The Price of Lemon Cake

Below Stairs Mystery #6.5

by Jennifer Ashley

When Kat Holloway approaches Lady Bobby Perry and Judith Townsend to help her discover what a young aristo is getting up to in a gentleman’s club, Bobby quickly accepts, coaxing a promise of Mrs. Holloway’s stupendous lemon cake in return.

But the investigation quickly turns into more than a simple spy mission, forcing Judith to confront a painful part her past. Both Judith and Bobby must bring their own unique skills to help Kat solve the tricky and dangerous problem.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical, Novella, Cozy Mystery, Short Stories, Fiction

70 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 3, 2023

About the author

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 been translated into many different languages, and earned starred reviews from Booklist and Publisher's Weekly. More about her books at http://www.jenniferashley.com and http://gardnermysteries.com.

Reviews

[Barb in Maryland]

Nice novella, featuring two of the secondary characters from the series--Lady Roberta, who prefers to dress as a man, and Judith, an artist.
Kat Holloway enlists their help in prying two rich brothers from the clutches of a baddie. As Kat has no money with which to reimburse them for their help, she offers to bake them one of her fabulous lemon cakes.
It's an interesting story and a good look at Bobby and Judith.

[☕️Kimberly (Caffeinated Reviewer)]

While we saw little of Kat, Daniel, or others, we got to spend some time with Bobby and Judith. Friends of Cynthia are concerned about a young man. It seems he is spending time at a gentleman’s club. Kat can’t visit the club and Daniel isn’t available, so Bobby and Judith agree to infiltrate the club dressed as men.

I loved the investigation as it delivered a twist regarding Judith’s past. It was fun getting to learn more about this couple as we uncovered truths. The mystery concerning the young man wasn’t complex, but it opened the door to Judith’s past.

I laughed about the method of payment the ladies extracted from Kat. The story was complete and I read it in one sitting. While I would have loved a full-length story, it gave us a look at secondary characters.

I absolutely recommend the Below Stairs Mystery series for fans of historical fiction, mystery, romance and food. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am off to hunt a slice of lemon cake. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[Jenny Q]

I can't bring myself to 2-star a book in this series, but there really is no mystery and too much takes place off the page. Feels unfinished too, but maybe this thread will show up in the next Kat book.

[Grisette]

4 stars

I was agreeably surprised to discover that a short novella had been released for this beloved series. And though I read the blurb, I never expected the story to be unveiled from the pov of Lady Bobby and Judith. But what a nice change! This was a very nice short story, very well written by JA. I was thrilled that right from the first lines I was immediately plunged back into the world of Kat Holloway. And of course, I am in love with the cover. Can't wait for Book 7 in 2024!


P.S. When I read Death at the Crystal Palace, I actually experimented with recreating Kat's famous lemon cake based on the few indications in the book (when I am not even a lemon cake fan lol, but I love Kat and the cake was described to be just out of this world!). It ended up being a good enough cake, but certainly not as dreamy as the one they all rave for in the series and which looks so appetizing on the cover!

[QNPoohBear]

This short story is set in Kat Holloway's London and is from the point-of-view of Cynthia's friends, Bobby and Judith. It's not an introduction to the series or even an in-between novella, and not much of a mystery, it's a side story. Kat Holloway asks Bobby and Judith to look into a matter for Countess Coulson who is worried about her younger son who is keeping some low company. She fears her younger son, The Honorable Terrance Makepeace, is leading her eldest son, William, astray. If this is the case, she fears the wrath of her husband! As Kat cannot investigate young noblemen, she needs some help. Bobby readily agrees to visit a popular gaming den where the brothers are known to hang out. What she discovers there leads to new revelations about Judith's past.

The author always uses she/her pronouns for Bobby but I think today Bobby would use they/them or he/him. I really like Bobby and how unapologetic she is about who she is. She's in love with Judith but too shy to speak her feelings out loud. Bobby is a loyal and true friend who won't let her feelings get in the way of having a relationship with Judith. If they're meant to be friends, so be it. Bobby is also eager to help Mrs. Holloway, she says for Mrs. H's famous lemon cake, but I think she's eager to be doing SOMETHING. Judith has her art, Cynthia has her job with Mr. Thanos and since Bobby presents herself as male, she's an idle young nobleman. I think she's smarter than your average young nobleman, as evidenced by this story. She's observant, shrewd and empathetic. Who wouldn't love Bobby? The history of queer people in London is woven into the story as Bobby worries about what will happen if she gets caught. She's mostly too smart for that but there have been some near misses.

