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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
Fiona is on the trail of whoever killed a young woman, dressed her in white, and laid her out in a small chapel near a monastery in rural Wales. The reveal is a bit unlikely, to put it mildly, but Bingham kept me reading until the very last page.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fiona is an interesting character with her Cotard's syndrome, particularly in the first book.
Slowly the Cotard's and her idiosyncracies are just left for the reader to fill in. Fiona does stupid things and takes dumb risks which don't seem to be clearly linked to her psychiatric condition. Her training, her house, her relationships are simply signaled by short sentences or scenes.
In summary, the books are falling into a predictable pattern for plot, the character development is lazy, and the side characters are abandoned. Each subsequent book is less satisfying.
Slowly the Cotard's and her idiosyncracies are just left for the reader to fill in. Fiona does stupid things and takes dumb risks which don't seem to be clearly linked to her psychiatric condition. Her training, her house, her relationships are simply signaled by short sentences or scenes.
In summary, the books are falling into a predictable pattern for plot, the character development is lazy, and the side characters are abandoned. Each subsequent book is less satisfying.
I am aware as I review that I am gorging on Fiona Griffiths, reading each book consecutively, and inevitably comparing.
It has to be said that this is a great thriller but felt rather more Dan Brown than detective fiction. Fiona Griffiths is certainly a great character and I love how the unsolved cases in her previous investigations build as the series progresses and yet I couldn't quite "believe" in this one. Very page turning but I felt uncomfortable in how much belief I had to suspend.
That said I am lurching straight into the next book!
It has to be said that this is a great thriller but felt rather more Dan Brown than detective fiction. Fiona Griffiths is certainly a great character and I love how the unsolved cases in her previous investigations build as the series progresses and yet I couldn't quite "believe" in this one. Very page turning but I felt uncomfortable in how much belief I had to suspend.
That said I am lurching straight into the next book!
Pretty sleepy and boring until suddenly shit got real; unfortch this happened right before I had to go to bed so I stayed up way too late for the next few days. Kind of weird that ZERO mention of some major plot/character points from the immediately previous book? No big deal? I like these books. But five is kind of a long way to go to still be prancing around the major story arc.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What’s The Dead House About?
The big task force that Fiona’s in, trying to get at the group she’s been on the heels of since book 1, is about to be shut down—they’re just not getting results. Predictably, Fiona isn’t dealing well with it. She needs something else to do to remind her why she’s with the police.
Circumstances too elaborate to get into lead her into being a detective on-scene near a small village to oversee a found body until the local police with jurisdiction can take over—but in the end, we have Fiona alone in a room with a corpse for a few hours. Naturally, she develops a strong emotional connection with the body and becomes determined to find out what happened to this woman.
There are no obvious signs of violence—and even some signs of care—to the woman, but she’s dead and she’s been left in a remote location without anyone notifying the authorities. And, it turns out, she’s been missing for quite a while.
Fiona needles her way into the investigation, of course (because what else is she going to)—and the path that she and the DI she’s assisting leads far beyond the small town they start in and to some truly dark places. (yeah, that’s incredibly vague, but I’m faced with being vague or giving you a few thousand words almost spoiling the story beats on this one)
So, what did I think about The Dead House?
Yes, over the last couple of books particularly, Fiona’s doing a good job on socializing, on connecting with people, on acting “normal” (a goal she longs for and yet doesn’t want at all). I love seeing that kind of development, as much as we like to see damaged protagonists struggling to cope—it’s always great to see them making healthier choices.
But at the same time…you put Fiona in a room alone with a corpse for too long so she develops a bond with the person she starts calling “Carlotta” (and resists using Carlotta’s actual name when she’s eventually identified)? I’m in. Fiona as the creepy detective who’s way too interested in dead bodies is just fun to read about.
Bingham doesn’t throw out all the progress she’s made, Fiona just sidesteps it for a little bit. Her natural tenacity and the people skills that she’s developing aid her in this investigation (and her self-destructive tendencies hinder her, too). It’s really the best of both worlds as far as Fiona’s character goes.
I wasn’t as taken with this story as I wanted to be—as I expected to be. And when the final whodunit reveal was made, I’d been waiting for it for longer than I should have been—not because I’m all that clever, but who else could it have been? That said, when the motivation and methods behind the reveal are made clear? That blew me away and creeped me out.
I can see how this is going to help the overall arc of the series, it had some great moments—and any time spent in Wales with Fiona is a reward. But I wanted a bit more from this one. Don’t start with this one if you’re interested in the series, but if you’ve read the rest, you’ll enjoy this one.
Well written and paced crime novel, but one that stands hands above the competition. Featuring DS Fiona Griffiths - maverick, eccentric, determined and possessed of a sharp detective instinct - in a case that starts with the discovery of the body of a young women laid out respectfully in an old 'dead house" (church annexe), the story goes in directions that I didn't foresee. Some amazing, powerful scenes, especially as the plot reaches its climax. Very engrossing and compulsive, avoiding a lot of the cliches of the police procedural genre.
This was an odd one. 3.5 stars, really I really like Fiona but she was even weirder than usual in this latest. I missed the continuing story of her family and her origins -- the author dips in but then leaves it, I assume for the next book, but I was disappointed not to go down that road, and I love the relationship between she and her dad. However, having read a few of these now, I wonder if this plotline is going to give our Fiona some ideas about how to pursue that line of inquiry. Will keep reading.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
He is trying to do a lot, I think, Mr Bingham is. He can write well, with skill and intent. You get nice sentences and reasonably clear pictures of people and locations. I find his attempt to give Fiona a not-normal voice consisting of constant sentence fragments to be wearing. I started making whole sentences out of them for myself, and that helped.
In this book he's got at least four stories going. Three get brought to enough conclusion to make you happy, one is left dangling in the wind for the future. They are interesting stories that make you want to find out more about kidnapping of the low-level rich, medieval religious practices and caving in Wales
Fiona has grown into a person who also cares much more for the living, and I like her better for it. The whole "love for the dead" aspect is just plain creepy. I get it, I get why. But no, I don't really want to participate. Spare me the all-nighters holding hands with corpses, please.
In this book he's got at least four stories going. Three get brought to enough conclusion to make you happy, one is left dangling in the wind for the future. They are interesting stories that make you want to find out more about kidnapping of the low-level rich, medieval religious practices and caving in Wales
Fiona has grown into a person who also cares much more for the living, and I like her better for it. The whole "love for the dead" aspect is just plain creepy. I get it, I get why. But no, I don't really want to participate. Spare me the all-nighters holding hands with corpses, please.
Fiona Griffiths may be the most interesting character in current police mysteries. This tale, the fifth in the series, is the finest yet. There are scenes in a cave that, if you are claustrophobic, will trigger a full-on panic attack and that, if you are not, will turn you into a claustrophobe.