🍁REVIEW🍁

🌟🌟🌟 3/5 stars
Publication Date: 3/2/2021

The Postscript Murder is the second in Harbinder Kaur series following The Stranger Diaries. This book, like The Stranger Diaries, is a book about books. Peggy Smith, a 90-year-old “murder consultant”, is found dead under mysterious circumstances. Her work involved helping authors think of new ways to kill off their characters and her home is full of crime fiction novels dedicated to her. Her carer, Natalka, and a band of other interesting characters begin to investigate Peggy’s death, which is where DS Harbinder comes in.

The Postscript Murder leaned a little too into into the “cosy mystery” territory for me, which is not a genre I typically gravitate towards. I loved revisiting characters from The Stranger Diaries, but overall I preferred the first book to The Postscript Murder. Although I did not love The Postscript Murder, I did like it and feel that fans of Agatha Christie will enjoy this story.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This might be a procedural where DS Harbinder Kaur hunts for a serial killer but it's really a novel about friends. Yep. Natalka, an immigrant to the UK from Ukraine, is the carer who discovers Peggy's body, Edwin was Peggy's good friend and Benedict, a former monk who now owns a coffee shack by the shore, well, he finds himself caught up with the other two who are determined to figure out who killed her. Harbinder, who lives with her parents and hasn't come out to them, discovers that she actually welcomes help from the unlikely trio, especially when another author is killed- and then another. What linked them all to Peggy? And who are the men who may be following Natalka (she's got a secret), This is intricately plotted (I didn't guess the solution) and clever but it's the characters and small things about them that stand out. I'm a fan of all of Griffith's work and I loved the first book - this one will be terrific as a followup or as a standalone. There are many funny moments and there's a bit of fun poked at authors and book conferences. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a great read that I very much enjoyed. I really really hope we see more of DS Harbinder Kaur.

The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths
Publication Date: March 2, 2021
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Description from NetGalley...
“The death of a ninety-year-old woman with a heart condition should not be suspicious. Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur certainly sees nothing out of the ordinary when Peggy’s caretaker, Natalka, begins to recount Peggy Smith’s passing.

But Natalka had a reason to be at the police station: while clearing out Peggy’s flat, she noticed an unusual number of crime novels, all dedicated to Peggy. And each psychological thriller included a mysterious postscript: PS: for PS. When a gunman breaks into the flat to steal a book and its author is found dead shortly thereafter—Detective Kaur begins to think that perhaps there is no such thing as an unsuspicious death after all.

And then things escalate: from an Aberdeen literary festival to the streets of Edinburgh, writers are being targeted. DS Kaur embarks on a road trip across Europe and reckons with how exactly authors can think up such realistic crimes . . .”
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Thank you to @NetGalley @hmhbooks for the digital ARC in return for my honest review.
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My thoughts...
Elly Griffiths has not disappointed me yet. I was introduced to her via her Ruth Galloway series, that I started before Christmas. This is book two in DS Kaur series, and it was fine as a stand-alone. Of course, I will read the first book because this one peaked my interest. I’m a big Agatha Christie fan and this book felt like a modern Agatha Christie cozy crime/mystery with a few red herrings. I enjoyed the funny, eclectic and diverse characters in this book. Though the characters seemed random, they worked well together complimenting the good storyline. The narrative was great, with dry-wit that I appreciated and I was delighted that the crime revolved around crime fiction books and their respective authors.

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley. All opinions are my own. The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths is the second book in the author’s newest series Harbinder Kaur. It could be read as a stand-alone. DS Harbinder Kaur is drawn into the investigation of the murder of elderly Peggy Smith whose death was first thought to be of natural causes, when Peggy’s caregiver Natalka Kolisnyk comes in to see her about the death. Harbinder begins to look for answers and more bodies start turning up and previous deaths that were thought to be natural also become suspicious. I found this an intriguing mystery with a nice balance of humour, mystery and well-written supporting characters. I enjoyed reading it and do recommend it.
Publishing Date: March 2, 2021. #ThePostscriptMurders #EllyGriffiths #MysteryAndSuspenseNovels #ContemporaryFiction #HoughtonMifflinHarcourt #bookstagram #bookstagrammer

The Postscript Murders is Elly Griffiths second book with Detective Harbinder Kaur. This time Harbinder is reluctantly drawn into the death of an elderly woman, Peggy Smith. Even though her death is not suspicious, her caretaker, Natalka, isn’t convinced. And, when she finds reference to the deceased as a “murder consultant” Natalka takes her concerns to the police. Harbinder is skeptical until local mystery authors begin to die and she decides to look at the case much more closely, along with the “help” of several amateur detectives.

