Keeper by Jessica Moor

Author : Jessica Moor
Title  : Keeper
Published : 2020
Publisher : Viking
Pages : 336
Genre : Thriller

     He's been looking in the windows again. Messing with cameras. Leaving notes. Supposed to be a refuge. But death got inside. When Katie Straw's body is pulled from the waters of the local suicide spot, the police decide it's an open-and-shut case. A standard-issue female suicide. But the residents of Widringham women's refuge where Katie worked don't agree. They say it's murder. Will you listen to them? 

     You know what it's like you have a stack of books sat there staring at you to be read. All begging to be the next. After all, you bought them for a very good reason. But having been on lockdown for four months I recently managed to out to somewhere that hard a real-life honest to god book store so what was I suppose to do? After spending a ridiculous but bliss full amount of time checking out there latest offering my hands came across Keeper. Moor was not an author I had heard of before, as I came to learn this is in fact her first book. But the blurb was one that caught my attention. 

     There is a sad truth that runs through the heart of this book. The abuse of women is rampant throughout our society. Some are more obvious to the outside would than others and for the most part, it all goes on ignored. The dark thing in the corner of the room that none of us want to talk about. I know I easily count on one hand the number of women in my life that have not faced some form of abuse or harassment because that number is zero. And that in itself is a horrific fact that should affect you so deeply that you can't shake it.

     What Moor Has done in this truly devastating and whole captivating novel is show us just some of the ways in which it comes to an end. But make no mistake by the end I do not mean some shiny happy ending.  This is a book that firmly has its feet planted in the real world. It all starts with a body which should give you enough to an idea to get you going. This is a narrative that starts at the end but then leads you from its past. 

     It's a funny thing that when abuse is written down somehow it all becomes a lot more obvious to the naked eye. Those little microaggressions, the steady undermining of your thought processes.  The gaslighting at every turn. There is an acceptance of each and every action. They are small after all how could they possibly add up to anything. After all, they are only trying to look out for me surly they just want what's best. It is that knife slowly but surely turning in you. Not so much that would cause alarm at first and before you know it your bleeding out and you can see no hope in sight. And that is the feeling Moor has captured in her writing. It is this binding thing that sticks to your every movement and just won't let go of you. 

     She has clearly taken her time when writing this novel the effort put to make sure every little twist and turn plays out to just the right level is breathtaking. She has created characters that to me seemed so unbelievably real. They are people that not only you have passed on the street but also you know. They may never show that side of themselves to you but I believe somewhere there are people like them in your life. And between them and this world she has created I feel she has created a work that damn well deserves your time. It is a book that made the blood seethe in my body. It makes you angry one minute and so deeply sad the next. There is also hope and understanding for those who suffer in silence.

     This is a book that is by no means easy going, its subject is harsh and it's outcomes brutally real. But it will pull you in and make you need to see how it ends. To discover it's secrets and if nothing else to give you some peace of mind in knowing what took place. and just maybe in the reading of this the next time you see those little signs start to creep into your life or that of someone you care about you can stop it before it ends like the keeper.