Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

Although I haven’t read The Jigsaw Man, that didn’t really impede my ‘enjoyment’ of this dark crime procedural and certainly doesn’t stop you getting involved in the lives of the investigative team.

The discovery of the body of a charismatic pastor in one of his self-styled churches is intriguing enough. A minor-celebrity with influential friends, the pressure is on the squad to solve his murder quickly. But when a second victim is found in a locked room on the church premises, severely injured and with signs of torture, the question Henley and Ramouter ask themselves is was the Pastor torturer as well as victim?

The storyline kept me guessing throughout and I enjoyed it, despite the gritty topics it explored.

I would definitely look out for more books by Nadine Matheson

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, HQ, Harper Collins UK for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

A dark and pacey story and the second in the series featuring DI Henley (the first was The Jigsaw Man which I will now read).

Initially the body of a local paster is found at there Church but at in the same building there is someone barely alive in a hidden room with the body showing signs of torture.

Matheson brings the creative excellence that brings the characters to life, DI Henley is flawed (aren't we all) and there are some suspects who it is very easy to dislike. The book navigates other issues such as infidelity, racism, sexual abuse and extortion in the name of religion.

There are some cracking turns in the story and it is well worth a read 5/5

Thank you HQ and Netgalley for the ARC.

The Jigsaw Man was one of my favourite books last year, and one of the best thrillers I think I’ve ever read, so you can imagine how excited I was to read The Binding Room and how I squealed when I got approved for an arc.

You don’t need to have read The Jigsaw Man to be able to follow the mystery element of this plot, but you do if you want to understand DI Henley and her colleagues (and like I said, it’s amazing so why wouldn’t you)

CW: some descriptions of torture and injury can be a little gory and hard to stomach

This is a highly intricate and very well plotted thriller. Even though there were many threads to the plot and a lot of characters to keep track of, Matheson kept the writing tidy and the plot easy to follow. I still didn’t figure it out though! I was hooked from the very beginning and was on the edge of my seat throughout. Nadine Matheson is now one of my auto buy authors and I can’t wait to see where she takes DI Henley and her team next

Wow, brilliant!!
I loved the Jigsaw Man but this one was even better. I found the ensemble of characters also very relatable.
This time the serial crime unit is called out to a church where the body of pastor Caleb Annan is found. He was viciously stabbed to death in an attack that looks more emotional than anything else, but this is not all! In a hidden room, they find the body of a man tied to a bed, his ankles bound, the skin on the bottom of his feet black and blistered, his ribs broken, and his body covered in dry scabs and burns. Miraculously he is still alive but will he be able to recover and will he shed light on what happened in this room? What is the link between him and the pastor if there is one? Soon they find out some ugly truths about the pastor and then another body turns up, the body of a woman and this time they are too late to save her. On top of it, both DI Henley as well as DC Ramouter are struggling with their demons and trying to recover from the previous case and Hanley's husband is also putting extra pressure on her.

Highly recommended!

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

She’s only gone and done it again! I loved Jigsaw Man and thought that it was one of The best books of 2022 but I now have to add this book to that illustrious list. We meet again the members of the Serial Crime Unit in South London, all the old faces, Henley, Ramounter etc and continue their journey - this time investigating the murder of a local celebrity preacher in his own church. I don’t want to give away the plot or the twists but trust me it’s another thrilling ride. Yes this book could be read as a stand alone but why deprive yourself of the treat of reading Jigsaw Man first! Can wait for book no 3

An absolutely brilliant read. So many layers to this thriller, the crime investigation was suspenseful and intriguing, the characters were strong, I really liked that there was a strong female lead in Henley, I've not always enjoyed British crime thrillers and have always preferred American ones, but this author is definitely one I will look out for.

This story is centred around the murder of a pastor, upon finding his body the investigation as to why he was killed starts, the story starts to get dark when they make a horrifying discovery at the crime scene. I had no idea which was this would go and it kept me engaged right until the end.

Well done Nadine Matheson for writing a story with a punch.

This was a book I just couldn't put down and rather like a scary film that you watch behind a cushion, I felt I almost needed to do that at times! A well written, fast paced storyline set around a series of grizzly, ritual type murders but also incorporating the personal life of DI Anjelica Henley who is struggling with her mental health at times. I hadn't read the previous book in this series but it didn't take me long to come up to speed with the characters so I didn't feel disadvantaged for long.

This is the second book in the Inspector Anjelica Henley series. I loved the first one so was delighted to receive an invitation to read this one. I absolutely love the characters in this series and the bond they have with each other within the Special Crime Unit. Each has there own stuff going on and I really like that they have there own side storylines running alongside the main theme. Really endeared to Inspector Henley’s character and how she’s written as a tough female cop but also has huge compassion and empathy. It has such an intriguing storyline but I did feel it was a little drawn out and sometimes I just needed more. Still a great read and I’m already looking forward to the next one in the series.

Thanks to Netgalley and HQ for the opportunity to read #TheBindingRoom

I’d like to thank NetGalley and HQ for approving me for an ARC of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed The Jigsaw Man and was looking forward to seeing where this one went.

The story starts a few weeks after where the first book left off. It is clear that Anjelica and her team, particularly DC Ramouter, are still recovering after their last case but unfortunately for them a new serial killer is on the loose.

