Book Synopsis:
Stoke Newington, 1863: Little Margaret Lovejoy is found brutally murdered in the outhouse at her family’s estate.
A few days later, a man is cut down in a similar manner on the doorstep of courtesan and professional detective Heloise Chancey’s prestigious address. At the same time, Heloise’s maid, Amah Li Leen, must confront events from her past that appear to have erupted into the present day.
Once again Heloise is caught up in a maelstrom of murder and deceit that threatens to reach into the very heart of her existence.
In this second instalment of the Heloise Chancey Mysteries, M.J Tjia brings us another enthralling historical crime where the twists and turns are as numerous and dark as the London streets which serve as their setting.
A Necessary Murder is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy of bothhere.
My Review:
It’s always great to find a fantastic new crime series to get stuck into and I really enjoyed this fast paced, intriguing book.
The story is based mainly in London but there is a touch of India in Amah’s flashbacks to her childhood which I loved reading about. The contrast between the two countries is very vivid with London seeming very dull and grey whereas India seems full of colours and passion. It was interesting to learn more about India’s history and culture at that time. Britain’s history is also shown in the male character’s attitude to Heloise. Despite knowing she works as a detective they never ask her opinion instead asking her boss for advice which I found very frustrating.
Heloise is a character that I wasn’t sure I liked. On one hand she’s a fantastically capable sleuth who isn’t afraid to get herself in danger but on the other seems far too concerned about her image and what others think of her. The fact that she doesn’t publicly acknowledge Amah as her mother for fear of people knowing she has Indian heritage was shocking to me and meant I couldn’t warm to her as a character.
This was quite a fast paced book that gripped and shocked me straight away. The mystery unravels at a very satisfying pace and all the interesting historical detail the author includes helped further keep my interest in the book. Some of the murder scene descriptions were surprisingly gory and made me feel a little queasy at times, though that might just be me as I’ve got a weird thing about necks!
This is the author’s second book but the first I’ve read and I look forward to reading more of this series. This book does work well as a standalone book as anything you need to know is explained.
Thanks so much to Imogen and Lucy from Legend Press for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book. If you like well described, fast paced historical mysteries then you’ll love this book.
About The Author:
M.J’s father is Chinese-Indonesian and her mother has English-Irish heritage. Being Eurasian herself means that she has always been interested in portraying racially hybridised characters.
Although M.J. grew up in Australia, she has always favoured British fiction, especially in the crime genre. Her inspirations include Agatha Christie, Allingham and Sayers, Val McDermid, Peter Robinson, R.D. Wingfield and Reginald Hill.
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Over The Rainbow Blog 