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Fiona Griffiths #2
Love Story, With Murders
A tale of snow, love - and multiple murder.
A human leg is discovered in a suburban freezer. The victim is a teenage girl killed some ten years earlier. But then other body parts start appearing. And these ones are male, dark-skinned, and very fresh . . .
British detective Fiona Griffiths starts to investigate, in the midst of the coldest winter on record. Up in a remote cottage in the Welsh Black Mountains, she finds the data that contains the clue to the entire mystery . . . but, as the first snow starts to fall, she discovers that she's not alone.
A human leg is discovered in a suburban freezer. The victim is a teenage girl killed some ten years earlier. But then other body parts start appearing. And these ones are male, dark-skinned, and very fresh . . .
British detective Fiona Griffiths starts to investigate, in the midst of the coldest winter on record. Up in a remote cottage in the Welsh Black Mountains, she finds the data that contains the clue to the entire mystery . . . but, as the first snow starts to fall, she discovers that she's not alone.
449 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
584 people are currently reading
1889 people want to read
About the author
Harry Bingham
47 books698 followersHarry Bingham is best known for his Fiona Griffiths crime series, which has drawn rave reviews from critics, authors and readers alike.
If you've read and enjoyed one of Harry's books, make diddle-darn sure that you've signed up to the Fiona Griffiths Readers Club, by hopping right over here:
http://www.harrybingham.com/lev-in-gl...
You'll get a free, lovely welcome gift - and you'll be the very first to know when Fiona Griffiths is back with a further adventure . . .
If you've read and enjoyed one of Harry's books, make diddle-darn sure that you've signed up to the Fiona Griffiths Readers Club, by hopping right over here:
http://www.harrybingham.com/lev-in-gl...
You'll get a free, lovely welcome gift - and you'll be the very first to know when Fiona Griffiths is back with a further adventure . . .
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 389 reviews
March 18, 2019
Only the second book in this series but I love it already and can't wait to read more. DC Fiona Griffiths, the main character in these police procedurals is such a quirky character, with her adoptive father, a well known unconvicted criminal mastermind in Wales (but now only involved in legitimate business) and her Cotard's syndrome, a psychological condition where people believe they are dead. The Cotard's is partly under control but affects her feelings and the way she sees the world, often giving her unusual insight and a feeling that she can sense the dead and what has happened to them. I love the writing in this series, especially the humour and witty comments and Fiona's thinking outside the box. She has a tendency to honesty in her dealings with her colleagues and boyfriend with a sense of humour regarding her condition and attempts to appear 'normal' to the world.
This is a tale of two murders, separated by several years, seemingly unrelated but with the coincidence of the bodies being dismembered, one strewn around a reservoir and the other hidden in people's gardens, sheds and garages. With the police busy looking for connections between the pair, Fiona follows her intuition to investigate links with another death and finds some very nasty men with a big secret they want to stay hidden.
This is a tale of two murders, separated by several years, seemingly unrelated but with the coincidence of the bodies being dismembered, one strewn around a reservoir and the other hidden in people's gardens, sheds and garages. With the police busy looking for connections between the pair, Fiona follows her intuition to investigate links with another death and finds some very nasty men with a big secret they want to stay hidden.
September 24, 2024
Another fine entry in this police procedural series set in and around Cardiff, Wales, featuring mentally unstable DC Fiona Griffiths. Griffiths suffers from Cotard’s disease, a rare condition producing various forms of psychosis. She has managed to overcome the worst of her symptoms, which had resulted in her having been institutionalized for two years in her teens. She now works hard to be a good cop, daughter and girlfriend, a task that is often challenging given her limitations when it comes to understanding “normal” activities and relationships.
But this same quality of seeing the world differently from others often leads to crime-solving insights. In this volume she helps unravel two murders involving dismembered bodies, once again pursuing lines of inquiry on her own, but eventually gaining the support and friendship of her new superior officer. She also begins investigating in earnest the real story of how she came to be adopted, at the age of two, by a highly successful local crime boss who has consistently eluded conviction for any of his illicit activities.
As the series rolls on, Fiona accumulates a list of white collar criminals who themselves avoid prosecution. In the first book it was sexual predators; in this one it is arms dealers. There is overlap between the two groups - and possibly with her list of her father’s acquaintances as well. We anticipate that she will eventually arrange for them to get their just rewards, but have no idea when or how.
These books are well plotted, the settings in various parts of South Wales are compelling, and the writing is solid. But it is Fiona, so well rendered with all her peculiar qualities, who keeps me reading. I’m so glad there are more books in the series!
But this same quality of seeing the world differently from others often leads to crime-solving insights. In this volume she helps unravel two murders involving dismembered bodies, once again pursuing lines of inquiry on her own, but eventually gaining the support and friendship of her new superior officer. She also begins investigating in earnest the real story of how she came to be adopted, at the age of two, by a highly successful local crime boss who has consistently eluded conviction for any of his illicit activities.
As the series rolls on, Fiona accumulates a list of white collar criminals who themselves avoid prosecution. In the first book it was sexual predators; in this one it is arms dealers. There is overlap between the two groups - and possibly with her list of her father’s acquaintances as well. We anticipate that she will eventually arrange for them to get their just rewards, but have no idea when or how.
These books are well plotted, the settings in various parts of South Wales are compelling, and the writing is solid. But it is Fiona, so well rendered with all her peculiar qualities, who keeps me reading. I’m so glad there are more books in the series!
April 8, 2019
This is the second book in the Fiona Griffiths series by author Harry Bingham.
I read the first book in this series a while ago 'Talking to the dead' and really enjoyed it, so much so that I quickly added the other books in the series to my to read list. Unfortunately the next two books I have read in this series have been very disappointing and failed to live up to my expectations. I like the authors style of writing and the characters are entertaining but I felt this book was dragging on and seemed a very long 380 pages.
It started so well but for now I am not in such a rush to continue this series.
I read the first book in this series a while ago 'Talking to the dead' and really enjoyed it, so much so that I quickly added the other books in the series to my to read list. Unfortunately the next two books I have read in this series have been very disappointing and failed to live up to my expectations. I like the authors style of writing and the characters are entertaining but I felt this book was dragging on and seemed a very long 380 pages.
It started so well but for now I am not in such a rush to continue this series.
January 3, 2019
Fiona Griffiths continues to fascinate me. I love her quirkiness and her attempts to understand "Planet Normal". Fi is an excellent copper. She’s smart, dedicated and fearless. She also has a sixth sense that often leads her to answers others don’t see. I liked that Fi's character and background were more developed in this book, without loss of her unpredictable nature and uncanny humor. She lacks intuitive responses to the emotional signals from others, so she must constantly analyse, reason and decide how to react to people. Sometimes she bothers. Sometimes she doesn't. (Can anyone say "No filters"???😂) I liked Watkins very much and I hope she shows up in future books. Love this series!
November 21, 2016
Talking to the Dead introduced the unmistakeable 5' 2" Cambridge philosophy prize-winning graduate, DC Fiona (Fi) Griffiths, with her lack of social skills, affinity for the dead and familiarity with the mental health services of Cardiff. Focusing on one of the most distinctive and endearing characters at a relatively lowly level of policing was a marked contrast to the familiar jaded characters who usually direct the day to day running of an investigation. The first novel in this series detailed the mental health tribulations that saw Fi institutionalised with Cotard's Syndrome, a rare and severe form of delusional psychosis in which the sufferer believes they are dead, prior to gaining her university degree. Seeing how this affects Fi's behaviour, emotions and thought processes into the present day is really the only way that readers can appreciate why this makes her such a offbeat character. In short, the condition means that FI cannot rely on her innate responses, instead she has to listen, analyse and interpret the signals to understand both the physical feelings within her body and her headspace. At the end of the first book, Fi discovered the puzzling circumstances which saw her adopted by her current parents, but the question marks regarding her affliction and just what triggered it makes her pursuit of the her origins inevitable.
