$10.41

Only 2 left in stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon AU.

Share <Embed>

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the Author

Elodie Harper

The Binding Song: A chilling thriller with a killer ending Paperback – 27 February 2018

by Elodie Harper (Author)

49 ratings

See all formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Amazon Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$11.99

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$17.95

—

Paperback

"Please retry"

$10.41

—

Digital

"Please retry"

—

FREE delivery: Wednesday, 21 April on first order.

Fastest delivery: Tuesday, 20 April

Enhance your purchase

A chilling debut for fans of Mo Hayder and Sharon Bolton, THE BINDING SONG takes you on a trip to Halvergate Prison. If you're lucky, you'll get to leave...

Dr Janet Palmer is the new lead psychologist at HMP Halvergate in a remote, bleak area of Norfolk. At first, she was excited by the promotion. Then she starts to see how many secrets are hiding behind the high walls.

A string of inmates have committed suicide, leaving no reasons why, and her predecessor has disappeared - along with his notes. The staff are hostile, the threat of violence is ever-present, and there are rumours of an eyeless woman stalking the corridors, punishing the inmates for their sins.

Janet is determined to find out what is really going on. But the longer she stays and the deeper she digs, the more uncertain she feels.

Halvergate is haunted by something. But it may be a terror worse than ghosts...

Special offers and product promotions

Buy this item and get 90 days Free Amazon Music Unlimited. After purchase you will receive an email with further information. Offer valid for a limited time only. Terms and Conditions apply.” Learn more here.

Start reading The Binding Song: A chilling thriller with a killer ending on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Product details

Publisher : Mulholland Books; 1st edition (27 February 2018)
Language : English
Paperback : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 1473642175
ISBN-13 : 978-1473642171
Dimensions : 13 x 2.4 x 19.8 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 446,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 2,866 in Ghost Thrillers
- 4,590 in Ghost Stories
- 4,836 in Ghost Mysteries

Customer Reviews:
49 ratings

Product description

Review

A splendidly unsettling debut - a chilling mystery to be read with the lights on and your back to the wall. (John Connolly, author of the Charlie Parker series)

A wonderful new arrival in the 'Norfolk Noir' genre, this deliciously gripping novel casts the familiar setting of Norwich and its surroundings in a grim and haunting new light. (Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent)

A glut of troubled souls, an eerie, atmospheric setting. Elodie Harper knows how to write a damn good horror story. (Ali Land, author of Good Me, Bad Me)

I was completely engrossed. A sinister, creepy read that leaves the reader questioning everyone and trusting no-one. (Debbie Howells, author of The Bones of You)

Satisfying and thought-provoking in equal measure, and it stays in the mind long after the final page is turned. Harper, as Mr King so astutely realised, is definitely one to watch. (i Paper)

Brilliant. I had shivers. (Jenny Blackhurst, author of Before I Let You In)

The evocation of place is first class...wonderfully paced, the tension ratchets up to a very satisfying ending. A thoroughly enjoyable read. (James Oswald, author of the Inspector McLean series)

Elodie Harper's first novel, set in HMP Halvergate, has become all the more possible, given what else has been going on beyond our prison walls. Plotting, pace and writing render The Binding Song a must read. (Jon Snow)

One of the most chilling, atmospheric debuts I've read. It was so compelling and creepy my heart beat with fear at times. (Claire Douglas, author of Local Girl Missing)

Creepy from the word go, utterly compelling and hauntingly tragic - but I'll warn you now - you might have to sleep with the lights on. (SJI Holliday, author of The Damselfly)

Book Description

In an isolated Norfolk prison, the inmates are killing themselves... Is there really a spirit of vengeance at work, or is it something stranger and darker still? For fans of Mo Hayder and Sharon Bolton, THE BINDING SONG is a brilliantly chilling debut from a prizewinning short story writer and journalist.

From the Publisher

Elodie Harper is a journalist and prize winning short story writer. Her story 'Wild Swimming' won the 2016 Bazaar of Bad Dreams short story competition, run by The Guardian and Hodder & Stoughton and judged by Stephen King. She is currently a reporter and presenter at ITV News Anglia, and before that worked as a producer for Channel 4 News. She is married with a young son.

About the Author

Elodie Harper is a journalist and prize winning short story writer. Her story 'Wild Swimming' won the Guardian-Hodder The Bazaar of Bad Dreams story competition as judged by Stephen King. She is currently a reporter and presenter at ITV News Anglia, and before that worked as a producer for Channel 4 News.

