The third in the Harbinder Kaur police procedural series sees the detective relocated to the Met, investigating the murder of an M P at a school reunion. Slight!y different from the previous two novels, It is an interesting read and Harbinder is a charismatic and well written protagonist.

DI Harbinder Kaur was called to a school reunion where an MP's body had been found in the men's room, with visible signs of cocaine use. DS Cassie Fitzgerald was one of the guests, immediately turning on her cop mode as they waited for the police to arrive. The investigation into the people who were students together twenty one years prior was a big one and as another murder occurred and more came to light, Harbinder was sure the current murders had something to do with what had happened all those years ago.

Bleeding Heart Yard is the 3rd in the Harbinder Kaur series by Elly Griffiths and although I've enjoyed the past two books in the series, I really couldn't engage with the characters this time. It felt very jumbled, with the back and forth at times confusing. I expected to love it, so am disappointed but will check out #4 when it publishes. Recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Quercus for the advance copy of #BleedingHeartYard by #EllyGriffiths
I hop this is the start of a new series as I really like DI Harbinder Kaur the lead detective in the story.
The story is told in chapters by different members of the tale seen from their viewpoint, and it really works.
Kaur’s DS Cassie Fitzgerald is attending a school reunion where a fellow former pupil is murdered and everything starts to unravel.
A great story that grips you and won’t let go.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with this book for review. So this is the 3rd installation in this series and my it just keeps getting better. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting new and past characters. Hoping for more.

Bleeding Heart Yard is the third book in the series featuring D.I. Harbinder Kaur following her promotion from D.S. she has moved to London, serving the Met in the homicide and serious crimes Unit
After living at home in Shoreham with her parents we now find her sharing a house with two other professional women, a teacher and an architect, Mette, a Scandinavian, who she finds herself attracted to.
She`s nervous about her sexuality at work and weather she will be accepted by her new team.
So when she gets her first big case the pressure is on.
A conservative MP, Garfield Rice, has been found dead in the male toilets whilst attending a school reunion. It appears to be a drug overdose though it soon becomes clear that this is murder.
Amongst the attendees there is a group of friends all of whom become suspects at some point.
One of them is Cassie Fitzherbert, one of Harbinders new DS`s, so although excluded from the investigation Harbinder hopes to gain from her knowledge of the group..Weather this will turn out to be helpful or not remains to be seen.
The police inquiries throw up lots of red herrings and when more members of the friends group are murdered they too decide to try and work out why and how they died.
Filled with interesting characters and lots of clues which left me guessing exactly who the killer was.
I found it an entertaining and absorbing read, look forward to more in this series.

Very good thriller and police procedural. It centres on DI Harbiner Kaur a newly qualified DI taking on her first big murder case in London, and a group of successful ex-schoolfriends who turn up to a 21st Anniversary reunion at their old school (one of whom is DS Cassie Fitzherbert, Harbinder's DS). Memories of their time at the school are marred by the accidental death of one of the boys there after their last A level exam, but each has their own interpretation of the event, and it is now way in the past.
At the reunion, one of the group is murdered, a prominent MP. DI Kaur begins to investigate.
When another of the schoolfriends' group is found murdered in Bleeding Heart Yard the others are fearful and wonder if the key is linked to the past 'accident' of the schoolboy. They carry out their own investigation, leading them to mortal danger and ultimate truth.
I like the character of Harbinder, her flatmates - especially Mette, her dry humour and determination to suceed, leading the case with confidence (hiding successfully any lack thereof). Good story and characters with twists and red herrings to keep you guessing. Very enjoyable.

A very welcome third instalment in the Harbinder Kaur series, with several wonderful new personal developments for my favourite gay, Sikh detective! This time there's another noticeable change in style (as compared with #2 'The Postscript Murders'), but overall I'd say it's reverted back to align more closely with #1 'The Stranger Diaries'. I'm a happy reader either way, as I've enjoyed them all.

Along with her promotion to DI, Harbinder has taken a job with the Met, and as a result has had to leave the comfort of her parents' home and move to London. She's living in a sharehouse with two other professional women and enjoying the excitement of all the 'new' in her life - even if she is a little lonely at times. One Saturday night she gets a call to attend the scene of her first suspicious death in the big city - that of prominent MP Garfield Rice - and suddenly her life is too busy to think about her loneliness. Rice had been attending a school reunion at the time of his death, and amongst the attendees were most of his close friends from 21 years earlier at Manor Park school, including Cassie Fitzherbert who just so happens to be a DS on Harbinder's new team.

