Last year our contributor David Prestidge raved about Harry Bingham’s Talking to the Dead and, in fact, it was his favourite crime read of 2012. Well, Bingham is back and his new book has a great title – Love Story, With Murder.
The lead detective in Talking to the Dead, DC Fiona Griffiths, makes her return in a case that begins with some strange discoveries. You thought horse DNA in Findus lasagne was bad? Well here part of a human leg is found packaged like a joint of pork in a woman’s freezer. Throughout the Cardiff suburb, other body parts begin turning up in kitchens, garages and garden sheds. The press release continues with the pun that ‘the police are left literally putting things together’. (Not much love story so far, is there?)
Eventually they figure out that the body parts belong to a teenage girl who disappeared a decade back. But then more limbs start appearing in the countryside. This time the victim is a man. (Sounds like a cracking mystery but we’re still not feeling the love…)
The twist, however, involves Griffiths’ own mental state. Our heroine is herself a recovering psychotic and as gruesome as the killings she’s investigating are, there’s a lot more going on in her own mind. That is a mystery in itself which, braided with the cases she is working on, makes for what could be another fine book from Bingham. However we can’t pass judgement based on the press release, so watch for our review soon.
The book is out on 20 June but if you want to get your hands on it now, head to our Facebook page? We’ve got five early copies to send out to UK readers care of Orion. Our competition closes at 10pm BST on Sunday 28 April.
