The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths is the second in the Detective Harbinder Kaur series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


Series Background:    (Warning – May contain spoilers from previous books)
DS Harbinder Kaur works on the Murder Squad, partnered with DS Neil Winston (who she is trying to think of as more pleasant by envisioning him as a woodland creatures -- whiskers and bushy tail included).  Her boss is DI Donna Brice.  Harbinder considers herself the ‘Best Gay Sikh Detective in West Sussex’, and wishes she could tell her parents. She's 36, single and still lives above their shop.  It's convenient, and she loves her mom's cooking.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
When care-giver Natalka Kolisnyk comes to the station with the fear that her 90-year old patient may have been murdered, Habinder questions it.  After all, given Peggy Smith's age, and the fact that she had a heart condition, her death does not look suspicious.

But Natalka found that a large number of the crime novels that Peggy owned were actually dedicated to the elderly lady, and she had a card stating she was a Murder Consultant.  She also had a postcard with what sounded like a warning.  Rather intrigued, Harbinder decides to find out what she can.   When one of Peggy's favorite authors who she "helped" is murdered, it is hard not to see a connection.

Meanwhile, Natalka, with assistance from  Peggy's two friends 80 year-old Edwin, and coffee-shop owner Benedict, have decided to investigate the murder themselves.  Harbinder is not impressed with them playing amateur detectives.  They continue, even after having a thief aim a gun at them while stealing one of Peggy's books.

When another author dies,  Harbinder heads to Aberdeen.


My Opinions: 
Well, this was unexpected, because I thought The Stranger Diaries was a stand-alone book.  Imagine my surprise (and pleasure), when this book turned up.  I was thrilled to see Harbinder back in action.

This series is fast becoming one of my favorites.  Elly Griffiths has always been one of my favorite authors, as she creates such likable and interesting characters.  This is definitely true in this new series.  Harbinder is a unique detective, and I love her.  As well, the author is very good at using multiple points of view.  There were a number of suspects available, and I am thrilled to admit that the actual perpetrator was a complete surprise to me!

The dialogue was wonderful,  with a lot of wit thrown in.  As always, the plot was great, and although I don't think we really needed the last four or five chapters, they definitely cleaned up everything.

Overall,  the book was a really fast and entertaining read.  I am looking forward to more in this series.

The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths is the second instalment in the DS Harbinder Kaur series but it easily reads well as a standalone. A ninety-year-old woman dies in her home of what is believed to be natural causes. She was an avid fan of mystery novels and their authors and collected many volumes of these books. The young woman who was her carer becomes suspicious of the circumstances of her demise and relays her fears to Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur. Soon, crime writers begin dying in odd ways. The investigation will take the reader from Sussex to Aberdeen to Edinburgh and back. Cozies are normally not my favorite genre but I stayed with this one. The characters are well-developed and the fact that The Postscript Murders reads like an old-fashioned mystery (Agatha Christie comes to mind) kept me turning the pages. This genre is a departure for Elly Griffiths but she does cozies justice. Highly recommended. Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read another book by Griffiths last year that I really enjoyed. This one was equally twisted and fun. I love this sort of domestic, noir, gothic read. Highly recommend for fans of VC Andrews!

If I'm lucky, when I'm putting new titles onto the shelves @wallingfordbookshop I get a chance to open the cover and peak inside. And when I put out the hardback of Elly Griffiths' The Postscript Murders last year, I got really lucky. I read the first sentence, then the first paragraph. I glanced around the shop; everyone was busily browsing, so I read another paragraph. It was hard to stop, but serving customers is the best bit of my job so in the end I had to put the book down – behind the counter, ready to buy it at the end of the day.

Since reading The Postscript Murders, I've worked my way through Elly's back catalogue. It's been a treat – like binge-watching a brilliant boxset. In my opinion, this latest cosy-crime book is her best. It's a follow-on from The Stranger Diaries in the sense that it shares a lead character, detective Harbinder Kaur. But, it also easily stands alone.

When Peggy Smith dies, her carer, Notalka, is suspicious. Although elderly, Peggy was fit and well. And, it seems, she had an unusual hobby – helping crime writers come up with innovative ways to murder their characters. Determined to find out what happened to Peggy, Notalka and her new friends, cafe-owner Benedict and elderly neighbour Edwin, set out to 'help' the ever-patient but still slightly exasperated Harbinder with the police investigation.

The characters were well-rounded, the writing made me chuckle, and I couldn't work out the plot until the end. Marvellous.

