Discover Nadine Matheson newest release, The Binding Room.
Detective Anjelica Henley confronts a series of ritualistic murders in this heart-pounding thriller about race, power and the corrupt institutions that threaten us for fans of S.A. Crosby and Tami Hoag
When Detective Anjelica Henley is called to investigate the murder of popular preacher in his own church, she discovers a second victim, tortured and tied to a bed in an upstairs room. He is alive, but barely, and his body show signs of a dark religious ritual.
With a revolving list of suspects and the media spotlight firmly on her, Henley is left with more questions than answers as she attempts to untangle both crimes. But when another body appears, the case takes on a new urgency. Unless she can apprehend the killer, the next victim may just be Henley herself.
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EXCERPT
โWhat on earth are you talking about?โ Henley asked as she took off her coat and flung it onto a spare desk. โAre there any toffee pennies in there?โ
โYou might want to keep your coat on. The heatingโs on the blink again. Either that or theyโve forgotten all about us and havenโt paid the bill. Thereโs a hundred and forty pounds in the pot and no toffee pennies.โ
โWhy is there a hundred and forty quid in there?โ
Stanford rolled his eyes in mock exasperation. โRemember our bet?โ he said. โOn him. Our illustrious fully fledged Detective Constable Ramouter.โ
โWhat have I done?โ Ramouter asked from his position in the kitchen where heโd been eyeing the bottom of a mug with disgust.
โThis is ridiculous,โ Henley said. Her ears picked up the whirr coming from the electric fan heaters and the ice-fueled wind whistling outside and rattling the glass.
โYou lasted, Ramouter; thatโs what you did,โ said Stanford. โWe had a bet on how long you would last in the SCU.โ
โAnd you didnโt think that I would last six months?โ asked Ramouter as he picked up another mug.
โMate, I didnโt think you would last six days. Iโll have a coffee if youโre making.โ
โYou shouldnโt be so mean to him,โ said Henley as she took off her scarf and pushed it against the rotting frame of the window to block the icy draft that was sweeping across her desk.
โHow am I being mean? Iโm paying him a bloody compliment. After everything that happened, no one would have blamed him if heโd bolted for the door.โ
โWell, he didnโt. Heโs stuck with it. So, what are you going to do with the money?โ
โI could give Ramouter the money. He could spend it on a train ticket to Bradford or something.โ
โNow whoโs getting soft?โ Henley said. The phone on her desk started to ring.
โOr I could book a table at the curry house down the road. It will be teambuilding.โ
โOr a normal Friday night out with you falling asleep in your chili chicken.โ
โRude,โ Stanford replied as Henley picked up the phone and Ramouter appeared by his side with a mug of steaming coffee for him.
โRight. I see,โ said Henley, reaching for the pad of blue Post-it notes on her desk and a ballpoint pen with a chewed cap. โI didnโt realize that we were still on duty. Can you send me the CAD details? No, I canโt get it myself because the system has crashed again. Thank you. Who found the body? Right.โ
Henley pulled off the Post-it note and stuck it to the side of Ramouterโs mug. He peeled it off and looked at it quizzically. โDepending on traffic, we should be there in fifteen minutes.โ
โYouโre not going to have time to finish that,โ said Henley, putting the phone down and grabbing her scarf.
โThereโs a body in a church?โ Ramouter said as he read the note. โSeriously?โ
โThatโs what it says.โ
โWhy are we dealing with this?โ
โWeโre dealing with it because the borough commander decided that the Serial Crime Unit should be helping out Homicide and Serious Crime with their caseload,โ Henley replied wearily.
โAnyone would think that we were just sitting here watching Netflix all day,โ Ramouter moaned. โIs it even a murder?โ
โWe wonโt know until we get there, will we?โ
โCan I say it?โ asked Stanford, a grin spreading across his face.
โNo, you canโt,โ Henley replied. She picked up her bag and headed toward the door, with Ramouter in tow. She knew Stanford well enough to know exactly what he was going to say.
โI bet you a tenner that it was the Reverend Green with a candlestick in the library,โ Stanford shouted out as Henley slammed the door shut behind her.
