Talking to the Dead by Harry Bingham

4 out of 5 stars - Trust reason, not feelings... This novel, the first in a series, introduces an unusual protagonist Detective Constable Fiona Griffiths. She's a rookie on assignment in South Wales when a prostitute and her 6-year-old daughter are found dead in a squat there. What's unusual about the case is that a debit card belonging to a millionaire who died in a plane crash is found in the squalor. In an interesting twist, Fiona begins to feel that this murder is related to an embezzlement investigation she is concurrently working on. Drawn especially to the dead child, Fi goes out on a limb seeking answers for the victims and ultimately for herself. For, you see, she suffers from a very rare psychiatric condition that she and others refer to as her two years of "breakdown." I found this to be a very fast-paced and compelling read. I am enjoying getting to know Fi and her family and colleagues. There's a bit of a surprise at the end that didn't really ring true (would parents really keep that sort of secret from a traumatized child who had a breakdown like that?), but other than that I find the portrayals intriguing and interesting. I'm off to start book two in the series!   (Library Book)