Talking to the Dead: A chilling British detective crime thriller

Name: Talking to the Dead: A chilling British detective crime thriller
Rating: 4.142857074737549 (14 reviews)

Harry Bingham

Jun 2012 · Fiona Griffiths Crime Thriller Series Book 1 · Hachette UK

14 reviews

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A shocking crime. A ruthless killer. And the strangest, youngest detective in the South Wales Major Crimes Unit is about to face the fiercest test of her short career.

A woman and her six-year-old daughter are killed with chilling brutality in a dingy flat. The only clue: the platinum bank card of a long-dead tycoon.

DC Griffiths has already proved herself dedicated to the job, but there's another side to her she is less keen to reveal. Something to do with a mysterious two-year gap in her CV - and an unusual familiarity with corpses.

Fiona is desperate to put the past behind her but as more gruesome killings follow, the case leads her back into those dark places in her own mind where another dead girl is waiting to be found...
Talking to The Dead is the first book in the DC Fiona Griffiths Crime Thriller series. If you like dark police procedurals, a ruthless killer, psychologically complex characters, and unusual twists, then this is the new crime thriller series you've been waiting for.
With a ruthless killer, a host of likely suspects, tight plotting, gritty characters, and a twist that will feel like a punch to the gut, this is the Scandi crime thriller you've been waiting for.
Praise for the Fiona Griffiths mystery series:

'I have to say that in a lifetime of reading crime fiction I have never come across anyone quite like Fiona Griffiths . . . Read this book. Enjoy every syllable. Hold your breath, and tick off the weeks until the next one' Crime Fiction Lover

'Compelling...a new crime talent to treasure' Daily Mail

'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...[or] Lee Child's Jack Reacher... The writing is terrific' The Boston Globe

'This cleverly plotted police procedural introduces a likeable, maverick detective destined for a bestseller following' Choice

Fans of Angela Marsons, Peter James and Ann Cleeves will be gripped by the other titles in the Fiona Griffiths mystery series:
1. Talking to the Dead
2. Love Story, With Murders
3. The Strange Death of Fiona Griffiths
4. This Thing of Darkness
5. The Dead House
6. The Deepest Grave (coming soon!)

If you're looking for a crime thriller series to keep you hooked, then go no further: you've just found it.

** Each Fiona Griffiths thriller can be read as a standalone or in series order **

A shocking crime. A ruthless killer. And the strangest, youngest detective in the South Wales Major Crimes Unit is about to face the fiercest test of her short career. A woman and her six-year-old daughter are killed with chilling brutality in a dingy flat. The only clue: the platinum bank card ...

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Ratings and reviews

14 reviews

Welma Odendaal

April 23, 2018

Breaking the mould I am the happiest woman on the brink of a southern winter – just discovered Harry Bingham's quirky Welsh detective, Fiona (Fi) Griffiths. Busy with the second in the series, "Love story with murders", and have four more ahead of me. There has never been a woman protagonist in crime fiction quite like this; in fact, all comparisons with Larson's Lizbeth Salander, wonderful as she is, is not a true reflection of our DC Griffiths. Lizbeth was a bit creepy for my taste, and although Fiona should be far, far creepier (she loves the dead!) she somehow feels more balanced as a character. Even a "normal person" would love her! And the stories aren't half bad. Writer Harry Bingham is a master at weaving the intricate plot through Fiona's path of danger, indiscretions and wonderful craziness. Bloody hell, she stays so remarkably true to character, I wasn't sure the writer wasn't a woman! (C'mon Harry, 'fess up!) "Talking to the dead" is an excellent debut -- and the second book in the series follows on with an intriguing new mystery, filled with horror and tension, but speckled with shiny snowdrops of humour and excellent writing. Long live Fiona Griffiths!

3 people found this review helpful

Sharon Trew

January 30, 2024

what a unique and compelling character...the story a little unbeliveable in places yet told without sensationalism and with great compassion and a side order of humour...onward to book2..i simply must find out how Fi is getting on..im invested now!

Jonathan Perks

November 15, 2025

Brilliant

About the author

I'm Harry Bingham. I write crime novels and love it. When I'm not doing that, I run the Writers' Workshop, a literary consultancy. I live in Oxfordshire, England, but I spent a lot of my childhood in Wales, where my crime novels are set. Things I love apart from writing: wild swimming, rock-climbing, walking and dogs. I'm married, have four kids, and I love my life.

To stay in touch visit www.harrybingham.com or on Twitter @harryonthebrink

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