4-5 stars.

This is a gritty, disturbing, vivid and tense suspense novel about domestic violence. . The central character is Katie and her relationship with Jamie who inserts himself into her life, takes it over so profoundly that she can’t think, breathe, eat or sleep. He stifles her, stunts her freedom, controls her so she becomes a bundle of anxiety, grinding her down to nothing. The story has multiple perspectives which works well as it allows you to see the different kinds of abusive relationship. Katie’s story is told ‘Then’ which charts the control of her life by Jamie and ‘Now’ which looks into her apparent suicide. The other perspectives are women in the Widringham Womens Aid, a refuge centre run by Val Redwood who seems very fierce but is hanging on to the centre by her fingernails.

Katie’s suicide is investigated by DS Whitworth, approaching 60, a bit old school and judgemental and annoying in some ways as he doesn’t pay enough attention to the women in the shelter who may have something useful to say. His sidekick is DC Brookes who has more apparent charm and is good at placating. They seem a good team as they work to each other’s strengths. The tension in the story build really well and there are sections where you almost daren't breathe! It’s well constructed, well written and there is originality in the writing which deserves particular praise. It gives you an uncomfortable insight into domestic violence and it feels authentic. You do not see the end coming and it jolts you to the core and it is unresolved which matches the tone of the book. Domestic violence is ugly, destroys lives and it can’t be parcelled up neatly and tied with a bow nor is the ending. Another book? Possibly - I do hope so because I would really like to see where this leads and follow some of the characters through.

Overall, an excellent debut and we have here a writer with great potential and damn, she’s had some outstanding mentors (Jeanette Winterson, Val MacDermid for example) !!! It’s dark, full of suspense, there’s the occasional injection of black humour, it’ll make you feel uncomfortable, possibly angry and when you see the statistics of the number of women and children turned away from refuges daily through lack of sufficient places you realise just how relevant and hot this topic is.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK for the ARC.

Again, I was interested in this book because of many positive things I'd read, particularly on twitter.

It was a tough read with a good twist. Really recommend this. Read when it comes out in 2020!

Stories about domestic control, violence and abuse appear to be the topic du jour in popular fiction - and as important as it is as a live issue, not all the books have new or enlightening things to say. 'Into the Darkest Corner' by Elisabeth Haynes, published in 2007, made me understand how a contemporary young woman can become isolated so systematically from friends, family, work, an entire social support network that to leave her 'loving protector' (aka abuser) becomes nearly impossible in her psyche. Many books since just reiterate the same message, becoming 'me too' copies: and that's where I'd place this.

Split into a conventional 'now' and 'then' narrative, one explores the police investigation into the death of Katie, the other takes us through her relationship with Jamie. Hardly anything happens in the police investigation though it does provide a vehicle to tell other stories of the inhabitants of a women's refuge. If you've read any other books on this topic Katie's 'then' story will be very similar with nothing new to add. And there's a crass and trashy 'twist' at the end that cheapens everything.

It goes without saying that this is a hugely important topic and the author's intentions are undoubtedly well-meaning, wrapping up social messages in a piece of crime fiction - for me, the thriller elements were rather tepid but that's subjective. I'd recommend this to people who haven't read about abusive relationships before: if you have, this is predictable and transparent.

What a book. An insight to what women and children to through. Gripping, loved how the author was writing in the past and present. Like being on an emotional white knuckled rollercoaster. Thank you netgalley. I look forward to reading books by this author again.

Can’t believe this is a debut book. My knuckles hurt I was clutching the book so hard. It had me captivated from page one.

This book may trigger those who have experienced abusive and toxic relationships so please proceed with caution. It is incredibly well written and discusses different types of abuse for women. Along with online hate that women get and the incompetence of law enforcement which tends to not actually enforce the law. (SPOILERS: One husband only got six years.) I found it difficult to read from the male police officer's perspective especially after reading the horrors that women went through and how they felt about their abuse. It's also very enlightening to show how non-physical violence very often escalates to physical and can end up in murder especially in heterosexual relationships.

Another spoiler. The part that really shook me was the rape of one of the characters and how she reacted to it. I found this scene to be brutally realistic and sadly too common in heterosexual relationships.

Overall, this book is important and a very good insight into how a male mind can work around female abuse victims, about online hatred for female safe spaces and about the injustice of the law that happens every single day. I felt very upset by the ending of this book, not because the story ended badly, but because of how real it was. I hope that in the near future, there can be a safe space for victims of domestic abuse with happier endings.

