Death Below Stairs by Jennifer Ashley

She's a cook, a good cook.  When she goes to a new house, she knows she'll have to see who the other servants are and how they act.  But she didn't expect to land in a hotbed of illegal activity...

Berkley and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It is being published today so you can grab a copy now.

This is a Victorian read with servants below and the family above.  The first odd note is that the older sister (who is a spinster) wears men's clothing.  She hates being confined by a dress and she likes to pop into men's pubs and the like and pretend she's male.  Kat is not sure what to think of her.  

The man of the house is out most of the day but expects dinner to be ready upon his return.  His wife stays in bed.  The servants are varied.  Some are nice, some are greedy, and some have been there for years.  Her cooking assistant is pleasant enough and when she finds the master of the house likes to take advantage of her, she takes his tea up instead.  She's astonished to find an old friend up there with him but she says nothing. That evening, her cooking assistant is killed...

I enjoyed the story as a whole.  Kat is smart and she begins investigating.  Her friend is also investigating, so they work together.  Daniel is a mystery.  He can act like he's a member of the Ton or he can be a common street laborer.  He won't tell her who he works for.  But they are beginning to care for each other and that was the best part of this book.

When the murder leads to a plot to kill the Queen, the tension and danger both ratchet up.  It's not until the end that you find out just how big the plot was and how many people were involved.

I'd read another book in this series.  Ms. Ashley has a fresh look at the past with honest emotion.  I want to see how this romance turns out and how many more cases Kat and Daniel solve.