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A review by mweis
The Binding Room by Nadine Matheson
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I picked The Jigsaw Man up on a whim last year after eyeing it at the library for ages and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it, though I remember my biggest issue with it being that it felt like a sequel. Now that The Binding Room is a sequel, the little nuggets of the characters past relationships and interactions made a lot more sense. I also think The Jigsaw Man leaned more into the thriller category, especially in the last half, where this is more police procedural, which is much more my jam.
The Binding Room starts off with a bang. There’s a preacher found murdered in his church but while combing through the crime scene, there’s a second man who has clearly been tortured. What follows is an investigation into who killed the preacher and how does the tortured man fit in?
I really like the way that Nadine Mathewson writes. The plot is slow to build but the way she builds characters and tension makes the payoff so fulfilling. I also appreciate how casually diverse the group of inspectors are and the way that informs their views of their job. One of the conflicts in this book is that the dead preacher is Black while the still living tortured man is white and how that plays into how the police choose to investigate and how the public perceives the investigation. We also have a murder victim who turns out to be a pretty awful human, so we see Anjelica and her coworkers struggle through wanting to solve the case while also acknowledging that whoever killed him probably had a good reason. I also found the conversation around mental health here to be fascinating. Mathewson writes about religion and racism and sexism and the stigma around mental health in a way that really makes the reader think.
I also just really enjoy this cast of characters and have just as much fun learning about their lives as I do trying to solve the cases. It looks like Book #3 The Kill List, is due out next year and I can’t to see what happens next. Will Anjelica ever leave Rob? How will Ramouter’s family adjust to living in London? Is Olivier actually dead?
The Binding Room starts off with a bang. There’s a preacher found murdered in his church but while combing through the crime scene, there’s a second man who has clearly been tortured. What follows is an investigation into who killed the preacher and how does the tortured man fit in?
I really like the way that Nadine Mathewson writes. The plot is slow to build but the way she builds characters and tension makes the payoff so fulfilling. I also appreciate how casually diverse the group of inspectors are and the way that informs their views of their job. One of the conflicts in this book is that the dead preacher is Black while the still living tortured man is white and how that plays into how the police choose to investigate and how the public perceives the investigation. We also have a murder victim who turns out to be a pretty awful human, so we see Anjelica and her coworkers struggle through wanting to solve the case while also acknowledging that whoever killed him probably had a good reason. I also found the conversation around mental health here to be fascinating. Mathewson writes about religion and racism and sexism and the stigma around mental health in a way that really makes the reader think.
I also just really enjoy this cast of characters and have just as much fun learning about their lives as I do trying to solve the cases. It looks like Book #3 The Kill List, is due out next year and I can’t to see what happens next. Will Anjelica ever leave Rob? How will Ramouter’s family adjust to living in London? Is Olivier actually dead?