Harbinder is back but in a new location, London, and new job, DI, and tackles her first big case where the suspects vary from an actress to a singer to a teacher to a member of her own staff. The author did a great job in setting the stage where each chapter gave us a point of view from Harbinder and two of the suspects. The solid plot gave way to well-defined narrative that catered to giving the reader clues that took us closer to the events. There were several twists and turns that had me devouring every word so as not to miss any hints given by the various cast of characters. I enjoyed watching this all play out with several of the cast having pivotal roles that set up the discovery of the person responsible and boy was that a zinger. Well done, well done. I also loved seeing Harbinder at home with her flat mates, her internal dialogue, and the friendship she develops both personally and professionally. Over, this was a fantastic read the best book featuring Harbinder. I hope we see more of her and her friends.

I am a huge Ruth Galloway fan and becoming slowly enamored with DI Harbinder Kaur (previously DS).

In the 3rd installment, Harbinder has moved to London for her promotion. I really enjoy her new police team and the confidence she has. Right away she is thrown into her first case when there is a murder at a very posh school reunion.

The Group was a collection of friends attending a private school in the early 90's. The IN GROUP really. Most have gone on to become moderately to incredibly successful but all remember a death at the end of finals that tied them all together. At this point, all of the group members have different memories about what went down, but someone is now enacting revenge. Can DI Kaur get to the bottom of it all before more people die? Will she muck up her first London case? Read on to find out!

If you like British murder mysteries, strong POC heroines, or just might want to see the IN Group get their due - Bleeding Heart Yard is for you!
#marinerbooks #BleedingHeartYard #EllyGriffiths #netGalley

This is the second of Griffiths two series. Harbinder Kaur is the detective and she has just moved to London. The story moves from her to three young people involved in a suspected murder from the past. Good characterization and glimpses of the city along the way.

Harbinder Kaur has a new job in London as DI in charge of her own team, and she gets a doozy of a case--the apparent drug overdose of an MP at his school reunion. To complicate matters, one of her sergeants was at the reunion. A story told in several voices--chapters alternate in POV from Harbinder, Cassie (the sergeant), and others-- takes us on a trip into the past and present, and reminds us that perception is everything. A wonderful step forward for Harbinder, both professionally and personally, and an intriguing tale to boot! This may be my favorite of the three stories featuring Harbinder Kaur.

Thanks to Mariner Books for access to a digital ARC via NetGalley.

I am a huge fan of Elly Griffiths. I love the Ruth Galloway series and I highly recommend it.
Griffiths has a couple of series and this is the third book of the series. I struggled because it can absolutely be a stand-alone book but it does go with the other two in the series. I love the author's use of strong female characters. They are smart, capable, and have impressive jobs. I really appreciate that.
This book, while I didn't guess "who done it", wasn't very exciting for me. I don't think I could relate to the characters enough and didn't get emotionally involved. So it fell sort of flat for me. I still love the writing and the locations but the characters were kind of dull.
I didn't love this book but I didn't hate it either.

Harbinder Kaur is now a DI in London. Her first big case at her new job is a death at a 21st school reunion. One of her officers, Cassie, was at the reunion, and was in a clique of friends with the deceased. When another of the clique is murdered, there's a question of whether it all goes back to a friend who died right after A level results were posted. Did he fall in front of the train, or did someone push him? Griffiths is, as usual, great at fleshing out all of her characters, and challenging the reader to guess the outcome. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I love Elly Griffith’s books. And I’ve enjoyed all of the Harbinder Kaur series’ titles. This one was a little slow going and the ending left a little to be desired. But it was interesting and I hung on til the end. I’m also glad that the hero gets the girl, too :)

An absolute page turner. Elly Griffiths is consistently entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where her previous titles are popular.

"A writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature." - Ernest Hemingway

👆🏻 That is 100% how I feel about the people in @ellygriffiths17 books. DI Harbinger Kaur feels so REAL to me. She has qualities that I respect and admire, and some that I find rather annoying - just like any real person.

A big thank you to @netgalley and @marinerbooks for this #arc of the third book in the #harbinderkaur series! What could be better than a murder(s) at a posh school, with a group of old friends as the suspects?

Synopsis:
When Cassie Fitzgerald was at school in the late 90s, she and her friends killed a fellow student. Almost twenty years later, Cassie is a happily married mother who loves her job—as a police officer. She closely guards the secret she has all but erased from her memory.

One day her husband finally persuades her to go to a school reunion. Cassie catches up with her high-achieving old friends from the Manor Park School—among them two politicians, a rock star, and a famous actress. But then, shockingly, one of them, Garfield Rice, is found dead in the school bathroom, supposedly from a drug overdose. As Garfield was an eminent—and controversial—MP and the investigation is high profile, it’s headed by Cassie’s new boss, DI Harbinder Kaur, freshly promoted and newly arrived in London. The trouble is, Cassie can’t shake the feeling that one of them has killed again.

Is Cassie right, or was Garfield murdered by one of his political cronies? It’s in Cassie’s interest to skew the investigation so that it looks like it has nothing to do with Manor Park and she seems to be succeeding.

Until someone else from the reunion is found dead in Bleeding Heart Yard…

Writing: 3.5/5 Characters: 4/5 Plot: 4/5

Another fun, twisty mystery by Elly Griffiths of Ruth Galloway fame — number 3 in the Harbinder Kaur series. Harbinder — our 38-year old diminutive Sikh lesbian — has just made Detective Inspector and is now in charge of a London based Murder Investigation Team.

A great first line (in the prolog) appears to be a confession of guilt for a decades old murder. This is rapidly followed by the school reunion of a high achieving group of friends who were all affected by that long ago death. The long awaited “fun” evening ends in the death of one the group — his body found in the school bathroom with cocaine dust around his nostrils.

A nice, convoluted mystery with plenty of interesting characters. What I found particularly fun was Harbinder’s inner monologue regarding her new subordinates, witnesses, potential suspects, and surprising love interests. While always behaving professionally and never losing her cool, we are treated to her irritation regarding arrogant attitudes, bimbo responses, and one particular subordinate’s oft repeated macho stances. I thoroughly enjoyed this insight into an honest and human interior in contrast with a professional and impassive exterior.

I really, really enjoyed reading this book! It was compelling, and I love how it hooked me from the beginning!

Great Read. I follow this series and the Ruth Galloway series by the same author. The only similarity between the two is their high quality and that the protagonists are strong women. The policewoman in this series has now moved to London where she now heads her own investigation team. As usual, Harbinder Kaur, feels a bit left out in the whirl of social activities among her subordinates that are geared to straight couples in addition to feeling left out as a non-Londoner and the "new kid" in the station. There is a fun storyline that goes through the tale about her nickname in the station--she wants to know what they call her--everyone has a nickname--but she is afraid to find out, thinking it might be derisive.
Back to the mystery! A school reunion provides the fodder for the mystery with one of Harbinder's own policewomen as witness and later, suspect.
The book is structured like a race through a maze--starts off strong with a flashback and runs through twists and turns to the satisfying (in that it ties up all ends) finale. Griffiths is a master of plot--and dialogue. Kaur's private life opens up a bit more to us in this installment of the series, but as is Griffiths way, each bit of information, given on that front also ends up having significance for the plot, direct or indirect (thought process)).
I had a hard time putting this book down--another excellent read from a master writer..

I could not have loved this more! Griffiths is a master at crime writing and the police procedural. My only regret is how quickly I devoured this book, since it'll be a while until a new Harbinder comes out!