I recently realised that I had not read the latest Below Stairs series (which, in my head I call the “Kat Holloway” mysteries because it’s easier to remember the protagonist’s name), so when I found a copy of Murder in the East End in the library, I promptly snatched it up!

Murder in the East End starts with Daniel springing a surprise on Kat – he has a brother. A foster brother, to be sure, but a brother that Kat never about. And his brother, the ex-criminal, possibly reformed vicar wants Kat’s help to investigate the disappearance of some children and a nurse from London’s Foundling Hospital. Of course Kat is going to help, and thankfully she has old friends, like Lady Cynthia and Mr Thanos, as well as new friends like Miss Townsend, who are more than willing to help.

As with Death in Kew Gardens, I really like that most of the minor characters in the earlier books make an appearance here. Everyone moves forward, although looking at how awkward Mr Thanos and Cynthia are with each other, they are moving at a really slow pace. But I do like seeing how Bobby managed to get over her heartbreak about Cynthia and seeing more of Grace, Kat’s daughter. I think this type of development makes all the characters feel very real, since it’s easy to focus on the protagonists – Kat and Daniel – and neglect the development of side characters.

It’s a rather minor point, but the whole running sub-plot about Cynthia being forced to meet insipid men (in a bid to marry her off) led to some a great quotes about women’s status being tied to their marital status. In her words:

“If I wish to be a spinster, I should be left to it. But spinster is considered such an ugly word. Don’t know why. No one thinks bachelor is a horrible term. But when a woman is a spinster, she is suddenly hideous, shrivelled, and unwanted.”

I am actually really interested in Cynthia’s subplot because of this! She seems to be conflicted between wanting to be independent but also liking Mr Thanos (unsuitable as he is) and I’m interested to see how later books are going to handle this.

Speaking of characters, fans of Daniel McAdams, Kat’s love interest in the series, are going to be happy to know that this book speaks about his past. We don’t get to know everything, but we do learn a lot more than we did in the previous books. I’m hoping that this is leading towards a story where the mystery is going to be centered on Daniel’s past and how that lead to his present circumstances, the way Louise Penny took a few books to build up a Gamache subplot that, when it became the main story, became one of my favourite books in the series.

Overall, this is another great book in the Below Stairs mysteries. If you’re a fan, you’re going to want to read this. If you’ve not read the earlier books but you’re a fan of historical mysteries, I suggest starting with Book 1 so that all that’s happening with the side characters will be more satisfying.