In this story we learn more about Judith. We also see her as she was born and bred, a noblewoman. She may have rejected the lifestyle but centuries of "breeding" (i.e. careful instruction) have ingrained in her a certain way of behaving and how to get what she wants. She doesn't utilize those skills very often but when she does, watch out! She's lovely otherwise but quite silly not to reveal her feelings to Bobby. It's obvious she's worried about Bobby getting caught because she cares but maybe her feelings are a little too hidden for Bobby to understand.

Mrs. Holloway, Cynthia and Daniel and all the regulars are absent from this story. Instead we have the new characters Bobby is investigating. Terrance Makepeace is a dim young nobleman with more money than brains. He's the younger son, a scrapegrace, who has embarrassed the family. He drinks too much, gambles and is not too nice where women are concerned. He's going to end up disinherited if he's not careful. His mother may sound like a worrywort and a ninny but she must know her husband and if the heir is led astray by his younger brother, then I would assume the younger son would be forcibly removed from the family. William seems to have a different personality. He's not as confident as his brother and maybe not so corrupted, yet.

The villain is an opportunist who seeks to exploit young men about town and also women. He's slimy and clearly up to no good. How to convince someone like that to quietly go away is the real mystery! He has a connection to Judith's past and so they need him to answer questions. It's always fun to catch up with Mr. Fielding, who I don't quite trust or like very much but he's a useful person to know. Is he on the side of the villain or the women? If he's smart, he'll not earn the wrath of Mr. Holloway so if he is on the side of the villain, he better remain silent!

This was a nice little story. It's more queer historical romance than history. I enjoyed getting to know Bobby and Judith a little better.

[Carolyn]

Great little novella with secondary characters from the series, Bobby and Judith.

[Jeannine]

A perfect little taste of domestic life with Bobby and Judith with a tiny job for Kat on the side. There’s also a chapter from the next Kat Holloway book!

[BrandyD]

3.75 rounded up. I enjoyed this short novella but it needed to be a bit longer. Things wrapped up too quickly.

[Elaine]

I couldn't get my head around this short story. It was o.k., but wished it was longer. 3☆

[Laura]

Great story

What fun to have a side story featuring other characters from the Kat Holloway series. Bobby and Judith made for a fantastic story and it was fun to learn more about these characters. Hopefully there will be more stories featuring other characters from the books.

[Kristen]

This is part of a favourite series that I very much enjoy. While I wait for the next full novel in the series to release, this very brief short story was a fun way to visit with an abbreviated group of the characters and see Mrs. Holloway and her friends resolve a small issue for some of their friends.

[Kathy Martin]

This novella has Mrs. Holloway asking Lady Cynthia's friends Bobby and Julia to find out why two young men are getting involved in gambling. Bobby is a cross dresser and visits the gambling hall where she sees the men and sees some salacious photos including one that looks like Julia. The two rescue the young men with the aid of Daniel's foster brother and discover Julia's lost sister.

[Paige]

I would read anything even remotely tangential to the Kat Holloway books.

[mikaela (spinebreaker)]

i thought there would be. you know. lots of kat holloway in this. maybe some daniel.

it wasn't bad, but wasn't what i expected

[Bobbi]

Really not much to this short story.

[Stephanie Symons]

This was a short story that featured characters that appeared in previous books. It was interesting but seemed to be more of a prequel to a future book.

[Elisabeth]

Wonderful

The only problem with short stories is that they are short. I love this author and I particularly love this series. And this story is particularly dear.

[JW USA]

ok

Not really a short story more of a slice of the lives of Judith and Bobby. The mystery isn’t really solved by anyone.

[Penelope]

MY RATING GUIDE: 2 Stars. I don’t feel this was an essential addition to the ongoing series. I missed Daniel and the problem solving. This felt more about highlighting a lesbian romance than solving a Below Stairs Mystery.

1= dnf/What was that?; 2= NOPE; NOT FOR ME; 3= This was okay/cute; 3.5= I enjoyed it; 4= I liked it a lot; 5= I Loved it, it was great! (I seldom give 5 Stars).

THE PRICE OF LEMON CAKE is a Short Story that touches on Jennifer Ashley’s Kat Holloway Below Stairs Mystery series. It updates the reader on a few secondary characters in the series while including a short conflict as well (not really a mystery). I have very much enjoyed the past books in this series with Kat and Daniel, Thanos and Cynthia, Daniel’s son and others but my interest in a story featuring the secondary characters (in a lesbian romance) is minimal. I finished this story because it was short but if a new series begins featuring the 2 characters highlighted here, I will take a pass.

[Anne - Books of My Heart]

A short novella which focuses on Bobby and Judith. Kat is involved only briefly. There isn't really a strong mystery or action.

