Enjoyable murder mystery that kept me guessing until the end. I did found Li Leen's interludes distracting and didn't feel like the related reveal added anything to the story - perhaps it has more impact on future books in the series. I've always been a fan of books set in Victorian London, so I expect I'll read more in the series.

This was at times a bleak and harrowing story in the sense that the author does not shy away from the darkness that is historical London in 1863. The gritty details of prostitution and murder framed stories of women who had to endure this shit back in the day, and as a result, I found this book to be a rather feminist tale. The female characters are smart and strong, and I really appreciated that. Recommended.

SHE BE DAMNED
(Heloise Chancey: #1)
Written by M.J. Tjia
2017; Pantera Press/Legend Times Group (288 pages)
Genre: fiction, series, historical mystery, suspense, female detective

(Review Not on Blog)

RATING: 2.5 STARS

I am probably among the minority but I didn't find this story very exciting. There were moments I would stop reading and realize that I didn't even remember what happened. It wasn't that the writing was bad, but instead it just wasn't that interesting (for me). I find that Victorian mysteries are a hit or miss with me. I will give the second book a shot and see how it goes.

***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***

k (My Novelesque Life)

Heloise Chauncey is a unique detective. Her other career is a courtesan. When asked to look into grisly murders of local girls, she couldn’t say no. After all, they are her past. Has a big reveal at the end. Looking forward to reading the next in this series.
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Historical thrillers are fun, and She Be Damned is especially interesting because the protagonist is a former prostitute, now wealthy courtesan, who is also a detective. This makes for unique scenarios. In this first installment of the Heloise Chancey series, Heloise is asked to investigate the disappearance of a girl who is suspected to have run away from her father because he wouldn’t give her permission to marry. This leads Heloise to an investigation into a string of murders where prostitutes are not only being murdered, but their sexual organs are also being removed. Amah, Heloise’s Chinese maid is one of the suspects, so besides helping police with her powers of detection, Heloise wants to prove her maid’s innocence.

Where many historical novels focus on the wealthier people who lived in London and those who were respectable, circa 1863, this novel gives readers a taste of another side where it involves prostitutes and courtesans (certainly Heloise isn’t respected by many even though she has plenty of money due to her unacceptable lifestyle).

Tjia’s writing is clear and concise. She is an excellent storyteller, and the novel will keep the interest of readers. She skillfully uses language that sets the scene and makes readers feel that they are living in the period, and it seems true to history. The protagonist is quite likeable even though she is a character who most readers won’t be able to relate to. Nevertheless, the characters are well-developed and seem real.

She Be Damned is a fairly quick read, and there is no palpable violence. However, there is building suspense throughout, and it isn’t easy to put the book down until the murderer is exposed.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

This book scratched so many itches I have with books. Victorian historical fiction? Check. Strong female lead? Check! Allusions to Jack the Ripper? The biggest check! Thankfully this book did not disappoint, though the romance/smut side was a bit much.

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!

She be damned is a gritty crime story set in Victorian age

Heloise Chancey is approached by Sir Thomas to assist in a case involving a young, missing pregnant woman.
Chancy being a very good actress, she has worked for him before she roughed herself up as a street prostitute in order to spy on a group of young men .With a investigation of a bunch of ladies in the night being murdered he fears this is what happened.Heloise agrees, but on her terms. Sir Thomas wants her to go back to her former life, as a prostitute, which of course she does not want to.

The body of the last prostitute who died in this manner was taken to hospital to be used as a specimen, and they found that parts of her body was missing. Frightening as it seems that the last prostitute was the fourth body to have been found in this condition within the last seven weeks. Vile acts must have taken place as apparently all their sexual organs were missing, inside and outside. Obviously someone who is very evil is butchering these unfortunate women.

What a fantastic read. Fast-paced and easily entertaining.

Thanks again to NetGalley!!!

London 1863 - prostitutes are being murdered and disemboweled.

From humble beginnings to the comfortable life of a courtesan, Heloise Chancy dabbles in the world of private investigation. And when she is called upon to step back into her old world to investigate a series of brutal murders and the disappearance of a missing girl, Heloise must use her charm and wit to solve the mystery.

The story rattles along briskly from its confronting opening scenes to its climatic conclusion as the reader is drawn into Heloise's world. No sooner is one part of the mystery is solved than yet one more remains unresolved.

