In Scandal above Stairs by Jennifer Ashley, set in 1881, Mrs. Holloway, cook of a mansion in the rich neighborhood of Mayfair, has served as cook there for three months and, while settled in, desperately needs a cook’s assistant. One day Mr. Davis, the butler, tells her that he saw Daniel McAdam working in a seedy pawn shop, the first that Mrs. Holloway has heard of Daniel since their adventure three months earlier in Scandal before Stairs. So on her day out, Mrs. Holloway makes a point to look for this pawn shop and find Daniel, who indicates he is there to look for stolen goods. The next day James, Daniel’s son, comes to the mansion with Tess, Daniel’s suggestion of a new cook’s assistant for Mrs. Holloway. In a couple days, Mr. Davis reads from the newspaper to Mrs. Holloway and Tess that a body has been found murdered and with a disfigured face in the pawn shop where he earlier saw Daniel. At Scotland Yard, the pair of frantic women and James, who joined them en route, get warned off asking about Daniel after discovering that the body does not belong to him. But to whom does it belong? And what has happened to Daniel?
The rest of the book follows the adventures of Mrs. Holloway and her friends, including a poisoning, a series of break-ins throughout the upper classes, and the reappearance of Daniel. The scandal takes the investigation force into the bowels of Scotland Yard. The plot moves actively from one action to the next, and we learn a little more about the life of the secretive Daniel. Lady Cynthia, the intelligent, somewhat rebellious lady of the house, who likes to dress in men’s clothing, proves as entertaining as ever. We also get to see her find a love interest, which was very touching.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Scandal above Stairs. The book has a very creative plot, with a series of crimes to be solved. We become highly invested in the characters, whom we come to appreciate a lot. The historical setting further intrigues, as we learn about cooking in a mansion during the Victorian era. I give this book five stars.
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