Loved this book. Fast paced, kept me guessing right up to the end and twists it'd never expected. Will definitely look out fOr more by tHe author

A very powerful and compelling debut novel from Jessica Moor.

Tackling the tragic and complex subject of domestic violence.

Told from many different angles we are given insights into police proceedings, domestic violence victims, and it all provides a gritty, disturbing and tense suspense novel.

It’s dark, compelling, full of suspense, it makes you feel uncomfortable and leaves you feeling angry.

Once I picked this up I found it hard to put down, a very edgy, addictive thriller.

Thank you NetGalley

5⭐️

I was exceptionally excited when I got approved for this on NetGalley. I knew it wouldn’t be an easy read but I had a feeling it would be something I could become completely absorbed in and fully connect to -I wasn’t wrong!

Katie Straw committed suicide. She was found in a local suicide spot with no injuries or evidence of foul play, so it’s a cut-and-dry case, right? The residents of the women’s refuge where she worked disagree. It’s up to Detective Whitworth to piece together Katie’s final months and figure out whether this was, in fact, murder but the investigation throws up a lot more questions than answers.

As a woman, of course I’ve always been acutely aware of the fact that dangerous men exist. I’ve had more than a few less-than-healthy relationships of my own so naturally, I know the signs of an abusive control freak and the effects they can have on their victims. The women of the refuge all have harrowing stories and every single one of them rang true. I could fully understand how each of them had ended up in their situation and my heart broke with every individual case. I actually wanted to get myself a job at the shelter, purely so I could talk to and look after these incredible women.

I took a dislike to Whitworth for the majority of the narrative. He had a sexist, judgemental edge that I couldn’t get over but I think my dislike was the author’s intention. Towards the end of the book, there’s a scene where he starts thinking about his teenage daughter and his fierce need to protect her. It’s a side to him that isn’t explicitly shown before this point and it really made me warm to him. Whitworth is a grown man but he still has so much to learn and a certain plot twist reveals that he is actually just as easily manipulated as some of the women in the shelter.

Despite her seemingly cold and distant demeanour, Katie craves love and stability in her life. Her childhood wasn’t exactly easy and she doesn’t have the closest relationship with her friends in spite of their efforts. When she starts getting serious with Jamie, she becomes very isolated and his control over her increases. I could tell where the relationship was going and I was willing her to get out of it. When the final twist came, my heart genuinely skipped a beat and the last chapter brought up a lot of strong emotions -heartache, anger and a deep sadness that the story could repeat itself. There are trigger warnings for sexual violence and mental abuse within this relationship, so definitely be mindful of this before picking up the book!

The cameraderie between the women in the refuge was so touching. Nazia is a young Muslim woman, who was attacked by her brother after she refused an arranged marriage offer. She is also struggling with her sexuality -a shameful taboo in her culture- so she has all the ingredients to be a scared, timid young girl but she isn’t. She’s feisty and determined to fight injustice and take control of her own life. Nazia was the only shelter resident who I was convinced would emerge a strong, confident woman. Many of the other residents met less than happy fates, so be prepared for a few tears on that front too!

Keeper is a difficult but highly addictive thriller. It has a lot more profound social commentary than most books in its genre, which is why I think it has been described as ‘literary’. However, I found it much more accessible than a lot of literary fiction so I wouldn’t take that label too seriously, if it puts you off. There are numerous trigger warnings for abuse and violence against women that you should be aware of but it’s a definite must-read for those who love a good emotional mystery. What’s even better is that it’s Jessica Moor’s debut, so I’m very excited to see where her career goes!

I’ll be honest. Anything labelled a ‘thriller’ I go into with low expectations. It’s not my go-to genre and I only picked this up because I knew it had a domestic abuse element to it which I am interested in. Wow did this book defy my expectations.

The story follows the investigation of a young Woman’s Aid worker, Katies, death when she drowns having seemingly jumped from a bridge. Her colleagues aren’t convinced that her death was suicide but the police struggle to find anything to suggest otherwise.

The story is told from multiple narrative viewpoints, one of which being Katies prior to her death, another being the policeman investigating her death and the rest are from the residents at the Women’s Aid refuge where Katie was working.

