A Measure of Menace

A Below Stairs Mystery #7.5

by Jennifer Ashley

October 1883

When cook Kat Holloway and the kitchen staff maintain the empty Mayfair house while the family resides in the country, Lord Clifford, Lady Cynthia’s confidence-trickster father, arrives in London and asks Kat and Daniel McAdam for help. Lord Clifford might be accused of murder but won't go to the police because his involvement with the victim will implicate him in another crime.

Kat and Daniel must pool their resources and unravel this tricky situation before Lord Clifford is arrested. Kat will do anything to spare her friend Lady Cynthia disgrace and ruin, even when the investigation leads her into grave peril.

Genres: Mystery, Historical, Historical Fiction, Novella, Historical Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Cozy Mystery

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 30, 2024

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

[☕️Kimberly (Caffeinated Reviewer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lady Cynthia's father has gotten into trouble before, but this time he suspects he'll be accused of murder. Not wanting to summon, Lady Cynthia, Kat looks to Daniel McAdam for help. Solving this case, might just get them killed.

Lord Clifford was given his title, and is always looking to make a buck or swindle it from someone. Ah, well you cannot choose your relatives, and Kat is determined to protect her friend.

The case was a rather clever one, and indeed, on the surface, Lord Clifford looked guilty. It didn't help that he was being vague about his whereabouts. We had plenty of possible suspects, and the hunt for clues kept me engaged. Daniel and Kat continue their courtship in this slow-burning romance.

Ashley is a masterful storyteller, and despite the length of this novella, she provided a rewarding tale. It was fun following Kat as she puzzled out the mystery and got herself into danger. If you haven't yet started this series, I highly recommend them. The next full-length novel, A Silence in Belgrave Square, releases in August 2025. I for one, cannot wait! This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[♥Rachel♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lord Clifford is accused of murdering the man he borrowed a large sum of money from in an attempt to swindle another. I have to say Lord Clifford tries my patience, even more so in this novella and I think Kat is too easy on him. Still, she and Daniel help him. As usual, Kat's cooking always makes me hungry!

I love this series and binged it earlier this year and this was a fun short addition to the series!

[Barb in Maryland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever novella. This time Kat is helping Lady Cynthia's con-man father prove he didn't murder a notorious moneylender.
It's all very convoluted and I must say that the identity of the murderer was a big surprise.
I always enjoy spending time with Kat and her friends and co-workers. The author even manages to work in Kat's darling daughter for a pivotal scene.
Now, how to get Kat to cook for me? Do not read while hungry!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story

I always enjoy the Kat Holloway mysteries. I'm especially glad to see the slow burn romance between her and Daniel finally picking up speed. As far as in concerned, age could easily continue solving her mysteries if she married Daniel and ran her own tea shop and bakery.

[QNPoohBear · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good Kat Holloway short. I do recognize the Ponzi scheme, the steamship company, the railroad venture and the gin joint and I did guess whodunit from the wound. That was a dead giveaway and shouldn't have been mentioned. The story was still twisty enough that I didn't know what was going to happen. It was fun getting to know Cynthia's father better. She's aware of his faults but loves him anyway and is firm in her belief he is NOT a murderer. A confidence trickster? yes but murderer? no. He's also a broken down man who has lost two of his beloved children and doesn't quite know how to relate to or understand the third but he does love his family in spite of his faults.

Kat is as spunky and smart as ever and little Grace is a real treasure. She's growing up to be a fine young lady. Daniel is here too but mainly to look threatening and let Kat bounce ideas off him. Thanos gets in on the investigation too. He's so sweet. I like him but wouldn't want him for a partner. Lady Cynthia is headstrong and tough. She can face anything and hold her own among tough men. No Judith or Bobby in this story this time.

[mikaela (spinebreaker) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't believe she keeps all the good romantic moments in the NOVELLAS 😭 loved the mystery in the one and can't wait for the next.

