The ultimate gripping murder mystery for winter nights, from the bestselling author of The Stranger Diaries and the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries
PS: thanks for the murders.
The death of a ninety-year-old woman with a heart condition should absolutely not be suspicious. DS Harbinder Kaur certainly sees nothing to concern her in carer Natalka's account of Peggy Smith's death.
But when Natalka reveals that Peggy lied about her heart condition and that she had been sure someone was following her...
And that Peggy Smith had been a 'murder consultant' who plotted deaths for authors, and knew more about murder than anyone has any right to...
And when clearing out Peggy's flat ends in Natalka being held at gunpoint by a masked figure...
Well then DS Harbinder Kaur thinks that maybe there is no such thing as an unsuspicious death after all.
From the sleepy seaside town of Shoreham to the granite streets of Aberdeen, The Postscript Murders is a literary mystery for fans of Antony Horowitz, Agatha Christie and anyone who's ever wondered just how authors think up such realistic crimes...
PS: Trust no one.
An enthralling new mystery featuring D.S. Harbinder Kaur
I thoroughly enjoyed this second instalment in Elly Griffiths' D.S. Harbinder Kaur series.
The book opens with sprightly 90-year-old Peggy Smith observing and documenting the goings-on outside her Shoreham-by-Sea bay window. That evening, Peggy is found dead by her agency carer, Natalka. Not satisfied that Peggy's death was natural, despite her age, Natalka contacts D.S. Harbinder Kaur to report her suspicions. It transpires that Peggy was a "murder consultant", and had assisted numerous successful crime writers by devising ingenious methods of murder, garnering her numerous dedications and acknowledgements. Kaur is initially dubious about Natalka's story, but becomes intrigued as additional unusual details emerge and another suspicious death occurs.
While Kaur conducts her official police investigation, Natalka teams up with two unlikely confederates - Benedict and Edwin - to uncover the truth, taking them from Shoreham, on a road trip adventure to the Aberdeen Crime Writers' Festival in Scotland.
The Postscript Murders takes a lighter approach to crime than Elly Griffiths well-established and excellent Ruth Galloway Series, although in a literary sense it sits above the majority of books in the "cosy mystery" genre. As always with Griffiths, her characters are complex and well-developed over the course of the novel. I particularly loved the quirkiness of the "amateur detective" trio in The Postscript Murders and the relationships that blossomed between them. We also learn more about Harbinder's personal and professional life in this book, and she is a delightful, complex and engaging character. The plot is enthralling, taking many twists and turns and containing many surprise developments for the reader to savour. The conclusion is fitting and satisfying, tying up many (but not all) loose ends that the story has thrown up. Via the late Peggy's dedication to and encyclopaedic knowledge of the crime genre, Griffiths makes a fitting homage, both to the great writers of the "golden age" and to modern writers pushing the boundaries into new and exciting sub-genres of crime fiction.
Highly recommended, both to existing readers of Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway Series and to those yet to discover her excellent crime-mystery books.
My thanks to Elly Griffiths, publisher Quercus Books and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication on 1 October 2020.
Sarah, 30/09/2020
