This book was everything I hoped it would it be.
I was hooked quickly and completely unwilling to put this down. I devoured this book in just one sitting. I have no regrets and can’t wait to read more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for the arc of this book by Nadine Matheson

5 stars- If you read the previous book the Jigsaw man you will defiantly love this book, so gripping, twisty and just sensational!

Another fantastic book!
Absolutely loved it, great storyline, so many twists, turns and bumps in the road.
Brilliant! Looking forward to the next one!

The Binding Room by Nadine Matheson is second in the Detective Anjelica Henley series, after the excellent The Jigsaw Man.

Henley called to investigate the murder of a popular, and somewhat miscreant preacher within his church, discovers a tortured man, barely alive and tied to a bed in an upstairs room. His body shows signs of dark, religious and ritual abuse concerningly perceived to be linked to an unorthodox exorcism attempt.

After another victim is recovered dead, Henley and her Serial Crime Unit colleagues are facing investigating the preachers murder, together with a series of macabre religious practices aimed at 'curing' the victims of their mental health conditions, which are ill-advisedly considered demonic possessions by unknown members of the congregation.

Quite dark in its delivery, and building upon the necessary comradeship amongst Henley and her colleagues, the story unravels nicely. The plot has similarities to other stories in the crime thriller genre, which does give you the feeling of "have I read this before?", but it is still worth a read. Matheson as a criminal defence lawyer, creates an authenticity which makes her an author I'll continue to follow.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ from me.

This was a fantastic book. A mind-bender that keeps you guessing till the shocking end. I loved it and can’t wait for more

The Jigsaw Man is one of the best books I've ever read, so the bar was set high for this sequel...did it attain the heights, yes I think on balance it did. A gritty read with realistic and relevant characters. Engaging and well written...book 3...bring it on! Many thanks to NetGallet for the opportunity to read and review this excellent book!

The Binding Room is a thrilling sequel to a brilliant and fresh series, with a protagonist juggling her life and the stresses of a job that are pulling her in all directions, both professionally and personally. The crime is gritty and holds you on the page and the characters keep everything personal. The mixture of crime and character-driven story builds to a page-turning book. Here’s to more Anjelica Henley and more Nadine Matheson!

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

Brilliant, brilliant. I loved the Jigsaw Man and this was as good if not better.

We now have the backstory and the relationships between the investigative team going which adds so much more to the nail biting story line.

A local pastor is found stabbed to death in his church. While the Serious Crime Unit investigate another body is found in a secret binding room in the church. Except this victim isn't dead but bound and tortured. As Henley and the team wait for him to wake up in hospital more tortured and bound bodies are found. With no apparent connection between the victims, an over zealous MP, a missing baby and the wife of the pastor acting suspiciously can the team solve the case before any more bodies are found?

Massive highly recommended 5 stars. Can't wait for book 3.

Little too dark for me. If you like horror style murder mystery books, worth a read. I just found it a bit too gory.

Another great read from this author, the second instalment with DI Anjelica Henley at the helm (the jigsaw man being the first, also a great read) if you like great police procedurals that are a tad dark, gruesome and with a great storyline, then this is for you.

This is the second book I have read from this author and again really enjoyed it.
There are twists and turns and just when you think you have everything worked out, a curve ball is thrown in.
The characters are further developed in this book and you find out more about their lives and backgrounds.
The story deals with lots of different current world issues, like racism but in a way that not only gets you thinking but sits well within the story.
I hope there will be more books in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. Another good read by this author. Good plot and characters with plenty of suspense to hold my interest to the end!

The follow-up to The Jigsaw Man featuring detective Anjelica Henley continue to battle personal and professional trauma. For a crime thriller, I found it very slow but the characters and setting are very well.written.

TW// mention of racism, suicide attempts, self-harm, miscarriage, sexual assault and rape.

Detective Inspector Anjelica Henley is back with a bang, with her partner Detective Constable Salim Ramouter, of the Serial Crimes Unit. After finding a rich priest Caleb Annan dead in his church, and a young boy chained and abused in a back storage unit, the two embark on a difficult and gruesome journey to unravel the two mysteries, which seem to be inextricably linked.

This was very gritty, dark and at times difficult to read. I hadn't actually read the first in this series, so bits and pieces of the novel were a little more confusing to keep up with, but it still read amazingly, and smoothly. It might be a good idea to read the first one before this one, however, as it'll give you a lot more backstory to the main characters, and help you get a deeper sense of their personalities, and what they're already faced.

DI Henley is an astounding and strong protagonist, I really enjoyed reading how candid, fearless, protective and strong minded she is, such a likeable and incredible lead character, whose had to cope with a lot of pain and heartache. The partnership between Henley and Ramouter was a real joy to witness, they're almost complete opposites but their friendship really thrives off of this which was refreshing and fun. Although their personalities are so polar opposite, and their viewpoints often clash, there are many things that have helped strengthen their bond and their friendship. Also, the camaraderie between the detectives within the Serial Crimes Unit was thoroughly enjoyable, their banter was strong and seemed like their close bonds of friendship and levity brought some much needed relief, even for a short while, whilst undertaking such a dangerous, chilling and challenging profession.

