The Binding Room

I think I loved this one. There were times it was too focused on the life of the detectives, but then they would back to the investigation. And then I was certain that I knew who was at fault and what was going on, but I was pleasantly wrong. So there were parts that could have been edited down, but the investigation was so good. So I think I loved it .

Not quite as gory as Jigsaw Man, but it was still quite graphic. While I was into the book the whole time, I did feel like 500+ pages got to be a little too long at times and there were SO. MANY. CHARACTERS. So many suspects, people of interest, investigators and supporting characters, at times it was hard to remember who was who.

While initially intriguing the novel devolves into common tropes and the reveal at the end was a bit lack luster.

Sweet mother of pearl, WHAT A RIDE.

The Binding Room is a dark, twisty, compelling police procedural, the second in Nadine Matheson's Inspector Anjelica Henley series. I haven't read the first, but I don't feel like my reading of this one suffered for it.

DI Anjelica Henley has a lot on her plate. She's dealing with the loss of a loved one, the fallout from an affair with her superior, and PTSD from her near-death experience at the hands of a suspect on a previous investigation. But all that has to take a back seat when a young woman goes to her job cleaning a church and finds the pastor, ostensibly a respected pillar of the community, brutally murdered. The SCU is called in to investigate. But when another person is found bound and clearly subjected to torture in a hidden room of the church, the SCU must also consider whether the pastor was victimizer as well as victim.

First, let me say that this isn't a book for the faint of heart. It deals with some fairly gory descriptions of injuries, and it covers the topics of abuse and mental health in a way that might be unsettling or upsetting for some. It also portrays an ostensibly Christian church in a less than flattering light.

But if those things don't put you off reading, this is a nail-biter of a story. This isn't just one murder, it's several, and the SCU has to figure out how they all tie together. A horrifying picture unfolds of unthinkable acts committed under the guise of exorcisms. But worse still, one of the victims had recently given birth. Where is her baby? In the hands of a killer?

Matheson's background in the criminal arena shines through. You don't write this kind of story this well without having some personal experience in the matter. With the way the SCU was written, though, as a team who have each other's backs even when they're giving each other good-natured grief, I would have pegged her for a prosecutor (I was one in a former work incarnation). She paints a thorough picture of police procedure and the criminal justice system.

The story is set in London, and there are a few terms and acronyms that might not be familiar to someone who hasn't operated within the UK legal system. I was able to gather the meaning of those from context pretty well, and the jargon didn't keep me from reading at speed and well past my bedtime.

The Binding Room is a five-star read for me. Dark, twisty, and absolutely enthralling. I look forward to reading more from Nadine Matheson!

What an absolute thriller! Despite the grizzly murders, I thoroughly enjoyed this!

I went into this not having read the first book in the series, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Having read this, I feel like I've done myself a disservice by not having read the first book despite it being on my TBR list for a while!

I loved DI Henley and her team and will look forward to reading more books involving them.

This was brilliantly written and it had me hooked from start to finish.

Thank you to PH and Nadine Matheson for the chance to read this book.

I highly recommend it!

The Binding Room by Nadine Matheson is the second in the DI Henley series.

“In this room, no one can hear you scream...“

Following on from The Jigsaw Man, Henley and the team are brought together to investigate the death of a local pastor who has been found stabbed to death in his church. On a quick search of the crime scene they discover a hidden door, behind which lies a man who has been tortured. It soon becomes apparent that this is not a one off case and other bodies are being found where there is strong evidence of torture, With nothing to link the victims Henley and her team have the hard task of finding out who is responsible for these murders and in stopping them.

I love Nadine Matheson's writing style as her words seem to flow through pages, captivating me, scaring me with her gruesome details as well as comforting me with her characterisation and setting. Having lived in South East London I am able to walk alongside Henley as she visits all the places I am familiar with, completely getting wrapped up in the environment. I also love the local dialect that comes through when the characters are talking to one another. For me this personal connection I have with the setting really adds to my enjoyment of the novel.

The Binding Room is a great mix of the crime and thriller genre. There was a good balance of police procedural, horror (lots of gory bits) and characterisation of the main characters. There was a lot of anticipation about what was going to happen next, which I found thrilling and some intriguing twists.

The Binding Room can be read as a standalone novel but having read both and adored them equally I recommend you read The Jigsaw Man first and then move on the The Binding Room. It will also give you a deeper insight to the character's lives.
I cannot wait to see what lies in store for Henley and team next.

This book is just as good as it's debut. I love the character development of Anjelica Henley, Ramouter and the team. I love that the book acknowledged and addressed things that happened in the first book. The book also dealt really strongly with the aftermath of trauma and police politics and racism and conflict within the police, which I enjoyed.

This book is a book that can stand on its own and I really loved the inventive plot. The author mentions in her acknowledgment page that she proposed this idea as a pastor is killed in his church and he has a member of the congregation who he has locked up in the church who is found and they believe he been having an exorcism? And it's so cleverly crafted from there! This isn't a gimmicky plot with no substance. Matheson knows how to layer together plot, character development, several loose ends and tie them up satisfyingly at the end. Matheson is one to watch in the thriller genre and I absolutely loved this latest installment. I can't wait to read more in this series. I love how Henley is faulted and passionate and dedicated to her team and she feels so authentic and real. I also personally want to thank HQ for gifting me a ebook earlier readers copy due to my positive review of the first book. I squealed for joy when I got the email!!

Thanks to the author Nadine Matheson, HQ and Netgalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.