kat Holloway mysteries. Each mystery is standalone though there is an ongoing series arc for Kat’s personal and relationship developments. I know and love many of the characters and I understand the world even if I don’t like some of it. Women of any class have few rights or options. Kat does well because she is smart and skilled but her position is still precarious.
Lady Cynthia’s family is in town to pursue schemes and try to marry her off. There is still some pushback on her being friendly with a cook. Kat is able to help Lady Cynthia by having her visit another family to figure out what is going on in the current investigation. She also figures out a way for Cynthia to have a regular purpose.
Kat sees Grace very little here. She does help Daniel with a dangerous case. They continue their building of a relationship even though the Bywaters are against her having any life or commitment other than as their servant.
The combination of the various characters and their personal relationships and growth along with the investigations make this a fun and fascinating series to read. I also enjoy all the cooking information with Kat being a cook.
About Jennifer Ashley
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Jennifer Ashley has lived and traveled all over the world, and now lives in the Southwest. She writes historical, paranormal, and contemporary romance as Jennifer Ashley; mysteries as Ashley Gardner; and paranormal romance and urban fantasy as Allyson James.
Jennifer’s/Allyson’s/Ashley’s more than 100 novels and novellas have won RWA’s RITA award, RT Reviewer’s Choice awards, and the Prism award, among others. Jennifer’s novels have been also been translated into French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, Norwegian, Hungarian, Italian, Thai, Indonesian, and several other languages.
Jennifer enjoys writing and reading above all else, but her hobbies include cooking, hiking, playing flute and guitar, painting, and building miniature rooms and dollhouses.
Author photo credit to Berkley Prime Crime (TR) 2022
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- C21-Spring
I’ve got this one to read soon. Glad you enjoyed it.
I just worked on through to it after we read the first one for COYER book club. I’m pretty much doing the same thing with Sonali Dev’s series but luckily it is just a trilogy.
I quickly scanned b/c I plan to read this later this year. I’ve listened to the first three and am really enjoying this series a lot. Happy to see the series continues to be a winner for you.
Thank you Jen. I do enjoy it.
Oh I’ve only read her PR books I must give this a try. Thanks
I’ve recently become more of a fan of historical mysteries and I really like this series.
i love when the books in a series can stand alone, yet keep the characters stories going.
Well I would read them in order because of the changes to the character’s lives but they each contain a mystery. I really enjoyed them.
I do enjoy historical mysteries. I’ve read a paranormal book of hers, but not this genre. I’ll have to check it out. Great review, Anne!
I’ve read some of her paranormal books also. So really I’ve liked everything I have read from the author.
I’ve been wanting to try some historical mysteries and this series sounds like a wonderful place to start.
This is a good place to start. The series has just 5 books which isn’t too bad. I love the gaslight mysteries by Victoria Thompson but there are like 20 books or something. I liked Erin Lindsey paranormal NYC historical mystery series and there are only 3 of those. The best which I have yet to read all of them is Sebastian St. Cyr by CS Harris. I also love Thomas and Charlotte Pitt by Anne Perry but it’s been a long time since I read them. There are new ones about the Pitt”s son. I also hear the Anna Lee Huber ones are great but haven’t got to them yet.
I’m so glad we read the first book for COYER book club a few months ago; it got me into the series and I’ve enjoyed every novel so far… definitely including this one. It was interesting to see Kat trying to navigate society from the other side of the baize door, so to speak. I do hope that eventually, the relationship between Kat and Daniel will be free to develop. And I love where things seem to be going for Lady Cynthia and Mr. Thanos, and Kat’s role in facilitating that.
I was glad and not glad. I enjoyed the book and wanted to read the series which is what I was afraid would happen. So of course, I’ve read the whole series for now. I enjoyed it.