Talking to the Dead

A Novel

By: Harry Bingham

Narrated by: Siriol Jenkins

Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

A mesmerizing and thrilling novel - perfect for fans of Tana French and Stieg Larsson - that introduces a modern, unforgettable rookie cop whose past is as fascinating and as deadly as the crimes she investigates.

Named one of the best books of the year by The Boston Globe and The Seattle Times.

She knows what it's like....

At first, the murder scene appears sad, but not unusual: a young woman undone by drugs and prostitution, her six-year-old daughter dead alongside her. But then detectives find a strange piece of evidence in the squalid house: the platinum credit card of a very wealthy - and long dead - steel tycoon. What is a heroin-addicted hooker doing with the credit card of a well-known and powerful man who died months ago? This is the question that the most junior member of the investigative team, Detective Constable Fiona Griffiths, is assigned to answer.

But D.C. Griffiths is no ordinary cop. She’s earned a reputation at police headquarters in Cardiff, Wales, for being odd, for not picking up on social cues, for being a little overintense. And there’s that gap in her past, the two-year hiatus that everyone assumes was a breakdown. But Fiona is a crack investigator, quick and intuitive. She is immediately drawn to the crime scene, and to the tragic face of the six-year-old girl, who she is certain has something to tell her...something that will break the case wide open.

Ignoring orders and protocol, Fiona begins to explore far beyond the rich man’s credit card and into the secrets of her seaside city. And when she uncovers another dead prostitute, Fiona knows that she’s only begun to scratch the surface of a dark world of crime and murder. But the deeper she digs, the more danger she risks - not just from criminals and killers but from her own past...and the abyss that threatens to pull her back at any time.

Praise for Talking to the Dead:

“Gritty, compelling... a procedural unlike any other you are likely to read this year.” (USA Today)

“With Detective Constable Fiona ‘Fi’ Griffiths, Harry Bingham... finds a sweet spot in crime fiction... think Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander... Denise Mina’s ‘Paddy’ Meehan [or] Lee Child’s Jack Reacher... The writing is terrific.” (The Boston Globe)

“The mystery-thriller genre is already so staffed with masterminds that it’s hard to make room for another. But along comes a book like Talking to the Dead, and suddenly an unadvertised opening is filled.... [This] has the feel of something fresh and compelling.” (New York Daily News)

©2012 Harry Bingham (P)2012 Random House Audio

Series improves with second book

I accidentally listened to the second installment first. It is better, I think, than this one which is a little clunky and stereotypical of modern British procedurals even though the first person narrator is a unique creation.

I’m about to listen to the third book — the narrator is perfect, and the author definitely upped his game from book one to book two.

Didn’t quite hit the mark for me

Don’t get me wrong, the main character has a decent story (the crime in question less so), it’s well written, and the performance is outstanding. But something about it just didn’t catch me and I don’t really feel like I want to listen to the second one.

It starts out compelling, but the crimes in question becomes very convoluted very quickly - I don’t want to give any spoilers- but the wheels fall off somewhere along the way and by the end I just don’t buy the main character anymore.

Overall it was fine, But not great.

Great detective story

Loved the imperfections, vulnerability and quirkiness of the protagonist. Loved the plot. It teetered into the unlikely with the mysterious martial arts guy and the impossible climax, so that was slightly disappointing. Overall a fantastic listen. Loved the narrator.

Loved this book!

My only comment is why is the whole series recorded! It's not audible, they just haven't been recorded, or aren't available in the us.

The protagonist isn't strong enough

I'm not very forgiving when it comes to police procedural, my favorite sub-genre, so bear that in mind.
The trafficking plot is quite good, especially with the questionable death of the millionaire thrown in . It is completely overshadowed by the ongoing "introduction" of the protagonist, Fiona Griffiths. She is meant to be brilliant, a first-class detective, quirky, suffering from a vague psychological disorder, an outsider with a mysterious hole in her CV.
To me, Fiona comes across as immature, whiny, not particularly intuitive about live human beings, but morbidly obsessed with dead ones. She spends oceans of time and money on funerals that she seems to believe are for the dead, rather than for her, as a way of dealing with her neuroses.
The book is far too long because it loses the mystery/thriller story to Fiona's story, and I did not find her character strong enough to carry the book. I will not be buying any more of Mr. Bingham's books with this character.

