Blog Tour: ‘The Binding Room’ by Nadine Matheson

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this fantastic new slice of crime fiction!

Thanks to HQ for inviting me on the tour and for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review – opinions, as always, are entirely my own.

If you love a tense, well-plotted and twisty police procedural, you’re absolutely reading the right review!

DI Anjelica Henley works for the Serial Crimes Unit in Deptford, not a team that has an easy ride. When they get called in to investigate the brutal murder of a local pastor, they find a second body in the church…a body that has been subjected to unspeakable torture. This marks the start of an investigation that will test the team to their limits and uncover some horrific crimes.

For those who read Matheson’s previous (excellent) book in the series (‘The Jigsaw Man’, DI Anjelica Henley’s first outing), you know what to expect – and it is everything you’re hoping for and more!

DI Henley makes an appealing central figure – as a young, black detective, she faces some shocking and racist attitudes about her capabilities. Luckily, she’s extremely capable! It’s great to see her leading the investigation with flair, empathy and intelligence – even as she is wrestling her own demons regarding her past and her marriage. Her sidekick, DC Salim Ramouter (another fabulous character) is also seen within the context of his tricky domestic situation, something that is really interesting and avoids that common trap of crime fiction that only female police officers seem to have a problematic family life!

The rest of the Serial Crimes team are also distinctive characters – one of my pet hates in police procedurals are secondary team members who don’t have any distinguishing features beyond their names (which I’m terrible at keeping track of!) Matheson avoids this and we get a team who have realistic working relationships marked with the banter of people who work long hours together. My favourite is Ezra who is a master of technology, even if his methods might not be entirely above board!

As with Matheson’s first book, there are some disturbing moments of gore – especially around the torture in the binding room. This probably isn’t for those of a delicate nature – although it does add to the reader’s compulsion to seek justice for the victims and find out who committed such atrocities.

The plotting is cleverly done throughout – it felt like a fast-paced and high-stakes investigation without doubt, especially as the twists were thrown in and the story took some surprising turns. As a reader, however, you’re in safe hands with Matheson so it never disappoints and all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride.

I’d recommend this highly to anyone who enjoys clever, engaging police procedurals with convincing detectives at the heart. Matheson’s writing is confident and compelling – it’s difficult to believe that this is only her second crime novel. I cannot wait for Book 3!

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For those who need to start with Book 1 in the series (at an absolutely BARGAIN price), here’s the affiliate link you need…