Keeper of Pleas

Keeper of Pleas #1

by Annelie Wendeberg

On December 10, 1880, Coroner Sévère makes a gruesome nine newborns, buried in flowerpots, and hidden in plain sight in Whitechapel. A mortician receives the bodies and vanishes. Clues for the two seemingly unconnected cases are scarce.
When police and coroner learn that the missing mortician might have spent his last moments at the bosom of the infamous prostitute Miss Mary, a series of events is nudged into motion. Lies are unearthed, rumours spread. Yet, the killer remains a faceless phantom.
His secret seems buried forever.
Until the night Sévère requests Miss Mary’s services…


Post-mortems and prostitution are shown unprettified.

Genres: Mystery, Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Thriller, Victorian, Historical Mystery

364 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 12, 2016

About the author

Annelie Wendeberg likes to throw morally grey heroines into impossible situations just to watch disaster unfold. Her books have sold nearly a million copies worldwide in multiple languages through both independent and traditional publishing. When she's not writing, you can find her herding goats, making cheese, and saving owls and kangaroos from peril.

Reviews

[Maureen Carden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keeper of the Pleas was the first book I've read by Annelie Wendeberg. It won't be the last. Keeper of the Pleas was a surprise and in some cases a shock from beginning to end. English Victorian Times was really not a nice time in history,-as so many wonderful writers have shown-but I don't know if Victorian England can be topped by the hypocrisy.
A whore and a man who frequents whorehouses. A terrible humiliation that gets turned around. A mortician who might have approved of his own sweet death, just not the aftermath. A deaf woman locked in an asylum and a father who will do almost anything for her, including die. But not care for her. Finely draw characters that entice you into this sordid world of Victorian England.
A love both redeeming and denied is central to this story, strength vs strength.
Nine dead infants, throats cut, hidden in flower pots is the central mystery. Their story will not be easily solved despite immediate arrests and will keep you guessing.
This book can be very graphic in a few autopsy and whorehouse scenes. But why not, these were graphic times.
I loved this book; I heard about it, requested it from library system, thought what the hell and cancelled request because I couldn't wait that long, downloaded it to Kindle. I am so glad I did.

[Maureen Carden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a slight reworking of the original version of The Keeper of Pleas: A Dark Victorian Crime Novel. Loved the first, loved the second. I would read and love the 10th revision.
Keeper of Pleas opened a whole new world to me; a much darker, uglier, sadder version of Victorian London than found in anything Conan Doyle wrote. (Although Wendeberg has certainly not ignored Sherlock Holmes in her excellent Anna Kronberg series.)
On the total absolute upside Keeper of Pleas introduces wonderful, original and intriguing characters who won't quickly disappear from your memory; the Coroner Sévère, his wife and assistant Olivia, and the Pirate Rose, rescued by Olivia.
Nine infant corpses are found buried in the pots of apple trees. Coroner and Mrs Sévère must work to free the man who is wrongly arrested but readily confesses. A bit of a neat trick to try to undo a confession.
At the same time they attempt to make a case against the Chief Magistrate for his sadistic penchant of raping young girls, especially virgins. Yeah, like I said not a fine time for Jolly Old England, where some horrendous laws exist, almost none for the protection of children or women.
This is the first book of a series, followed by the equally compelling Spider Silk.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book from Annelie, though I expected nothing less.

I enjoy her strong female leads and the way she gets the reader inside the character's minds in a way that you can't not feel a connection.
The mystery is interesting, but the focus is definitely on Mary and Sévère.
I hope to see another book focused on their unique relationship soon!

[nikkia neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pure pleasure to read, fun, audacious

If this is your first Annelie Wendeberg, then I predict fast scrambling to get all her previous books. For the rest of us, we will be anxiously waiting for the next book. I hope this will be a series because I did not get my fill of Coroner Sévère and Miss Mary/Olivia.

[Elizabeth Gonzalez-Collazo IG - Shereadswithcoffee · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a great read! Victorian London is becoming my new favorite setting made possible by this amazing author. Mysterious and enticing was definitely a page Turner! I enjoyed the interaction between the two protagonists! I enjoy that the female protagonist.Mary isn't out shined by the leading male character. always enjoy a strong female lead! definitely can't wait for the next installment!!