That's the setup. Although this time the mystery is a bit more straightforward, it does include many of the elements of the previous books; multiple narrators and perspectives, lots of red herrings, a good dose of very dry humour. But what I really appreciated about it was that Harbinder herself is more in the spotlight than she was last time. While The Group (i.e. Rice's Manor Park friends) does try to work out how/why their friend died, I didn't think it overshadowed the police investigation this time. There are minor references to events of the previous two books, including a brief appearance from Natalka and Co, but this book can definitely stand on its own. Recommended.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for an advance copy of Bleeding Heart Yard, the third novel to feature DI Harbinder Kaur.

Harbinder has recently transferred to the Met and after a month of not very much is involved in her first murder investigation. MP Garfield Rice is found dead in the toilets at his school reunion from what looks like a drug overdose, but isn’t. DS Cassie Fitzherbert, a member of Harbinder’s team and one of Gary’s schoolday friends, was also at the reunion and seems to be keeping secrets. Harbinder has to decide if the murder links back to the past or if it is political.

I thoroughly enjoyed Bleeding Heart Yard, which is an absorbing read, full of secrets and lies. It is told from various points of view, mainly Harbinder, Cassie and another friend from the teenage group, Anna. I’m not always a fan of this approach, but it works well here with each contributing to the overall story in different ways. Harbinder presents the investigative point of view, Cassie supplies the emotion and Anna, who has lived in Italy for the past few years, is the outsider with character knowledge. It gives the reader a broader understanding of both past and present events in a realistic way.

I must admit that I didn’t put a lot of effort into trying to figure out the murderer’s identity as I got caught up in the drama of the characters’ secrets, dilemmas and love lives. I found it all fascinating and absorbing, but that is the author’s strength, the way she brings her characters to life. As such, the solution came as a surprise to me and seemed like the most unlikely set of circumstances as there are so many holes I could poke in it. But so what? The journey to that point is very agreeable so a bit of unlikelihood at the end is not a deal breaker.

Bleeding Heart Yard is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

This is the first Harbinder Kaur book I’ve read from the series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Couldn’t put it down. It’s a good police procedural with lots of secrets to be discovered, with different, likeable characters. There are plenty of red herrings and the murderer turns out to be the least suspected person. Great twists.
It’s a great murder thriller and I’m excited to read more in the series. Definitely recommend.
Thanks to #NetGallery #QuercusBooks #EllyGriffiths for an e- arc of #BleedingHeartYard in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third Elly Griffiths novel to feature Harbinder Kaur, the lesbian British Sikh detective. One of the things that Griffiths does best as a writer is creating rounded, interesting, flawed but very likeable characters and Kaur is as good as any that she’s created. I really enjoy her.

This is a series that’s still finding its feet and Bleeding Heart Yard feels like Griffiths is making a fresh start. Kaur is in a new setting (she’s just moved to London to take up a post as DI in the Met) and there’s a new cast of supporting characters. So while it’s a sequel to The Stranger Diaries and The Postscript Murders, it can be read as a standalone novel.

The plot focuses on the sudden death of a controversial MP at a school reunion. When forensics determine that it’s murder, suspicion falls on the victim’s classmates – one of whom is a police officer in Kaur’s team. They’re a high profile bunch, including an actress, a famous pop star and another MP. They’re also already hiding a secret connected to the death of one of their classmates twenty years earlier.

It’s a twisty mystery with lots of red herrings and it’s written in Griffith’s unique and very readable style. But I found my interest levels dipping when Kaur was absent from the action. It’s an enjoyable series but it doesn’t have the magic needed to plug the massive Ruth Galloway sized gap that’s coming when that series ends next year.

Bleeding Heart Yard is out on September 29. Thank you to Net Galley and Quercus books for giving me an ARC.

Always love a good crime and although it takes time to find out how did the murder it’s always a surprise. I am always interested to see how the detective sorts out the clues.. Loved this latest one from Elly Griffiths. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus for the eARC copy of this title.

I am a massive lover of crime and thriller stories; it is one of my top (if not THE top) genres. The description of the plot sounded fantastic and I was very much looking forward to it... however my expectations were unfortunately not lived up to.

The novel didn't engage me much. It took me roughly 2 weeks to read this when I could usually finish a novel this length in a couple of days. I found that the beginning chapters that opened with the murder and backstory of The Group were well written, however after this the chapters began to fall very flat. I found that in between revealing snippets of the past, the chapters were very repetitive; going over information that had been mentioned in the previous chapter (e.g Anna's baker boy cap, Gary and Henry being political rivals etc.), and reading this repeated information just got boring.