Read more

Customer reviews
4.3 out of 5
49 global ratings

5 star
56%

4 star
22%

3 star
23%

2 star 0% (0%) 0%

1 star 0% (0%) 0%

How are ratings calculated?
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyses reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Review this product
Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top reviews from Australia

There are 0 reviews and 0 ratings from Australia

Top reviews from other countries

Steve Turnock.
A chilling and stunning debut
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 August 2017
Verified Purchase
Wow, what an amazing book. The kind of book that you race to finish but don't want to end. It is a psychological thriller with supernatural undertones which elevates it above so many in this genre. It hooks you in from the chilling first page where an escaped prisoner encounters a ghostly white figure in the woods. Unsettling from the outset, it refuses to let go until the final page. The gothic nightmare of the prison where most of the story is set is a dark and terrible place, so vividly captured by the excellent writing. The characters are beautifully drawn, from the likable protagonists to some despicable ones. One in particular who exudes charm and evil in equal measure. Just read the book and you will know who I mean. Another bonus for me was the beautiful Norfolk setting. It's an area I know very well and it's eerie flatness and bleak beauty is almost a character in its own right. The story also ends well with twists aplenty. The supernatural elements remain a little ambiguous in the final analysis but that's just as it should be. It's a murky and nebulous area and very much open to personal interpretation. All in all, a highly enjoyable and addictive read. I hope the author has many more like this up her sleeve.
Read more

2 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Spicewalker
Possibly one of the most chilling at atmospheric books I've read this year
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 November 2017
Verified Purchase
From the very beginning, there is a sense of otherworldliness about this book. Something that gets under your skin and sets the nerve endings tingling. A sinister, almost malevolent presence that inhabits the very heart and soul of the story. John Connolly is right. The book is unsettling, but in the most haunting and beautiful way.

The story opens with a young man, Ryan who is on the run. Who or what he is running from is not immediately clear, but he is a man on edge with a fear of being discovered. Whilst trying to get away, he sees a woman heading off into the dense woodland of the Thetford Forest and starts to follow her. He knows, as does the reader, that there is something not quite right about the woman, and the more he follows the more the sense of foreboding grows. When he finally confronts her, he realises the mistake he has made. That the very thing which he was running from will be the last thing he sees…

From there on in, the hint of something supernatural, something not quite of this world, becomes a constant theme throughout the novel. The idea of the ‘Lady of Halvergate’ or ‘the white visitor’, a woman who haunts the prison driving the convicted sex offenders to their ultimate end. There is no proof of this woman other than the dreams of the convicts, something which can easily be dismissed by the use of legal highs which seems to be rife in the prison. Certainly the powers that be wish for the talk of drugs and white ladies to end and would, it seems, do almost anything to make that happen.

What they had not counted on was the new lead psychologist, Janet Palmer. She is not so easily dismissed as other members of staff, not so easily persuaded to cover up the wrong doings in the prison. Her highly tuned mind knows that there is far more to the sudden resignation of her predecessor than meets the eye. But investigating could not only cost her job, but also her life.

This was a most unusual book in that I am not certain if I truly warmed to the central character of Janet, although I was absolutely invested in her finding the truth. She is a very troubled woman, her past haunting her in untold ways and her present sullied by taking the job at Halvergate. It ultimately costs her her relationship just when she needs the support the most. Thankfully she has a friend in new prison Pastor, Steven, who is also finding it hard to settle in this most unusual of environments. It seems almost as if it is them against the rest of the staff, and when faced with some hardened criminals, the last thing you want is to make an enemy of your colleagues. And yet this is exactly what Janet seems to do, her persistent nature setting her against almost everyone from the start.

I really liked Steven. He was down to earth, not ready to accept the idea of a supernatural presence within the prison, the manifestation of evil, no matter – or perhaps because of – his faith. But he also had a natural instinct for when things were going wrong and was so very supportive of Janet, regardless of the madness she appeared to engage in. He is a man who is not without his own doubts and fears, most surrounding the impact of his job upon personal relationships. But, like others, he is quick to take the true measure of one of the inmates, Michael Donovan, a man who lacks any remorse for his crimes and whose ability to manipulate those around him makes him a dangerous foe.

To my mind, Donovan was much like a Hannibal Lecter character. Not in that the ate his victims, although his crime was a true demonstration of the evil nature within him. More that he had an unnerving charm, so outwardly cool and controlled but with laced with the knowledge that he had the ability to snap at a moments notice. He became somewhat of a challenge to Janet, constantly hinting at his knowledge of the ‘white visitor’ and all that she stands for, and of the truth of what happened to her predecessor, Dr Helkin. You can feel the energy between them in every scene, the tension and the smug knowledge that exists within Donovan. But nobody could be prepared for the startling revelations which are yet to come, ones which will lead to a final, highly dramatic showdown between Janet and Donovan.