[Ruby Bibi · Rating 4 out of 5]

-In this novella, Kat Holloway, the resourceful young woman who is working as a cook for the Bywater family in London, is faced with an unusual request. The Bywater family is now in the country and Kat is spending her time working up new menus for when they return. Mrs. Redfern, who is in charge of the overall running of the household, announces that Lord Clifford, the brother of Mrs. Bywater, has arrived at the home and will be staying for a little while, so that Kat must now furnish him with meals.
-As background, Lord Clifford had obtained his title hoping it would bring monetary reward with it, as he was always struggling for money. Though the title does come with property, the money that comes with the property is entailed so that he doesn’t have access and he’s always getting himself into some sort of trouble. Kat has become very close friends with Lord Clifford’s daughter, Cynthia, though they are in very different social levels, but it’s still a deep friendship.
-Not expecting anyone, Kat rummages up a meal, which Lord Clifford praises, but he requests that Kat come up to him as he wishes to speak to her. He needs her help as he’s aware of her past sleuthing abilities. He had tried to get a man to invest in a shipping venture, and to do so, had to convince the man that the people he was working with were valid. An initial investment that he extracted from the wealthy individual, Mr. Dougherty, now had to show a return, and in order to do so, Lord Clifford ended up borrowing 10,000 pounds from a money lender to give to Dougherty. Once obtaining the money, Dougherty refused to reinvest, which meant that Lord Clifford was out the 10,000 pounds plus exorbitant interest.
-The money lender, Mobley, was now pressing Lord Clifford heavily for a return of the loan but Lord Clifford insisted he could not pay him right away, and had met Mobley and screamed at him that he would get his money, but he would have to wait. Shortly after this, Mobley was found dead in his office, with his head struck with great violence. Lord Clifford was now a suspect in the murder. Lord Clifford now asked Kat to prove his innocence, but she was told that she could not say anything to Cynthia.
-Though she was reluctant to take this on, she decided to do so for Cynthia’s sake. Cynthia’s family had been through enough tragedy, with one of Cynthia’s brothers committing suicide, and her sister dying. She also felt that, though Lord Clifford would get into money troubles, it wasn’t in his character to actually kill someone. But she also knew that in order to completely absolve Lord Clifford from the murder, she had to determine who really killed Mobley.
-To investigate this murder would require the assistance of her beau, Daniel. Others in her circle would be drawn in as well. Though the Scotland Yard detective in charge, Sargent Scott, felt that Lord Clifford was the killer, another man in Scotland Yard under him was more probing in questioning Lord Clifford and expressed that he didn’t believe that Lord Clifford committed the crime, but there didn’t seem to be another possible suspect.
-With Daniel’s help, and some of Kat’s other friends, the investigation proved to be a lot more complicated than she at first realized and she had to again use her ability to think outside of the box, in order to discover the real killer.
-Though this is a novella, both the plot and the writing are top notch with a mystery that will keep the reader wondering until the end.

[Patsyann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mrs Holloway is asked to prove the innocence of Lady Cynthia's father. Lord Clifton is not a good person, he is a con man and a grifter. Eventually, all the conning and grifting will result in someone's murder. What to do, what to do!!!
So Mrs Holloway and Daniel and Mr Thanos and Cynthia work together to prove his innocence.
They maneuver through London city streets, police stations, the offices of other con men to find that Lord Clifton, though not a very smart con man, did not commit murder.
The murderer came out of nowhere, tried to attack Mrs Holloway and was then attacked by Daniel.
None of this was important in reading this novella, because the romance of Kat and Daniel was the important part of this book!! Kisses, sitting on laps and holding one another - it was all worth it!!!
And again, Kat had a daydream of her, Daniel and their children living together!!
Loved it!!!
BEST USE OF: Food. Servants. Knowledge of the police station. British Mores.
ALPHA MALE: 10
SPUNKY HEROINE: 10
CUTE CHILDREN: 10 (all teens)
SEX: 1
HEA: Don't know
PROLOGUE/EPILOGUE: Neither.
Rating:
10 - will still spend money to read these books
Heat:
1 - kissing, lap sitting, hugging and daydreaming
COVER COVERS IT: Meh!! Just a picture of a pie.
HOLLYWOOD CALLING: Should be made into a TV series!!