I did guess the twist at the end. I'm not sure if this was down to me, or the writing, however I do believe that I came to the conclusion early on because each suspect was eliminated early on, or had very minor motivations.

That being said, I did enjoy reading some of the characters. I enjoyed the relationship between Anna and Chris, and particularly had a soft spot for Star. Izzy was irritating, but I felt that added to her overall character of her being the successful actress. I also really appreciated the use of a real life location for the setting of the murder as it connected it to the real world.

All in all, the book failed to engage me and draw me in, however some of the characters were entertaining to read

The third in Griffith's new series about Harbinder Kaur - who's now moved to London with a new team, new home and possible new love interest (hurrah). With the last of the Ruth Galloway novels on its way, I'm hugely looking forward to seeing this series continue. More please, as soon as possible.

This is the third in the DI Harbinder Kaur series and to be honest I think this is my favourite so far.

A great twisty story with a lot of interesting characters hiding secrets.

Can't wait til the next installment!

Another successful read by Elly griffiths, if you love the Ruth books , you will definitely like this series. Easy to read crime series , I do not think you will be disappointed. Look forward to the next one in the series.

This is my first novel by Elly Griffiths and number 3 in this series of books (which I did not realise to begin with). I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and Elly's writing style. This novel really gripped me even though I did find the start of the novel quite slow paced and I was unsure of whether to keep reading but I am glad that I did.

The blurb reads

"Is it possible to forget that you've committed a murder?

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..."

I really enjoyed reading about Cassie and finding out about this awful thing that she and her friends did in the past. Cassie has told no one about this deep, dark secret she possesses and on going to her old school reunion another body is found and the story goes full throttle.

I enjoyed reading about Cassie's boss, DI Harbinder Kaur and thoroughly enjoyed this character. If you enjoy a good who done it and like a mysterious read then do grab this novel.

Thanks to Elly Griffiths, NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This is an interesting police procedural with new DI Harbinder Kaur, a great female character. She is younger than a lot of her junior colleagues, but is efficient and organised, and knows she is good at her job. I love this. She is investigating a murder at a school reunion, which includes Cassie, one of her officers. Cassie and her schoolfriends (the Group) witnessed the suicide of one of their classmates in a disused tube station when they were young, but have questions about what actually happened.
In the investigation, most of the Group become suspects at some point, including Cassie. The actual murderer comes as a surprise.
Very good.

Another triumphant instalment of DI Kaur books. I absolutely loved it and the ending knocked me sideways. Elly Griffith’s is always a sound bet for a good read. #BleedingHeartYard #NetGalley

This is the third book in the Harbinder Kaur series, and I think they should be read in order to fully appreciate how far Harbinder has come, she has recently been promoted to DI and has moved to London. I really like Harbinder as a character, she is believable, has a brilliant sense of humour (her internal thoughts crack me up), and in this tale she is trying to make sense of herself and the new role she finds herself in, as well as dealing with the murder of two high-profile males!

This story is mainly told via three characters: Cassie – a DS in Harbinder’s team, Anna – who is one of the many suspects, and, of course, Harbinder. Whilst this type of narrative does work, it also leads to a fair amount of repetition, which, for me, grew a bit tedious in places.

Unfortunately, I did not like this book quite as much as the previous two - it’s a definite slow burner, and I felt it lacked a sense of excitement and drama. I found myself being easily distracted and even losing interest in places. The ending was, however, a surprising twist in the plot, which I feel the tale needed.

All in all, I enjoyed this instalment, but I didn’t love it.

Harbinder Kaur is a wonderful invention – a true original. This is Elly Griffiths’ third novel featuring the diminutive British Asian detective and, in some respects, it is the best so far. Harbinder has been promoted to DI; she has moved to London, a far cry from sleepy Shoreham and life with her parents. Her eccentric, warm-hearted friends have been left behind and Harbinder is feeling homesick. When the call comes for her to head up an investigation into an MP’s murder, she knows that she will have to prove her worth.
The narrative centres round ‘The Group’, six thirty-somethings who have reconnected at a school reunion. When one of them dies that evening, they all have to confront the past. Elly Griffiths’ greatest strength is in her characterisation. Whether major or minor players in her story, all of them come alive through credible dialogue, understandable motives and the apposite domestic details with which she surrounds them. Her use of spiky humour is very entertaining too!
So why isn’t this a 5-star read when it brought this reader a lot of enjoyment? Mainly because the final reveal borders on the farcical. Nevertheless, I’ll be back to read the next in the series, such is the draw of Griffiths’ detective and her team.
My thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.