Ross Montgomery’s The Shadows Of Kensington Gore Brings Stephen Pike a More Complex Case

Ross Montgomery gives Stephen Pike a demanding case in The Shadows Of Kensington Gore, a sequel that keeps the comic energy of its predecessor while taking on more serious historical material. Set in London in 1911, the novel finds Stephen working as personal assistant to Miss Decima Stockingham, the city’s unconventional and successful detective. The mystery begins with a murder and a witness who may be essential to finding three women seen fleeing the scene. From there, the case grows more complicated, with a looming public ceremony adding urgency to the search.

A witness at the centre of the case

Stephen’s work for Miss Decima has left him chafing at the duties of an assistant while he trains to become a detective. That tension gives his role in the investigation extra weight: when a policeman is found with his throat cut during a large suffragette protest, Stephen is the only witness. Three women have been seen running from the scene, and the search for them raises the tension across the city.

The approaching coronation of George V supplies a deadline and a sense of danger. Someone is planning a tragedy, though the threat is only hinted at in the account of the story. Montgomery builds the mystery around that uncertainty, moving from the immediate question of what Stephen saw to a broader puzzle with several strands to follow.

The reviewer describes the case as far more complex than the investigators first expect. Stephen comes to the fore as the inquiry develops, and his narration remains a major pleasure of the book. His perspective gives the reader a lively guide through the investigation, while his uneasy position in Miss Decima’s household keeps the character drama closely tied to the mystery.

Miss Decima and her unconventional team

Miss Decima is once again a source of both comedy and depth. The reviewer finds that Montgomery keeps her behaviour balanced between flamboyant and meaningful: her eccentricities entertain, but there’s substance beneath them. Her methods also depend on a wider group of investigators, including the twenty-seven Ivys, an army of housemaids whose names she hasn’t bothered to learn, alongside other secret operatives.

That collection of helpers gives the investigation plenty of moving parts. The reviewer praises Montgomery for keeping them in balance and calls the novel a gripping read, with two reveals that came as genuine surprises. Readers who enjoy mysteries with an active supporting cast should find that the inquiry has more texture than a simple chase after a suspect.

There is one caveat for those who like to solve a mystery alongside its characters: the reviewer wanted more clues. Some deductions rely on people being recognised, which can make the route to an answer harder to trace from the page. The review copy was also missing maps of Kensington Gore. The reviewer suspects the finished editions will include them, and says they might have helped make the geography of the mystery clearer.

Comedy alongside history

The novel’s tone is another part of its appeal. Montgomery combines humour with the serious themes surrounding the suffragette movement, a balance the reviewer considers particularly impressive. The movement’s future events are incorporated into the narrative rather than saved for an afterword. That choice gives the historical material a place in the story itself, and the reviewer says the book introduced details they hadn’t known.

The first novel, The Murder At World’s End, won Grand Puzzly Winner 2025 and introduced Stephen and Miss Decima. The reviewer recommends reading it before this sequel: it’s an enjoyable book in its own right, and the new story gives away a lot of its predecessor. For readers who have already met the pair, the sequel offers another case and a further look at Stephen’s developing role.

The Shadows Of Kensington Gore is out now in hardback and ebook from Penguin. The reviewer received an electronic review copy via NetGalley and says they had a lot of fun with the book. The mystery’s reveals, the characters’ chemistry and the historical thread make this an appealing next stop for readers who enjoyed the first instalment; the reviewer is already looking forward to what happens next.