The Postscript Murders is such an entertaining book. Not only is the plot well-conceived, the characters are priceless and unique. There’s Edwin, an elderly friend who misses Peggy and her companionship, a former monk, Benedict, who owns the local coffee shop, the caretaker who has secrets of her own, and Harbinder, a gay Sikh police officer who lives with her parents. These various characters bring so much life to the story. All of them are delightful and their burgeoning friendships are very much a part of the story. All in all, I found this book to be a true gem and I heartily recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Postscript Murders included such a fun mix and diverse cast of characters. I really enjoyed this mystery and trying to figure out whodunit. I always like stories told from multiple points of view and this book nailed it with telling how each sleuth went about investigating.

Overall I highly recommend this book for its great mystery, classic plot and wonderful characters.

I have read all of Elly Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway series, and it was difficult to imagine I would find another series of such unusually engaging characters: characters of different ethnicities, ages, gender, personality types and backgrounds.
Look forward to the new team of a Russian caretaker in the Seaview sheltered accommodation, a senior resident formerly of the BBC, a lapsed monk turned coffee shop owner, and an ambitious, straightforward, Sikh policewoman.
It is a challenge to write a crime novel about a prolific crime writer who, well you can imagine. Peggy, a 90-year-old resident, is found dead in her Seaview Court sitting room, a room full of crime books, all of which either acknowledge her or are dedicated to her. Most of the books are written by a particular bestselling author. A postcard, a stolen book, literary allusions, clues and keys follow as eccentric background stories are revealed by and about the living and the dead.
As those dead bodies mount, the action moves from Edinburgh to Aberdeen and back, from Seaview Court to a literary festival and a forest safe house as the team collects victims, suspects, helpers and answers.
I look forward to more detecting from this witty, intelligent team, a team that can work together and recognizes each other in all their abilities and differences.

I really enjoy this author's Ruth Galloway series, so was happy to find that she had started another series with a main character that I liked almost as much, Harbinder Kaur. Then I read this second novel in the series and found that I loved the mixture of character perspectives speaking throughout the book. And then basing this mystery on the possible murder of a 90-year old woman with a business card that labelled her as a murder consultant, I was hooked. Harbinder Kaur is an excellent main character as a Detective Sergeant that catches this case, and she is surrounded by an assortment of people I wanted to get to know more: Edwin, Benedict, and Natalka, as they try to help solve this mystery on their own. I love the mix of ages and cultures that feels completely organic, and now I'm hooked on another Elly G series! I'm heartened by the inclusion of some of the same characters from the first book, which might mean I will get to see the dynamic trio again in book three.

"The Postscript Murders" was a witty and intriguing murder mystery perfect for fans of Anthony Horowitz, Agatha Christie, and Richard Osman's "Thursday Murder Club." After 90-year-old Peggy passes away in her seaside retirement condo, her caregiver notices that many of Peggy's beloved crime novels are, in fact, dedicated to her. More mysteries about Peggy arise when her friends begin to believe that her death wasn't as natural as the in-home care corporation wants them to believe.

This was my first book by Elly Griffiths and certainly won't be my last. Although this is the second of her books featuring Detective Inspector Harbinder Kaur, "The Postscript Murders" can be read as a standalone. The characters were well-constructed and the mystery very intriguing; however, I felt the plot took a very strange and (to me) random twist in the last few chapters. I didn't feel that this twist contributed to the book and, because of that, and the time dedicated to it, I felt that the last quarter or so of the book dragged on a bit.

Overall, I would give "The Postscript Murders" 3.5 stars. It was a pleasant, lite mystery perfect for fans of traditional whodunits.

Natalie has cared for 90 year-old Peggy long enough to be sure that Penny's cause of death was not , as officially declared, "heart failure, " Peggy's octogenarian neighbor Edwin and cafe owner and former monk, Benedict agree. And thus begins a nail-biting, character driven mystery into the death of a woman who helped mystery writers with plots; in particular, how to murder!
The amateur trio, ably assisted by DS Harbiner Kaur, set off on a madcap adventure to find the killer.
D'S Kaur appeared in Griffiths 's stand alone, Stranger Diaries. There's a lighter tone to this book. There are multiple murders, the Russian Mafia, cryptocurrency fraud and missing relatives but the tension is offset by a bit of romance and delightful character interaction.