[Ruby Bibi]

-This is a short story that goes deeper into the relationship of people around Kat Holloway, the main character of this series. Kat is very close to Lady Cynthia Squires who is a niece of the couple that reside in the home where Kat works. Over the time that Kat has been the cook, she and Cynthia have shared many adventures together, though Kat still addresses Lady Cynthia respectfully.
-Lady Cynthia has now asked Kat for her help. Lady Cynthia’s beau, a genius math professor, Mr. Thanos, who Lady Cynthia adores and vice versa, has a student that’s been slipping in his studies, and it bothers Thanos because of the potential that this young man has. Thanos had approached Lady Cynthia because the young man, William, was the elder son of Lady Coulson, a friend of Cynthia.
-The issue is that Lady Coulson’syounger son, Terrance, always seemed to be in gambling trouble, and William keeps trying to assist Terrance, but Lady Coulson is worried that Terrance has pulled William as well into trouble. The only way to approach the pair would be to speak to them in a gambling hall, The Strand. Where, normally, Kat would ask her own boyfriend, Daniel McAdam, for assistance, he’s away, and so she is now reaching out to other acquaintances that she knows through Lady Cynthia.
-Judith and Bobby (Roberta), are both from well to do and aristocratic families, but they are lovers and considered black sheep in their respective families. Bobby was also known as Lady Roberta Perry, daughter of an Earl, while Judith also came from an extremely wealthy and titled family. Judith occupies her time by using her artistic talent to create paintings, while Bobby, just like Cynthia, likes to dress up as a man and go to clubs, incognito.
-When Kat asks for help, Bobby volunteers to go to the club, which only accepts men. Because of her figure and deeper voice, she most often gets away with her disguise and she agrees to investigate.
-Bobby, during her investigation, finds out more than she planned, as other information that she was totally unaware of, is revealed, which will affect both her and Judith. Pulled into this story is another character, Mr. Fielding, the con man turned vicar, who must also provide his assistance.
-Because of the brevity of the story, there is no involved mystery, and the plot is very straightforward, with the added bonus of the original request by Kat leading to troubling revelations about other characters. As a result, it’s not as fulfilling a tale as the other books penned by the author. It really only gives further depth to some of the characters which surround Kat, which may be useful background in future episodes.

[Lori]

3 stars - mostly because I didn't realize this was a Novella, and I was very disappointed that it really wasn't about Kat Holloway....

This "Kat Holloway" story is really about Kat asking Bobby (Lady Roberta) and Judith to go where Kat cannot go - to a Gentleman's Club - to ferret out what's going on with the sons of aristo friends of Cynthia and Kat's employers. Seems these gentlemen are in the clutches of an evil man. And since Daniel Adams is nowhere to be found, Kat asks Bobby and Judith to help. And the price of her help is a Lemon Cake.

Bobby already masquerades as an Aristo man, gadding about town without question. So she decides to investigate. But this "evil man" with the 2 Aristo gentlemen is suspicious, and Bobby's not sure that he won't unmask her in the club. Quick thinking on her part seems to allay his suspicions, but in the process, Bobby stumbles on what seems to be a picture of a young Judith almost entirely in the buff!

What is Judith hiding in her past? And why does Judith always seem out of breath when Bobby returns to the home they share, when Judith insists she's been reading all evening? And can Bobby unravel the mystery and/or get these boys free of the insidious man who seems to have a hold over them?

Again, Kat is barely in this book, which is a shame since I love her so much! I will say the Author came up with a clever way to give Kat "a break" and still keep us interested. But... when will the next true Kat Holloway Below Stairs mystery be available?

[Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews]

Kat Holloway turns to her two friends Lady Bobby Perry and Judith Townsend to help her. Bobby goes into a club incognito to discover if one young man is being led astray by his brother, but instead Bobby and Judith discover a few painful secrets Judith had thought was locked in her past. Will the price of Kay Holloway’s lemon cake be enough to cover this cost?

This is the second short story in this Upstairs/Downstairs series that I have read, and I must admit I enjoyed it. Set in the late 1880s I found the historical setting to be slightly romanticized but still quite believable. I also found the plot to be a lot of fun – but a small amount of disbelief really did need to be suspended. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the story.

Despite this story being billed as part of the Kat Holloway series I was surprised but pleased this really had a lot more to do with Kat’s two friends, Bobby and Judith. Obviously, the plot couldn’t be too convoluted due to the short nature of the story, but I was very pleased with the two interweaving storylines and the way they were neatly tied up at the end. I was also glad that readers didn’t need to be familiar with the main book series – I, personally, have not read any of the full-length novels in this series – to enjoy and fully comprehend what’s happening.

For a quick introduction to the world and some of the characters this is an excellent short story. I enjoyed it and am intrigued enough to give one of the main novels a try.