Such an poignant novel about domestic abuse, giving voice to different women with different experiences. The policeman’s perspective, as well as driving the plot of the novel, also illustrates systematic issues that women face when speaking out about abuse. This book has such an important message which it approaches with sensitivity and care. Beautifully written – go read it!

Thank you to Penguin Books for a reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Even if it's completely out of my comfort zone I love this story.
It's bleak, sad but also gripping and enthralling. The author delivers a great story and it did a great job in balancing the two storylines and in developing great characters.
It was an excellent read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Keeper has been getting a lot of buzz lately and now having read it, I believe that buzz is more than justified. We know from the very beginning how Katie’s story ends. Her body is pulled from a river in what looks like an obvious case of suicide but what Keeper slowly reveals is how she ended up where she did and why. The narrative follows two timelines, one in the present day as the police try to piece together Katie’s life and the other in the past as she meets and falls into a relationship with Jamie that becomes more and more dangerous.

I’m not going to pretend this is a cheerful book in any way, it’s not. It is bleak, it is disturbing and at times depressing but is absolutely has to be those things because for it to be anything else would feel disingenuous. Domestic violence is more commonplace than I think many of us are aware of and there needs to be more and more done to put a stop to it and the only way to start doing that is to make people acknowledge the severity of the issue and also that it can appear in many different forms. There is no ‘one size fits all’ in abuse. Keeper gives us the stories of several other women besides Katie with differing but equally valid histories.

I got so angry reading this book, as I’m sure most readers will, because it really drives home the point that for far too many women, it is already too late and that is a deeply upsetting thought. Keeper is fantastically well written, there is a sense of foreboding and unease that creeps in all the way through the book and is especially present in the chapters chronicling Katie and Jamie’s relationship. This novel is a realistic and vital look at the reality of a situation I am very much hoping will get better and one of the best ways to move that forward is awareness which reading books like Keeper provide. An intelligent, gripping and important read – absolutely recommend.

I quite enjoyed this book and thought it handled the subject matter too well. Occasionally it did feel a little bit like torture porn but as long as that's something you're aware of going in I don't think it's a problem. Please read this and tell me when you figured out the twist.

When Katie Straw’s body is washed ashore, all signs point to a probable suicide. But when her ID is checked, her name isn’t in any of the databases and the case gets a lot more complicated for the police.

There’s no doubt that Keeper is a powerful read. The book is split into ‘Before’ chapters which detail Katie’s abusive relationship with boyfriend Jamie and the ‘After’ chapters which follow Detectives Whitworth and Brook try to investigate her apparent suicide. The Before chapters are a hard read – the portrayal of the slow burn of the dark side of the relationship is relatable and realistic. The After chapters are slightly more frustrating– the Detectives are old school and their opinions of women and feminism are hard to read. This is probably quite a realistic portrayal of some older members of the police force but as these chapters are mainly from their perspective it feels odd not to really have anyone to side with. The After chapters are also occasionally narrated from side characters from the women’s refuge, which also make for hard hitting reads, however these characters aren’t really very vital to the main story so you come away not really feeling like they had an impact on the book as a whole.

I did very much enjoy (not quite the right word!) the ending to the story which holds a great twist. I think without this narrative choice I would have perhaps rated the book at a solid three stars but the last section of the book jumped it up to a 4 star read for me. It’s a book that very much feels bleak and helpless at times and isn’t a very satisfying read but I do feel it throws up very important points about how women are treated, both by loved ones in their own home and by the police and those tasked with protecting them.

Overall The Keeper is a bleak read, but an important one. Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Books UK – Viking for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to Penguin Books U.K. Viking for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Keeper’ by Jessica Moor in exchange for an honest review.

Katie Straw worked for a women’s refuge, but then her body is pulled from the waters of a local suicide spot. The police quickly decide that it’s a suicide. Yet the residents of Widringham women’s refuge don’t agree and are convinced it was a murder.

When the police look into Katie’s background it turns out that she doesn’t exist. Who is she?

The narrative moves between the ‘now’ as local police look into Katie’s death and the ‘then’ of Katie’s earlier life and her experiences of domestic violence.

I found this very much a character-driven novel. However, I struggled with feeling a sense of connection with Katie, which made the pacing feel slow. Even with the presence of the police investigation, this seemed more of a domestic drama than a thriller.

