Great storyline with good strong characters. Very well written. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Dr Janet Palmer has taken on more than she bargained for in her new job as psychologist at Halvergate prison. The entire building has an atmosphere of doom, and that's before you take in to account the unexplained deaths.
There is a hint of the supernatural in this book, but thankfully not too much as to be too far-fetched. This is the first book I've read by this author and I hope to read more.

Okay, the synopsis didn't indicate in any way that this had a supernatural element to it and as I prefer to go into a book blind I had to discover this for myself. Had I read the reviews already posted I would have picked this up a lot earler. So, although this aspect did come as a surprise to me it didn't affect my overall enjoyment.

Dr Janet Palmer is elated to have a new job as lead psychiatrist at HMP Halvergate located in remote Norfolk. Working to rehabilitate sex offenders, she attempts to get to the bottom of what drove some prisoners to commit suicide but soon realises that solving the mystery will not be as easy as she first thought.

"The Binding Song" had a distinctive gothic flavour which I adored, it made for an atmospheric and unusual read. I learned that Elodie Harper took part in the Hodder & Stoughton & Guardian newspaper short story competition and her submission Wild Swimming" was chosen as the winner by Stephen King. That's quite an accolade. The characters are interesting - Janet's backstory is explored and is relevant to her decision to work in HMP Halvergate but she should really have gotten rid of the boyfriend who shows no love for her and has his own selfish desires at heart. There are some genuinely chilling and creeptastic moments and the whole atmosphere builds to a suspenseful and claustrophobic crescendo.

Now that I know what i'm dealing with - a thriller with a supernatural tinge - I would read another Elodie Harper book in the future. This is a great debut and I hope Harper continues to write in this vein. There are so many thriller writers out there now but adding this paranormal aspect does set her apart from the rest.

Many thanks to Mullholland Books for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

The binding song wasn't what I expected, as a debut it is a good start but I didn't find it as atmospheric as some have and I kind of guessed how it was going to end, so not as suspenseful as I hoped but still a good read.

Elodie Harper came to my attention first as the winner of a short story competition, judged by Stephen King(have I ever mentioned he is my favourite author of all time? Quite possibly done that a few times, apologies!)
The publication of 'Six Scary Stories' by the ever excellent Cemetery Dance crew was a must buy and on the basis of the story I pre-ordered 'The Binding Song'.
It is dark, in all the right ways, a progressive mystery with excellent characterisation and a spookiness that gives you chills.
It has quite rightly been lauded by critics and fellow writers, and I would happily join their throng.I have bought this and pre-ordered her second book and I think if you enjoy dark thrillers then this is a book for you. It does not feel like a debut offering, it is very assured indeed.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this copy in return for an honest review.

I found this to be an atmospheric, dark and brooding tale. It kept a suspenseful tone throughout which held my interest. and kept me turning the pages! The setting and the characters all added to this compelling and chilling read.

Dr Janet Palmer takes up a new job in a prison in Norfolk. As lead (and seemingly only qualified) psychologist she struggles to run programmes to rehabilitate the sex offenders. There is a strange atmosphere - the warders and staff dislike talking to her and the prisoners seem to be caught up with talk of a ghostly woman. Her predecessor left in a bit of a hurry and his notes are practically non-existant. There have been several suicides and the atmosphere is difficult.

I struggled with this book and wasn't sure why. I finally arrived at the conclusion that the author had slightly overcooked the atmosphere removing the suspense and creating a cliched surrounding. The prison is in Norfolk in a reasonably isolated spot and gothic by design. There is a ghost or hallucination who appears in nightmares, mirrors and beside people's beds. Janet drives to visit her predecessor at one point over misty, desolate land where she wouldn't want to break down. Warders hint at things, Terry (the assistant psychologist) hints at issues they had previously and then clams up. The new chaplain even considers exorcising the prison and researches demons. There were just a few too many cliches for me.

The skill of a suspense novel is in allowing the reader to build it themselves from the information given. Yes, the odd ghost and mist helps but too many and the readers own imagination doesn't kick in. I felt that the author tried a little too hard.

The characters are interesting. Janet has her own backstory which is relevant although her decision to move to this prison never did make sense. She has a self-centred boyfriend, Arun, that she doesn't love and she should have got rid of. The warders are particularly cliched with their threats and delays in rescuing Janet from a difficult situation. I liked Terry - a man with many conflicts in his personality which came out well.

