The Postscript Murders

"'Of course, plot is overrated,' says Lance. 'I try to get beyond describing what happens next.' Edwin reminds himself never to read Lance's book."

The Post Script Murders is the second book by British author, Elly Griffiths, to feature DS Harbinder Kaur. When Natalka Kolisnyk finds one of her elderly clients dead in her home, she quickly begins to suspect that Peggy Smith, a fit and lively ninety-year-old, did not die of natural causes. Peggy's near neighbour in Seaview Court, Edwin Fitzgerald agrees, and their beachside barista at The Shack, Benedict Cole, doesn't take long to convince: both men recall Peggy's mention of feeling she was being watched.

At Nigel Smith's direction, Natalka begins packing up his mother's books, and notes most have either a dedication: "To Peggy, Without whom…"; or mention her in their acknowledgements: "Thanks for the murders." But the uncorrected proof that Edwin takes as a memento, Dex Challoner's new book, has a postcard slipped between the pages "We are coming for you". Sounds ominous…

Natalka takes her suspicion to DS Harbinder Kaur, who is willing to consider her concerns, moreso when a masked individual takes a book from Peggy's flat at gunpoint. But she's less than impressed when, after a popular author is murdered, this amateur detective trio treks to Aberdeen to warn other potential victims at a writers' festival. Are they dealing with Ukrainian assassins? Polish spies? Plagiarising writers? Thieving descendants?

As well as her gay detective of south Asian extraction, and several crime writers, Griffiths populates this novel with a cast of quirky characters: a Ukrainian carer with cryptocurrency expertise, an ancient TV producer and an ex-monk-turned-coffee-shop-owner, all determined to solve the murder of the woman described as having "the soul of a killer hidden in the body of a sweet old lady." Oh, and a few more murders that occur along the way.

As always, Griffiths captures her settings with ease, manages to insert plenty of black humour, and her plot is clever: there are red herrings and not a few surprises, and even the most astute reader is likely to be kept guessing until the final chapters. This is another entertaining dose of British crime fiction and more of Harbinder Kaur will definitely be welcome. This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and the publishers.

"'Of course, plot is overrated,' says Lance. 'I try to get beyond describing what happens next.' Edwin reminds himself never to read Lance's book."

The Post Script Murders is the second book by British author, Elly Griffiths, to feature DS Harbinder Kaur. When Natalka Kolisnyk finds one of her elderly clients dead in her home, she quickly begins to suspect that Peggy Smith, a fit and lively ninety-year-old, did not die of natural causes. Peggy's near neighbour in Seaview Court, Edwin Fitzgerald agrees, and their beachside barista at The Shack, Benedict Cole, doesn't take long to convince: both men recall Peggy's mention of feeling she was being watched.

At Nigel Smith's direction, Natalka begins packing up his mother's books, and notes most have either a dedication: "To Peggy, Without whom…"; or mention her in their acknowledgements: "Thanks for the murders." But the uncorrected proof that Edwin takes as a memento, Dex Challoner's new book, has a postcard slipped between the pages "We are coming for you". Sounds ominous…

Natalka takes her suspicion to DS Harbinder Kaur, who is willing to consider her concerns, moreso when a masked individual takes a book from Peggy's flat at gunpoint. But she's less than impressed when, after a popular author is murdered, this amateur detective trio treks to Aberdeen to warn other potential victims at a writers' festival. Are they dealing with Ukrainian assassins? Polish spies? Plagiarising writers? Thieving descendants?

As well as her gay detective of south Asian extraction, and several crime writers, Griffiths populates this novel with a cast of quirky characters: a Ukrainian carer with cryptocurrency expertise, an ancient TV producer and an ex-monk-turned-coffee-shop-owner, all determined to solve the murder of the woman described as having "the soul of a killer hidden in the body of a sweet old lady." Oh, and a few more murders that occur along the way.

As always, Griffiths captures her settings with ease, manages to insert plenty of black humour, and her plot is clever: there are red herrings and not a few surprises, and even the most astute reader is likely to be kept guessing until the final chapters. This is another entertaining dose of British crime fiction and more of Harbinder Kaur will definitely be welcome. This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and the publishers.