I would emphasise that it is a well written novel that sensitively addresses the important issue of domestic violence, especially the more subtle kind where a woman’s self confidence is eroded over time.

Certainly a worthy subject to address but not quite for me.

Whilst not an original premise for a piece of fiction The Keeper is a stunning debut that I read in one day. I’ve recently read a couple of extremely well written novels tackling the issue of domestic violence and coercive control and this too is a sensitive, sometimes beautifully written piece of writing.
Whether the author is writing from personal experiences or simply well researched, I don’t know, but it is disturbing and frightening to understand how easy it is for a woman to find herself in an abusive relationship and how very difficult it is to then escape. Even separation can’t entirely sever the ties that bind women to these men which is so tragic. The fact some women can escape to a safe house is just the beginning of a long process towards recovery and the chance of a better life. Thankfully some women survive their years of abuse whilst this novel clearly shows sadly others aren’t so fortunate. All this is captured perfectly in a narrative that is gripping and tense.
From the opening, which features main character Katie chatting to a random guy (Jamie) in a club, you have an immediate sense of unease that stays with you throughout. The focus and timeline quickly shifts to the two detectives investigating the supposed suicide of a young woman up north who we know to be Katie. The narrative then follows a dual timeline between the present and the past, a style works really well in keeping the reader’s attention. At the time of her suicide, Katie is working in a women’s refuge helping vulnerable women and their children and much of the detective work features interactions with staunch and formidable Val (owner and leader of the refuge)and the inhabitants of the refuge. Not only to we get to hear Katie’s story but those of the other women too which makes for harrowing reading.
I felt particularly drawn to Katie and Jamie’s relationship, with the narrative depicting the slow erosion over time of her self esteem, confidence and independence until she is isolated from her friends and family, becoming a shadow of her former self. Katie’s predicament is astutely observed as are all these women’s stories and it is clear to the detectives that maybe Katie’s death isn’t an open and shut case of suicide but perhaps something more sinister.
The relationship between DS Whitworth and DC Brookes felt unusual to me and the reader isn’t granted much insight into their lives, with the author preferring to focus attention on the women. Whitworth is close to retirement and Brookes is experiencing his first big case when it transpires Katie isn’t who she’s claimed to be, so there follows an in depth analysis of her life which makes for heartbreaking reading.
Although a piece of fiction, the author has portrayed all the nuances and complexities of a certain type of relationship with aplomb. It’s also a eulogy to the women who have fallen victim to these controlling, cowardly and violent men whilst applauding their bravery and resilience and also a recognition of the hard work, love and dedication of those running refuges. The ending was for me jaw dropping and these fictional stories are guaranteed to stay in your mind long after the final page. Thought provoking and highly recommend.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read in exchange for an honest review.

Another great book via Netgalley. Thank you. This book is in some respects a hard read but on the other hand a real eye opener into some peoples lives. It is such a descriptive read I wonder whether the author has someone in the family who has suffered like this as I cannot believe it is all from research although I could well be wrong and if from research it was so well done. The book is about a woman called Katie Straw working in a women’s refuge with ladies who have suffered abuse of one sort or another and helps them see what is in front of them rather than behind especially if children are involved. The police become involved as it appears that Katie committed suicide by jumping off a local bridge. The story then centres around Katie’s background and her life prior to being in this environment. DS Whitworth, the Policeman in charge of the investigation, is not so sure after talking to the ladies in the refuse that it is suicide and the story unfolds. They learn that Katie Straw is not all she seems having suffered abuse herself in the past and had run away from her abuser.
The plot thickens with DS Whitworth and DC Brook working together to draw it to a conclusion and then the twist reveals itself which I will not give away. – a fab book and an ending I was not expecting at all. Loved it