This book is written from multiple perspectives, and has a ‘now’ and ‘then’ structure to build the story. And it is an important story based around violence and the control of women by men.
Leading the investigation into the death of a young woman, a conservative and retiring police officer is teamed with a younger replacement to work out a suicide or murder conundrum.
This narrative is not simple and weaves constantly through different voices and perspectives. It’s not an easy read, as it’s about suffering, loneliness, abuse, control and physical violence. It’s not going to provide you with a happy ending, but it certainly provides you with lots to think about.
There are the usual thriller elements, some twists and turns, finishing with a twist I didn’t see coming.
Overall, a strong debut. The narrative style didn’t give me enough character depth for some of the principal players and the ending was frustrating, although I think that was the point.
Well constructed debut novel by Jessica Moor.

This book had me hooked and kept me guessing throughout, the story was told from multiple perspectives which made the story easier to understand.

As well as there being multiple perspectives and narratives used, what I found really useful was the then and now way in which the chapters were divided. This made the story easier to follow and gave you a chance to work out who was who and what was happening.

The reason I've given 3 stars, is because although the ending is wrapped up fairly neatly, I would have much preferred a bit more information. The story itself is so cleverly written, with both a lot of sub text and clues within, which made me feel as though the tension was really building for the last few chapters. My slight disappointment was that there wasn't the ending I was hoping for, as far as detail was concerned.

I can see that the ending could mean that there is the potential for additional books in the future, following one of the characters in particular. This is something that I would definitely read, because the story itself has been so good and I really would want to learn more.

If I could give 3.5 I would, because it's very nearly a 4. If I re read in the future my mind could be changed, because I'd be expecting it to end as it has.

Keeper is a powerful and disturbing novel that looks into the variety of ways in which abuse can take place, all whilst being set around a mystery that is either a violent crime or a suicide. When Katie Straw's body is fished out of the river, not a long way from a local well known suicide spot, it seems like a cut and dry case for the local police force. The insistence of the women at the refuge where Katie worked however that it couldn't have been a suicide keep Detective Whitworth looking. The novel flips between present and past; the present focusing on Whitworth's investigation and the people he talks too and the past cutting to Katie's life before her death. It's a powerful set up, particularly as the present sections don't really read like a police procedural but instead are very much focused on each of the characters - many of them women who have run from abusive partners or families.

Jessica Moor attempts to give each of these women a voice and by and large she succeeds. I admit at points one story ran into another and I struggled to keep track of who was running from who and why, but the marginalised voices of these women is expressed clearly. The different forms abuse can take, the individual reactions and how different people cope. The parts of the novel that really stuck out for me were these backstories to some of the characters and how well the generational, cultural and societal differences were covered. Interspersed throughout this is Katie's story and I admit, I found the insidious nature of the abuse explored here to be deeply disturbing and it being in the present tense made it seem all the more emotive and tense. It's a chilling reminder of how abuse isn't always the hulking alcoholic or even able to be spotted from an outside glance. The depictions of gaslighting, or manipulation and a charming facade hiding a controlling unpredictable interior. I can't say I enjoyed these sections, but they are certainly powerful.

It's safe to say that I didn't see what was coming, although some of my ideas weren't all too far from the truth. Moor builds up the tension well and you are never quite sure which way she is going to swing the narrative next, particularly with the addition of the individual tales from the women at the refuge. It's an upsetting book at times and one that left me on edge after I had turned the last page; it highlights some unpleasant truths and not just about the obvious forms of abuse that we would all recognise. The way in which a forceful woman is portrayed in direct comparison to a 'confident' man or the casual misogyny that often comes with a certain generational mindset, how threats or hatred online can be ignored in the face of more obvious crimes and yet still have a huge impact on an individual's perception of safety or how control can often be confused with protectiveness. It's thought provoking and a glimpse into the lives of people that we often simply prefer not to see, yet because of the potential murder over shadowing it all, there is never a sense of wallowing.

So a clever, powerful and well crafted novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat and leave you with a deep sense of unease. The cutting and changing between the detective side of things and the lead up to a young woman's death works very well, many of the characters are strong and leap off the page and the narrative snakes in ways you might not necessarily be expecting. Some of the refuge characters could have been expanded on more, separating them out from the mire of similar stories but that is a relatively minor niggle in the grand scheme of things.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advanced Reader Copy of this novel.

