Talking To The Dead introduces us to wet-behind-the-ears DC Fiona Griffiths, just starting out in the police force on her first ever murder inquiry. The crimes aren't particularly original or unconventional - murdered prostitutes and the drugs trade are often inextricably linked in crime fiction and, I'm sure, in real life - but Fiona is a bit of a loose cannon with often unexpected reactions and reasoning which mean that things could (and often do) kick off without a moment's notice, keeping everyone, including the reader, on their toes.
As well as investigating and trying to understand the case, she also needs to try to understand her own problems. She knows she suffered an important mental breakdown in her teens but still doesn't really know why - is there some hidden trauma in her murky past that she can't remember? Some of her behaviour is so strange that it's hard to really empathise with her at first, but as the book progresses, we start to understand her hidden agenda and realise that, although deeply flawed, she's still one of the good guys.
I'd be interested in following Fiona Griffiths as she digs into her past and tries to come to terms with life on Planet Normal, as she calls it, so I'm hoping there will be future novels featuring her (which I'm sure there will be).
star rating : 4/5
RRP : £16.99
- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: Orion (21 Jun 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1409140865
- ISBN-13: 978-1409140863
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.8 x 3.6 cm
Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book.
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Sounds like my kind of book! Great review :)
ReplyDeleteI love crime fiction. This is an author I haven't read yet so I'll give this a try.
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