The Binding Room by Nadine Matheson #TheBindingRoom #BookReview @nadinematheson @HQstories @SarahLundy13

 

In this room, no one can hear you scream…

The Serial Crimes Unit are called in to investigate when a local pastor is found stabbed to death. As DI Henley assesses the crime scene, she discovers a hidden door that conceals a room set up for torture – and bound to the bed in the middle of the room is the body of a man.

When another body is found, also tied down, Henley realises there's someone out there torturing innocent people and leaving them for dead. But why?

There's nothing that connects the victims. They didn't know each other. Their paths never crossed. But someone has targeted them, and it's up to Henley and the SCU to stop them before they find another binding room…

The Binding Room by Nadine Matheson is published by HQ in paperback on 5 January 2023. The hardback, audio book and ebook were published in July this year. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

My only regret about reading The Binding Room is that I've not already read the first in the series; The Jigsaw Man. Whilst The Binding Room can easily be read as a stand a lone story, I certainly didn't struggle, I know that I would have enjoyed it even more if I'd read the first book. However, this just means that I have The Jigsaw Man to look forward to, as well as the third in the series which is due to be published next summer. 

The Binding Room is a long book, at just over 500 pages in the paperback edition, but oh my goodness, it's so utterly compelling that I just flew through it. I read it in one weekend, when the weather was awful outside, tucked up under a blanket and just consuming chapter by chapter with glee. 

DI Henley and her colleagues in the Serial Crime Unit are asked to help out in the investigation into the brutal murder of a church pastor. Although this is not being treated as a serial Crime, Henley and her team are experts, and as the investigation deepens and another body is found, not far from the pastor's remains, it becomes clear that there's far more to this case than originally thought. 

There are some graphically violent scenes in this book, I thought they were done incredibly well, they are needed, not gratuitous and add a depth to the story. Some people may not be able to cope with them, but for me, they just added to the overall feel of the story. 

As more bodies are discovered, and the team struggle to find any connection between the victims, the reader also learns about Henley's own personal life and that of her colleagues. On her own, Henly is an intriguing and at times, mixed up and flawed character, add her to this startling and unusual murder case and you have a winner. 

Complex and tightly woven, The Binding Room is a superbly gripping thriller, written extremely well and with a plot that takes the reader in all sorts of unexpected directions. 

Great stuff. Highly recommended by me.

Nadine Matheson was born and lives in London. She began her working life at the BBC and now practices as a criminal defence lawyer. In 2016, she won the City University Crime Writing Competition and completed the Creative Writing (Crime/Thriller Novels) MA at City University of London with Distinction in 2018.

Her crime fiction novel, The Jigsaw Man, was published by HQ in 2021. The Jigsaw Man has been sold in 15 territories to date and will be translated into 14 languages. The Jigsaw Man has been optioned for TV by Monumental Television.

She can always be found on Twitter @nadinematheson