The first book in this series launches straight into an attention catching crime scene and possibly one of the most curious cases I have had the privilege of reading. Nothing is run of the mill for Harry Bingham and his idiosyncratic protagonist is faced with another case that could read like the material for a farce rather than suburban Cardiff. Oh, if only...! A rare sunny Friday afternoon dispatch sends Fi and a colleague to a report of a spot of illegal rubbish dumping in Cyncoed, a clipped privet suburb of Cardiff, not generally a destination they have much call to visit. This might not sound like too much of a problem, but when intrepid Fi takes one look in a malodorous garage packed with assorted junk she rapidly hones in on a severed leg discarded beside the defrosting chest freezer, complete with a Christina Aguilera vintage wedge heel and a polythene freezer bag dripping with condensation. However this does not phase Fi, a person more comfortable with the dead than the living on many an occasion, and she immediately feels a connection to the owner of the dismembered leg. That unlucky lady is swiftly discovered to be Mary Jane Langton, a student at Swansea university who disappeared five years previously in 2005 and funded her academic studies with the aid of her employment as an "exotic dancer". To muddy the waters further, the ensuing discoveries of approximately seventy percent of the mutilated body parts of a completely different corpse - of both race and gender - soon start to be reported. This victim is Ali el-Khalifi, an engineering lecturer at the university who disappeared just days previously. Two mutilated bodies, separated by a five year hiatus, but can this really be a coincidence in suburban Cardiff? As a serious of further gory discoveries across potting sheds and garages recovers further body parts belonging to both Langton and el-Khalifi and with a persons of interest list of nearly three-hundred growing with each new find, the chances of getting to the bottom of this enigma recede by the minute.
Operation Abacus, quickly dubbed Operation Stirfry, under the leadership of the watchful and remarkably humourless DI Rhiannon Watkins, the youngest female detective inspector in South Wales CID, is marshalled with military precision. Bingham's talent for portraying the colourful characters who surround Fi is done to perfection and he does a brilliant job of pinning her colleagues down with razor-sharp insights delivered in his trademark tongue-in-cheek style. Alongside this Harry Bingham delivers a punchy narrative which fizzes with humorous insights. As the enquiry fizzles to a dead end, only Fi has the tenacity to persist and drill down into the lives of the deceased, coming to understand the circles they moved in and their way of life and eventually linking the recent suicide of a imprisoned drug smuggler, Mark Mortimer, with the fate of el-Khalifi. Scepticism abounds amongst Fi's colleagues with DI Watkins the only individual willing to allow Fi to go "off-piste" and run with the theory. Fi's quirks mean she doesn't so much think outside of the box as outside of the ballpark! However it is Fi's endeavours that uncover the first significant breakthrough and pave the way for the continued investigative momentum. The thawing of Watkins, the Ice Queen, as she comes to value Fi's left-field strategy and forges a tentative friendship with the most junior member of CID is very well explored.
Oh and along the way if Fi can close some of the unfinished business overhanging from her first major investigation and the more fundamental matter of her own heritage and origins, then all the better! As Fi's spare bedroom is quickly turned into a home operations room, it seems that this second mission will prove the most insatiable for Fi as she searches for greater understanding about her mental health.
Love Story, With Murders exudes humour throughout, but it is the charm and displays of naivety courtesy of Fi which ensures readers want to support her every step of the way. Despite the linear plot, there is a fair bit of going round the houses as Fi wrestles with her own mental frustrations along the way and some readers will get impatient with these diversions as Fi frequently goes off at a tangent, leaving the case treading water. But by and large, Harry Bingham keeps a firm hand of forward plot progression and Fi's own quirks. Despite my enjoyment of this novel and the first in the series, once again Bingham adds several unnecessary layers of complexity when a simpler solution would be more than enough to delight his readers and leaves a feeling of a top-class plot overstaying its welcome.
Although I am highly enthusiastic about the future of Fi, this did lack the breath of fresh air feeling of the debut, but I remain hopeful. Watching Fi in progress and Bingham's tongue-in-cheek observations is more than half of the delight and whether this formula runs out of steam remains to be seen but most notably Fi must exhibit sustained development. Veering on the boundaries of Planet Normal but never quite managing to safely land, Fi is is a blossoming relationship with DS David 'Buzz' Brydon, but despite the warm fuzzy glow that the relationships generates, there is very little on what has drawn this pair together and why the relationship works. For Buzz to become a mainstay he is going to have to do more than cook and wash up and likewise for the fleeting figure of Lev, the cannabis smoking self-defence guru, whose relevance mystifies me. Whether Harry Bingham has the ability to keep this formula evolving remains to be seen, but with his ingenious eye for a memorable plot and the infectious enthusiasm of his leading lady, this is certainly a series worth watching!
The first book in this series launches straight into an attention catching crime scene and possibly one of the most curious cases I have had the privilege of reading. Nothing is run of the mill for Harry Bingham and his idiosyncratic protagonist is faced with another case that could read like the material for a farce rather than suburban Cardiff. Oh, if only...! A rare sunny Friday afternoon dispatch sends Fi and a colleague to a report of a spot of illegal rubbish dumping in Cyncoed, a clipped privet suburb of Cardiff, not generally a destination they have much call to visit. This might not sound like too much of a problem, but when intrepid Fi takes one look in a malodorous garage packed with assorted junk she rapidly hones in on a severed leg discarded beside the defrosting chest freezer, complete with a Christina Aguilera vintage wedge heel and a polythene freezer bag dripping with condensation. However this does not phase Fi, a person more comfortable with the dead than the living on many an occasion, and she immediately feels a connection to the owner of the dismembered leg. That unlucky lady is swiftly discovered to be Mary Jane Langton, a student at Swansea university who disappeared five years previously in 2005 and funded her academic studies with the aid of her employment as an "exotic dancer". To muddy the waters further, the ensuing discoveries of approximately seventy percent of the mutilated body parts of a completely different corpse - of both race and gender - soon start to be reported. This victim is Ali el-Khalifi, an engineering lecturer at the university who disappeared just days previously. Two mutilated bodies, separated by a five year hiatus, but can this really be a coincidence in suburban Cardiff? As a serious of further gory discoveries across potting sheds and garages recovers further body parts belonging to both Langton and el-Khalifi and with a persons of interest list of nearly three-hundred growing with each new find, the chances of getting to the bottom of this enigma recede by the minute.
Operation Abacus, quickly dubbed Operation Stirfry, under the leadership of the watchful and remarkably humourless DI Rhiannon Watkins, the youngest female detective inspector in South Wales CID, is marshalled with military precision. Bingham's talent for portraying the colourful characters who surround Fi is done to perfection and he does a brilliant job of pinning her colleagues down with razor-sharp insights delivered in his trademark tongue-in-cheek style. Alongside this Harry Bingham delivers a punchy narrative which fizzes with humorous insights. As the enquiry fizzles to a dead end, only Fi has the tenacity to persist and drill down into the lives of the deceased, coming to understand the circles they moved in and their way of life and eventually linking the recent suicide of a imprisoned drug smuggler, Mark Mortimer, with the fate of el-Khalifi. Scepticism abounds amongst Fi's colleagues with DI Watkins the only individual willing to allow Fi to go "off-piste" and run with the theory. Fi's quirks mean she doesn't so much think outside of the box as outside of the ballpark! However it is Fi's endeavours that uncover the first significant breakthrough and pave the way for the continued investigative momentum. The thawing of Watkins, the Ice Queen, as she comes to value Fi's left-field strategy and forges a tentative friendship with the most junior member of CID is very well explored.