The Postscript Murders is the second in the Harbinder Kaur series by Elly Griffiths (the sequel to The Stranger Diaries, winner of the 2019 Edgar award). A 90-year-old woman dies in her home, which in and of itself shouldn't be suspicious, but her carer believes something is going on. This cozy whodunit has a unique but quite lovable cast of characters including an 80-year-old man, a 30-something Ukrainian woman with a secret past, a former monk, and numerous side characters. The murders take place at literary festivals and delve a bit into the writing life, making me wonder whether any [of the non-murder] scenes were autobiographical.
I have been a huge fan of Elly Griffiths ever since I stumbled onto her first Ruth Galloway novel. These two series have similarities: the protagonists are both strong, independent, highly capable women, and both novels have strong senses of place to their respective areas of Britain. The structure, however, is quite different and makes the new Harbinder novels fresh.
All of Griffiths’s novels are page turners, full of comedic relief at times. Best of all with this one: I didn’t figure it out! If you’re a fan of cozy mysteries, check out this series. So far, it appears these books can be read out of order but I always recommend starting at the beginning (in this case, the only real spoiler about the first book is that the reader can figure out who the perpetrators are not based on the reappearance of some characters).
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the cast of characters, the location, the length, and the pace. This sequel delivers, and I’m eagerly anticipating #3! If you're a fan of Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series, Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce, or even Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs, I highly recommend checking out this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

To be honest, when I started this book, I did not know that it was the second in the Harbinder Kaur series. I had always thought that “The Stranger Diaries” was a one-off, which was fine with me since it did not resonate and I was fine saying good-bye to the characters. Then along came ”The Postscript Murders” and something about the name Harbinder tickled a little part of my brain. Glad that I stuck with the book since I enjoyed “The Postscript Murder”, and the characters, considerably more.

When Peggy Smith is discovered by her care worker Natalka, the police immediately write it off as a heart attack considering that she was elderly and on medication, but Natalka wasn’t believing it. Not after she finds a postcard with the words, “We are coming for you” tucked next to where Peggy’s body was found. Natalka decides to run her theories past her friend’s -- café owner and ex-monk Benedict and former BBC employee Edwin. What finally convinces the trio is a business card with Peggy’s name and a job title of “murder consultant” combined with numerous murder mysteries being dedicated to her. Now with Peggy’s son, Nigel, in a hurry to sell off his mother's possessions, and a book is stolen out from under them, Det. Sgt Harbinder Kaur is starting to show an interest. But the trio can’t wait for Harbinder to get fully on board so they head out to a literary festival to round up their suspects. This is where the story takes all sorts of twists, both in Aberdeen, Scotland, and back home in Shoreham-by-Sea, England.

Elly Griffiths has built depth to the characters with background stories that are both explained and those that are left to the readers' imagination. The typical who-done-it is not obvious from the beginning so when all is revealed, there is a bit of a surprise for both the reader and in some ways, Harbinder herself.

This book won my heart from the very beginning. In a lovely seaside town a elderly woman is found dead and her death leads three very dissimilar characters on a merry chase to solve the crime of her death and a few others. The lead detective is DS Harbindeer Kaur from The Stranger diaries. The story is told from the perspective of the three amatuer sleuths Natalka, Benedict, Edwin and Harbinder. I loved the “ladies in the bay window”. It has the feel of a “cosy” mystery but not sappy at all. I hope these 3 don’t break up the gang and solve more murders. Highly recommended.

As author Elly Griffiths says at the end of The Postscript Murders, this is a book about acknowledgments and about publishing, and I was happy to see Harbinder Kaur, a thirty-six-year-old gay Sikh police officer who lives with her parents, back for her second investigation. Joining her in the search for a killer is an interesting mix of characters: Natalka, an Eastern European caregiver who seems determined to have a mystery to solve; Benedict Cole, a former monk; Edwin, a former employee of the BBC who's on the far side of seventy; and the dead woman herself-- Peggy Smith, whose business card reads "Mrs. M. Smith Murder Consultant." Peggy is one of those victims readers run across from time to time who is such a strong personality that she begs for more time in the spotlight.

The Postscript Murders will hold special interest for any reader who's attended a signing at a favorite bookshop or gone to a literary festival and watched panels of authors discuss various topics. If readers haven't attended these things, they will be given a good idea of what they can be like, and they may even be encouraged to attend one themselves.

I did find myself wrapped up in the mystery, in trying to deduce the identity of the killer, and the glints of humor that popped up made me chuckle, especially Harbinder's tendency to think of her investigative partner, Neil, as a small, stupid but lovable, woodland creature. It was a pleasure to find myself immersed in the publishing world, and I was hoping that her investigation would turn Harbinder into a reader but, alas, she'll have to be pried away from the games on her phone first.

Strong characters, strong mystery, strong setting-- all hallmarks of another enjoyable mystery by Elly Griffiths.

The Postscript Murders is the second book featuring Detective Harbinder Kaur written by Elly Griffiths. Due out 2nd March 2021 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, it's 336 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.

The first book in the "series" was one of my best reads picks for 2019. The author is adept and widely talented with a whatever she sets out to write. The Ruth Galloway novels are engaging and atmospheric, academic, and warmly compassionate as well as intelligent (like the protagonist). The extant novels in this series are altogether different in focus and feel. I use "series" in quotation marks because the common thread between the two books is Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur and in both books, she's almost secondary to the plot. The focus, the main driving force, in the action in this book and The Stranger Diaries, is someone closer to the murders - in the first book an English teacher colleague of the first victim, and in this book it's the first murder victim's carer.

