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Love Story, With Murders by Harry Bingham
Publisher: Orion Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A freezing cold winter. A dead body from the past. A tale of love – and murder. A human leg is discovered in a suburban freezer. The victim is a teenage girl killed some ten years earlier. But then other body parts start appearing. And these ones are male, dark-skinned, and very fresh… Is this a tangled tale of love gone wrong? Or are there more sinister lines connecting the dead bodies to a recent tragedy in a Cardiff prison, and an engineering company that’s up to a whole lot more than is first apparent? Fiona Griffiths starts to investigate, in the midst of the coldest winter on record. Up in a remote cottage in the Welsh Black Mountains, she finds the data that contains the clue to the entire mystery. But, as the first snow starts to fall, she discovers that she’s not alone…

DC Fiona Griffiths is called to join in a very large team of Welsh officers when the leg of a dead young woman is found in the garage freezer of a deceased elderly lady. Soon, many other body parts of the woman is discovered in the neighboring suburbs and the body is identified as that of a missing young woman from ten years ago. Only a few clearly male body parts are also discovered and Fiona is drawn into a complicated puzzle.

This is the second book involving Fiona Griffiths and her unusual outlook and I enjoyed this one as thoroughly as the first. Readers should know that while this book can easily be read by itself – Fiona is quite a quirky character and this book might be easier to grasp having read the first. That said the plot and much of Fiona’s character growth is very well encapsulated in this story.

I loved the setting of Wales. This atmosphere felt quite a bit grittier and harder than many of the British police procedurals I regularly read. Fiona is also quite a complicated character and I find her perspective on things to be unique and highly enjoyable to read. I also clearly acknowledge that this very different perspective won’t suit every readers tastes. With a somewhat grim and non-standard outlook readers who enjoy a cozier style of mystery might not find this clicks quite right with them.

With a strong cast of secondary characters, a very different style of story being told and a strong and deliciously complicated series of murders I found this to be an exceptional book and one I thoroughly enjoyed. I am eagerly looking forward to the next installment. Recommended.