Oh and along the way if Fi can close some of the unfinished business overhanging from her first major investigation and the more fundamental matter of her own heritage and origins, then all the better! As Fi's spare bedroom is quickly turned into a home operations room, it seems that this second mission will prove the most insatiable for Fi as she searches for greater understanding about her mental health.
Love Story, With Murders exudes humour throughout, but it is the charm and displays of naivety courtesy of Fi which ensures readers want to support her every step of the way. Despite the linear plot, there is a fair bit of going round the houses as Fi wrestles with her own mental frustrations along the way and some readers will get impatient with these diversions as Fi frequently goes off at a tangent, leaving the case treading water. But by and large, Harry Bingham keeps a firm hand of forward plot progression and Fi's own quirks. Despite my enjoyment of this novel and the first in the series, once again Bingham adds several unnecessary layers of complexity when a simpler solution would be more than enough to delight his readers and leaves a feeling of a top-class plot overstaying its welcome.
Although I am highly enthusiastic about the future of Fi, this did lack the breath of fresh air feeling of the debut, but I remain hopeful. Watching Fi in progress and Bingham's tongue-in-cheek observations is more than half of the delight and whether this formula runs out of steam remains to be seen but most notably Fi must exhibit sustained development. Veering on the boundaries of Planet Normal but never quite managing to safely land, Fi is is a blossoming relationship with DS David 'Buzz' Brydon, but despite the warm fuzzy glow that the relationships generates, there is very little on what has drawn this pair together and why the relationship works. For Buzz to become a mainstay he is going to have to do more than cook and wash up and likewise for the fleeting figure of Lev, the cannabis smoking self-defence guru, whose relevance mystifies me. Whether Harry Bingham has the ability to keep this formula evolving remains to be seen, but with his ingenious eye for a memorable plot and the infectious enthusiasm of his leading lady, this is certainly a series worth watching!
May 23, 2017
I loved this book and Fiona Griffiths! Harry Bingham made her into a very special heroine. It was humorous too.
April 3, 2014
Oh, when the shiny apple of a new book starts out delicious like a honeycrisp & then devolves into something mushy like a Fuji. I had such high hopes for Fiona Griffiths in this book. I got ten pages in & started telling co-workers that this was knocking my socks off. I asked B how the boring history thing he's reading was going just so I could smugly tell him that my book was going awesome. I even, in my most secret literary heart, started maybe thinking that Griffiths could make a run as the new Cassie Maddox in my life - shut my mouth!
Although this didn't turn out as bad as my increasingly dismayed self expected, it was nowhere near to living up to its promise. It got mushy. Too many inconsistent little things scattered about that to me added up to a writer who wasn't paying a lot of attention. Fiona's not sure how she feels about her boyfriend, but then a page later she's calling him beloved. She seems to deliberately induce a dissociative state so she can go into a strip club to look for clues & then she calls her former psychologist & yells at him about how being in a strip club caused her to go into a dissociative state. There’s also too much woe spilled about all the poor, damaged ladies that strip for a living that got really tiresome after a bit. Most annoyingly, . And while I’m at it, what on earth was up with the forced . This would all maybe be forgivable if it hadn’t begun to drag so heavily at the end. There's too much drawn-out maybe the murder is solved, maybe not, now we have to hunt down this guy, now we have to hunt down that other guy. At some point I was staying up too late to finish this not because the story was so compelling but because I could not fathom that there could still be 50 pages left to go & I wasn't sure I'd be able to stand looking at those 50 pages again in the morning. Never a good thing, that.
Although this didn't turn out as bad as my increasingly dismayed self expected, it was nowhere near to living up to its promise. It got mushy. Too many inconsistent little things scattered about that to me added up to a writer who wasn't paying a lot of attention. Fiona's not sure how she feels about her boyfriend, but then a page later she's calling him beloved. She seems to deliberately induce a dissociative state so she can go into a strip club to look for clues & then she calls her former psychologist & yells at him about how being in a strip club caused her to go into a dissociative state. There’s also too much woe spilled about all the poor, damaged ladies that strip for a living that got really tiresome after a bit. Most annoyingly, . And while I’m at it, what on earth was up with the forced . This would all maybe be forgivable if it hadn’t begun to drag so heavily at the end. There's too much drawn-out maybe the murder is solved, maybe not, now we have to hunt down this guy, now we have to hunt down that other guy. At some point I was staying up too late to finish this not because the story was so compelling but because I could not fathom that there could still be 50 pages left to go & I wasn't sure I'd be able to stand looking at those 50 pages again in the morning. Never a good thing, that.
September 5, 2021
3,5 / 5
Güzel ilerleyen bir seri ama muhtemelen Türkce devamı gelmeyeceği için başlamanızı tavsiye etmem. Ben belki her kitapta ayrı bir olay vardır diye başlamıştım, yanılmışım. Kurgu hem polisiye konuda hem de Fiona'nın özel yaşamında devam ediyor. O yüzden sırasıyla okunmalı. Fiona'nın çocukluk olayı ne öğrenemedim, çok merak ediyorum 🤔 Umarım Yabancı yayınları beni yalancı çıkartarak seriye devam eder 😑
Güzel ilerleyen bir seri ama muhtemelen Türkce devamı gelmeyeceği için başlamanızı tavsiye etmem. Ben belki her kitapta ayrı bir olay vardır diye başlamıştım, yanılmışım. Kurgu hem polisiye konuda hem de Fiona'nın özel yaşamında devam ediyor. O yüzden sırasıyla okunmalı. Fiona'nın çocukluk olayı ne öğrenemedim, çok merak ediyorum 🤔 Umarım Yabancı yayınları beni yalancı çıkartarak seriye devam eder 😑
September 18, 2017
I enjoyed this second entry in the Fiona Griffiths series. Fiona is truly an unique main character. She is a DC in South Wales. She tries to be on Planet Normal in order to fit in. She has a practice run with timing her Christmas meal. She has a boyfriend and works at being a girl friend. Her dad was a famous crime boss who the police could never find proof that he was breaking the law. He is suppose to be legitimate now. Fiona just turned up as a toddler in the front seat of his convertible. She was adopted into the family. She really works at trying to hold everything together. In this book, she is trying to find out about her past and who her birth parents really are. Her adoptive parents love her very much and she feels the same about them.
Body parts start turning up. They are two different bodies. The DI calls the case Abacus but the police call it case Stir Fry. Fiona (FI) feels comfortable around the dead. She is pretty good at piecing clues together. She will also go rogue at times to find answers. There was a scene in this book that was particularly memorable. It will stay with me. Reading the author's notes at the end of the book, he wrote that he enjoyed writing that scene. Even thought Fi doesn't fit in but not for lack of trying , she has a cutting humor. A reader will not confuse Fiona with other protagonists. She makes the series very special.
Body parts start turning up. They are two different bodies. The DI calls the case Abacus but the police call it case Stir Fry. Fiona (FI) feels comfortable around the dead. She is pretty good at piecing clues together. She will also go rogue at times to find answers. There was a scene in this book that was particularly memorable. It will stay with me. Reading the author's notes at the end of the book, he wrote that he enjoyed writing that scene. Even thought Fi doesn't fit in but not for lack of trying , she has a cutting humor. A reader will not confuse Fiona with other protagonists. She makes the series very special.