The seething underbelly of Victorian London comes alive as Heloise walks the dimly lit streets and alleyways to seek answers, often putting herself in harms way, but managing to achieve more than past investigations, despite the obvious chauvinistic attitudes of those seeking her assistance - "What on earth do you think a little dollymop like her can achieve?"

The story is peppered with intriguing characters from the mysterious maidservant Amah Li Leen, brothel keeper Madame Silvestre, the mysterious Mr Priestly, and local street urchin.

It will be interesting to read the follow up to see how the characters are further developed and in what capacity Heloise will next be employed to investigate.

This book is interesting although for me it had a slow start. Heloise is a clever lady and I enjoy reading how she navigates through this case. But for me the end is a bit anti-climactic but I like that the author managed to hide who the killer is up to the end of the story.

There’s a serial killer on the loose in Victorian London and the best woman is on the case – Heloise Chancey, courtesan turned private detective. She’s called upon by the kindly Sir Thomas Avery and his client, the large-eared and disagreeable Mr Priestly, to do a ‘spot of work’ – find missing seventeen year old Eleanor Carter, who has been thrown out of home for finding herself in an ‘unhappy condition’. They’re worried she may have fallen victim to a Jack-the-Ripper style killer who has already butchered four pregnant women, removing their sexual organs in what appears to be a botched hysterectomy, leaving the police perplexed.

Heloise has a history as a stage actress so Sir Thomas and Mr Priestly direct her to pose as a prostitute in the slums of Waterloo. But Heloise, who does investigation work for pleasure and not money, decides ‘I don’t need to be flat on my back or flashing my breasts to find this Eleanor girl’. She leaves behind her trusted maid, Amah Li Leen, and ventures to Waterloo where she intends to do things her own way.

M.J. Tjia depicts a gritty Victorian London for a gruesome murder mystery, evoking the era with a few well-chosen words from the dialect, vivid descriptions of the squalid living conditions, and shrewd observations of sexist and racist attitudes of the time. Women with unwanted pregnancies find themselves in a desperate situation with no support, no health care and limited options available to them, and the treatment of Amah Li Leen who, as a Eurasian woman, is viewed as dangerous and untrustworthy and forced to disguise herself in public or risk being openly abused in the streets.

Heloise is a dauntless main character who is well aware of the realities of life, having worked in the back alleys and brothels of Liverpool before earning her place as an esteemed courtesan living in Mayfair. With an ability to move between different social circles, she throws herself into the investigation using her instinct, intelligence and experience to question a range of unsavoury characters. There’s sneaky Madame Silvestre at the brothel where Heloise used to work, the dodgy back door doctor conducting ‘scrapings’, and Bill Chapman, an ambitious police sergeant investigating the murders in his own time in the hopes of getting a promotion.

She Be Damned moves along at a nimble pace starting with a violent prologue where the murderer claims his latest victim, and with a shocking turn of events halfway through the story. Li Leen’s backstory is revealed in mysterious interludes throughout the book, making her a sympathetic character and allowing the reader a different point of view of Heloise, leading to a significant reveal at the end.

These two brave, unapologetic leading ladies makes She Be Damned a historical crime fiction novel that is perfect for contemporary readers and a joy to read. There’s plenty of material for this to become a rich and engaging series of mystery novels and I eagerly await the next installment.

Writing:
I really enjoyed the writing of this book! It sucked me in completely! 
I did start this book a while ago but I only got 15% into it and I put it down. I was in a bit of a reading slump and decided to put it down and read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban illustrated edition first in case my slump affected how I felt about this book. But after jumping back into this book yesterday I flew through it!! 
** The writing is very detailed and very graphic. I would not recommend this to someone that is uneasy with graphic content but it didn't worry me. This book talks a lot about sex, violence, horrible stuff happening to people and has a fair bit of negative language directed towards some of the characters. So just be aware of that before going into this book**

Plot:
The plot was also amazing! It again drags you in. I wouldn't exactly say it was action packed but it had an awesome balance of action and information which is perfect for a mystery. 
Besides that, I can't really talk about the plot as it's a mystery and I don't want to spoil anything! 

Characters:
Heloise is an awesome character. She is so intelligent and does not let being a female hold her down. She still gets in and gets shit done and doesn't wait around for the males to do it. 
I didn't like the short romance of sorts that happened. I didn't love the guy that was the love interest. He actually kind of annoyed me. 
Amah was an awesome character. She was kinda sassy and sarcastic and I loved it. 