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a remake of an earlier book by the same title. I read it because I did not remember the author including nine newborn murders stuffed in pots. This is a darker look at London’s underbelly during Victorian times. There is raping of children, and vivid prostitution abuse, and pretty much abuse to anything female. It was an interesting remake of her first book . She is an excellent writer. I got to know her personally, when she first started writing here Anna books, that included Sherlock Holmes. Five stars.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

December 1880 Whitechapel, and the skeletons of nine babies are discovered in flowerpots. It is Coroner Gavriel Severe who investigates. When the mortician, Alexander Easy, who received the bodies disappears, he wonders if the cases are connected.
The books brings to life the dark side of Victorian England, in this well-developed mystery with its interesting characters.
I look forward to reading the next in the series.

[Heatherinblack · Rating 4 out of 5]

clever couple

full of midlife crisis and acknowledgement of women as people. good mystery but cheesy way of putting together the last pieces. i look forward to the banter of the next book.

[Anne Bollmann (Annelise Lestrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally posted on The Book Adventures of Annelise Lestrange :)

I received this copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. Let's go :D


The Story

December, 1880.

Coroner Sévère gets himself into one of the most macabre cases of his career when nine corpses are discovered by chance in England. The macabre part? All are newborns with obvious signs of violent deaths.

The mystery gets bigger when the mortician responsible for the bodies goes missing and it’s found dead in the Thames. What at first seemed two very distinct cases without any relation between themselves soon get trickier.

To be exact, everything gets set into motion in the second Sévère steps on Miss Mary’s room. Both found their fighting matches. Who shall be the winner? Who shall solve the mystery?
Who shall be the surviviour?

The Analysis
Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader :)

I was beyond excited when Annelie send me her new book. I already explained how her work was a key piece for me to pick up more books for reading in this post, so I’ll skip that part, haha! But seriously, she never seizes to stop impressing me. Even though I had some problems with this book – especially in the beginning, as it all sounded so confusing - but as soon as I got my mind together, I flew through it. Who did it? Why? Will it happen again?

I found myself lost in a very vivid and alive London in the 19th century, running along Sévère and Mary to find answers and see who would win their private social war. This was a first class mystery that made me grab my seat and have a very intense ride. I only took a star off because of the confusing beginning and because I was bothered by most of the sex scenes. I understand what Annelie did, animalizing things on purpose and I think it was necessary in many points, but I shivered a lot, haha! Four proud stars :)

The narrative style was third person with alternating points of view between several characters and that was what made me so confused in the beginning. You see, I have a very shitty memory and am particular awful with names. Sometimes, I finish books without being sure of the characters’ names, especially if they are first person narrated. However, in Keeper of Pleas’ case, it went beyond that. The mystery dominates the pages since the first line and we didn’t know whose point of view we were reading until the middle or end of it :/

I have to say that, after my brain was able to process the beginning and understand who were the protagonists (yes, you read it right, unfortunately), I dived head first in this 19th century London. Every corner hid more mystery and every answer raised even more questions. IT WAS SO COOL AND AWESOME!

Wendeberg writing style is impeccable. She makes everything so human, so real that I felt like being physically sucked to my iPad’s insides were starting to sound like a possibility. Several times I had to force my eyes out of the screen and take a deep breath, study my surroundings and make sure I was still on 21th century before resuming my read. Wendeberg truly wraps her reader into the story.

The plot was complex, intricate and I didn’t know who had done it until the last second, always second guessing every witness, every clue, every evidence. I JUST NEEDED TO KNOW WHO DID IT! And even after it was revealed, I didn’t know if I could trust if it was the real deal or not, haha! Seriously, I was a goner for Keeper of Pleas. The elements entwined won me over – London, 19th century, mystery, thriller, the macabre, the action, the romance. I’m pretty sure this simply wasn’t that perfect for me because Sévère was straight, haha!