July 16, 2013
What a brilliant follow up to Talking To The Dead, we find DC Fiona Griffiths still the odd ball of the South Wales Police CID still managing to get to the guts of the inquiry and solving two fiendish murders and mixed in with arms trade double dealing.
When we are reunited with Fiona she is happy in a relationship with Buzz a fellow detective in the force who has come to accept Fi the way she is with her mental health issues and all her strange quirks.
DC Griffiths is on her way back to Cathys Park in Cardiff with a PC in a police car when they are diverted to a call over a suspect package found in a house clearence. When they get there they discover the frozen leg of a Mary Langton who has been missing for years, and over the subsequent days they discover more of her as they search the neighbourhood. It is Fi's attention to detail and the obscure that will lead her to discover the identity of the murderer. Not before another body turns up chopped in pieces, to muddy the waters of the original murder.
It is these two murders that will lead to Fi discovering links to the arms trade, the sex trade and leads to the attempted murder by contract killers of our heroine. We see her track down the murderers and her contract killers. She gets to visit Glasgow in pursuit and over to Norway. I could write more about her trips but it would spoil some aspects of the plot.
This is a great story that moves along at a good pace where you want to read another chapter more because you want to know what is happening to Fi Griffiths. Harry Bingham has really opened up Fi Griffiths for the reader and the more we learn about her the more we will like her. The quirkness of her is what makes her special and sets her apart from other literary detectives.
Go on read this book you will really love Fi.
When we are reunited with Fiona she is happy in a relationship with Buzz a fellow detective in the force who has come to accept Fi the way she is with her mental health issues and all her strange quirks.
DC Griffiths is on her way back to Cathys Park in Cardiff with a PC in a police car when they are diverted to a call over a suspect package found in a house clearence. When they get there they discover the frozen leg of a Mary Langton who has been missing for years, and over the subsequent days they discover more of her as they search the neighbourhood. It is Fi's attention to detail and the obscure that will lead her to discover the identity of the murderer. Not before another body turns up chopped in pieces, to muddy the waters of the original murder.
It is these two murders that will lead to Fi discovering links to the arms trade, the sex trade and leads to the attempted murder by contract killers of our heroine. We see her track down the murderers and her contract killers. She gets to visit Glasgow in pursuit and over to Norway. I could write more about her trips but it would spoil some aspects of the plot.
This is a great story that moves along at a good pace where you want to read another chapter more because you want to know what is happening to Fi Griffiths. Harry Bingham has really opened up Fi Griffiths for the reader and the more we learn about her the more we will like her. The quirkness of her is what makes her special and sets her apart from other literary detectives.
Go on read this book you will really love Fi.
November 8, 2013
My View:
Quirky protagonist with a sense of humour, intelligence and a mental illness – great read!
I found this novel refreshing, intriguing and delightful to read. I enjoyed the quirky character that is DC Fiona Griffiths – her honest commentary, her sense of humour, her wit and attempts to stay “normal”. This protagonist will not be easy to forget –a unique character that I enjoyed meeting in this the second Fiona Griffiths mystery which can most certainly be read as a standalone however I will be seeking out the first novel as I enjoyed this so much.
This is a police procedural with a difference; Fiona has her own unique methods of investigating, she likes to get a “feel” for the victims and their lives, she likes to get to know them and sometimes the dead communicate back to her, while she tries to stay grounded and in the present, a task she sometimes struggles with. I like this flawed unassuming hero, her idiosyncrasies and her attitude.
This story takes place in Wales – on icy roads, in rural back yards, in pole dancing clubs...and in the international world of commerce. The narrative weaves an intricate thread linking the deaths of three superficially unrelated victims; the jigsaw of data, of behaviours, of work, of leisure activities and Fiona’s instincts finally makes a complete picture that reveals all. At no point did I guess what this picture would look like. A great read. This is an author I want to know more about.
PS I loved the cover!
Quirky protagonist with a sense of humour, intelligence and a mental illness – great read!
I found this novel refreshing, intriguing and delightful to read. I enjoyed the quirky character that is DC Fiona Griffiths – her honest commentary, her sense of humour, her wit and attempts to stay “normal”. This protagonist will not be easy to forget –a unique character that I enjoyed meeting in this the second Fiona Griffiths mystery which can most certainly be read as a standalone however I will be seeking out the first novel as I enjoyed this so much.
This is a police procedural with a difference; Fiona has her own unique methods of investigating, she likes to get a “feel” for the victims and their lives, she likes to get to know them and sometimes the dead communicate back to her, while she tries to stay grounded and in the present, a task she sometimes struggles with. I like this flawed unassuming hero, her idiosyncrasies and her attitude.
This story takes place in Wales – on icy roads, in rural back yards, in pole dancing clubs...and in the international world of commerce. The narrative weaves an intricate thread linking the deaths of three superficially unrelated victims; the jigsaw of data, of behaviours, of work, of leisure activities and Fiona’s instincts finally makes a complete picture that reveals all. At no point did I guess what this picture would look like. A great read. This is an author I want to know more about.
PS I loved the cover!
March 27, 2014
Fiona Griffiths, a young detective on the South Wales police force, feels a strong affinity with the dead. Not surprising since she suffers from Cotard’s Syndrome, an illness that causes its sufferers to think they are dead (I looked it up. Turns out, that’s a real syndrome). So when a human leg is discovered among some rubbish, she couldn’t be happier. Well, at least not until she discovers the head in a vat of old motor oil. It turns out to be parts from a college student missing for five years. Then body parts of another victim start turning up in the same area. Fiona becomes obsessed with the case and its victims and is determined to go wherever they lead her. Unfortunately, one of the places is a strip club owned by her adoptive dad, once one of the most notorious criminals in all of Wales.
Okay, so I’ll admit I decided to read this book solely because of the title, Love Story with Murders. It just struck me as all kinds of fun: humorous, quirky, just slightly twisted. Happily, it lived up to the expectations it offered. The story itself is pretty good, lots of action and not a little humour amongst the gore (I mean, how can body parts strewn willy nilly all over a Cardiff neighbourhood not be funny in a weird, slightly bent sort of way), but it ‘s really the characters that kept me up all night reading from Fiona’s seemingly oblivious but caring boyfriend to her decidedly ‘butch’ boss with romance issues, her secretive Russian friend, her loving if somewhat larcenous dad, and two very nasty hit men who take umbrage with her investigation. But it is Fiona who owns this tale as one of the most eccentric but likable heroines ever to grace the pages of a murder mystery.
Okay, so I’ll admit I decided to read this book solely because of the title, Love Story with Murders. It just struck me as all kinds of fun: humorous, quirky, just slightly twisted. Happily, it lived up to the expectations it offered. The story itself is pretty good, lots of action and not a little humour amongst the gore (I mean, how can body parts strewn willy nilly all over a Cardiff neighbourhood not be funny in a weird, slightly bent sort of way), but it ‘s really the characters that kept me up all night reading from Fiona’s seemingly oblivious but caring boyfriend to her decidedly ‘butch’ boss with romance issues, her secretive Russian friend, her loving if somewhat larcenous dad, and two very nasty hit men who take umbrage with her investigation. But it is Fiona who owns this tale as one of the most eccentric but likable heroines ever to grace the pages of a murder mystery.
April 19, 2022
Truly beautiful, thought-provoking writing. Fiona is a heroine I could listen to all day. And I think Harry Bingham could write a shopping list and make it compelling. He maintains a three chapter suspense arc that blended philosophy with a particularly cruel attempted murder, and the result is riveting, but also poetic, with language that lingers.