As well as the intense murder and kidnapping/torture investigation DI Henley and DC Ramouter are in the midst of, this book also focuses on some important and powerful barriers and issues that black and minority detectives face. Even Detectives who are high of rank, have to manage racism, often from people way below their station, and of their own force, from claiming they 'fit the description of a criminal in the area' to favouriting specific victims over others. It evokes a lot of rage and frustration from the injustice of it all, and the fact they need to have their warrant cards on them to be taken seriously it's honestly so gut wrenching to read. Matheson also touches on mental illnesses and religion issues that can be controversial and problematic. How PTSD can come along with such a high stakes and incredibly dangerous profession, and how difficult it can be to push through consistently seeing such distressing and harrowing situations, particularly when your own life is at risk within such situations.

It's a very fast paced, but hooks you from the first sentence, I stayed thoroughly engaged throughout, and this was a big book, so another amazing bonus. Matheson is a talented and incredibly emotive writer, you can't help but become invested in DI Henley's life, and root for her, despite all the obstacles in her way, and the constant tension and twists that will absolutely blow your mind. I'm usually someone who can guess twists early on, which can make reading books boring and predictable but I never saw the ending coming here, and I am so excited for the next instalment of this series.

A grisly and gritty follow-up to 'The Jigsaw Man'. DI Angelica Henley of the Serious Crimes Unit is called to the brutal murder scene of a pastor at his church. But the stakes rise when Henley discovers a hidden room with a man barely alive, tied to a bed and severely tortured. A twisty crime thriller that's not for the squeamish.

Thank you to @hqstories for letting me be a part of the #blogtour for this title - it’s right up my street! This is my first book by Nadine Matheson and I really enjoyed it. Whilst this isn’t the first book in the series centring around DI Henley, you don’t need to have read previous stories to understand what’s happening here, which I was glad of! There were some references to past plot lines, but nothing that took away from the main theme of the book. Nadine’s writing is funny, clever, thrilling, intriguing and it really made me want to keep reading. I love this genre, and this is now definitely an author I’ll be keeping an eye out for!

OMG, I honestly thought that after reading The Jigsaw Man it couldn't get any better.. I was Yes, yes, yes.... this book gives you EVERYTHING you expect from this genre and more!

The Jigsaw Man was my #1 read of 2021 and there's no doubt that this has hit the same highs for 2022.

This is the second installment of the Inspector Anjelica Henley series and I'm already betting my knickers in a twist waiting for book #3.

Starting just a few weeks after the first book left us, DI Henley and her team are called to a church where the Pastor has been found dead with multiple stab wounds. Whilst searching the church through all its nooks and crannies another victim is found, shockingly although severely injured he is still alive.

The more the team delve into the investigation the more apparent it becomes that this is down to some very dark religious ritual.

DI Henley and her partner Ramouter are now faced with immense pressure to not only solve this shocking case but also deal with the media and the deep rooted racial tension.

As the case progresses another victim is found and a baby goes missing, now facing a true race against time can Henley and Ramouter find the baby before it's too late?

What really went on in the Pastors church and was he the man he led his followers to believe?

This book covers a range of well researched, well scripted topics that were dealt with with true compassion: mental illness, racism, exorcism, religion in its extremes.

This book never stalled, kept me constantly engaged and left me holding my breath numerous times. Thrilling, tense and gritty.. the perfect crime thriller in every sense.

Huge thanks to netgalley and HQ for the ARC.

I'm a huge fan of police procedural & this one certainly ticks the boxes. I love the team that Nadine Matheson has created here. Henley has that no nonsense, in charge quality, while remaining totally respected by her team & struggling with battles of her own. Ramouter, Stanford & the rest of the team all fit a similar bill, loveable but slightly flawed, however together they create a brilliant team.

This is a dark tale full of twists & turns which I loved following, it kept me guessing throughout & the teams personal troubles woven in made it all the more compelling.

It took me a little while to read this one as it is a chunk, but that is only because the boys were on school holiday & nothing at all to do with the story which I picked up at every opportunity. I cannot wait to read more from Nadine & hopefully it'll be another in this series.

I absolutely loved the authors debut, The Jigsaw Man and was thrilled to have the opportunity to read The Binding Room, the second in the DI Henley series.
When a local pastor is found murdered and another victim is found tortured Henley and her team are on the hunt for a killer whose victims apparently have no connection to each other.
This is a well layered police procedural, I felt that the pace was initially slow, and I wasn't immediately drawn into the plot, but it certainly picks up and the author has written another original and compelling novel. I love the characters of DI Henley and DC Ramouter and the South London setting. The author's writing style and description of the South London locations feel very authentic and I'm already looking forward to further books in this series. A recommended read and series.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

This is the second book in the series . I enjoyed the first one and this one started off at a great pace too . I enjoyed the storyline and really got to know the characters better from the first book . It was a fast paced.read with plenty in it to keep my attention . I hope there is going to be another in the series