A very impressive and memorable debut, Keeper by Jessica Moor is a thriller with a lot to say about domestic abuse. Using dual timelines, "then" and "now" Moor tells the story of Katy, a woman who worked at a shelter for abused woman, and whose body is found at a know suicide spot. In the "now " timeline we follow the investigation into her death, which the police consider suspicious since there were no indications that she planned to take her own life, and no note left behind. This suspicion is heightened even further by the discovery that Katy has been living under an assumed identity, suggesting that there may be more secrets to uncover. The detectives conducting the investigation interview the various women at the shelter, and begin to think that they may know more than they are letting on. Meanwhile in the "then " timeline we meet a younger Katy, who meets a kind and chivalrous man on a night out with friends. Love blossoms, and they soon end up living together, but all is not as it seems and behind closed doors Katy finds her new boyfriend to be controlling in a number of insidious ways,. The situation goes from bad to worse, with Katy doubting herself despite feeling in her gut that something is wrong, but when she ends up in hospital she knows that she must flee for her own safety.
The focus of much of this book is on domestic abuse , in its numerous forms, from the subtle cruelties of psychological abuse and coercive control to the more obvious physical assault. and the author uses a diverse range of characters , in terms of age, sexuality and ethnicity but in a way that feels effortless. She also does a wonderful job of showing how easily a woman can become trapped in a damaging relationship, even when she thinks she is on top of it, sometimes the red flags are very well hidden. If I had to criticise I would say that for a book billed as a thriller, it is a little lacking in pace, and I was not surprised by the ending, but I very much enjoyed the book none the less.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This is not an easy read. The book is a well written debut and objective rather than tearing at the heartstrings. It is not easy to understand why women not only stay in abusive relationships but having escaped why they still return in the hope that things will improve. This novel is set in two time frames following the discovery of Katy's body by apparent suicide. I felt Katy was an example of a controlled young woman rather than an individual person. A definite twist in the tail leaving an uneasy feeling.
Three and a half stars for me!
Many thanks to Netgalley/Jessica Moor/Penguin Books for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

I was so excited to receive a preview copy of this literary thriller, which is a murder mystery, but is firmly focused on domestic abuse. This book’s exploration into forms of abuse is very timely, since it is only recently that coercive control and more psychological domestic abuse became a crime in its own right. In 2015 we became the first country in the world to make coercive control illegal and punishable by up to five years in prison. Sadly this was too late for me. In the wake of my late husband’s death in 2007 I started a relationship with a man I thought I knew very well; it took four years and a lot of courage to leave in 2012. I was very vulnerable when the relationship started and scared of being of being left, so he could manipulate me into spending money and overlooking behaviour that I would normally challenge. He would distance me from friends and family by creating conflict, or even making passes at them to make things awkward. He eroded my confidence with sly suggestions about my appearance, my clothes and my weight particularly. He would fly into a rage about people disrespecting him, not crediting him with achievements or just questioning his control. He would kick and throw things. I have no doubt, that if I stayed, this situation would have become physically violent. So, for me and anyone this has happened to, it was important that the book showed an authentic experience.

The author splits the novel into two time frames. In one Katie Straw’s body is found in the river at a known suicide spot. DS Whitworth and DC Brooke would be happy to write this one off as a suicide, but the local women’s refuge plead with them to look at it again. They are convinced Katie has been murdered. It doesn’t take long for them to realise that Katie Straw doesn’t exist, she has no official or digital footprint. As DC Brooke observes ‘she isn’t even on Facebook, and everyone is on Facebook‘. Our other narrative takes us back to a different Katie, in her first job since university and living back home with her parents. On a night out she meets Jamie, and although she’s unsure at first she embarks on a relationship with him. We see how this seemingly charming and personable young man manipulates her, controls her and strips her of all support systems.

The author shows how an abuser can ‘love bomb’ their partner at first, dialling up the charm and romance in order to catch them off guard. Her attention to detail is incredible, and the writing beautifully poignant.

She learns to name the demon. To understand that just as cities can fall, without a shot being fired, a woman can relinquish herself piece by piece.’

This sentence shows beautifully how a woman starts to blame herself. In the face of someone’s manipulation, control and volatility it becomes important to make concessions, to pick your battles, to let some things go. The line made in the sand is breached so often, it seems easier to stop creating them. Eventually, the other person exerts total control and you wonder how you got here but the answer is like this, piece by piece. In her portrayal of DS Whitworth, the author shows us how easy it can be for cases like this to be brushed under the carpet. Investigating abuse is messy because it’s dealing with people’s relationships. I also think there’s an element of switching off to abuse, because it’s too ugly to take on board. When I escaped my relationship there were some friends who would neutralise my version of events with phrases like ‘everyone argues’ and ‘it’s best to be apart if you’re going to hurt each other’. This would incense me and I lost some friends because once I’d found the courage to leave there was no way I was going to gloss over what had happened. I wanted to speak my truth. Whitworth clearly wants to walk away from this and he represents a prevailing attitude about abuse that stops the sheer magnitude of the problem being addressed. Two unsure, and slightly squeamish men are forced to delve into something that’s women’s private business. They’re sympathetic to the terrible stories they hear at the refuge, and each have their strengths. However, Whitworth dislikes dealing with the passionate and headstrong manager of the centre Val Redwood. The subject seems to scare him.