Anyway, let’s talk a bit about characters now. Wendeberg’s construction was impeccable, I haven’t a word against her. Every character was remarkable in a subtle way, all so painfully human in their qualities and faults. The relationships were also built very well and she makes a point of expressing how it was all about the lust between Sévère and Mary at first and how they took their time building trust. To be honest, I still don’t know if they ever really loved each other and the end of the book doesn’t help matters, haha! Don’t worry, I wont’t spoil anything, but brace yourself for several bombs to fall off your head, haha!

Keeper of Pleas left me breathless, confused and in a severe (haha) need of a hug, so I think it’s safe to say that Wendeberg slayed it once again :) If you enjoy good mystery, thrillers, intellectual wars and face-slapping ends, you need to stop everything and get yourself a copy of Keeper of Pleas *--*

Thanks so much for reading my review! Also, thanks again for the book, Annelie! I’m delighted to have read another book from you and Keeper of Pleas was SUCH A RIDE, haha! <3

[Malcolm Brodzinsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!! It kept me entertained through all the twists and turns you would expect from a well-written Victorian mystery. I can't wait for the next installment!!!

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this on a whim as it’s write up was reasonable and states Victorian Crime so….

Didn’t like this book at first and nearly quit after the first chapter as I couldn’t get an “understanding” of the lead character who came across as an angry, rude, aggressive, arrogant misogynist but I wanted to read something that was different to my previous read which was set in a Victorian asylum.

So I persisted and once the author introduced another lead character in “Miss Mary” things began to pick up speed….. along with my interest.

Unfortunately it’s littered with Americanisms which set my teeth on edge!! I don’t know if it’s the fault of publisher or author but when you write about English characters IN England then you need to get the words and spellings RIGHT!! Couple of spelling mistakes too but it’s the Americanisms that I really cannot stand!

This book (and it’s second book in the series) is not for the faint-hearted nor the prudish. It’s VERY sexually explicit and violent throughout - sometimes to be questioned if it’s really necessary to the plot. Sometimes Yes and sometimes No. The story involves sex, abuse, violence, murder, sexual abuse and trafficking of minors so please do NOT read this book unless you have a strong stomach!

There’s a strong storyline, good characters, clever plot and twists and turns. There are some bad moments as mentioned above but there are some sweet moments of affection and a poignant moment where we see another side to a successful young prostitute whereby she tells us of her youth, kidnap and rape at age 9.

Again, NOT for the “sensitive” but it’s well worth persisting and I also moved swiftly onto the second book.

Now eagerly awaiting the third instalment as I NEED to know if Severe and Olivia can ever truly admit they are madly in love with each other and move on to a happier, more constructive married life together with both of them wiping the slate clean of past experiences.

Here’s to the third book coming out soon and to Severe & Severe Detective Agency!

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book 4 stars but really wanted to rate it 3.5. I liked the idea of the book, somewhat similar concept to the Kronberg/Holmes series, but not quite. The book flowed well as you met Coroner Sévère and Miss Mary and they became a very odd crime-fighting team, but at the end of the book, it started getting very choppy. The scenes just suddenly ended and then a new scene would start, it was very strange. It just made me think that she couldn't figure out how to connect, so just didn't. I find that hard to believe, but that is how it seemed. It was irritating and the reason for the lower rating. I felt like there was more to be said in-between those scenes. Overall, the book had a very gruesome story that kept your attention throughout. I enjoy the fact that the author's books always have a strong capable female back during time periods where that was not valued and looked down upon. I will read the next book.

[SylviaV · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not for the fainthearted and deals with a lot of unsavoury practices.

Got this as a free e book on amazon.com for my kindle.
This was indeed a dark and gritty mystery novel set in Victorian times in the UK.
It is brutal in it's narration of trying to convey what life is like for girls and women during this time period.They find themselves in situations that are so dire through no fault of their own and they survive the best they can.
I found myself intrigued enough to keep reading to find out how the mystery would be solved and how the main characters would deal with one and other.
4 stars

[alan l jarbeau Jarbeau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the amazing heroines of recent fiction.

