The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths #review

Title: The Postcript Murders
Series: Harbinder Kaur #2
Author: Elly Griffiths
Publisher: Quercus

Synopsis:

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 Edinburgh and the shores of Lake Baikal, 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.

My review:

The Postscript Murders is an enjoyable crime novel with likeable characters and the return of Detective Harbinder Kaur. The story is intriguing – Peggy is a ‘murder consultant’ – whereby she helps authors with murders in their crime novels. One day she’s found dead in her nursing home, and some of her friends – Edwin and Benedict- and her carer Natalka set out to try and find out what happened to her.

I really enjoyed the mix of characters and the fact that it’s not just Harbinder, as a member of the police, investigating. The plot takes them from the Brighton area to to Scotland and, because the book is about authors and their books, there is lots of fun references to crime novels and the publishing world which I enjoyed.

I have to say that as I got through the book I got a little confused as to who had done what it was responsible for what – and why. I am a huge Elly Griffiths fan so this didn’t quite measure up to her other novels, in particular her Ruth Galloway series, but that’s partly because of the such high standard they set. I think The Postscript Murders perhaps just lost its way a bit, but it’s an entertaining read all the same.

The characters and the crimes aren’t particularly gritty, so I’d say this is quite a cosy crime read but with more bite – if you want something really hard hitting this may not be for you. However it’s a fun read, and the odd-but-sweet collection of characters and their interactions made me smile throughout.

Rating: 3/5

Many thanks to the publisher, Quercus, for providing a copy of this book on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review.

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4 comments

  1. This does sound like good fun. I’ve only read one of her Galloway series and I think made the mistake of coming in part way through the series so I didn’t really understand the character very well

    • Yeah it’s tricky when you enter a series halfway! I personally enjoyed the Ruth Galloway series more than this but then again I did start that one at the beginning so it’s a bit different!

    • Hope you’re enjoying – yeah I think I have just enjoyed the other books by Elly Griffiths so much that this didn’t quite hit the mark for me!

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