The ending didn't sit right with me. However, I can't think of a more satisfactory one so am happy to accept that it more or less works.

I enjoyed parts of this book but over all didn't feel that it quite came off.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

Harper's writing is a bit hit and miss for me; it's good and gave a creepy vibe, but there's some really fluffy writing (e.g. massive grey clouds spread overhead like a blanket hung on a low ceiling) which didn't so much as set the scene, as it did just elicit major eye rolls. The story itself is great for anyone interested in the psychology of sex offenders, but it's possible that the psychology angle took away from the story a bit, on top of that I just didn't take to Janet as a lead character. Sometimes a story as normal as 'psychologist gets job in a rubbish prison, trying to rehabilitate sex offenders' shouldn't take on a supernatural twist. Once I got to the 60% point it was hard to push through and finish. For a book to go from majorly creepy to downright dull, is super disappointing.

An excellent, gripping thriller, well written with lots of pace and tension. Would certainly recommend it to Book Reading Group.

Set in a slightly fictionalised area of Norfolk, this is a very atmospheric piece of crime fiction with a compelling mystery at its heart.

Doctor Janet Palmer takes over the role of Psychologist at HMP Halvergate, her predecessor having left under a cloud following several inmate suicides. In the lead up to their deaths each prisoner claimed to have been plagued by a ghostly hollow eyed woman. Doctor Palmer attempts to get to the bottom of what is going on at the prison before there are more suicides but receives little or no assistance from her colleagues, many of whom seem to have their own secrets. There is clearly more than one mystery to be solved.

This book has a very claustrophobic feel for a large part of the story, being mostly set in the rundown prison, and it has some genuinely chilling moments. A pretty good first novel from Elodie Harper and I look forward to reading more of her work.

You're not sure what you're getting into when you start Elodie Harper's The Binding Song, but in that respect you're much like Janet Palmer, the new psychologist who has just taken up a position in a Norfolk prison working with sex offenders. Coming in on the back of a number of suicides in that wing of the prison, all kinds of theories present themselves that might hint at a direction the book could take - a gritty prison drama, a conspiracy thriller, a horror novel in a Silence of the Lambs-style investigation or even - considering Janet's motives for taking the position - a personal crisis driven by a family tragedy. The Binding Song manages to skirt between each one of these not so much in a way that it isn't sure quite what it wants to be, but rather in a way that seeks to make them all credible facets of its subject. That's a bit of a challenge.

There's definitely a bit of gothic in the story, as Janet comes to HMP Halvergate as the new prison psychologist. The prison is a bit of a throwback to older ideas of prison confinement and rehabilitation, where it's considered that a few beatings will do the most dangerous offenders no harm. The governor seems to approve of taking this kind of a hard line approach, but he is still required to show at least lipservice to the regulations and gives Janet an impossible schedule to complete with any kind of thorough or professional treatment that such offenders require. An air of dark mystery also pervades the prison, not just through the recent cases of suicide, but also around the sudden disappearance of the previous psychologist. Leaving no notes of the last eight month behind to follow-up on, Janet has her work cut out for her, and she suspects that the authorities at the prison have something to hide.

Gothic conspiracy thriller and prison drama then, but the novel has already hinted at a horror angle in its prologue description of an escaped offender being confronted and killed by a white figure in the woods with dark hollow holes for eyes, and soon Janet has to confront the very real fears of a number of the prisoners that they are being pursued by an avenging demon seeking retribution for the crimes, the rapes and the murders they have committed. The scientific minded Janet is reluctant to accept that there is a supernatural force at work, but she can't overlook the reality that the men believe in the 'white visitor' and are terrified by her to the extent that further suicides soon take place on Janet's watch. There must be a rational explanation, and Janet suspects that one of the inmates might even be manipulating the fears; a handsome, dangerous, highly intelligent sex offender who shows no remorse for his crimes, and who appears to be seeking to manipulate the prison psychologist as well with mind games.