There were tonnes of other more minor characters but as a lot of them are possible suspects, you automatically kind of don't like them just in case they are the murderer. So I can't really say if I actually like them or not because of that! 
I hope that makes sense!

Overall:
So I did really enjoy a majority of the book but there was one thing that made it a bit difficult to read. That was that I had such a similar feeling to Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco. I recently read that book and loved it. There were a lot of similarities between the two. We have a female, set in the past and they are battling against being looked down upon due to their sex. The victims of the murders are prostitutes in both books and the way they have been murdered in similar ways too. In SBD they have their sexual organs cut out and in SJTR the victims have different organs removed after they are killed. So as you can see, I felt a strong similarity! Not that that is really bad as I loved SJTR, but it did get slightly confusing at times when thinking about the events in the book. 

So yeah, overall I enjoyed the plot, I loved the writing and the MC was awesome! 

I don't know if this book will be part of a series. The book kind of ended off as if there will be a second book, but it doesn't say so on Goodreads. However, it is called 'She Be Damned: A Heloise Chancey Mystery' which makes me think it will be part of a series like the Poirot and Miss Marple series by Agatha Christie. 
I hope there will be a second book as I would 100% pick that up!

Heloise Chancey has been asked by Sir Thomas Avery to look into the disappearance of a girl who was forced from her home by her father. At the same time, they would like to see if she could help them with some disturbing murders. So far four prostitutes have been mutilated and they have no persons of interest.
This was an excellent mystery, abound with intrigue,fear, and murder. She tried to keep her options open. But when her young ward and another young girl are killed in her rented home. Her maid had been arrested because she was where a murder had occurred and had no alibi. I know people can be cruel but this was awful. There was a lot of blood and parts had been removed. There were so many twists and turns to this, it was really hard to guess who did it. I have never read this author before but she did an amazing job. Her writing was well thought out, easy to read and well written. I really enjoyed this tale. Your interest was immediately engaged until the end. I can not wait until her next book.
I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.

“What trouble you got yourself into this time, missy?” she asks me.
I offer a sly smile. “Must keep oneself busy, Katie.”


Well colour me surprised, I don’t think I was very fair with my initial thoughts when I first started this book. It more than redeemed itself by the end, and I look forward to reading the next in the series.

She Be Damned follows Heloise, part-time detective, part-time courtesan and full-time societal challenging bad ass. Hel has been hired to find Eleanor after she's runaway from her father. While searching for the young girl Heloise finds herself in the center of a search for a murderer. A series of bodies belonging to sex workers have been found with all their sexual and productive anatomy ripped out. Worried that poor Eleanor has found the same fate, Hel investigates the disappearance of the girl as well as the murders, having to insert herself in the midst of her old life again. With the help of her own sticky fingers, a young boy, Chat, her ex-coworkers and her Chinese maid, Amah, Heloise finds herself in over her head with her life at stake.
What's a girl to do? Leave it to the men of the police force? Unlikely.

“You’re mad,” he says. “Hysterical. I should have you committed.”
Always an arsehole’s ultimate threat, that one.
Okay so the first few pages had me wanting to DNF this book, but having Heloise describe her features in great detail made a little more sense when it was revealed that Heloise is a courtesan since her looks probably play a big part in her work. Her comments about her maid really rubbed me up the wrong way, however, she did redeem herself later in the book, in my eyes at least (I'm white af, take my opinion on this with a grain of salt).
Hel is strong and independent, she learnt how to make something for herself from nothing and she owns her sexuality.
Amah was enjoyable to read, she was snarky and blunt. I do wish we got a lot more of her though and I hope we get more of her back story in the next book!

I’m angry. Angry that we’re all vulnerable to the whims of all manner of men.
This book, surprising to me, has some serious feminism vibes and I'm glad I stuck it out and kept reading.
Unlike many novels about sex workers, especially their murders, this book was very much pro-sex worker. I think the fact that our main character is one played a huge part in that.
I got angry with Hel every time someone said something derogatory about her old co-workers, and I was disgusted along with her every time someone looked down their nose at her because of her work. I was especially furious every time some man insinuated women were useless and incapable of dealing with shit.
Women are too sensitive to see a dead body and some blood? Did everyone in the 1800's just forget that women have been dealing with blood for days, once a month, all on their own from the age of 9-13, onward? Please. Come to me when you're stuck at work and you've got blood leaking not only through your underwear, but your pants too and no one seems to have a tampon. I've seen more men squirm at the sight of doctors cutting people open or limbs bending the wrong way than I've ever flinched at the same sights. Fuck 1800's men, ya'll weren't too bright, were you?

