Mulholland Books | February 2018 | 304 pgs
Source: Library
Dr Janet Palmer is the new psychologist at HMP Halvergate prison.
Leaving her London Norfolk
As much as these bother her, Janet is also intrigue by her predecessor, Dr John Helkin and the number of the inmates who had committed suicide within a short timeframe during his tenure. There isn't much information about Dr Helkin and the deceased inmates either so this left Janet very perplexed and curious. There are speculations that they must've taken drugs or legal highs which pushed them off the limits but the tests came out clear. And most disturbing of all is, there are talks about an eyeless woman who stalks the prison, driving the inmates to suicide. Janet is adamant in finding answers, no matter if they are supernatural or not and the more she digs into it, she soon finds out that there is more than meets the eye (pun intended).
The Binding Song combines the elements of horror and suspense with a creepy, atmospheric setting, thus making this a very addictive read. The characterisations and the directions of the plot were great; and most of the time the story left me in doubts because I didn't know what to expect - a ghost story or unreliable characters? Janet was an interesting character and was troubled by the death of her twin sister years ago, as the reader will find out through snippets of their interactions in between chapters. Janet's friendship with the prison chaplain was the only happier moments among the dark and dreadful events happened at Halvergate. There was also mention of hypnotherapy and shared psychosis related to Janet's findings which I found both fascinating and scary at the same time, especially the latter meant as a form of malice and manipulation. Overall it was a good read and I'd recommend it if you don't mind bits of horror and some Greek mythology of demons and the likes.
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Sounds interesting indeed.
Jenny - It was and it kept me intrigued throughout. :)
Prison + psychologist + suicides + dead twin sister...I can certainly see the suspense (and creep) factor!
I don't mind when an author mixes elements like horror and suspense when they do it well. And it sounds like Elodie Harper does it well. I'm definitely going to be giving this one a try! :)
Jenclair - And those are the factors which interest me in this book. :)
Lark - I do like it if the authors mix elements in their story. It definitely makes it more interesting, isn't it? I hope you'll enjoy this one if you get to it. :)
This sounds really good!
Wendy - It was a good read and I enjoyed it. :)
You had me at "psychologist," and "atmospheric." :) I think this is one that should be added to my TBR pile very soon! Thanks for the review/recommendation, Melody. Glad to have found your site and bookmarked it for future reading.
J.P. Choquette - I hope you'll enjoy it when you do read it. Thank you for visiting and commenting on my blog, J.P. Choquette. :)