[R]

**MINOR SPOILERS**
This novella is connected to the Below Stairs series. Secondary characters from that series have their own mystery to solve. Kat Halloway, the main character from the series, appears. I do not recommend it as a standalone.
Kat approaches Bobby Perry to see if she can find out more information about two brothers who appear to be in trouble. Bobby, a woman, usually dresses as a man and has, in the past, gone to gentleman’s clubs. She is a friend of Kat’s employer.
She goes to a club to collect information about the two brothers. When she does so, she finds out that the person who is the villain in this story has a surprising but remote connection to something from Judith’s past.
It was great to see the resourcefulness and intelligence of all the women in this book: Bobby, Judith, and Kat. They were dynamic and interesting women.
I liked the historical aspect of the book and the author has clearly done a lot of research into a variety of topics from the time. The story was interesting. The characters are well drawn. The pace was good and the dialogue was realistic. The book was told from Bobby’s first person point of view.
The relationship between Bobby and Judith takes a step forward in this book.
The ending of the book leaves open the possibility of a follow up adventure starring Bobby and Judith. The main story line of this novella is resolved.
I plan to read more books in the series. I liked this novella.

[Inés]

This novella in the series of historical mysteries is hardly a mystery, merely a tangle that is solved all too easily. There's also a side story pertaining to one of the recurring supporting characters which may or may not come up in future books. In any case, since it's a novella, I didn't expect the mystery to be too convoluted, so I wasn't too disappointed. The writing style is the same as in other novels by this author, with a well-paced story and a good historical feeling, so all in all, it was an entertaining (if light) read.
Also, and this was a surprising but pleasant novelty, this book is not narrated in first person from the point of view of Mrs Holloway. Instead, it is narrated in third person and from the point of view of Lady Roberta, better known as Bobby, one of the recurring supporting characters in the series. In fact, Mrs Holloway only makes two brief appearances and the centre stage goes to Bobby and her friend and love interest, Miss Townsend. This allows the reader to get a glimpse into the forbidden but also very tender relationship between these two women and gain a better understanding of these characters, their personalities, dreams and difficulties.

[Laurla2]

read in "pride not prejudice: volume 1" anthology.

below stairs mystery series - features Miss Judith Townsend and Bobby Perry, told from Bobby's POV.

Kat Holloway comes to the ladies with a problem, promising a lemon cake in return for their help. But the investigation turns tricky, and lead Bobby and Judith to assess their relationship and what each wants from it. F-F.

"instead of trying to hide her shock at Bobby's comfort in men's dress, she now accepted Bobby as she was. Mrs Holloway was good at that, Bobby reflected. she saw the truth of a person and didn't require that person to change to suit her expectation."

[Ann]

This is a novella in the Kat Holloway series, also called "Below Stairs Mysteries". Kat herself isn't heavily featured here; rather, she has sought the help of a couple of the well to do, if unconventional, young ladies of her acquaintance. As such, we get to know the both of them a bit better as they carry on the investigation. Basically, their goal is to see what they can do to turn a couple of young aristocrats from a path of self-destruction. This is as a favor to Kat but she agrees to bake them a lemon cake if they can help.

Again, a short read, but enjoyable and a nice 'background info' sort of piece in the series before the 7th full novella.

[Kimberley Stafford]

The Price of Lemon Cake is an enjoyable vignette from Bobby’s (Lady Roberta’s) point of view, as she is recruited by Mrs. Holloway to observe a couple of young aristos at a gambling hell, where Bobby can pass as a man. The compensation for this surveillance is a lemon cake. It is a nice look at the deepening relationship between Bobby and Judith, her love. I liked getting a little time with secondary characters from the Below Stairs mysteries.

[Virginia Tican]

Bobby Perry Investigates. Lady Coulson asked Mrs. Holloway to look into her younger son's gambling habits as she is afraid the unruly boy is in deep trouble, what with going through his allowance like water through his open palms and getting his more responsible older brother in hot water. Given that the respectable Mrs. Holloway could not go into a disreputable gambling den like The Adam, it would fall into Bobby aka Roberta (Lady Roberta to be more on point) who is the only "man" among them, to go into the gambling den and find out what's what. The price for her endeavor and sacrifice would be Mrs. Holloway's divine Lemon Cake. Kate and Judith were against this for their own reasons but Inevitably and Pragmatically, Bobby is IT. A Fun read with a twist regarding Judith Townsend's familial colorful Past.

[Lissa]

This doesn't have much of a plot. It's from Bobby's POV and is mostly about Bobby & Judith. Only BObby, Judith, Kat & Mr Fielding appear in this book. Thanos ask Cecelia to ask Kat to look into a Lordling activies at a gambling den. Daniel is out of town, so Kat ask Bobby to go to the club. Bobby agress to for a lemon cake.