Throughout all the books, both this series and her others, it's the author herself - her well-crafted plots, engaging and intelligent dialogue, prose, likeable characters, and settings which keep everything she writes on my "must read" list. This book works very well as a standalone, and has only secondary connections to the first book. This is an engaging read with a tightly plotted narrative arc and very well rendered characters who are believable and varied.

Four stars. Classic plotting and a wonderful mystery. I loved the crime book and author tie-ins. Highly recommend this one to fans of classic golden age British mystery.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This is a very good story written with humour, a remarkably interesting group of characters and a well twisted plot.

I usually don't like a story being told from multiple perspectives and when each chapter is a different POV, but here it was fine for me. Even more than that, I really liked it. Probably because all the characters are fascinating, and I really wanted to get to know their perspective. Let that be the best proof of how well written this book is - I was able to like what I usually don't like in my stories.

And it must be said that the author did a really amazing job when it comes to characters. We have a great and truly diverse cast of characters. Diversified not only in terms of age or culture in which they grew up, but also experiences and worldviews. It's amazing how this seemingly completely random and mismatched group of characters works great together. Each character adds a certain specific dynamic to the story. Only together do they create the unique vibe.

This unusual group of characters is perfectly complemented by a very good storyline. Not only is the idea great, but how could it be otherwise when the victim is ninety-year-old Peggy, who was no less but a murder consultant? The action is also fast, and it doesn't let us get bored even for a moment. Different threads intertwine with each other, and we are constantly wondering what actually happened and whether these things are really related. Well done.

This is my first book by this author, and so in this series. But the fact that I hadn't read the first book was no problem at all and I could fully enjoy this one. I already have another book by this author from different series on my shelf and I will certainly read it soon. I definitely recommend this book to everyone who likes good crime stories with an interesting cast of characters and a non-obvious idea for a plot. And of course, all those who like mysteries related to crime fiction and their authors, because that's what the story is about after all.

I had heard so much about Elly Griffiths first novel with Harbinder Kaur ‘The Stranger Diaries’ so I was really excited to read and review this book. I have not read ‘The Stranger Diaries’ but I felt that did not impact being able to read this second book. This book was not how I expected it would be, as it is a slow paced crime read and I usually read faster paced books. That being said though, I still enjoyed it and loved all of the quirky characters, that come together to try and work out what happened to Peggy. The characters are an odd bunch to be working together but it really fits and you find yourself invested in them and what happens in their lives. I loved the areas the book was set in, as a few places mentioned where I grew up. I feel that this book definitely had vibes similar to The Thursday Murder Club, however I feel this book executed the story and characters a lot better. The twists at the end of the book were great and I felt that although it was slowly paced, I still had to keep coming back each night to read more about these characters and their story. I recommend this one to anyone who enjoys crime thrillers but does not always want fast paced crime. I have now added The Stranger Diaries to my read pile.

If Agatha Christie decided to try her hand at a modern-day cozy mystery, The Postscript Murders would be the result.

When 90-year-old Peggy is found dead in her retirement home in West Suffix, no one is surprised. She was old and suffering from a heart condition. However, when her caretaker Natalka discovers she is a “murder consultant“, she takes her suspicions to the police. DS Harbinder Kaur starts to look closer into the case—especially after local mystery authors begin to turn up dead as well. She is “assisted” by three amateur detectives: Natalka, an elderly monk turned barista and a retired BBC actor. What could go wrong?

With many of the red herrings and village characters of Dame Agatha on full display, this little mystery is a diverting way to spend an afternoon. DS Kaur, who has to fight off both sexist and racist stereotypes in rural England, really comes into her own in this book. Overall, The Postscript Murders is highly recommended to both cozy and golden-age mystery readers. 4 stars!

Thanks to Houghton Miffin Harcourt and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Crime novelists begin to turn up dead in this new novel by Elly Griffiths. When Peggy Smith passes her caretaker Natalia finds all these crime novels. Detective Sergeant investigates who is being targeted and why. Betrayal, secrets, and saving her vineyard.

I'm such a huge fan of Elly Griffiths Ruth Galloway books that I had to read this book! And I wasn't disappointed. It has all the wonderful, quirky characters we've come to expect and love from Ms. Griffiths, the same sense of place and and it's a "cracking good" mystery. She brings together Harbinger a Sikh Detective Sargent, Benedict, an ex monk, Natalka, a young Ukrainian care giver and Edwin, the 80 year-old friend of the victim, to delve into the death of Peggy, a 90 year old crime buff.. then more bodies appear. And the group really has its work cut out for it!
This is a wonderful traditional/cozy mystery that I truly enjoy. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.