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a novella in the series -- probably #7.5 -- so shorter than average. But, even so, it's a well put together mystery. You know most of the characters if you've been reading along, so it gets straight into the meat of the story. As a novella, the focus is on the mystery vs any advancement of the various personal/romantic ongoing plots.

The house is 'shut up' as the Bywater family is in the country. But then Lord Clifford arrives without warning but Kat puts together a suitable meal regardless. He calls her to the dining room not just to compliment her cooking, but to tell her that a moneylender has been murdered and he expects to be accused of doing it, and to ask her help in proving his innocence.

Clifford is a bit of a reprobate -- horrible with money when he has it, which isn't often as his land holdings use up what ready cash he accumulates. So she's not surprised he's gotten involved in a money lender. Even less so when she realizes it's because he was trying to run a scam himself. Still she promises to do what she can, as much for the sake of Lady Cynthia's good name as anything.

The pace is quick, the plot well constructed, and the solution logical and satisfying. I'm looking forward to the next full length entry which should be out later this year.

[JW USA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading

The latest Kat Holloway novel is another enjoyable addition to the series. This time, Kat, who works as a cook in a household but constantly finds herself wrapped up in murder mysteries, takes the lead alongside her friend-slash-romantic-interest, Daniel. I liked that both Kat and Daniel were central to this story, which revolves around Lord Clifford getting into trouble, and once again, it’s Kat’s clever deductions that pull him out of it.

The plot itself is relatively simple, and while Kat’s involvement makes sense, I sometimes wonder why Daniel, with his experience and skills, doesn’t manage to solve the cases without her help. At times, it feels like we don’t see enough of him being a detective. Nonetheless, their relationship—romantic but very PG, with strong undertones suggesting there’s more beneath the surface—adds to the charm of the series. Overall, it’s an entertaining read that leaves me eager for the next book.

[TrixieB · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a disappointment! I love this series and this fell flat in so many ways. We had more of Kat blushing than anything else and it just rang false. The underlying plot was nonsensical. (there's no way in which the Earl could not have gotten his money back. It made no sense.)

The zip and zing of the rest of the series was completely missing here. Yes we saw Cynthia and pants once big deal. Was just completely lifeless. And the killer was obvious from pretty much the first time we saw them. Also, there were massive continuity errors. At one point, Daniel says how happy London's underworld will be that Mobley the moneylender is dead and then three paragraphs later says he doesn't know of him. The whole thing was just irritating.

[Jen (That's What I'm Talking About) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Measure of Menace is a delightful tale with a pretty solid mystery. Kat performs some excellent sleuthing, and I appreciate that she’s careful not to put herself in dangerous situations despite the dangerous nature of the crime.

With her employers, the Bywater family, out of town for the season, Kat has a bit more freedom to move around and investigate. I always enjoy watching Kat put the puzzle pieces together. The actual killer kind of comes out of the blue and without much build up to show his guilt, but Kat still figures it out.

I loved seeing genuine affection between Cynthia and Thanos, and that Kat dreams of having a life with Daniel. I hope this does come about sooner than later.

My Rating: B

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always had a soft spot for stories of intelligent women from "Below Stairs" in the 1800's. This one is a cook for an Earl's daughter and her husband. The characters are vivid, the plot is easily followed, and the premise is finding out who killed the moneylender, the Earl owed money to, and why, because the Earl was a suspect of the murder. The answers were difficult to find especially because the rapscallion Earl would not tell the whole truth of his whereabouts to anyone, so made himself look guilty. I definitely recommend this book.

