I love the Below Stairs Mysteries from Jennifer Ashley, including the novellas. Mrs. Holloway’s Christmas Pudding is a holiday novella in which our cook Kat Holloway is blamed when a dinner guest mysteriously takes ill and she’s been tasked with creating the perfect Christmas feast. Can she clear her good name?
by Jennifer Ashley
Series: A Below Stairs Mystery #6.7
Genres: Historical, Mystery
Source: Purchase
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
December 1882
When Cook Kat Holloway is blamed when a dinner guest mysteriously takes ill after eating one of her meals, she sets out to prove she had nothing to do with the gentleman’s sickness. She discovers a whole host of people who might wish to do away with the man, and she and her friends—Daniel McAdam, Lady Cynthia, Mr. Thanos, and various members of the household staff—begin to hunt for the would-be killer.
Simultaneously tasked with crafting the perfect Christmas feast, including the pièce de résistance, the Christmas plum pudding, Kat frantically works to finish all, fearing she’ll have to choose between stopping a murderer and cherishing her few precious Christmas moments with her daughter.
While Jennifer Ashley does a fantastic job of familiarizing readers and each book/novella contains its own mystery, I would be remiss not to recommend reading the series in order. A slow-burn romance and secondary characters build with each book and you’ll miss out on these delightful developments.
Of course, the cook is always to blame. For Kat, her reputation as a cook impacts her livelihood so when a dinner guest becomes mysteriously ill, Kat, Daniel McAdam, Lady Cynthia, Mr. Thanos, and various members of the household staff work together to figure out how the guest became ill. It was a fun mystery.
I loved this holiday edition, complete with plum pudding. If you are a foodie, I think you’ll appreciate the kitchen talks as Kat navigates, solving the mystery and preparing the perfect meal. The secondary characters are wonderful from Lady Cynthia, who prefers pants, to Daniel who aids Kat in her investigations as he woos her.
Despite the length, Ashley gave us a full mystery and intriguing tale set against 1880s London. I cannot wait for the next full-length installment and love the novellas she puts out.
About Jennifer Ashley
NY Times Bestselling author Jennifer Ashley writes historical, contemporary, and paranormal romance, historical mysteries, and urban fantasy as Jennifer Ashley, Allyson James, and Ashley Gardner. Jennifer's novels have won RWA's RITA and RT Reviewer's Choice awards, have been translated into many different languages and earned starred reviews from Booklist and Publisher's Weekly.
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Rolé @ Hooked By That Book
This is going on my list. I usually skip the novellas in a series, but I have read every single on in this series so far.
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature)
The one mystery series I read the most of was about a caterer, so I have to say food is a draw for me even in genres I don’t normally read, lol. And the cover of this one has my mouth watering! Great review!
Bookworm
This sounds like a nice holiday novella. I’d prefer to read them in order too.
ShellieJ
I just found these books this year and they are great! I love that there is a Christmas one. But I want to read them in order. Thanks for sharing!!
Jen Twimom
Yea!! This is up next for me to read for my TBR reading challenge!
Anne - Books of My Heart
I enjoy this series full books and novellas! Great review!
Kimberly
Me too. I read this last year during the HoHoHoRAT. I just finished the new one.