A good book. Well written with great characters and a good plot. The storyline flows and the mystery is enjoyable. I highly recommend.,

This is a mix between Hercule Poirot and Miss Fisher with exotic roots, in England. Heloise Chancey, the female protagonist, is a high class courtesan and detective, with ascendentes from Malaysia, Indonesia and Burma. The plot was involving, complex and full of twists, and it's definitely a dark sort of novel. The murders are grisly and often violent follows suite. I absolutely loved it!

Even so, the element I loved the most was Heloise herself. She's witty, charming, charismatic and with a sort of naughty disposition which made me both like her and want to keep reading about her investigation.

M.J. Tjia created a great plot, a strong and smart lady detective but at the same time she didn't sugar coat the prejudice against people with foreign connections. THe author weavers between the historical Victorian England with Asian culture is a way that both smooth and doesn't overpower the actual murder plot.

Definitely want to read more of this series!

I read the first few chapters... I did find it enjoyable, but a bit boring. I did end up putting it down since I had many other interesting books to get to...

I did not get a chance to read the first book so I was a bit confused on who was who in this book. If I had the first book it might make it easier

A NECESSARY MURDER
(Heloise Chancey: #2)
Written by M.J. Tjia
2018; Pantera Press/Legend Press
Genre: fiction, series, historical mystery

(Review Not on Blog)

RATING: 1.5 STAR (DNF @15%)

I finished the first book, and it wasn't my cuppa tea, but wanted to give the second book a try. It was very much like the first - slow and not exciting, so I gave up on the book. I will not be continuing the series.

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

The first installment of this series introduced readers to sassy, whip-smart, courtesan-slash-unwitting sleuth Heloise Chancey and this second installment shows just how brilliant Lady Heloise truly is. She and Amah Li-Leen make for an exceptional team that carry an echo of Holmes and Watson with their uncanny ability to work better together as opposed to singular entities.

When I finished She Be Damned, one of my main hopes was to get more background from Amah Li-Leen’s past and her current relationship with Heloise and I can happily say that I was granted my wish. Amah’s past plays a heavy role in this current installment, with the past and present colliding and threatening both Amah’s and Heloise’s lives. Weaving in historical Asian culture with Victorian England, Amah’s past gave an eye-opening view of the prejudices and the oppression that many people of Asian descent face in Western culture, and that aspect is something that plays a role in the current mystery that Amah and Heloise are facing.

The series is a definitely darker series with the grisly murders and accompanying violence, but I absolutely adore how that’s balanced nicely with the charm and wit of the characters, particularly Heloise. And with her job as a courtesan, there’s plenty of brightness to even out the dark. But don’t get me wrong — I love the dark and grisly, but it’s always nice to have bright spots so things don’t get too, too heavy.

All told, A Necessary Murder was a fantastic second installment in this delightful and dark mystery series that’s slowly but surely becoming a favorite of mine. Witty characters, sexy-times, solid mysteries with murder and mayhem, each book is such a delight to read and I can’t wait to see what Mija brings readers in the third installment.

had hoped that since this was a new mystery that the story would improve. However, it did not. The protagonist was still unlikeable. there were still a graphic scenes and violence. There was no improvement in this book, and I really cannot recommend it.

When I started this, I expected something different. I love cozy mysteries. This one sort of feel a little flat for me.

A Necessary Murder is a well-paced mystery with a perfectly rendered setting and engaging characters. Love this series and am excited to read more!

The premise at the beginning of this reminded me of the Suspicions of Mr Whicher with the murdered child and the servants being suspected first. The book was interesting but I found it hard to follow at times. Heloise and Amah were strong characters but I would have liked more interaction between them as they felt very separate characters who occupied the same space. The build-up to the final confrontation was thrilling and i was kind of shocked who was behind the murders. The way it was written was done well and I'd like to see how the first compares to this one.