It’s so hard to put into words how this book makes you feel. From the oppressive atmosphere of the prison which has been captured brilliantly in the prose, the constant underlying threat of violence which only occasionally bubbles to the surface, or the dank climate and depressive environment in which Janet lives, everything combines perfectly to unnerve the reader, to keep them on edge. It keeps you guessing as to how much of the story is true and how much a kind of group hallucination, one which you as reader are also being sucked into. From the passages where Janet is nearly attacked by an inmate, to those in which she allows her mind to drift back to the past, you are always left with that feeling of unease, that knowledge that something is gradually building and that nothing can stop it. Does the white visitor merely represent all of the rage, anger and guilt which exists in that most neglected of environments or is it more than that? Is she a spectre, truly terrorising the halls of Halverston, reaping a kind of revenge from which there can be no escape.
Read more

2 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Jacob Collins
An utterly absorbing debut!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 October 2017
Verified Purchase
The Binding Song is an outstanding, atmospheric novel from debut novelist Elodie Harper. It is a novel that will give you genuine chills as it takes you into the heart of an isolated prison in Norfolk. If you’re lucky you’ll get to leave.

Dr Janet Palmer is the new lead psychologist at Halvergate, an isolated Prison in Norfolk. Janet works with some of the most dangerous criminals. She tries to help them understand their actions and to understand the minds of their victims at the time of the attack. But all is not what it seems at Halvergate. There have been a spate of recent suicides at the prison and reports that prisoners have been terrorised by a demon, a woman in white, which ultimately results in their deaths. Can Janet get to the bottom of what is going on in Halvergate before more deaths occur? And can she make sure that she doesn’t go mad herself?

Elodie has created a cast of intriguing characters in her debut novel. Although the criminals in this book are inside for committing heinous crimes, Janet has to believe that she can make a difference to their lives and she has to believe that to some extent, that they deserve a second chance. One particular prisoner who we are introduced to is Michael Donovan, a creepy character who will really get under your skin. Elodie did a brilliant job of creating an extremely unlikable character but she also created an intriguing individual in him. I even felt sympathy for some of the other prisoners as Janet got to know them.

Elodie’s description in this book is top class! I found myself utterly absorbed in her writing as she took us on a journey through the bleak Norfolk landscape to the isolated prison. Elodie is a writer with a huge talent and I can’t wait to read more from her.

An outstanding debut!
Read more

One person found this helpful
Report abuse
AJCH
Has a star been born?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 August 2017
Verified Purchase
I have just finished reading this for the second time to see if it confirmed my initial, positive reaction. It did. This is an extremely accomplished debut by a new writer. It is well written and shows that the author also is erudite and well read. It seems to take quite a long time to get to you, there is the whole build up of the claustrophobia and general grubbiness, both general and ethical which Janet has to contend with in her new posting, but actually during this build up the book is gradually getting its hands around your throat and then suddenly you find you are caught. The final chapters are wholly gripping and even the second time round I could not put it down until I finished it, around 3 a.m. It is a tremendous climax and at the end the conclusion as to what really happened is left to the reader - supernatural or psychological or both? It is an interesting book, very assured for a novice, and I look forward to seeing how the author develops her obvious potential in her future work. I have recommended this book to several people and the reaction has been 100% positive.
Read more

One person found this helpful
Report abuse
DeeDee
Fantastic
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 February 2019
Verified Purchase
This is one of the most engrossing books I have read for a long time - something completely different. Towards the end I was so completely taken by surprise that I literally shouted out NO!. So many readers have given a full account of this fantastic psychological first novel by Elodie Harper that I find it difficult to better the write-ups only to say that I am now starting the second novel The Death Knock - a writer that certainly goes to the top of my list and one I can highly recommend to readers who need something different from a very talented writer. Recommended to me by Amazon to whom I am extremely grateful.
Read more
Report abuse
See all reviews

Follow the Author

Similar authors to follow

The Binding Song: A chilling thriller with a killer ending Paperback – 27 February 2018

Enhance your purchase

Special offers and product promotions

Product details

Product description

Review

Book Description

From the Publisher

About the Author

Customer reviews

Review this product

Top reviews from Australia

Top reviews from other countries