I’ll keep searching for the murderer. I know I have as good a chance to catch him as any of the others. And when I do— I curl my fingers into a fist until my fingernails leave crescent marks in my palm— I’m going to shoot a big, deep hole into the bastard, in a very manly fashion.
She Be Damned did what I assume it set out to accomplish, a good murder mystery with women at the helm and to perhaps sway those who look down on sex workers.
It was reasonably fast paced but I did find myself skimming quiet a bit. There were some scenes we probably could have done without. There were enough twists to keep me interested and a very shocking reveal I wasn't expecting at all, but was glad Tjia included it.
I'll happily read the next book, I'm excited to see what Heloise and Amah get up to next!

“You are more dangerous than the rest, my dear, because you think you are entitled to the freedoms of a man.”

Don’t quit this book once you realise it is yet another version of Jack The Ripper. It is much more than that.

She Be Damned is a story of strong woman, too strong for her times and men around her. It is a murder-mystery, lost girl, an almost love story all wrapped into one big bundle with ribbons and ostrich feathers. It is written with such a gusto, you can almost taste the watery coffee and hot potato from the street vendors of London and can see all the dreary settings of the horrible deeds and wicked thoughts.

It is a story within a story on a story. It is like the women’s skirts of those times: crinolines, underskirts, bones, and wire with expensive fabric on the top layer. Some of those skirts get dirty pretty quickly, and not necessary the cheapest…

How can I describe this book without letting any spoilers out of the hat? Well, as the title of this blog says, Sasha Torte has found a best friend: both women are beautiful, reckless, stubborn, powerful and resourceful. And both of them are very vulnerable and defenseless even when it comes to men and society.

I know Heloise started thinking of quitting… the society at the end of the book. But I actually think, she can do more. She can do more detecting and more ‘put in your place’ to people who truly deserve it.

Call me wicked and vengeful… take a dare, read the book

A wonderful and exhilarating experience! Four very happy stars!

Excellent historical fiction novel. I love the strength of the female lead character. The twist at the end regarding Heloise's biology was a shock.

I shouldn't judge this too harshly.as my first foray into the world of ARCs

I loved the premise, smart sassy lady detective in 1860s London investigating the Ripper deaths of local prostitutes. A bit Phryne Fisher. Right up my alley

It didn't *quite* push all my buttons. I like when I can't guess the end of a mystery but I think in this case it's because the clues seemed a bit heavy handed and I dismissed them. There is no subtlety to this novel in any sense. There is in-your-face sex, violence and character personality.

The writing itself is really good. The setting is fantastic, the descriptions spot on and really good story telling. I just couldn't get really invested. Heloise Chancey is a bit meh, she's supposed to be kickass but she's mostly just shallow. There are no great relationships in the book. The asides with Amah Li Leen are bizarre, but almost functional for the storyline. With better editing they might achieve a bit more in terms of backstory setting.

This reads as more of a 3rd or 4th novel in a series, where you're already invested in the character and just want to read about the next adventure they're having. As a first novel there needs to be less casual references to past events "off page" to make the character seem more interesting, and just make your character more interesting with dialogue and personal reflections.

Wow this review sounds savage, but actually overall I liked it. The writing is a lot better than the sum of its parts, and like I said I enjoyed the premise

What a book!! But i now need to read book 2 straight away!
I hope it doesn't take to long to be published.
This book is full of all sorts of situations and deals with quite a controversial subject, abortions, be it through choice or by force so it probably won't be a book that is for everyone.
But putting that aside the setting in victorian London is brilliant portrayed and is fully believable.
Our protagonist Heloise Chancey is a courtesan and professional detective and she starts delving into the spate of murders in Waterloo, prostitutes that have all had their sexual organs mutilated and removed.
There is fear on the streets as the ladies of the night wait for the killer to strike again.
Heloise needs to find a young pregnant woman as she is feared to be the potential next victim.
This book covers the victorian lifestyle and morals as well as gruesome murders.
I read this in one go as i couldn't find a place to leave it, i had to keep going to find out what happened!
Great book, can't wait for the next one

I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. It had parts in it that I skimmed over and then there were parts that I was hooked into. I think this will be a polarising book for many, but on the whole I liked it.