Longlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger
'An intelligent and intriguing crime novel set in the heart of Victorian London. Its atmospheric and twisting narrative had me hooked.' Sarah Ward

London, 1863: prostitutes in the Waterloo area are turning up dead, their sexual organs mutilated and removed. When another girl goes missing, fears grow that the killer may have claimed their latest victim.

The police are at a loss and so it falls to courtesan and professional detective, Heloise Chancey, to investigate.

With the assistance of her trusty Chinese maid, Amah Li Leen, Heloise inches closer to the truth. But when Amah is implicated in the brutal plot, Heloise must reconsider who she can trust, before the killer strikes again.

Tjia brings us a pacey and exciting murder mystery set in Victorian London. This historical crime thriller sees a young female detective work with the police to evade a violent killer.

REVIEWS

‘Tjia transports the reader to the mid nineteenth century so effectively through all the senses; sound, smell, touch, vision and feeling; contrasting the opulence of London’s Mayfair with the squalor of Thames-side Waterloo… The writing is accomplished and economic, taking the reader on various twists and turns on the journey… We have discovered a new sleuth in Heloise Chancey.’ David Evans, author of The Wakefield Series, shortlisted for CWA Debut Dagger in 2013

‘Compulsive reading… I was enthralled from the very first page. A beautifully written book with such authenticity, that each page whisked me back in time. The story galloped along as I followed the characters that were all too real. I could not put it down.’ Caroline Mitchell, author of the DC Jennifer Knight series

‘A gripping and refreshingly different historical crime novel.’ Angela Buckley, author of The Real Sherlock Holmes

‘Fun, thrilling and very well written — She Be Damned is a carefully crafted adventure that I hugely enjoyed, and I look forward to seeing what the delightful Mrs Chancey gets up to next.’ Luke Marlowe, TheBookbag

‘If you like your heroines flamboyant, your servants mouthy, and your murders bloody, She Be Damned is the perfect book to get both your historical fiction fix and a head start on an excellent upcoming series.’ The AU Review

‘An entertaining tale with entertaining characters and many plot twists.’ Historical Novels Review

'It isn’t easy to put the book down until the murderer is exposed' Bella Online

BOOKS BY M.J. TJIA
She Be Damned
A Necessary Murder
The Death of Me

To read