I absolutely loved the story! It was like a past version of the characters of John Steed ,and Emma Peel of the Avengers tv series. The banter between the coroner,and Olivia made the story extremely satisifying. I also found the character of Olivia to be quite exceptional given her experiences as a child to persevere beyond these terrible beginnings ,and become the strong willed, intelligent woman she has become. I look forward to reading other books in the series.

[Lars Stuyts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annelie Wendeberg writes Victorian mysteries with more believable atmosphere then almost any other writer. Though the freedoms and independence she allots her main female character may not be period correct, she writes them to make them wonderfully believable gems. In this the first book of her Keeper of Pleas series she introduces and seduces us with the characters of Coroner Severe and Olivia. With the warning that both prostitution and post-mortems are depicted without apology, this is a wonderful piece of noir victorian detective storytelling.

[LoveMyAuthors · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wendeberg is a new to me author, but I can assure you after closing the cover on Keeper of Pleas I will be combing through her backlist.

This one is dark and edgy and full of raw emotions. Both main characters are headstrong and confident but I was delighted to see that occasionally they were willing to let down their guard and be vulnerable. It was a lovely mixture that made the characters very believable!

Add some great side characters and a stellar plot and you have a truly great read. I highly recommend you give this one a try!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Victorian Era

I also love books set in England. Both my loves combined to make this book a very good read. Frequently I read books with Google maps streetview handy. Alas, I'm traveling so I had t o use my imagination. I am not sure that all the places mentioned are real, but some of them I have visited. I wish there had been more physical descriptions of buildings, as they help me visualize the scenes as I read about them.

[Jeannie Flynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gutwrenchingly realistic, diabolically addictive

Its difficult to get behind an older, physically failing but brilliant Coroner and a 16year old, abused but toughened and brilliant (and pragmatic) whore marrying for security but once you get past the ick factor, it becomes so immersive, you can't put it down until you follow the case to its conclusion.
Can't wait to dive into the next!

[Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not your usual Victorian Crime mystery. Nine new born babies were discovered buried in flowerpots. Their deaths came under the durisdiction of the Coroner. The same Coroner that was being thrashed by a whore prior to her becoming his assistant and wife. Subsequently, what occurs in the matrimonial bed is described in great detail. While the investigation of the crime is not that inspiring the court case and storyline itself is very good.

[Cynthia Pratt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very interesting start of a series. This author has always been skilled at creating a setting of the less attractive sides of Victorian England in her Anna Kronburg series and that continues here. This book contains more sex as the story is based around a prostitute. I am looking forward to the next book....

[Macy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I expected

Sociopathic coroner and teenage sex worker team up to solve crimes. Preposterous on the surface but very good writing, character development and plot make the pairing plausible. I’m actually cheering for them to become a ‘real’ married couple.
On to the 2nd book.

[Cathrine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A coroner and a prostitute

Make an unlikely pair, investigating the mysterious discovery of 9 new born skeletons found among the roots of apple trees planted in pots on the balcony of an apartment in London.

This was a great beginning to a series. It contained interesting characters and an engrossing storyline.

[Peggy Richter]

Chapters not in order?

The story us good, the characters interesting. However either the timeline is bad or the editor put the chapters in the wrong order. Olive can't be discussing the pups before she goes to the asylum. They can't be ready to visit others at a dinner party, skip to the asylum, then come back to the visit.

[Cynthia Raleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coroner Sévère is an intriguing character: serious, oblivious at times, and intent upon expanding his knowledge. Olivia's bright and undaunted personality is a wonderful counterpart for his gravity and solemnity. I will certainly read the next in the series, Spider Silk.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captivating!

I am so glad to have found this amazing author. Another Victorian mystery, with unforgettable characters. The mystery of who killed the newborn babies.
Now on to the second book in the series.

[W. Tinkanesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, Annelie Wendeberg created a strong female character worth following.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, what an unexpected pleasure. Awesome book, higly recommended and I look forward to the next one. Which I am starting immediately as we speak..

[Sharlene · Rating 1 out of 5]

smutt

never got beyond the first chapter or two... awful description of porn...no thank you! thank goodness I didn't pay for this book...

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Absolutely loved this story. Immediately downloaded the second book; can't wait to get back to Victorian London and the next case.