September MysteryKIT: upstairs/downstairs

The September MysteryKIT is “upstairs/downstairs”, so we read books featuring characters from the so-called upper classes, and the people serving them. You can read something in the more traditional sense, for example a golden age mystery featuring aristocrats – most country house mysteries should be eligible. You could also give this a modern twist and read a mystery featuring a business tycoon, a movie star, or just any other rich person, or a book featuring a nanny, a housemaid, an assistant etc.

Note: Your book does not have to feature both the “upstairs” and the “downstairs”, it is ok if it pictures only one of them.

Here are a few ideas from my own shelves:

Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson
The Draycott Murder Mystery by Molly Thynne
The Man Who Smiled by Henning Mankell (touchstone not working)
Lullaby by Leïla Slimani
Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie
Murder of a Lady by Anthony Wynne
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

You can find the wiki here.

Have fun and please share your ideas and the books you read!

I may read Murder in the East End by Jennifer Ashley. The detective is a cook in a Victorian household.

Great topic! I'm going to check my books and then wait for some of the other cats to be posted and see if I can twofer!

Planning to read A Gentleman Called by Dorothy Salisbury Davis, in which a Wall Street lawyer is greatly helped by his Scottsh housekeeper.

I think I will read Towards Zero by Agatha Christie, but my plan might still change if anything else comes up.

I think I will also be reading Agatha Christie. I've chosen Dead Man's Folly.

Hmmm, I stacked a copy of The Maid (by Nita Prose) for this prompt but though it technically works, I'm going to dig deeper into my lists and see what might serve better.

>7 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I read that book two years ago and I think it works very well for this topic!

I will probably read one of the Great Witches Baking Show novels, because they include a mix of gentry and also people who work for them.

I ended up reading Murder in the Snow by Verity Bright, since it also works for RandomKit this month. The main character is a lady of wealth who works with her butler to solve crimes, set in the 1920's.

>8 MissBrangwen: Oh good! I wasn’t finding much else on my own shelves for some reason. I have Lord Edgeware Dies (a.k.a. Thirteen at Dinner) but I’m saving it for the food prompt later this year 🙂

I think I've decided on Malibu Rising / Taylor Jenkins Reid

ETA: Not sure what led me to think that one might fit. I would have used tags to search, but I'm still unsure. I checked a couple of weeks ago, but I can't recall. I have a couple of other options written down, but one of my cats is sitting on my list! Oh, he's off now... Other options:
A Twist of Fate / Kelley Armstrong
Drop Shot / Harlan Coben.

I read Death of an Old Sinner by Dorothy Salisbury Davis, in which the central character is the housekeeper for a retired general and his politician son.

I read Towards Zero by Agatha Christie, which features Lady Tressilian and also other members of the upper classes.

I read Murder at Farrington Hall by Ann Sutton where a maid is killed at a weekend party of upper class people

I have finished Der dunkle Bote, a historical mystery set in 1920 Vienna. The main character was brought up in a state orphanage for foundlings, his junior partner is an impoverished aristocrat stripped of his title by the new republic. A very dark story.

Bertie and the Seven Bodies by Peter Lovesey turned out to be the perfect book for this theme, as it's a country house mystery with both upstairs and downstairs characters.

I read What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust by Alan Bradley, in which a servant (Mrs. Mullet, the cook) is a murder suspect.

I finished reading The Maid (Molly the Maid #1; by Nita Prose) yesterday afternoon. This is a light contemporary mystery featuring a naive and socially awkward housekeeper, Molly at a hotel. On her rounds one day, she discovers the body of a frequent guest, the wealthy and arrogant Charles Black. Molly quickly becomes a person of interest, and even more quickly a suspect in the murder of Mr. Black. Via the protagonist, the author equivocates on the nature of truth, landing on the idea that a lie is a lie in commission but not omission, and that there is a moral relativism to be validated if bad people have bad things happen to them whether or not they are guilty of the charges.
There are also some reservations I have about Molly's portrayal of being neurodivergent. Though the author does not explicitly bring the words "autism" or "neurodivergent" into play, it's strongly implied-- though it's an inconsistent portrait and doesn't quite ring true. Coupled with her OCD tendencies, Molly reminds me most of Anna Kendrick's portrayal of Stephanie in the comedy thriller movie A Simple Favor (also starring Blake Lively and Henry Golding).
Though the plot was clever, it lacks substance. With the added moral ambivalence and untrustworthiness of the main character, I'm taking a hard pass on continuing the series (currently 3 books).

ETA: Upon further Googling, it appears that Nita Prose has stated that she did not write a neurodivergent character. So Molly is just really socially awkward and odd. Comparison to Stephanie in A Simple Plan stands.

The October thread is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/363370

I read The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz.
I must admit up front, I’ve never been a fan of Sherlock Holmes, but being familiar with Horowitz’ writing I thought he would entertain, and yes, he did. I listened to the audiobook while doing mindless chores and the narration by David Jacobi was outstanding, that’s who really what kept me listening, although Horowitz achieved an excellent reprisal of Sherlock and Dr Watson.

Another "upstairs" book read: Ten Lords a-Leaping by C.C. Benison
Sorry to say the plot sounds more enticing than the book turned out to be. A group parachute jump to raise money for the church roof provided a startling opening scene that offered promise, before the story slowed. There were some good characters but Lady Jane was not the delightful Jane Bee I remember from the Her Majesty Investigates series. I have enjoyed other books by Benison so I won’t give up but this one was not his best.

For this challenge, I read both Cocktails & Chloroform and Disturbing the Dead by Kelley Armstrong. The sleuths are Dr. Gray and his former housemaid.

I have finished Schnee in Venedig, first in a series of historical mysteries set in 1860ies Venice, The leading investigator is an impoverished count.

>11 LibraryCin: I think I've changed my mind on what I'll read. I'm hoping this one actually fits (it comes up via a tagmash). I was looking for an audio to finish off the month (though this is likely to take me into the beginning of October, as well), but this is what I'm aiming for now:

The Dressmaker / Kate Alcott

>24 LibraryCin: Well, I still haven't figured out where the "mystery" is in this book. And it looks like multiple people tagged it "mystery". The upstairs/downstairs definitely fits, though.

Commissario Tron's second case is Venezianische Verlobung. Maximilian sits in Triest waiting to strike a deal with the Mexicans to become their emperor. Lots of supporters and opponents are running around in Venice creating a complicated net of intrigue for the aristocratic police officer.

And I'm back again to say, I've found a different one that I'm pretty sure fits. I only started it today, but I'm going to count it since the others I was aiming for didn't really fit, in my opinion.

Finally - this one legitimately counts!

This Cursed House / Del Sandeen
4 stars

In the early 1960s, Jemma (from Chicago) has been hired by a family who live on a plantation just outside New Orleans. Jemma is a teacher and assumes that she will be tutoring. The Duchon family are all light-skinned Black people and although they say they are “proud coloured people”, they look down on Jemma’s darker skin. Jemma also has an ability to see ghosts, and there appear to be a few around this plantation. She is in for multiple surprises the longer she stays with the backwards Duchons, and only one of those surprises is what they have hired her for.

This was really good. I was pulled in early on, and the surprises continued to come. The Duchons are a piece of work, though I think the author does do a good job of showing multiple sides to a couple of them, and there are reasons why some of them are the way they are. Given the time period and place, there is some historical fiction thrown in to this horror/ghost story, as well, which I quite like.