I loved the first book of the Kat Holloway series, so when I read about the second book over at Literary Feline, I just knew I had to read it. Luckily, the library already had the second book in ebook format and I managed to check it out immediately.

Scandal Above Stairs doesn’t start with a dead body, but it does start with the theft of several valuable paintings. The husband of one of Lady Cynthia’s friends is angry at his wife for the theft of several paintings, and Lady Cynthia wants Kat to solve it. But while that case seems straightforward, the appearance of a dead body complicates this. And it seems like Daniel McAdams is involved in the case, which means that it definitely isn’t straightforward.

I love that all the main characters from the first book are in this one too. One of the things I really enjoyed from the first book was the relationship between Kat and Daniel (and Lady Cynthia and Thanos, although I didn’t mention that in my previous review), and I liked the fact that the relationship developed even further in this book. It’s not at a happily ever after or even a happily for now stage, but I do like where this is going and I will definitely be reading the next book to see what happens next.

Apart from the relationship development, I like that Kat continues to be a sensible, independent woman. There’s a new character in this book – a girl named Tess – and the way Kat mentors her was fantastic. Tess was an interesting character in her own right and I think that she’ll prove to be a more than capable assistant for Kat.

I also learnt that there’s a prequel short story to the whole series, in a book called Murder Most Historical. Unfortunately, it’s not in the library and came out a couple of years ago, so I shall have to see if I can stumble across it in a second hand bookstore someday.