I first came into contact with M. J Tjia’s work almost exactly a year ago, with the great book She Be Damned, and here, we’re diving right back into the thick of things, into the lives of Heloise Chancey, Victorian courtesan and part-time mystery solver, and her mother, Amah, or Li Lee.
This book continues to build on the rich storylines it set in motion during She Be Damned: we meet some old faces, some new people and, of course, a murder that may or may not be tied to Amah’s personal history. It’s really refreshing to see how the Malay and Chinese communities lived in Victorian England- I don’t think it’s something we do see enough of. It also adds a new angle to the story, as Tjia dives into the revenge and anger that many justifiably held against the colonialists.
But this is only one subplot. A prominent family’s daughter has been murdered, and she’s only the first to go in a grisly spate of killings that sees Heloise enter the fray once more. She’s just as fabulous the first time around: gloriously unapologetic about who she is, resourceful, quick-witted and always ready with a witty riposte or two. One scene, where she takes over the role of children’s nanny for a week, had me in stitches, just because the fish-out-of-water angle is played so well. Her relationship with Amah comes under a lot more scrutiny here, which is fascinating (especially as we didn’t know they were related in the first book!) and watching the strained, loving and complex relationship between the two of them is really rewarding, especially by the end.
There are so many strands to this book that sometimes it’s hard to keep up, but it’s always interesting. We find out more about the past of Li Leen, her investigations in the present, and how it ties into Heloise’s investigation. There are swashbuckling soldiers, dark deeds in dark alleyways, and taking us from gin palaces to genteel country houses: as far as an introduction to Victorian society goes, this was remarkably effective, and really fascinating!
Enjoyable as it was, I do think that, at times, the book struggled to connect the two strands of story, and the subplot did feel irrelevant for large parts of the book. Tjia also has the tendency to keep us guessing on plot twists for far longer than is necessary- or believable, where the characters’ actions are concerned, which can be frustrating when they’re finally revealed.
Despite that, this was a tightly-plotted story, with a satisfying (if a tad bloody) ending that left me looking forward to the next instalment. More please!

Heloise is not your average Victorian leading lady. I usually love historical mysteries with unconventional characters. I like the air of mystery, the setting and the language used. But this one fell flat for me. Heloise, well, I didn’t like her. She’s very off putting. I was much more interested in Amah’s storyline then anything to do with Heloise’s storyline.
There were a few scenes that I felt were just thrown in to create a higher word count. Yes, Heloise is a woman who has sex but what did it do for the plot? Not much. Then the shifting POVs bothered me.
It felt historically accurate in the society aspect and how families would treat hired helped. But I feel like there were more scenes focused on the type of dress Heloise was wearing rather than the murders than happen.

A necessary murder, is a fun Victorian era mystery where the main detective is Heloise a strong female whose previous occupation was as a courtesan.

A Necessary Murder was fun from the outset, even with the very bloody murders happening! An interesting caper which isn't solely focused on the serial murder but also the background into Amah's life.

The plot was fully absorbing and it is full of twists and turns from the start of the story right to the end, I was wrong several times about who the murderer was. Heloise is an interesting character especially when set in a time where women were not allowed to have an occupation other than being a house keeper, she stands up for herself and won't take no as an answer.

*ARC received from publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

This is the first I have read of this author, but is the second in the series, and I found myself at a bit of a loss several times because it. Rather than giving a brief understanding of events from the previous book, when the author makes references to it the reader isn’t given enough information to fill in the gaps properly. The heroine is a kept woman in London who helps with mysteries at the request of a private inquiry agent. She is asked to jump into a case of murder and she does, but at the same time there is a back story involving her mother and cousin and friends that isn’t quite explained. Since she herself thinks about what had come before I felt it should have been explained a bit more. She is evidently meant to be a colorful character and does seem as such but again, something seemed to be missing. It also reminded me of a true crime mystery I had previously read which was incorporated into part of the back story. All said it was still a good story and I will be picking up the first in the series to fill in those pesky gaps.