Addictive and gritty thriller.
Subject matter is very apt and topical.
This book grips you from the start and makes you want to keep reading. It is so well written and the characters are visual and very believable.
Set in a domestic violence refuge and tells the tale of the main character as well as the other ladies in the refuge.
All their stories compliment each other and are equally sad.
This book will haunt you and stay with you and I am still thinking about it days after finishing it.
The twist at the end os believable and very unexpected.
This will be a talked about book of 2020.
Thanks you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read in return for a review.

When the body of Katie Straw is pulled from the river, the local police initially think it's a tragic suicide. But the women who live and work at the refuge where Katie was a domestic violence counsellor disagree; they think Katie was murdered.

When the investigating officers discover that Katie was living under an assumed name, it seems they have more questions than answers. Just who was Katie Straw - and did she jump or was she pushed?

After reading a ton of blurbs and a string of five star reviews for this one, I was so excited to read it. So I was really disappointed to find that I struggled to like this book from the offset. The writing style - although very polished - was a little distant for my liking, and I failed to engage with a single character.

The most interesting sections of the novel for me were those where we explore Katie's past and her relationship with the abusive Jamie, and I felt there was too little of this storyline set against an awful lot of borderline-boring scenes discussing police protocol, or exploring the histories of characters who didn't necessarily contribute to the larger story other than being in the same refuge as Katie.

I get what the author was trying to do, but unfortunately for me, this book fell flat. I've read several books recently where the book is marketed as a thriller, but in fact would maybe benefit from being termed literary fiction instead - I get the feeling it's because the money is in the former rather than the latter so I get why the publishing house would push that angle, but it turns me off when a book billed as one thing ends up being something else entirely.

I'm sure this book will do very well, and it already has several five star reviews, so it's obviously not a bad book, it's just a case of it not being a right for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, who provided me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this thriller. Katie’s body is found in the river, but did she commit suicide? And why does it appear that she never existed in the first place?
The novel switches between the police investigation and Katie’s past, and the truth cleverly unravels with some great twists along the way.
Katie worked in a women’s refuge too, and the women’s lives and what they know become bound up in her story.
Moor uses the novel to reveal the world of domestic violence provision and the lack of funding and police - as well as public - attitudes. But this is seamlessly woven into the story and only very occasionally feels like polemic.
Above all, Moor is a great writer. Katie is well-drawn as are her relationships. The insidious nature of abusive relationships feels very real and not at all over-played.
I loved this novel and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

This book was fast paced. Hard to put down. It flowed well and it was very well written. It caught hold of me and had me hooked from the start . I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book.

A Brilliant first book from this new Author and when it gets a recommendation from Val McDermid then you know it has to be worth a read.The plot shows issues of domestic violence and how the victims are then treated it has a great plot with characters that go so well together.I have loved this book and look forward to reading the next book.Well done to Jessica Moor

When Jeanette Winterson, Val McDermid and Cara Hunter are passionate about a writer and a book, you damn well want to read it! This is how I came to hear of Jessica Moor's debut novel "Keeper". It's a bit of a bind, entering a reading journey with high hopes although I knew it was going to be something special from the opening paragraph. At base level, it's a crime thriller. It's also so much more than that. The writing is first class and the plot highlights the issues surrounding (and insidious nature) of domestic abuse. Moor also explores attitudes displayed by police officers towards victims in a considered and authentic manner. In addition, we see how the very nature of the job can often wear officers down over time, dehumanising their responses. We also gain insight into the ways in which women (perhaps especially those in positions of authority) are often overlooked, vilified and subtly undermined. The author has a great deal of knowledge to impart and does so with eloquence. This book seeped into my soul; made me feel discombobulated and unravelled. It upset me, but I needed it. It's an important piece of work wrapped up in an accessible and engaging package. Buy a copy and gift some to friends. "Keeper" most definitely lives up to its title!

This was a novel that once started defies all attempts to put it down, apart from when needs must. Every spare moment today I’ve immersed myself back into it, I’ve yelled at it and quietly contemplated it in equal measure.

Jessica Moor is an insightful and realistic writer with an gently urgent sense to her prose, there is an absolutely compelling world weariness to the narrative that grips you immediately. This, after all, is not a story that has never been told, but a story that needs telling over and over again with just about every nuance you can muster and here they are…

From the lead detective whose old school, not unkind but unknowing attitudes are not always helpful, to the women living in the refuge who all have their own stories, to the flashbacks of Katie’s prior life, to the final genuinely stunning and heart wrenching conclusion, this author uses truth as her weapon and forces you to look at it in vivid reality. It is melancholy and rage inducing and ultimately horrifically sad.

