The Secret of Bow Lane by Jennifer Ashley

While the mystery itself is suitably twisty, it’s all the little details of the characters’ lives and relationships that I really love, as well as the ways in which they interact with each other. We also get to see more of Kat’s daughter, and Daniel’s son, as well as Daniel’s adopted brother, the vicar who may not be such a reformed character as he wants Kat to think. Of course, we also get to follow the daily life of the house in which Kat is employed and watch the progress of the slow-burning romances between Kat and Daniel and between Lady Cynthia and Mr Thanos – not that the women in either pairing would necessarily own up to being part of a romantic couple. This scenario gives us not only an intriguing mystery, but also the opportunity to see more of the less-explored parts of late Victorian London, as Kat’s investigations take her back to her old home on Bow Lane and into the shops owned and managed by her former neighbours. Now she has to face up to more of the events around that past relationship and revisit her old haunts when her late husband’s actual widow recruits her to track down his killers, in the hope of also finding the fortune that he was allegedly concealing when he died. Kat Holloway has always been more open with her readers than with those around her as to the events of her past, particularly her ‘marriage’ to a man who turned out to already have a wife and the beloved daughter from that relationship. Historical Mystery published by Berkley 02 Aug 22

Stevie‘s review of The Secret of Bow Lane (A Below Stairs Mystery, Book 6) by Jennifer Ashley

The Secret of Bow Lane by Jennifer Ashley