I liked our heroine, I liked the plot that twisted and turned and brought the characters further into the story in ways you wouldn't think of.
I liked the murders,which were slightly grusome,but not too much detail.
My main downfall with this book was it suffered from should-have-read-the-first book.
I was lost a couple of times.
But I'm up to speed for book 3 now, and liked what I read enough to be looking forward to it.

2.5 stars - This wasn't really up my alley and I should of known since the description mentioned that is was based in 1863. I usually hate books that are set in historical times. However, it had a Agatha Christie vibe to it so it got me intrigued.

First problem, for me, was the writing. The writing was great, except, I'm Canadian so the old British writing style is really hard for me to understand. I had to use my Kindle dictionary a lot, so I felt like I could understand 3/4 of the book and what was going on at a given time. That's on me though, that's why I must say the writing was great.

The other issues I had with this novel is that it took forever before the real investigating the murder started, around 40% of the book, by then I was already bored.

Finally, there was a lot of plot wholes for me and things I didn't understand. I still have so many questions. Also, the story itself, I didn't get the motive behind the murders. Even after finishing the book, so I wasn't really captivated as I kept reading. Also, I felt like there was two stories going parallel but not tied in together. Even though at the end they tried, I kind of think Amah's story was pointless. I'm sorry for all you historical fiction fans out there, but this wasn't for me.

However, I did like the part where the main character is undercover, and the sex scenes. That kept me interested.

Thank you to Netgalley for a review copy of this book!

I did not read the first book in this series, but I found this book to be a stand alone title.The murders that happen in the novel are a bit more grisly than the mysteries I normally read, and I also found this book to be quite graphic.

I found the beginning of this book to be a bit slow. It picked up in the second half and I found myself getting into the mystery.

I am not well versed in this time period or the lives of courtesans during this time. I feel like I may have enjoyed this book more had I more background knowledge. .

This is the second book to feature the courtesan turned detective, Heloise Chancey, following on from the excellent 'She Be Damned'. Heloise is an engaging character and a clever choice by the author as she can move between high society in London and the seedier underbelly.

This story opens in 1863 with the murder of a child, Miss Margaret Lovejoy, in a well-to-do London home and the city is shocked by the brutality of the killing. When more murders occur with the same modus operandi, Heloise starts to connect the crimes and uncover secrets hidden beneath the surface of the lives of some respectable citizens.

As before, I loved the Victorian setting - the writer really captures both the opulence of the age (for the wealthy and fortunate) and the poverty of the city. The book is well-plotted and there are a range of good characters, although I'll admit that the men from Heloise's dinner party did not seem particularly distinctive, something that confused me a couple of times.

I'd recommend this to lovers of historical murder mysteries, although I'd suggest that starting with the first novel would be more enjoyable as there are some revelations within that which impact this story.

Heloise and Amah are once again involved in solving murders. We learn more about their relationship and other family members.
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England, 1863.

Young Margaret Lovejoy is found brutally murdered inside her house. Days later, a man is found murdered in the same manner. As the police start to suspect a Chinese gang hiding behind a series of murders, they will need the keen eye and precious help of Heloise Chancey in order to come to the bottom of this.

Heloise will have to go undercover in Lovejoys' estate, where things will start getting more and more disturbing. While Heloise is constantly putting her life at risk in order to unravel the culprit, Amah Li Leen, her maid, will have to confront her own past and come to the end of some very disturbing circumstances. Neither is safe during this ordeal. Are they ready to uncover some painful truths?

A necessary Murder is a very interesting and amusing mystery book. It is a quick read that manages to hold the reader's attention without getting boring. The ending is unpredictable, in both Heloise and Amah's part of the story, which makes the plot all the better. Both women are very amusing characters: daring, cunning and full of intelligence. I absolutely loved the fact that neither of them is a typical Victorian type of woman; it is very refreshing to meet some unique book characters.

Strongly recommended for fans of mysteries.