February 7, 2021
fiona... fiona... onca kusura rağmen bu kadar kusursuz olman 🤤 aşık oldum 🥺
July 4, 2017
Don't tell Buzz but I'm in love with Fi. She is smart, smarter than she knows, cute, vivacious, tenacious, and she cares even when she thinks she doesn't. Thomas, her father is one of the most loving characters I've found in a book such as this series.
This book could be gruesome but Bingham is a poet and can take things like a young girls decapitated head being pulled out of a can of old oil and make them readable. You can lose yourself in his prose at times.
This book is complicated with too many potential villains, too many possible situations, too many too manys. But Bingham makes it work. That's true of Fiona's relationships in the copper offices, on the street, with Lev and certainly with Buzz who has to be one of the most understanding boyfriends in literature.
Fiona is flawed but even so she's able to get herself out of situations, such as not allowing herself to be frozen to death or burned to death. (Read the book, you'll see what I mean.)
One thing I like about Bingham's stories is that there isn't always a nice little ending where everything is resolved. But then if the did he wouldn't have the beginning of his next book and that, my friends, would be a tragedy.
This book could be gruesome but Bingham is a poet and can take things like a young girls decapitated head being pulled out of a can of old oil and make them readable. You can lose yourself in his prose at times.
This book is complicated with too many potential villains, too many possible situations, too many too manys. But Bingham makes it work. That's true of Fiona's relationships in the copper offices, on the street, with Lev and certainly with Buzz who has to be one of the most understanding boyfriends in literature.
Fiona is flawed but even so she's able to get herself out of situations, such as not allowing herself to be frozen to death or burned to death. (Read the book, you'll see what I mean.)
One thing I like about Bingham's stories is that there isn't always a nice little ending where everything is resolved. But then if the did he wouldn't have the beginning of his next book and that, my friends, would be a tragedy.
November 11, 2014
Very quirky Fiona Griffiths is such a lovable character! There's a lot going on in her life. Her internal search and growth, the investigation of murders and suicide, and her increasing knowledge of her father's past all combine for a satisfying read.
January 11, 2018
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
DC Fiona Griffiths continues her efforts to act normal, maybe even feel normal, getting along with her boyfriend and staying out of trouble with her superiors. Basically, things are going as well as they possibly can following the events of Talking to the Dead. But we know that's going to come to an end, otherwise, this would be a really dull series. It comes to an end when Fiona and a colleague stop off on their way home to look at a case of illegal rubbish. In this particular case, the rubbish is a body part in a chest freezer. It's a significant enough body part to make the detectives sure they're looking for something more serious than illegal rubbish.
Over the next few days, the police are able to find some more of the woman, as well as start to understand how long ago she was killed and dismembered -- which leads to an identification. Shortly thereafter, the police find pieces of a fresher corpse in the same area. While most detectives look for connections between the victims and hunt for clues to identify the killer, Fi begins learning more about the victims as individuals (not that she's alone in this, it's just she's alone in her approach), what their lives were like, and what would lead someone to kill them. Fi investigates things in a way no other fictional detective -- private or police -- does. I'm not sure I can express it clearly, but when you read it, you'll notice. When she starts to put the pieces together about what was going on the whole time, I was flummoxed -- it's nothing like where I expected things to go.
Aside from that are the relationships with her boyfriend, family and fellow police officers. The romance between Buzz and Fi is very strange, but sweet. She's dealing with a different superior for these investigations. It's not just Fi up to the same antics with a different boss -- similar antics, yes, but Fi understands herself better now, and is able to do what she does in a way that her superiors are able to accept and use. As for her family? I'm not even going to try to talk about it.
On the one hand, I really like watching Fi's subconscious at work, making the connections, deductions, and guesses she needs to be making to solve the crime/find what she's looking for, while she interprets it as "the dead" talking to her. Well, that's one way to read it, anyway. It really could be that there's something on the verge of supernatural going on. I like the hint of ambiguity that Bingham has given this world and Fi's understanding of what's going on.
I was, I don't want to say surprised, but it was something like it by the ending. Maybe I've just been reading too many Mysteries lately with pretty ambiguous endings, but this one had a very satisfying ending with most of the loose ends tied up. This doesn't mean that everything ended happily (for want of a better term), but that Fi's fully able to satisfy her curiosity and need to know (at least about those things that came up in her professional life -- her personal life is only slightly more settled by the book's end than it was when it started).
A murder mystery -- with, yes, a love story -- that had some fantastic character moments, a really strong puzzle, all very well told. Fiona Griffiths impresses again. This is the best kind of sequel -- the same kind of things that filled the first book in the series, but seen differently by everyone (including the protagonist) and with different results -- Fi's grown a bit (I want to stress "a bit," she's still basically the same person, which is good, I don't want everything to be "normal" for this character), and is building on the events from the previous novel, not just repeating them. I'm truly annoyed with myself for waiting so long to get back to this series, and will not make the same mistake.
---
For me, these things aren’t only about finding the killers, but about giving peace to the dead. It’s not primarily a question of justice. The dead don’t care about that. The murder investigation, arrest and conviction are just part of the funeral rite, the final acts of completion. Gifts I bring the dead in exchange for the peace they bring me.
The peace of the dead, which passeth all understanding.
DC Fiona Griffiths continues her efforts to act normal, maybe even feel normal, getting along with her boyfriend and staying out of trouble with her superiors. Basically, things are going as well as they possibly can following the events of Talking to the Dead. But we know that's going to come to an end, otherwise, this would be a really dull series. It comes to an end when Fiona and a colleague stop off on their way home to look at a case of illegal rubbish. In this particular case, the rubbish is a body part in a chest freezer. It's a significant enough body part to make the detectives sure they're looking for something more serious than illegal rubbish.
Over the next few days, the police are able to find some more of the woman, as well as start to understand how long ago she was killed and dismembered -- which leads to an identification. Shortly thereafter, the police find pieces of a fresher corpse in the same area. While most detectives look for connections between the victims and hunt for clues to identify the killer, Fi begins learning more about the victims as individuals (not that she's alone in this, it's just she's alone in her approach), what their lives were like, and what would lead someone to kill them. Fi investigates things in a way no other fictional detective -- private or police -- does. I'm not sure I can express it clearly, but when you read it, you'll notice. When she starts to put the pieces together about what was going on the whole time, I was flummoxed -- it's nothing like where I expected things to go.
Aside from that are the relationships with her boyfriend, family and fellow police officers. The romance between Buzz and Fi is very strange, but sweet. She's dealing with a different superior for these investigations. It's not just Fi up to the same antics with a different boss -- similar antics, yes, but Fi understands herself better now, and is able to do what she does in a way that her superiors are able to accept and use. As for her family? I'm not even going to try to talk about it.
Some people are better as corpses. They’re easier to like.
On the one hand, I really like watching Fi's subconscious at work, making the connections, deductions, and guesses she needs to be making to solve the crime/find what she's looking for, while she interprets it as "the dead" talking to her. Well, that's one way to read it, anyway. It really could be that there's something on the verge of supernatural going on. I like the hint of ambiguity that Bingham has given this world and Fi's understanding of what's going on.
I was, I don't want to say surprised, but it was something like it by the ending. Maybe I've just been reading too many Mysteries lately with pretty ambiguous endings, but this one had a very satisfying ending with most of the loose ends tied up. This doesn't mean that everything ended happily (for want of a better term), but that Fi's fully able to satisfy her curiosity and need to know (at least about those things that came up in her professional life -- her personal life is only slightly more settled by the book's end than it was when it started).
