1863 and courtesan and private investigator Heloise Chancey is employed to trace a young lady in Waterloo, London. During her search she discovers that prostitutes are being horrendously killed and decides to discover the guilty party.
A very readable book, a good mystery. Though I do like to become attached to the characters in any book I am reading this didn't really happen here, which maybe because of her occupation. It may take more books for that to happen.
A NetGalley Book ( )

I love the narrative style. Although there's a risk of it becoming overbearing, Tjia manages to strike the perfect balance while maintaining the flow of the story. I'll definitely be reading more from this series! ( )

Victorian thriller!

A grim Victorian murder mystery with a rather different woman sleuth--the courtesan Heloise Chancey
It seems a serial killer is hiding in plain sight in the Waterloo area. The targets--pregnant prostitutes who are being horribly mutilated.
Concurrently Heloise is asked to help locate a respectable young woman, who has become pregnant and is being forced into a convent by her father. En route she escaped from that life of tedium into the merciless Waterloo area. But what might the poor girl have exchanged the tedium for?
Unfortunately Heloise's Chinese maid, Amah Li Leen becomes embroiled in the case and things take a grim turn.
Secrets of Heloise's past are revealed along the way, unraveled like some exotic Oriental dancer's costume. Interspersed between the diabolical happenings that are escalating, the interludes about the past provided by Amah Li Leen's and Heloise's reminiscences give more context to the life and mystery of Heloise.
I was struck by the unusualness of Heloise, a courtesan who courts danger and the challenge of investigation. A courtesan who seems very aware of the tightrope existence she leads.

A NetGalley ARC ( )

It's 1863 and Heloise Chancey is an amateur sleuth in London. An ex-courtesan with a penchant for investigation, Heloise puts her skills to work after at-risk women are murdered in Waterloo at a troubling rate.

This is a debut novel for Australian author M.J. Tjia and is the first in the Heloise Chancey historical crime series.

Quick and easy to read, She Be Damned was a great end-of-year read and helped me successfully complete my historical fiction reading challenge.

Having said that, the romance angle seemed a little unrealistic for the time period - despite Heloise's past as a courtesan - and was a turn off for me.

She Be Damned by author M.J. Tjia is recommended for those who love to discover new Australian authors and enjoy reading historical crime fiction. (Love that cover!)

* Copy courtesy of Pantera Press * ( )

SHE BE DAMNED is the opening salvo in an new series set in London in the 1860's featuring courtesan and professional detective Heloise Chancey. If this opening is anything to go by then this will be a fun, engaging and very lively group of novels.

Given this is the debut, there is a scene and character set up going on, but never to the detriment of the plot and pace of the story overall. Chancey is a wonderful character - strong, resilient, a survivor despite the odds stacked against her - revealed as the novel progresses. There's a really good, unforced sense of place and time as well, established using circumstances and events, rather than resorting to scene setting descriptions. Everything about the novel feels true to life, right from the interactions that Chancey has with the police and brothel madams, the girls who work in the brothels, street urchins, and the maids and staff who keep both her, and the wheels of society moving.

The central plot is also very much of the time. The dodgy doctors, the backyard resolutions of untimely pregnancy and the questionable health care for sex workers in those days. From the awful numbers of women being found mutilated and dead, co-coinciding with the disappearance of a young woman thrown out of her family home for her own unmarried pregnancy there is a timely, without being preachy, reminder that we're quick to blame the women, never the clients, never the downright stupid "rules" and restrictions involved. It's actually quite refreshingly done - many of these women are survivors, they are making the best of the hand that life has dealt them and Chancey, in particular, is unrepentant (nor should she be), and proud of her achievements.

Needless to say I really loved this novel. Loved the character, appreciated the observations about women's role in society and the need to survive despite the odds. Loved the sense of place and time, and really liked the way that it all came together in a beautifully balanced storytelling style. SHE BE DAMNED should leave you looking forward to the next instalment with pleasurable anticipation.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-she-be-damned-mj-tjia ( )