Keeper has the benefit of not only being a literary character drama but also and equally an edgy, addictive thriller. I thought it was pure brilliance.

Highly Recommended.

I really didn't know what to expect from this, but wow! This is a well-written and pacy thriller that will not be forgotten easily. It's shocking, sad, tragic...but more than anything made me feel so angry. Just as the writer intended, I think.

The story begins with the body of a young woman, Katie Straw, being recovered from a river in a small town somewhere outside Manchester. The police recognise that it's probably a suicide, but they just need to check out a few things to close the case. The narrative then splits between the investigation in the 'Now' sections of the book and Katie's life leading up to her death ('Then'). In this strand, a much darker theme of domestic abuse rears its head and the novel becomes almost unbearable in its inevitability.

However, this is so much more than your average thriller. It is unflinching and quite unsettling in its portrayal of the trauma suffered by the women in the novel. The women's refuge featured is at once a safe space but also precarious and underfunded. The women residents are flawed and realistic, their decisions often poor and their thinking blurred by their suffering. It made me angry, I think, because it was so believable; this does happen every day and the statistics about women being killed by their domestic partners speak for themselves. But how do you help or understand women who repeatedly return to or excuse their abusers?

I raced through this book and recommend it highly. It will make you absolutely furious that this happens, but it's a clever and an engaging read too and recognises some important issues. It's much darker than my usual reads, but I am so glad I chose it give it a try.

Keeper is an outstanding and captivating literary thriller. It’s unputdownable, terrifying and heartbreaking. I was sad, angry and shocked as I read it.

I found the opening chapter about Death so powerful in its simplicity in reflecting experiences of abusive relationships. The story is split into ‘Then’ and ‘Now’. ‘Then’ tells the story of Katie and how she becomes trapped in a terrifying yet insidious spiral of emotional, physical and sexual abuse. This happens slowly at first with small signs of controlling behaviour that may not seem overtly abusive, and how ‘control can feel like love.' I felt saddened and shocked at the way this builds up and affects Katie in the end. The character point of view is so strong and authentic that as a reader I felt part of the character experience.

The ‘Now’ chapters focus on the police investigation into the death of a woman, and is told from the points of view of Detective Sergeant Whitworth, and also women living in a refuge. Whitworth turns out to be a more sympathetic character than I initially thought, and it’s refreshing that the police side isn’t about procedure but about the people. The way the stories of the women are interwoven in a suspenseful story works really well. These women are not portrayed as victims, yet the reader sees all the tragedy, sadness and trauma they have experienced while in abusive relationships. They are in the refuge because of the danger they still face from their ex partners, with the wonderful character Val as their protector. The use of stories such as sawing wedding rings from swollen, broken fingers, or taking it in turns to cry at night are so impactful. The use of the present tense in the ‘Then’ chapters, and past tense in the ‘Now’ chapters really works in building up the urgency and suspense in finding out what’s going to happen to Katie, and allowing other stories to be told.

I loved everything about this book. It’s got a pacy plot, and was so captivating I read it in one go. The writer’s experience of working in the violence against women and girls sector really shines through in her ability to write in such a realistic and compassionate way about controlling behaviour and abuse in relationships, as well as the description of the places such as the refuge and the streets of Manchester. The twist at the end is brilliant and made it all the more frightening and damning.

Jessica Moor brings an original and fresh new voice to the thriller genre, and is a book that I will not forget. I can't recommend it highly enough. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my personal review.

While Keeper is fictional it deals with some extremely heavy real life topics. Thankfully it does this well and the result is one hell of a fantastic book!

My expectations were quite high from reading the synopsis and I’m glad to say I wasn’t disappointed! Obviously in a story like this there will be moments that shock you but I gasped and found myself quite upset at some of the scenes. I think Keeper is done perfectly and it’s sure to be a success!

5/5

Keeper by Jessica Moor 🖤
Thanks @netgalley @penguinukbooks for my arc
Publication date 19th March 2020
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When Katie Straw’s Body is pulled from the waters off a local suicide spot, the Police are ready to right it off as suicide. Katie’s colleagues and residents of the domestic violence unit where she worked are not convinced this was just a simple case of suicide. They know this was murder and there are many suspects.
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This book has been on my radar for a while now so I had to read this book, quite far ahead of its publication date next year. This book exceeded my already high expectations, a brilliant read. As the book is primarily set in a domestic violence centre, the story covers some frightening cases of abuse but was really well informed and real. A fascinating story with a creepy whodunnit thrown in. Loved it. Highly recommended xxxxx