A murder mystery -- with, yes, a love story -- that had some fantastic character moments, a really strong puzzle, all very well told. Fiona Griffiths impresses again. This is the best kind of sequel -- the same kind of things that filled the first book in the series, but seen differently by everyone (including the protagonist) and with different results -- Fi's grown a bit (I want to stress "a bit," she's still basically the same person, which is good, I don't want everything to be "normal" for this character), and is building on the events from the previous novel, not just repeating them. I'm truly annoyed with myself for waiting so long to get back to this series, and will not make the same mistake.
August 5, 2017
Beyond reason Fiona survives encounters with professional killers without police support. She does end up in the hospital with third degree burns. I will likely read more of these Welsh police procedurals but not right now. There are some ongoing investigations of her own that will likely continue (such as where did she com from?), but I'm not invested.
I am missing things like appreciation of nature and life. Fiona seeks solace in darkness and opening an empty refrigerator.
I am missing things like appreciation of nature and life. Fiona seeks solace in darkness and opening an empty refrigerator.
October 7, 2017
In this second novel in an engrossing series, DC Fiona Griffiths is once again challenged to apply her strange talents to solving a case or maybe it’s two cases. This DC is not like others and this is one of the winning formulas that Harry Bingham gives to the character.
With her personality traits being at times psychotic, the first person POV works as we discover more and more about Fiona’s past and about the cases. She has more than murder to handle and she needs to act off-piste to get things done and progress the cases. The violence, in the victim’s remains or the action, is not excessive or overtly gruesome, but some fans of the cosy approach might baulk at it. Fiona doesn’t, of course.
At this stage in her policing career, Fiona still has things to learn, often things she recognises and ignores at her cost – but what better way to keep the plot moving and the reader guessing. Her relationship with her fierce boss, DI Watkins, is unexpected and interesting – the secondary characters are all well portrayed, especially the DI. There are sub-plots surrounding some of them and these all add to the story.
Fiona’s attitudes are unusual but her flippancy and willingness to think her mind are what makes her unique – and believable. I wouldn’t want her to be ‘normal’ and boring – in fact, people aren’t when we get to know them properly as some of the characters prove over time.
The settings from Cardiff to the rural areas of South Wales are all vividly evoked, and through Fiona’s senses, so, we also discover more about her in the words she uses. Having lived in Wales – North Wales – there were descriptions that stirred memories – for instance:
“The valley narrows as it climbs. Pasture and snippets of woodland on the valley floor. Green fields pasted as high up the mountainsides as technology and climate can take them. The flanks of the hillside are grizzled with the rust-brown of bracken, humped with gorse and hawthorn, slashed with the rocky-white of mountain streams.”
Anybody that has negotiated Welsh roads will recognise the ones that Fiona needs to take on her rural investigation. Throughout, the settings felt realistic as did the way that the plot unfolded. Nothing is ever neat in a Fiona Griffiths case – nor in reality.
You never know what Fiona is going to do next, so the reader needs to keep going – and believing in her and the author. Fiona keeps the tension going with her decisions and actions. I was on the edge of my seat as I read, hoping that Fiona would survive – even if I knew there were sequels. That takes good writing to bring about.
I loved the Welsh attitude, even if not all Welsh people are as forthright as Fiona in saying, “Twll dîn pob Sais.” Later in the novel, she repeats this as a thought and translates -” Every Englishman an arsehole”.
After a stimulating ride for my head, I am ready for the next book, having recommended the first two without reservation – well, if you want a cosy mystery series look elsewhere. I want more of Fiona and her different approach to policing, to life – and I want to know what is at the heart of her behaviour, to discover more about her past.
Note that this was released in 2014, so, this comment from Fiona had me wondering if Harry Bingham was going to get tweeted by the US President;
“My newfound clarity allows me to look at the pole-dancing platform too. It’s got all the class of a Las Vegas casino personally styled by Donald Trump”
Story – five stars
Setting/World-building – five stars
Characters – five stars
Structure – five stars
Readability – five stars
Editing – five stars
With her personality traits being at times psychotic, the first person POV works as we discover more and more about Fiona’s past and about the cases. She has more than murder to handle and she needs to act off-piste to get things done and progress the cases. The violence, in the victim’s remains or the action, is not excessive or overtly gruesome, but some fans of the cosy approach might baulk at it. Fiona doesn’t, of course.
At this stage in her policing career, Fiona still has things to learn, often things she recognises and ignores at her cost – but what better way to keep the plot moving and the reader guessing. Her relationship with her fierce boss, DI Watkins, is unexpected and interesting – the secondary characters are all well portrayed, especially the DI. There are sub-plots surrounding some of them and these all add to the story.
Fiona’s attitudes are unusual but her flippancy and willingness to think her mind are what makes her unique – and believable. I wouldn’t want her to be ‘normal’ and boring – in fact, people aren’t when we get to know them properly as some of the characters prove over time.
The settings from Cardiff to the rural areas of South Wales are all vividly evoked, and through Fiona’s senses, so, we also discover more about her in the words she uses. Having lived in Wales – North Wales – there were descriptions that stirred memories – for instance:
“The valley narrows as it climbs. Pasture and snippets of woodland on the valley floor. Green fields pasted as high up the mountainsides as technology and climate can take them. The flanks of the hillside are grizzled with the rust-brown of bracken, humped with gorse and hawthorn, slashed with the rocky-white of mountain streams.”
Anybody that has negotiated Welsh roads will recognise the ones that Fiona needs to take on her rural investigation. Throughout, the settings felt realistic as did the way that the plot unfolded. Nothing is ever neat in a Fiona Griffiths case – nor in reality.
You never know what Fiona is going to do next, so the reader needs to keep going – and believing in her and the author. Fiona keeps the tension going with her decisions and actions. I was on the edge of my seat as I read, hoping that Fiona would survive – even if I knew there were sequels. That takes good writing to bring about.
I loved the Welsh attitude, even if not all Welsh people are as forthright as Fiona in saying, “Twll dîn pob Sais.” Later in the novel, she repeats this as a thought and translates -” Every Englishman an arsehole”.
After a stimulating ride for my head, I am ready for the next book, having recommended the first two without reservation – well, if you want a cosy mystery series look elsewhere. I want more of Fiona and her different approach to policing, to life – and I want to know what is at the heart of her behaviour, to discover more about her past.
Note that this was released in 2014, so, this comment from Fiona had me wondering if Harry Bingham was going to get tweeted by the US President;
“My newfound clarity allows me to look at the pole-dancing platform too. It’s got all the class of a Las Vegas casino personally styled by Donald Trump”
Story – five stars
Setting/World-building – five stars
Characters – five stars
Structure – five stars
Readability – five stars
Editing – five stars
February 25, 2014
Oh goody - it's even better than Talking to the Dead, which was pretty darned good. Cardiff DC Fi Griffiths is a supremely engaging character, bright, damaged, driven, capable and self-aware. The Cotard's syndrome which caused her a two year breakdown often makes it easier for her to relate to the dead than to the living but she is constantly working at establishing her place on Planet Normal, connecting with family and co-workers in ways that she hopes are appropriate though she's not always sure.
When the leg of a young woman is found in the garage freezer of an elderly widow, the search begins to discover her identity. As other preserved body parts turn up, she is identified as a young woman who disappeared five years earlier, who had briefly worked as a pole dancer before going back to her university studies. Then the body parts of a newly killed middle eastern man begin showing up and it takes a lot of digging and detecting to discover how and why the two are connected.
Fi frequently doesn't follow the rules - she goes off piste, but gets results that usually lead to her being allowed to continue to use her unique combination of instinct and tenacity until the case is closed.