Yet, the way to continue controlling someone is to control how other people see them. Staging someone’s suicide is the ultimate silencer, not only is the witness dead but everyone thinks she was unstable. There must have been something wrong with her Family and friends were told I was uncontrollable, difficult, too involved with my family and friends and not fully in the relationship. I even started to wonder if he was right. Maybe I was overreacting. Maybe all relationships were like this. Thankfully, I had a letter, written in his own hand telling me that I was ‘too much’ for him, I wouldn’t be controlled, didn’t toe the line. In an attempt to knock my confidence going forward he told me I would never find someone to take on my disability (MS), that he found it difficult to accept and off-putting; he couldn’t find me attractive. The letter would bring me back to reality. In every sentence it screamed ‘I can’t control you’. I found it he did this to his first wife, and his last girlfriend too. He left behind a box of old cards and letters full of sentences like: I’m so sorry, I’ll try harder, I’m sorry I’m so difficult to get along with, I’ll be a better wife, I’m sorry I don’t make you happy, I’m so sorry.

The suspense is absolutely heart-stopping. My hopeful nature, and probably my past experience, would have loved an ending where all the loose ends are tied up neatly. However, life isn’t like that. The end is abrupt and a bit brutal. Nothing is resolved. I said at the beginning that above all, the book had to be authentic and I guess the unexpected ending fits with that. This is an incredibly impressive debut that is original, well-researched and painfully true to experience.

This is clearly a current topic, and an important one too. I thought I'd challenge myself to read a book about female abuse, but afraid I just couldn't get into the style of writing at all...it all seemed a little lukewarm to me....not negative, just not for me personally...I've seen many great reviews, so am sure, for the right people, it will be a good read...thank you for an advanced copy in exchange for a true review.

This is a well-written novel about human nature. The choice of narrator for the 'now' sections strikes me as very canny - and I hope that it helps people who might not be so attuned to the psychology of abuse to read this story. I hope the fictionalised truths of the horrors of abuse can convince people that it isn't easy for victims to think of themselves as victims and also to have the strength to break away for good.

Spoiler: As a thriller I'm not sure the twist functions quite as well as the author may have hoped because it was a little obvious. But the note was a good touch.

Oddly, the narrator reminded me very slightly of No Country for Old Men with the sense that the world had passed him by. That's not to say that he didn't do damage in his own way but I did almost understand his point of view... almost.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a brilliant book - characters were really well developed and believable and I really invested in them. It kept me guessing throughout and had plenty of twists and turns. The plot drew me in more and more as it developed and was really gripping Highly recommended.

Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this book as much as I would have liked.

The premise was good, but I found it very hard to get into. I usually like novels like this one, but this one seemed to drag on quite a bit which was disappointing.

I did enjoy the writing style however, and would love to read more of the Authors work.

The Keeper

Then: Katie is a girl who is easy to conjure up - a bit wishy washy with no real opinions of her own. So it’s easy to see how she falls for the charms of a man like Jamie. Her Dad has died, her Mum is dying and Jamie doesn’t like Katie’s friends. We see slowly how she ends up under his spell & the way it is written makes it easy to understand.
Now: A worker from a women’s refuge has been found dead. She appears to have drowned. The police suspect suicide. We get to know the ladies in the refuge, who they are and why they’re there.
I quite liked this book. I found I really wanted to know what was happening. Unfortunately I guessed how it ended - but if I hadn’t I would have definitely loved the twist.
A good thriller.

A new writer to me, this is a promising debut, well written and intriguing throughout. However, for those of us who read a lot of crime fiction, placing a novel in a women's refuge has become a familiar trope and this doesn't really contribute anything particularly new. Nevertheless the characters are well drawn and the flipping of the narrative from past to present is well handled and one's attention is held until the end.