An old fashioned, Christie style murder mystery whodunit. I felt like it was a but overly drawn out but I enjoyed following the story

The Postscript Murders is another clever (and charming) mystery from Ella Griffiths. A great standalone story sure to win her new fans. Love the cover!

First Sentence: The two men have been standing there for eighteen minutes.

Peggy Smith is 90-years-old so her death isn't startling, except to her caregiver Natalka Kolisnyk. It is not the number of crime novels in Peggy's room that was surprising, but that almost all of them were dedicated to Peggy. When a masked gunman breaks in and steals a book Natalka and café owner Benedict were packing up, it's determined Peggy's death wasn't so natural, and DS Harbinder Kaur is assigned to the case. Joined by Peggy's elderly neighbor, Edwin Fitzgerald, Natalka, Benedict, and Harbinder join forces to undercover Peggy's killer.

Griffiths has a huge following of loyal fans. That makes it hard to be an outlier, but there was too much about this book that just did not work.

Setting aside the alternating voices; a device some don't mind while others find irritating, the plot was improbable, the coincidences were overwhelming and unrealistic. To have a police officer put his partner's life in jeopardy causing extreme harm, and not be punished for it stretched credulity. The portents were clumsy and obvious removing any opportunity for surprise or suspense.

Griffiths does do a good job introducing the characters, and learns of their background, as each appears. They are interesting and nicely developed, even those who are not particularly likable. One appreciates the friendships and camaraderie which develops. The team of four amateurs is the only thing that works in this book. Harbinder much less so and her partner is unpleasant to the point of being a caricature of male chauvinism.

Setting part of the book at a mystery conference provides a nice look into the world of publishing. However, there were too many threads, red herrings, and twists—yes, there can be too many perfectly-timed twists—portents with predictable outcomes, and an ending that came from nowhere. Each death is projected, which removes any sense of surprise.

By far, the strength of this book lies in the characters, particularly the four who become friends. Their diversity adds dimension to the story, and one appreciates there being an epilogue for each character at the end. A cozy at its heart, this is a story of how the most unlikely of people can become friends.

"The Postscript Murders" is much different from Griffith's other books. The plot is overly complicated, filled with coincidences, and becomes boring at times. It feels, and perhaps was meant to be, as though this is a send-up of detective fiction; as though the author resents her own craft.

THE POSTSCRIPT MURDERS (TradMys/Cozy-D.S. Harbinder Kaur-Leeds, England-Contemp) - Okay
Griffith, Elly – 2nd in series
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Mar 2021, 336 pp.

I am not normally one for "Crime Solving" mysteries featuring detectives or the police, but Elly Griffiths just keeps pulling me in with her semi-stand alone/semi-series featuring DS Harbinder Kaur. I think that's because the stories themselves are more cozy-mystery than typical crime-solving novel.

I was nervous that I wasn't going to enjoy The Postscript Murders as much as I enjoyed The Stranger Diaries (the first in the sort-of series)...but I've got to stop doubting the clever and, even humorous, writing of Griffiths. As with The Stranger Diaries, the main focus is, of course, the murder or murders. However, though Harbinder does work for the police as a Detective Sergeant, we see more of her personal life come through rather than giving her work position a more important role. This is also true of the supporting characters - whom I hope to see more of in the next book, as I now adore so many aspects of their personalities and find that their brains are wired perfectly to help Harbinder...much to her chagrin.

While I loved the storyline, I won't go on about it here because you can read the book description for that. I will, however, give it a high recommendation (a solid 4.5 stars) and the following advice: If you love a cozyish mystery, but want something a little different than your typical coffee shop owner/florist/professor solves mystery of the murder of his/her cousin's best friend's father, pick this up. The writing is, as always, superb. Her storyline is so solid that I had NO IDEA who the killer was...and I am pretty good at predicting that around half way through a book. And there were even times that I laughed out loud at some of the side comments made by our main characters.

And Bonus: You don't have to read this "series" in order, so go pick it up even if you haven't read The Stranger Diaries...though I highly recommend that one, too! ;)

A Big Thank You to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for granting me this digital ARC to review.

A delightful read of a story about three amateur sleuths involving themselves in a series of murders after one of their friends mysteriously dies. Was it a natural death or murder? Acting on their suspicions, they involve the local authorities and become friends with Harbinder Kaur, the agent assigned to the case. While skeptical of foul play in the death of a 94 year old woman who loved crime mystery books, the agent plays along with the sleuths until another death occurs involving a victim that was close to the 94 year old woman. As the sleuths find potential links to others who may or not had ties to the case, another murder occurs. Are these murders related or not?