The plotting is excellent and timely - inspired by an actual crime from the 1990's. The characters are well developed. Fi, in her spare time, is trying to solve the riddle of where she came from - who dropped her into the back seat of the car of one of Wales' cleverest criminals as a two year old child. Her father is a charismatic character whose past has the potential for conflict with her role as a police officer, but the two of them are careful to avoid it. Her new boss, DI Watkins, is a tough woman, well-hated, but they manage to work out a satisfactory relationship, and I hope we will see more of them as a team. The men in her life - her police officer boyfriend Buzz and her ex-Spetsnaz Krav Maga teacher Lev - round out the cast and balance each other nicely.
When the leg of a young woman is found in the garage freezer of an elderly widow, the search begins to discover her identity. As other preserved body parts turn up, she is identified as a young woman who disappeared five years earlier, who had briefly worked as a pole dancer before going back to her university studies. Then the body parts of a newly killed middle eastern man begin showing up and it takes a lot of digging and detecting to discover how and why the two are connected.
Fi frequently doesn't follow the rules - she goes off piste, but gets results that usually lead to her being allowed to continue to use her unique combination of instinct and tenacity until the case is closed.
The plotting is excellent and timely - inspired by an actual crime from the 1990's. The characters are well developed. Fi, in her spare time, is trying to solve the riddle of where she came from - who dropped her into the back seat of the car of one of Wales' cleverest criminals as a two year old child. Her father is a charismatic character whose past has the potential for conflict with her role as a police officer, but the two of them are careful to avoid it. Her new boss, DI Watkins, is a tough woman, well-hated, but they manage to work out a satisfactory relationship, and I hope we will see more of them as a team. The men in her life - her police officer boyfriend Buzz and her ex-Spetsnaz Krav Maga teacher Lev - round out the cast and balance each other nicely.
October 6, 2015
I really liked this second in the Fiona Griffiths series, following up Bingham's debut Talking to the Dead. Fiona continues to be edgy and a rogue in the police department, but she is moving more toward Planet Normal (as she describes it). Her ability to sense the dead continues to help her in the quest to solve murders, two in this case. She is also trying to solve the mystery of where she came from - she was found in the convertible of the man who would become Dad when she was a small child. Overall this book was more complex, better written and maintained my interest throughout. I think I'm hooked and ready for Fiona #3!
(I won this book in a give-away from the publisher - thank you Delacourte Press.)
(I won this book in a give-away from the publisher - thank you Delacourte Press.)
January 25, 2016
I enjoy Fiona's narration of this series. She's less mysterious to the reader than in the first book and I'm looking forward to her further self-discovery in future books. There's cold weather fighting in this story....reminiscent of Lisbeth Salander. I don't think I noticed the character similarities in the first book, but Fi is a deeply odd, kick-ass heroine; it's a natural comparison.
February 24, 2018
Ne yazık ki tüm beklentim boşa çıktı. Kitapta olan hiçbir şey beni tatmin etmedi.Fiona’ya ısınamadım. Buzz’ı sevmedim. Watkins çok kafa karıştırıcıydı. Kızın sanrıları beni çok sıktı. Belki sonunda beni çok şaşırtan bir olay olur dedim o da olmadı. O yüzden tam bir hayal kırıklığı oldu benim için.
November 15, 2018
Ah o çeviri :(
July 8, 2018
Fiona Perfekt
Ihre Intuition braucht Fiona Griffiths noch nicht als sie mit einem Streifenkollegen zu einer Wohnungsauflösung gerufen wird. Angeblich soll dort illegaler Müll entsorgt worden sein. Die Situation ändert sich jedoch schon bald. In einer Kühltruhe findet Fiona das Bein einer Frau, wobei der Fuß noch in einem Schuh steckt. Schnell stellt sich heraus, dass vor einigen Jahren eine junge Frau als Vermisst gemeldet wurde, auf die die DNA des Leichenteils passt. Eine fieberhafte Suche nach weiteren Leichenteilen beginnt. Bald darauf werden weitere Teile gefunden, diese allerdings stammen von eine männlichen Toten. Und nun ist Fionas Gabe wirklich gefragt.
In diesem zweiten Teil der Reihe um die Polizistin Fiona Griffiths geht es hoch her. Fiona, die eigentlich nur normal, am liebsten perfekt normal sein möchte, fängt an zu graben. In ihrer eigenen Vergangenheit, aber natürlich in erster Linie in der der Opfer. Können die beiden etwas miteinander zu tun gehabt haben. Der angesehene Forschungsmitarbeiter mit Migrationshintergrund und die kleine Poledancerin. Das scheint ausgeschlossen, aber wenn Fiona dieses Kribbeln spürt, wird sie nicht lockerlassen. Bei ihren Vorgesetzten eckt sie des Öfteren an, auch wenn diese widerwillig eingestehen müssen, dass Fionas Ansätze Beachtung verdienen und nicht selten zu Ergebnissen führen.
Die schwere Krankheit, die Fiona in ihrer Jugend überstanden hat, wirkt immer noch nach. Als Polizistin hat sie damit ungewöhnliche Fähigkeiten, ihr Privatleben macht sie schwer. Beinahe verzweifelt erscheint Fionas Bemühen, eine perfekte Darstellung einer Tochter, Freundin oder Kollegin zu bieten. Bei ihren Ermittlungen jedoch erweckt sie den Eindruck, als könne sie jede Situation erspüren, Zusammenhänge wie ein Seismograph empfangen. Doch auch Fionas Tätigkeit besteht zu großen Teilen aus kleinteiligen Puzzeln, die zusammengesetzt werden müssen. Man kann es direkt vor sich sehen, wie die Chefin den Mund verzieht, wenn Fiona sich mal wieder am Rande des Erlaubten bewegt hat und dies die Untersuchung auch noch weiterbringt. Fionas Humor ist manchmal schon sehr trocken, ihre Handlungen schwer zu verstehen und doch muss man sie sympathisch finden in ihrem Versuch so zu sein, wie sie denkt, dass andere es von ihr erwarten.
Eine Reihe, die in der richtigen Reihenfolge gelesen werden sollte, um Fionas Charakter richtig einschätzen und den losen Rahmenhandlungen folgen zu können. Ist einem das egal, kann man den behandelten Fall auch so verstehen, allerdings verpasst man dann etwas. Dieser Kriminalroman fesselt mit seiner ungewöhnlichen Ermittlerin, die die ganze Aufmerksamkeit einfordert und jede Sekunde mit Überraschungen aufwarten kann.
Ihre Intuition braucht Fiona Griffiths noch nicht als sie mit einem Streifenkollegen zu einer Wohnungsauflösung gerufen wird. Angeblich soll dort illegaler Müll entsorgt worden sein. Die Situation ändert sich jedoch schon bald. In einer Kühltruhe findet Fiona das Bein einer Frau, wobei der Fuß noch in einem Schuh steckt. Schnell stellt sich heraus, dass vor einigen Jahren eine junge Frau als Vermisst gemeldet wurde, auf die die DNA des Leichenteils passt. Eine fieberhafte Suche nach weiteren Leichenteilen beginnt. Bald darauf werden weitere Teile gefunden, diese allerdings stammen von eine männlichen Toten. Und nun ist Fionas Gabe wirklich gefragt.