โIโm not telling you again. Step away from the tape.โ
โWhatโs going on?โ
โIf I knew I was going to spend the afternoon standing out in the freezing cold I would have stayed in bed this morning.โ
โI bet that theyโve found a body or something.โ
โLook, those CSI lot have turned up.โ
โI only popped out for a coffee and now the old bill are saying that I canโt go back into my own office.โ
โF this. Iโm going home.โ
โIโm telling you that theyโve found a body.โ
โWouldnโt be the first time.โ
โI donโt understand these kids. Too busy stabbing each other up. No value for life.โ
โYou can dress it up as much as you like. Itโs Deptford innit.โ
The murmurings of the curious and disgruntled crowd met Henley and Ramouter as they walked toward the scene of the crime.
โThis is a church?โ Ramouter asked as he looked up at the cream-colored facade of the brickwork. โI was expecting something a bit moreโฆ I donโt know, church-like. Maybe a steeple. This looks like a bank.โ
โIt used to be a NatWest when I was seventeen. The space was once cheap to rent. Not so sure now,โ Henley replied.
โI did a quick Google searchโโ
โOf course you did.โ
โAnd thereโs another seven churches on the Broadway.โ
โIโm not surprised,โ said Henley. โBetting shops, churches and chicken shops on literally every London high street.โ
Henley and Ramouter held up their warrant cards to the officer behind the police tape. Henley scoped the gathering crowd. Nothing about them raised any alarms, but she knew from experience that some murderers were voyeuristic by nature.
โLook likes Dr. Choi is here,โ Ramouter said, pointing out the car of Henleyโs friend and the Serial Crime Unitโs favorite pathologist, parked between a police motorbike and small white transit van that had โForensic Services Crime Scene Investigationโ marked in black font on the side.
Henley stopped and looked around the small car park. There were no security cameras. She felt a sense of calm as she walked closer to the crime scene. It was a welcome emotion and a respite from the anxiety that was usually coursing through her veins, which she could keep at bay if she bothered to take her prescription to the chemist. She spotted the police officer that she was looking for leaning against the side of a police car, flipping through the pages of his notebook with a pen in his mouth.
โPC Tanaka? DI Henley from the SCU.โ
PC Tanaka looked up and then stood to attention a little bit too quickly as Henley walked toward him.
โMaโam,โ said PC Tanaka.
โThis is my colleague, DC Ramouter.โ
โShit,โ said PC Tanaka when he dropped his notebook. โSorry.โ He brushed off slush from the cover. โItโs bloody freezing.โ
โYou were first on scene?โ Henley asked.
Tanaka nodded. Henley could tell that he wanted to get it right. Giving a senior officer information about a murder scene was a lot different to dealing with burglaries, domestics and breaking up a fight between a couple of crackheads at the bottom of the high street.
โWe, thatโs the sarge, Sergeant Rivers, and I were driving back to the station. Weโre based around the corner at Deptford station. We had just finished our shifts and was coming back from the McDonaldโs up the roadโฆโ
PC Tanaka paused and took a breath.
Henley felt sorry for him as nerves or possibly shock overtook him. She saw a look of sympathy on Ramouterโs face as they both waited for PC Tanaka to continue.
โSorry, guv, I mean maโam,โ said PC Tanaka straightening himself again and lowering the volume on his crackling police radio. โAs I said, we were heading back to the station and one of the guys who works in the design agency practically threw himself onto the bonnet of the car. He was screaming about a body. We found the cleaner in hysterics in the staffroom of the agency. She refused to leave and take us to the church. I left her with the sarge and I went into the church and yeah, I wonโt forget what I saw.โ
Excerpted from The Binding Room by Nadine Matheson. Copyright ยฉ 2022 by Nadine Matheson. Published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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When I saw that cover and read the title, I thought this was going to be a BDSM romance. I was wrong. lol
You were so wrong. LOL
You were so wrong. LOL
I”ve read several wonderful reviews for this book.
So did I. Hopefully I get a chance to read it.
Just the blurb gets me feeling tense and wanting to watch her solve the crime.
Yes, I felt the same way too.
What a very fun premise this one has here, I am happy that you shared it as mystery/thriller fans will be happy about it!
I agree. I hope tp pick it up soon.
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Oh this sounds good. Thanks for sharing
You are welcome, Debbie.
I haven’t read this author before but I think that this sounds really good. Thanks for sharing!