Reviews

Fiona by Harry Bingham

clockwatcher212's review against another edition

2.0

I read this based on a friend's recommendation, and could barely force myself to finish it. The mystery story was okay if a little cliched, but I hated the main character. Her actions were all completely ridiculous and not in any way believable, even with the undiagnosed PTSD or Asberger's she was meant to have...I wish I hadn't wasted my time on this one.

mvptp's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I love police detective stories and I enjoy character development but i mostly read them for the cases. This book was mostly about character development. It was well written, with well developed characters but the case was sad,as they always are, but it was slow and boring. I finished it and I was interested enough to finish it but not enough to want to read more of this. 

skinnypenguin's review against another edition

2.0

The basic story was good but got a bit tired of Fiona always examining her feelings and how to react. I know that is an integral part of who she is but it was a bit repetitious. The fact that she is constantly going against what her bosses tell her also was irritating. Was hard to understand why she wanted to spend time with the dead bodies and whether they were actually talking to her or not. It would have been better if the explanation for her "illness" had been in the beginning of the book. She does a lot of things I can't imagine someone actually doing in her position as a police officer.
Do like the fact that she is able to figure out some stuff about herself in the end. Like her boyfriend and the fact that she does get a boyfriend.
The story itself about women being brought in from a foreign country, getting hooked on drugs and turned into prostitutes is an all too real and sad one.

stanl's review against another edition

5.0

Harry Bingham's character, Fiona Griffiths, has been compared to Lizbeth Salander, Stieg Larsson's incredible creation. Don't put much stock in that; the comparison is simply an advertising or a merchandising ploy. Fiona Griffiths stands on her own as a creation to be enjoyed, with hopes of many more returns. Harry Bingham's style is a precise simplicity compared to Stieg Larsson's. Mr. Bingham excels in the execution of a contemporary crime fiction novel and is all the more entertaining and worthy for that. While Mr. Larsson's style is chunkier and benefits, in my opinion, by mirroring the messiness of human reality by it, Mr. Bingham, mastering the technique of this type of storytelling, is deserving of the attention and,equally,satisfying,if through following different compass points. Mr. Bingham seems quite capable of rendering Ms. Griffiths to us in future episodes of continuing interest and excitement.

sunnid's review against another edition

2.0

Too dark (violence against women and children). I found it dragging and repetitive...she keeps interviewing the same people over and over and doesn't learn much new. The only mystery that was engaging was unraveling her character.

shargy's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

After you read this first in the series you won't be able to stop! Fi is so broken, lovable, and smart! And the pace is fast...with a slow down in each book (no spoiler) where poor, little Fi is in serious trouble.

pgchuis's review against another edition

3.0

Fiona Griffiths is a DC in Cardiff, working on two cases; one embezzlement by a former police officer and the other the deaths of a woman and her daughter in a squat. The novel started off promisingly and I liked Fiona's voice, but as we learnt more and more about her

mental health, I became almost uneasy. I suppose the author did a good job of demonstrating how fragile her mental health was, but it made for a stressful read. At the very end, when the revelation of Fiona's diagnosis during the missing two years came, it made me wonder about the exact range of symptoms she seemed to have. Were they all attributable to her diagnosis/PTSD? I also wondered how she had managed to reach her mid-twenties without ever having seen her birth certificate...

I had initially also thought this was going to be a fairly straight police procedural with a quirky heroine (the holy grail of crime fiction for me!) but it all got a bit much:

Fiona's mentor Lev of the secret martial arts skills, Fiona's query criminal father who arranged for her to acquire a gun and ammunition, Fiona goes it alone and takes down all the armed baddies etc etc

I'm not sure I'll read any more, but I can see that other people might really enjoy this series.

camz's review against another edition

2.0

no se que decir de este libro,estuvo bien,pero hubo demasiadas partes que no tenían sentido.

La explicación de porque Fiona es tan rara llega demasiado tarde,supongo que era para darle mas misterio a la trama pero en mi edición sale en la portada del libro por lo que cuando por fin lo explican,no me genero ninguna sorpresa.

El ultimo capitulo no tiene relación con nada y no se si sera importante en los próximos libros pero en este,me pareció que era solo para darle el dramatismo que le falto a todo el caso policial.

borisfeldman's review against another edition

5.0

First in a series about a woman detective in Cardiff who has some psychological issues. Superlative plot, absorbing character. Can't wait to read the rest.

roberto's review against another edition

4.0

This could so easily have been a standard maverick cop story, but it's a very unusual take on that sub-genre. the setting, of post-industrial South Wales, is one aspect of that, as is the choice of junior police officer Fiona Griffiths as the heroine. She is an unusual character, with a dark secret. The plot was functional, though depending on some improbabilities. The hints at unfinished business set up the series, which is now well established.