[Marty Tool · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the family is in the country on vacation and the staff is supposed be having down time, they get an unexpected guest. Lady Cynthia's father shows up begging Kat to help him and has really messed up this time, he's going to be looked at for murder. He is not a very good conman, and I wanted to throttle him as well as Kat and Daniel did too. This is a quick read novella, but a complete adventure for the gang. We meet new police characters and the slow romance of Kat and Danuel moves forward. Always enjoyable to visit the below the stairs friends.

[Virginia Tican · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lady Cynthia's incorrigible and prone to get rich quick scams father is in hot water and he needed Kat's help. The last bit is the only thing that he did Right in all this imbroglio. Lord Clifford is what we could call a Peer with light pockets and a bit of a scoundrel. He would swindle a mark with amiability, for that is his Nature. The problem is, he borrowed money from a notorious money~lender who got killed and Lord Clifford was the prime suspect. A goodread.

[Rolé - Hooked By That Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another slightly madcap adventure with Kat and Daniel leading the charge. Cynthia lends a helping hand, as usual, and clearly she got her flair for the dramatic from her father. The plot flowed fast and delivered some interesting twists, but never felt rushed. I just love Kat and Daniel and their relationship is making slow progress. I truly hope that they can find their happy-ever-after. It's best to have read some of the previous books to get to know all these wonderful characters.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series, especially the pacing of the characters developments. The mysteries are interesting and are filled with life in the 1800's England but it is the characters that keep me interested. Lady Cynthia's no good dad is in over his head this time and when he has to ask Kat for help, it's all she can do to keep him and her out of death's way....

[Kav · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful addition to this beloved series. Lots of Kat and Daniel time which made my heart both happy and yearning. A solid mystery that plays out well despite the shorter word count in this novella. Mostly I just loved being in the company of these amazing characters and am eagerly looking forward to what's in store for them next.

[Kimberley Stafford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good novella featuring Lady Cynthia’s father and the murder of a moneylender with a vicious reputation. The mystery is straightforward, but any story with Lady Cynthia is good in my eyes. There is a lot of private interaction between Daniel and Kat (and a little between Lady Cynthia and Mr. Thanos) which is just lovely. I really love this series.

[Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella is packed full of interesting characters, possible villains and the regular crew of supporting characters and of course, Mrs. H., or Kat Holloway. Kat tries to help Lord Clifford stay out of jail and that's a challenge. Great plot with twists up to the end. I look forward to the next book.

[Lillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another lovely installment

I love this series. The characters are interesting, intelligent and admirable. This tale, like the previous, provide satisfying, relaxing entertainment. I have come to see them as friends.

[Roxie Klinksiek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

I loved this story that features Lady Cynthia and her father the Earl of Clifford. Kat and Daniel, along with Thanos; work hard to find out who killed the man the earl has been accused of murdering.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful novella. I never guessed the murderer, but Kat had kept careful notes and tracked him down and lured him in - while I was going - What! Looks like Daniel and Kat are getting even closer together, which is about time. 4.5 stars.

[Margie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lord Clifford (Cynthia's father) is accused of murdering a moneylender. Kat, Daniel and Thanos help investigate. It turns out a young police officer killed him and then planned to solve the crime. Easy read.

[Laurla2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

-4 stars. maybe 5, but too short. i always feel that way about novellas though.

the book leaves me wondering if lady Cynthia's father might change his ways after this. and how Daniel and Mrs Holloway's budding relationship might progress when the book makes the possibility sound so bleak.

[Anna Elise Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kat is back

So glad to read another Kat Holloway mystery! The characters are so real that they feel like old friends. Please don't take so long to visit them again.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I continue to enjoy Kat, her personality, her adventures, her loves and her cooking. May her romance blossom.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sigh

This deep into the series, and somewhat of a disappointment. Hopefully just a blip in the road and not a true harbinger of the end of the series.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mrs. Hollaway, a cook in a Victorian manor, helps Lady Cynrhia's father clear himself of a murder charge. It's a fun, short, cozy mystery.