In diesem zweiten Teil der Reihe um die Polizistin Fiona Griffiths geht es hoch her. Fiona, die eigentlich nur normal, am liebsten perfekt normal sein möchte, fängt an zu graben. In ihrer eigenen Vergangenheit, aber natürlich in erster Linie in der der Opfer. Können die beiden etwas miteinander zu tun gehabt haben. Der angesehene Forschungsmitarbeiter mit Migrationshintergrund und die kleine Poledancerin. Das scheint ausgeschlossen, aber wenn Fiona dieses Kribbeln spürt, wird sie nicht lockerlassen. Bei ihren Vorgesetzten eckt sie des Öfteren an, auch wenn diese widerwillig eingestehen müssen, dass Fionas Ansätze Beachtung verdienen und nicht selten zu Ergebnissen führen.
Die schwere Krankheit, die Fiona in ihrer Jugend überstanden hat, wirkt immer noch nach. Als Polizistin hat sie damit ungewöhnliche Fähigkeiten, ihr Privatleben macht sie schwer. Beinahe verzweifelt erscheint Fionas Bemühen, eine perfekte Darstellung einer Tochter, Freundin oder Kollegin zu bieten. Bei ihren Ermittlungen jedoch erweckt sie den Eindruck, als könne sie jede Situation erspüren, Zusammenhänge wie ein Seismograph empfangen. Doch auch Fionas Tätigkeit besteht zu großen Teilen aus kleinteiligen Puzzeln, die zusammengesetzt werden müssen. Man kann es direkt vor sich sehen, wie die Chefin den Mund verzieht, wenn Fiona sich mal wieder am Rande des Erlaubten bewegt hat und dies die Untersuchung auch noch weiterbringt. Fionas Humor ist manchmal schon sehr trocken, ihre Handlungen schwer zu verstehen und doch muss man sie sympathisch finden in ihrem Versuch so zu sein, wie sie denkt, dass andere es von ihr erwarten.
Eine Reihe, die in der richtigen Reihenfolge gelesen werden sollte, um Fionas Charakter richtig einschätzen und den losen Rahmenhandlungen folgen zu können. Ist einem das egal, kann man den behandelten Fall auch so verstehen, allerdings verpasst man dann etwas. Dieser Kriminalroman fesselt mit seiner ungewöhnlichen Ermittlerin, die die ganze Aufmerksamkeit einfordert und jede Sekunde mit Überraschungen aufwarten kann.
January 15, 2019
Also ich bin mir hier wirklich unsicher, ob ich weiter lesen werde. Ich finde Fiona wirklich besonders und mag sie auch, aber der Fall ist einfach nicht besonders spannend und es zieht sich einfach zu sehr.
April 4, 2018
Second in the intriguing mystery series about Welsh DC Fiona Griffiths, a talented detective who often goes "off-piste" to solved a series of gruesome murders. Scattered body parts and such. Similar to Saga Noren of "The Bridge," Fiona also battles personal psychological trauma. The first-person journey through her mind, as she investigates her own beginnings, is every bit as engaging as the main story.
September 19, 2019
My new favorite detective, Fiona Griffiths comes with all kinds of unique attributes underneath a nerdy-but-nice exterior. Happy to have found this series.
January 16, 2022
Love Story, with Murders (Fiona Griffiths, #2) by Harry Bingham.
Where do I begin in reviewing such a mind altering book-character as Fiona Griffiths is?
Fiona-a vulnerable stick of dynamite. Always on the move physically and never with a dormant mind. A childhood filled with love and unanswered questions. Questions she's determined to get answered.
Dad (Mam & 2 sisters)- protective and loving relationship.
Lev-the nomad, comes and goes in and out of Fiona's life but ready for action if needed at a moments notice.
Buzz-Fiona's significant others. His acceptance of Fi's teen years in isolation has opened the doors to a possible future together.
This book and this series has brought to a place where I want to be as a reader. Exceptionally top notch in every aspect one could wish for. Many thanks to Harry Bingham for choosing to become an author. Most highly recommended.
Where do I begin in reviewing such a mind altering book-character as Fiona Griffiths is?
Fiona-a vulnerable stick of dynamite. Always on the move physically and never with a dormant mind. A childhood filled with love and unanswered questions. Questions she's determined to get answered.
Dad (Mam & 2 sisters)- protective and loving relationship.
Lev-the nomad, comes and goes in and out of Fiona's life but ready for action if needed at a moments notice.
Buzz-Fiona's significant others. His acceptance of Fi's teen years in isolation has opened the doors to a possible future together.
This book and this series has brought to a place where I want to be as a reader. Exceptionally top notch in every aspect one could wish for. Many thanks to Harry Bingham for choosing to become an author. Most highly recommended.
September 10, 2016
My first encounter with DC Fiona Griffiths was in Harry Bingham's Talking to the Dead, and it became one of my Best Reads of 2012. Love Story, With Murders is now one of my Best Reads of 2014, and it has everything to do with Fiona... Fi.
While in her teens she suffered an unusual sort of breakdown, and it has colored everything in her world: how she relates to people, how she thinks, how she copes with stress. She's almost the idiot savant of the Cardiff police force-- one moment disobeying orders and haring off to do something extremely foolhardy, and the next moment putting totally disparate clues together to crack a case. Reviewers have likened her to Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander, and they are similar in their strange intelligence, but where Lisbeth radiates hostility, Fi is often endearing-- especially once you know the truth about her breakdown.
Love Story, With Murders continues the story of Fi's reintroduction to the normal world. She's got a man in her life now, and she works to remember to do all that "boyfriend stuff" that he expects. You can almost chart her progress as the pages turn, and it makes you feel good. She's also developing a rapport with her boss, Rhiannon Watkins, a woman so disliked that she could be "the first murder victim with over a million plausible suspects. A group that would include every one of her CID colleagues." Watkins can see flashes of Fi's brilliance, and Fi always seems to ignore the superficial to see things in people that normally go unnoticed. Boyfriend, boss... and family, for Fi's father also becomes part of the investigation, which is both a worry and a help to the young detective constable.
The case is a true puzzler; however, I was so wrapped up in watching Fiona put the clues together that I made no attempt to solve the crimes ahead of her. Bingham has combined an absolutely brilliant characterization with a finely constructed mystery-- for the second time in a row. Love Story, With Murders can be read as a standalone, but if wonderful characters are one of the main reasons why you read, why deny yourself the pleasure of even one paragraph of Fiona Griffiths' story?
While in her teens she suffered an unusual sort of breakdown, and it has colored everything in her world: how she relates to people, how she thinks, how she copes with stress. She's almost the idiot savant of the Cardiff police force-- one moment disobeying orders and haring off to do something extremely foolhardy, and the next moment putting totally disparate clues together to crack a case. Reviewers have likened her to Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander, and they are similar in their strange intelligence, but where Lisbeth radiates hostility, Fi is often endearing-- especially once you know the truth about her breakdown.
Love Story, With Murders continues the story of Fi's reintroduction to the normal world. She's got a man in her life now, and she works to remember to do all that "boyfriend stuff" that he expects. You can almost chart her progress as the pages turn, and it makes you feel good. She's also developing a rapport with her boss, Rhiannon Watkins, a woman so disliked that she could be "the first murder victim with over a million plausible suspects. A group that would include every one of her CID colleagues." Watkins can see flashes of Fi's brilliance, and Fi always seems to ignore the superficial to see things in people that normally go unnoticed. Boyfriend, boss... and family, for Fi's father also becomes part of the investigation, which is both a worry and a help to the young detective constable.
The case is a true puzzler; however, I was so wrapped up in watching Fiona put the clues together that I made no attempt to solve the crimes ahead of her. Bingham has combined an absolutely brilliant characterization with a finely constructed mystery-- for the second time in a row. Love Story, With Murders can be read as a standalone, but if wonderful characters are one of the main reasons why you read, why deny yourself the pleasure of even one paragraph of Fiona Griffiths' story?
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