The Dead House
Ratings2
Average rating4
15
Ratings2
Average rating4
'Chilling, atmospheric and so gripping it hurts. The Dead House is a masterpiece. You won't read a better crime novel this year' MARK EDWARDS On a wild October night, the body of a young woman is found in a remote country churchyard. She's wearing nothing but a thin, white dress. There are no marks of violence and no obvious cause of death. Who is the victim? Why is she here? But another young woman went missing from the area a few years back, and DC Fiona Griffiths soon suspects a crime even more chilling than she first imagined. Will she unlock the secrets of the dead house? Or will she become its next victim? Praise for the Fiona Griffiths mystery series: 'One of the most interesting and complicated protagonists in current UK crime fiction. Truly unforgettable' Mick Herron 'In a word - brilliant. One of the most enjoyable crime novels I've read in a while' James Oswald 'This cleverly plotted police procedural introduces a likeable, maverick detective destined for a bestseller following' Choice 'Compelling...a new crime talent to treasure' Daily Mail 'Gritty, compelling...a procedural unlike any other you are likely to read this year' USA Today Fans of Angela Marsons, Peter James and Ann Cleeves will be gripped by the other titles in the Fiona Griffiths mystery series: 1. Talking to the Dead 2. Love Story, With Murders 3. The Strange Death of Fiona Griffiths 4. This Thing of Darkness 5. The Dead House 6. The Deepest Grave (coming soon!) If you're looking for a crime thriller series to keep you hooked, then go no further: you've just found it. ** Each Fiona Griffiths thriller can be read as a standalone or in series order **
Series
5 primary booksFiona Griffiths is a 5-book series with 5 primary works first released in 2012 with contributions by Harry Bingham.
Reviews with the most likes.
★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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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.