In this instance P.S. stands for more than Postscript.

A new series from Elly Griffiths, author of the Ruth Galloway series, I think you will enjoy !

Elly Griffiths writes a standalone cozy set in Britain, the Postscript Murders. Peggy Smith, at 90, is still consulting on murder plots with crime writers when she is found dead by her caretaker Natalka. Some of the authors who consulted her end up dead. Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur is working with Natalka and friends of Peggy to find the murderer. Intricate plot. Interesting characters.

*Many thanks to Elly Griffiths, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
A good weekend read with a mystery that centres around a death of an elderly lady who was an avid crime stories reader. Her carer senses there was something funny about it and she decides to uncover the truth.
An plethora of characters makes this read enjoyable and the mystery not that easy to solve. We learn a lot about their relationships, background and secrets in the course of the novel which seems too much and which feels like a delay in revealing the truth.
I did not get involved in the mystery and I believe it all to the fact that I stayed indifferent regarding the characters.

When an elderly woman passes away no one is surprised but when her carer Natalka begins to sense something isn't quite what it seems, she goes to the police where she catches the interest of officer Harbinder Kaur. Although Natalka isn't sure what is going on she enlists the help of the dead woman's neighbour and best friend Edwin and her friend Benny an ex monk turned coffee barista. When they find a card with the name Peggy Smith Murder Consultant, they become sure something is going on.
I loved this book, the characters were interesting and the story flowed along brilliantly. It kept me entertained and I would love to see a sequel with all these characters.

This was absolutely delightful! I enjoyed it even more than The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths and that was also very good. The Postscript Murders, a light, cozy-ish mystery with elements of found family, a road trip and excellent representation, is one of those stories that makes you wish you would be peripherally involved in a murder just so that you can meet a group of quirky new friends who will change your life. Plus, Harbinder is a bit of a curmudgeon and I'm so here for it. The style was a little bit Agatha Christie, a little bit Anthony Horowitz, a little bit Fredrick Backman.

I received a free ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

An elder lady, in a retirement community, is found dead. Her death is suspicious, even more when the murder books she has are all dedicated to her. Even more when the people around her start dying.

The beginning of this mystery felt forced. We get chapters from the point of view of each character, and a short biography right away. Once the action started, there was more balance between just facts and letting things happen.

I thought it was an interesting murder setting, and the characters had great development. There were also unforeseen moments which were very well placed.
A very entertaining mystery! 🕵🏽‍♀️

Harbinder Kaur is someone I wanted to know more about. Happily Griffiths felt the same. Although the Stranger Diaries was intended as a stand alone Harbinder returns to help solve the puzzle in Book 2. The novel opens simply, a care giver discovers Peggy's body. Expected? Yes, the woman was 90, had a heart condition. Why then, are there a multitude of crime novels that are dedicated to her client?
Why are there so many business cards from mystery writers in the flat, and what exactly is a 'murder consultant'? At first Harbinder feels there is nothing suspicious about Peggy's death. Then the authors connected to Peggy start dying as well. Harbinder is faced with both finding the perpetrator and protecting an enthusiastic group of amateur sleuths. The dialogue between the sleuths and Harbinder as well as the authors tongue in cheek treatment of literary conferences was delightful. I didn't want the book to end, and hope sincerely I am not hearing the last of Harbinder.
This 'very British' series is a treat for everyone.
Very highly recommended.

I really liked the first book, I found the characters compelling and interesting.

Unfortunately, I found the second one to be slow. It took me till the middle the novel to get into it.

Overall, I liked the mystery and the ending but didn't like it as much as I hoped.

This is a most enjoyable and fast-paced murder mystery, complete with interesting and quirky characters, red herrings, a road trip, and romance. Beginning with the victim, a 90 year old "murder consultant," the eccentric assortment of characters keeps our interest as they try to figure out if indeed the victim was murdered, and if so by whom. For readers of the mystery genre, it is amusing to read about the various authors and their craft, and we can hope for more works about Detective Harbinder and her sidekick.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

This is the first book of this author's that I've read.
Absolutely loved it

Can't wait for more

This is a first I’ve read by this author. I very much enjoyed it. I can’t wait to read more. Thanks to publisher and NetGalley for this read!

"The Postscript Murders" is a great pick for cozy murder mystery readers or Agatha Christie fans. There's great queer representation in the book, including in the main character, Harbinder Kaur.