Slow start

A little slow to start however a good story after all! Love the reading! Just be patient

Buy this book

It is very difficult to write a review of a book, like this. I almost don't know who to credit more, the author or the narrator. Frankly, if it were allowed, I'd give many more than 5 stars.

Trying not to provide a spoiler (very difficult), in what should be a pretty straightforward procedural, I suddenly find myself looking at this more as a character study, or a series of such that comes to a not unexpected and logical conclusion...just not the one I was expecting.

Ms. Jenkins provides the absolute right voice for a young heroine trying to find herself and her voice in a situation for which she was not brought up or, for that matter, educated.

At this point, I can only hope that this is the start of a series. It is certainly valid as a stand-alone, but I want to know more about our detective, who has the potential to out Morse Morse.

Outstanding

I was unfamiliar with the author until I listened to this audiobook. The reading itself is excellent, and I looked forward to listening to another chapter in part because of it. The novel itself is extremely well done, both the story and the character development are complex and fascinating. I plan to download the next book in the series.

Good Detective Novel With a Unique Lead Character

"Talking to the Dead" is a very interesting detective novel about a young policewoman (Fiona Griffiths) who is dealing with a debilitating, mental illness while still having to perform her investigative duties.

I enjoyed this book. I found the lead character to be someone who I wanted to learn more about... a person that I wanted to know. The story revolves around the killing of a prostitute and her daughter, and the sex trafficking in Europe. Throughout the story, I was fascinated by Fiona's 'unique' reaction to events unfolding around her. Fiona has her own methods of detection, and they do not always conform to standard police procedure and protocol (which does nothing to endear her to her colleagues). That said, Fiona's quirks actually help her to be an excellent detective, adding a level of intrigue to the plot.

This novel has been compared to the books by Stieg Larsson, and not without justification. Although I found Bingham's writing not quite up to the very high bar set by Larsson, this book is still quite well-written. The ending of "Talking to the Dead" was very suspenseful and powerful. Siriol Jenkins does a superb job with the narration, covering a wide range of voices extremely well. Harry Bingham has created a character that I hope to see again, very soon. Don't miss this one!

Interesting Procedural with a Few Problems

This is a new-to-me author and narrator. I had this on my Wish List for about six months before I decided to pull the trigger. The narrator was good enough with a competent style and nothing in her delivery that really annoyed me. The book, for at least the first two thirds was a solid four stars. Then it took a weird turn that left me scratching my head.

Fiona Griffith is a young Detective Constable. She has a degree in philosophy, a mystery in her past, and a family background which makes her choice of working for the police an interesting one.

One day as she is trying cope with the audit of a bent, embezzling copper's accounts that she is readying for the Crown Prosecution Service, she is handed a credit card that had been found at a horrific crime scene. The card belonged to a very rich man who had gone down in a plane wreck. However the crime scene where the card was found was a squalid squat where a sometime prostitute and her six year old daughter have been found dead in circumstances that the police find appalling.

Intrigued, Fiona wants to become involved with the investigation of the murders. Her obsessive interest in the murder victims is both interesting and a bit cringe inducing.

Fast paced and interesting, the vague hints about Fiona's past as well as the events of the story kept me intrigued up to the point that the martial arts expert showed up. Uh, what? It lost some steam about then and I ended up finishing it but not with the same pleasure that I had read the earlier part. This is supposed to be the first Fiona Griffiths book so I did wonder if he was sequel bait. I would be more likely a read a sequel if the author promised me the martial artist wasn't going to be part of the plot.

Anyway, after thinking about it I decided that this was for the majority of the book a 3.75 star read which I rounded up to 4. I'm not sorry I read it and I would more likely than not give the author and narrator another shot.