I was fascinated by this case and found myself fully engrossed in the investigation. As is the case with most of these stories the answers are hiding in plain site but Nadine Matheson is the queen of crime. Her gritty, gruesome and bloody reads are not for the faint hearted but the stories are so compelling and riveting you can’t help but get sucked in.

I love Henley. She is feisty, fierce and a true team leader. She is the glue that holds everyone together, the kind of leader that you know will defend you and protect you at all costs. Her delicate relationship with her husband and Pellacia added another layer to the story and something tells me that things are only going to get more complicated in that department. As for the rest of her team, there were some brilliant, strong characters that have interesting backgrounds, Ramouter is one of my favourites and again I’d love to see more development with him.

The short sharp chapters kept me reading and listening the whole way and whilst I had an inkling as to what one of the twists was it in no way took away from the story at all. It was a little niggle I had a few chapters before it was revealed. I was enjoying this so much that when I got to the last 30 pages and had to head out I took the book with me. No way was I leaving it behind until the evening!

If you haven’t guessed already I loved this book and I really hope there will be another addition to the series.

This is a really good crime thriller/police procedural. There is something very authentic about the author’s writing that makes it feel very real. The story is quite dark and gripping but there is also a sensitivity too to the story and the main characters. I also like the balance between the lives of the detectives alongside the actual crime story. This is the second in the series and although it could be read as a standalone, I think it is definitely worth reading The Jigsaw Man, firstly because it is a great book, but it will also enchanted your understanding of the characters in this book. Definitely a recommended read for 2022.

The Binding Room is the brilliant new thriller by Nadine Matheson. Second in her DI Henley series, it is a gruesome, suspense filled thriller that keeps you on your toes from beginning to end. A tense and exciting read, The Binding Room is every bit as good as The Jigsaw Man, with a disturbing and intense storyline that delivers on every level.

The SCU are called in to investigate the murder of a local pastor. But as DI Anjelica Henley begins to assess the crime scene, she discovers a hidden door with a gruesome secret: a torture room with the body of a man bound to a bed in the middle of it. And then another body is found and DI Henley realises she may have a serial killer on her hands. Someone who is torturing innocent people and leaving them for dead.

But with the clock ticking and no apparent connection between the victims, can Anjelica and her team stop the killer before the body count rises and he or she claims yet another victim…

What follows is a dark, disturbing and intense thriller that is as chilling as it is exciting. Nadine Matheson continues to build on what went before in The Jigsaw Man, creating multi faceted characters who I can’t wait to learn even more about as the series continues.

The Binding Room is a stylish and fast paced thriller that I would highly recommend.

The second book in the DI Angelica Henley series. A good addition to the series , I didn’t find it as gripping as book 1 though it had an original storyline and kept you guessing right to the end.

Nadine Matheson is quickly becoming one of my favourite crime writers. The Binding Room is even better than The Jigsaw Man, and that's saying a lot. In this book, Henley is faced with investigating another gruesome case that forces her to face issues of race and religion.

I enjoyed The Jigsaw mMan much more than this but I do think that the characters are excellent and well worth some more stories. When they are all clear of their Jigsaw Man inheritance and start off without having to keep referencing that back story it will be bette4 I’m sure. This is a talented author so I will still read her future offerings.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book. This was an good read. Excellent characters but I got confused as there seemed to be a lot of different people.
Recommended

This was a thrilling, addictive book to read. It grabbed me straight away and I just couldn’t stop reading this one. Brilliant. Highly recommend. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Great praise for this sequel that started with a prologue that pulled me in. This is a dark one that’s gruesome which is everything I love about a crime thriller.

As a follow up from The Jigsaw Killer, I adored the progression of characters in their parallel storylines.

We learn more about Anjelica Henley and her past which gives a good insight into the person she is today and how her past has shaped her.

The storyline was complex, but with a great MO from the killer it certainly had me thinking. I love the character development of all the team. It’s very well written and love that we are drop fed information about their lives and past throughout the story.

What I do find with this author is there are an extensive amount of characters in her books. For full enjoyment I’d suggest to make notes on who is who as you read so you can refer back. This is a long book with just over 500 pages and feel the pace could have been built upon. However I really can’t take anything away from how well written the book is.

After reading The Jigsaw Man last week I was looking forward to reading this, which is book 2 of the series.
Just like the first book this is gruesome and dark, to the point where I was cringing in places at the description of the victims, which I absolutely love!
This isn’t a fast paced book where you hold on for dear life, but, I was happy with the steady pace as there was a lot to take in in this book, especially the amount of characters in it.
I did find yet again, that nearing the end of the book it really started to stall for me, and I don’t really know why as I was really enjoying it.
I will continue with this series as I really like how they are written, i just feel the endings drag out a little bit too much for my liking.

A brilliant crime thriller one of the best I have read recently, This is a book to excite all readers of British crime, well written and well plotted. I would have perhaps enjoyed it, even more, had I first read the earlier book as there are many references to it in this book. That being said this book can be enjoyed as a stand-alone although I have since bought the earlier book, The Jigsaw Man.
The story follows the investigation of the murder of a self-styled pastor in his church and the discovery of a man tied to a bed in an upstairs room. The investigation is led by DI Henley from the serious crimes unit who going to become I think one of the most iconic female detectives in modern crime writing.
A book I can thoroughly recommend..