There's certainly enough of a hook in the premise to get you started on The Binding Song, but sooner or later the author is going to have to deliver on the ambitious path she has set out on. Elodie Harper cleverly keeps the sceptical reader on-board by bringing in all manner of rational and irrational explanations - for there is nothing rational about the minds of some of the people Janet has to deal with as a prison psychologist. The author brings in Biblical verses, literary quotations and references to Greek mythology that hint at a wider context beyond the Gothic horror, but she also delves into her main character's own psychological make-up, Janet's thoughts going back often to her twin sister Izzy, who is seems clear has been involved in some kind of family tragedy. Is Janet as stable as she thinks she is or is there actually a rational explanation for what is going on at Halvergate?

What is great about Harper's writing in The Binding Song is that, for all the elements that she brings into it, she doesn't leave any glaring holes in the plot that test the readers patience. Like Janet, she considers all the rational explanations - drug use in the prison causing hallucinations and mass hysteria, experimental therapies and a potential cover-up by the prison authorities - but doesn't try to fool anyone that they might present the whole answer to the kind of sinister activities going on. The reader suspects however that eventually the author is going to be driven down a path where she will be forced to deliver an answer that doesn't entirely satisfy all the paths she has opened. It's a tribute to the writing then that no obvious solution presents itself to the reader, and yet, Elodie Harper nonetheless finds a credible way of meshing human reactions and behaviour with supernatural elements. There's just a little bit of compromise of credibility involved in one big coincidence, but it's one that the reader will happily go along with for what turns out to be an unexpectedly satisfying conclusion to a thrilling read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton, Mulholland Books and Elodie Harper for the ARC of The Binding Song in return for my honest review.

The Binding Song is a dark psychological thriller based around Dr. Janet Palmer who takes up a new role at a prison where she is tasked with running the prison’s sex offender programme. There are dark themes and characters throughout and sometimes I found it a difficult read.

The author portrays disturbing and likeable characters with amazing clarity. I would recommend providing the themes such as rape do not upset you.

Set in a prison and the main protagonist is a forensic psychologist – I need know nothing else – I’m reading this book!

Dr Janet Palmer is my favourite kind of psychologist – a forensic psychologist; so, it should come as no surprise that this is a book I have been wanting to read for ages and one I had high expectations for. And nothing makes me happier than when a book meets all my expectations!

The Binding Song is a dark psychological thriller perfect for fans of character-driven novels. Dr Janet Palmer takes up a new post at Halvergate prison and she is tasked with running the prison’s sex offender treatment programme, so this is your warning – this novel deals with themes of rape that may be upsetting to some readers. This novel is clouded in darkness and has a great horror vibe to it that works to make this read extremely unsettling and disturbing at times.

What I most liked about this novel, was the character study of not only the prisoners but Janet and her colleagues too. You’ll meet some disturbing characters in this novel, and characters that have been disturbed by others. But you also get your likeable characters, most notably Janet Palmer; she’s determined and focused and working with some of the most dangerous men in the country, every day at work is a challenging one. To see how she handles herself, and through her work with the prisoners, we get a glimpse into the mind of the prisoners and I found this, in equal measures, fascinating and disturbing. Janet also has a vulnerable side to her, a weakness if you like, and it was interesting to see how she would cope as the rumours of the eyeless women stalking the prison become rifer.

This novel is made all the more unnerving by the fact that Janet has no allies in her colleagues, they are ready to discredit her at every turn. She does find some support in conversations with the prison’s Chaplin, but isolation is the last thing you want, especially when you don’t know if the rumours of the eyeless woman are true or not.

I found The Binding Song to be a gripping read, that held my full attention throughout. The setting, the themes and the characters – all dark. And this novel is so well written; a very impressive debut from Harper. She grabs your interest from the very first page and pulls you into the darkness and unnerves you. I cannot wait to read more from this author.

Wow, this book is a dark, tense spooky thriller, something that grabs you from the start and doesn't let up till the very end.
The author has done a fanatic job on this debut novel, so much so its hard to write a review without giving anything away so I will stay away from the plot as much as I can.
Its one of those books that if the blurb grips you then you must pick it up and read. The main female character is well crafted and her past sits cleverly into the main plot. I loved the different subjects this book explored like mental health, beliefs and prison life. While some parts can be shocking, its written so well the read is intrigued and leaves you with haunting questions.
Based in a creepy Norfolk prison setting, this dark, spooky thriller is a brilliant debut novel. I look forward to move from this author