The Postscript Murders is my first book by Elly Griffiths and I really enjoyed it.

This book is also about books and their authors, publishers and literary agents, which makes it really interesting for me.
I enjoyed the light humour throughout the book, even when it was to deal with serious subjects.

I really loved the titles in each chapter and thought it was a great and funny idea.
Also, the amazing Peggy was a fantastic character whose presence lingers in the book and I enjoyed Natalia, Edwin and Benedict and their adventures.

Harbinger is of course a fantastic character and I really enjoyed reading about her relationship with her family throughout the book.
I can’t wait to see what she will be up to next!

I would like to thank Netgalley, Quercus Books and Elly Griffiths for the opportunity to read and advanced digital copy of this book prior to its release date in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

As is to be expected a new title from Elly Griffiths brings a great deal of pleasure. You know that ordinarily you are in for a good read. And I am pleased to say that this title is no exception, we once again join the prickly character Harbindur who we met previously. This is a book to lose yourself in from the beginning to the end, the quality of writing draws the reader in and the smart characterization, good plotting and satisfying conclusion add to the mix. Discount this book as a reading choice as you will - you will be the one who misses out, so try it today.

#ThePostscriptMurders #NetGalley

An excellent cozy murder story, twists and turns with an unexpected ending. Well written with believable storyline and plots. Enjoyable read, would recommend to friends and family.

What a little gem of a crime novel! This book, while harking back to the 'golden age' of crime writing, is bang up to date. The characters are query and extremely varied but especially well written. The plot is ingenious and the twists and turns keep occurring right up to the end. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to all crime novel fans old and young.

Well, that was a lot of fun! The previous book - The Stranger Diaries - was one of my top reads of 2019, so I was excited to find out that DS Harbinder Kaur was returning so soon. I'd say there's a slight change of tone, with this instalment planting itself very firmly in cosy territory (whereas I thought Stranger Diaries was more on the fence), but that's fine by me.

When agency carer, Natalka, arrives at Peggy Smith's flat for her bedtime visit, she's surprised to find Peggy has passed away in her chair at the window overlooking the Shoreham seaside. She'd been perfectly fine just that morning. But when Natalka finds one of Peggy's business cards, describing her as a Murder Consultant, she can't help feeling there's something amiss. Helping the family to clear out Peggy's flat over the next couple of days, Natalka notices that many, many of the books in Peggy's vast crime fiction collection are actually dedicated to her. She thinks this is strange enough to report to the local police station, where she is interviewed by DS Harbinder Kaur. She also shares her suspicions with two of Peggy's other friends; Benedict, the local cafe owner, and Edwin, an elderly neighbour. Before we know it, authors are dying and the 3 civilians think they are in a crime investigation team with Harbinder (to her frustration), and the action moves from England to Scotland. Although it takes a little while to establish that there has been a crime committed, once the story reaches the point where there is no doubt, there are quite a few characters who could be in the frame. Elly Griffiths keeps the reader guessing till the end, when - as you would expect with a cosy - our clever investigator works it all out and saves the day.

Harbinder grows as a character in this book, and her non-police offsiders are nicely drawn too. It will be interesting to see whether they pop up again in a future book. Although there are a couple of references to characters and events from The Stranger Diaries, they are fairly minor, and I'd say this book could be read as a standalone without too many issues.

What a delightful read! The Postscript Murders is Griffiths’ second book featuring DS Harbinder Kaur, but this is book is my introduction to Griffiths’ work. Ninety-year-old Peggy Smith observes two unfamiliar men from the window of her sheltered accommodation in Shoreham-by-Sea. Soon afterwards, Peggy is found dead by her carer, Ukrainian-born Natalka Kolisynk. Peggy’s death doesn’t appear suspicious, but Natalka is unconvinced. Natalka shares her suspicions with Edwin Fitzgerald, Peggy’s neighbour and former broadcaster, and Benedict Cole, a former monk who now runs a shack café where the trio meet to discuss their ideas. Together, they form an unlikely but compelling team of amateur sleuths: “a glamorous woman, an awkward bespectacled man and an elderly gentleman in a cravat”. Though unique, the trio prove themselves to be capable and adept detectives, undeterred even when they find themselves in danger. I hope that Griffiths will feature this colourful trio again in her future novels.

The book contains a diverse array of characters and care has been put into making each one feel as realistic as possible, with the inclusion of several all too common racial and sexual microaggressions along the way. Nevertheless, Griffiths adds plenty of humour to the novel and these incidents are handled with a dry wit that was satisfying to read.

The Postscript Murders is a compelling, enchanting read. Griffiths is clearly a keen reader of crime fiction and references to the Queens of Crime are dispersed throughout the novel. This is a novel by a crime fiction lover written for other crime fiction lovers too. I devoured this book over a weekend, keen to know what was coming next with the turn of every page, yet not wanting the book to end at the same time. If you are a looking for a new cosy crime novel, I highly recommend you read this.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Although this is a second book featuring DS Harbinder Kaur it is very different from The Stranger Diaries. I feel very comfortable reading Elly Griffiths' books because the writing is so good and I immediately feel drawn into the plot and the characters, who are fascinating and very real. This is definitely a cosy crime (to quote Edwin of a book within this tale), not to be taken too seriously.
Three and a half stars for me.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Elly Griffiths/Quercus Books for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the characters were believable and I really liked getting to know them. The book is well written and the plot had me curious from the start. I really can’t praise this enough, I loved it and recommend it to anyone who enjoys cosy murder mysteries. Thank you #netgalley

I really enjoyed this book. It's an easy yet very enjoyable murder mystery, that I felt was reminiscent of Agatha Christie, in that it's a fun murder mystery that has no thriller vibes it's just fun to read. Definitely recommend this book.

The Postscript Murders is the second instalment in the Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur series, where murder leaps off the page when crime novelists begin to turn up dead in this intricate new novel. The death of a ninety-year-old woman, Peggy Smith of Seaview Court, with a heart condition should not be suspicious. Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur certainly sees nothing out of the ordinary when Peggy’s caretaker, Natalka Kolisnyk from Care4You, begins to recount her passing having found her in her beloved armchair.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...

This is a riveting, compelling and exciting addition to what is shaping up to become a fantastic crime series. It is a complex, multilayered mystery that is gripping and held my interest from first page to last. As always, the writing is superb and draws you in from the outset, the characters believable and real, and the plot action-packed whilst packing an emotional punch. If you're a fan of intelligent mysteries then this is not to be missed. She pays attention to subtle details that many authors would neglect and her quirky characters are memorable and engaging. The plot is superbly executed with enough mystery, intrigue, twists and turns to keeping you feverishly turning the pages. It's fast-paced and written in Griffiths’s straightforward prose which makes it such an easy book to read and lose yourself in. This is a crime writer who knows exactly how to pull the wool over readers' eyes time and time again and who can be trusted to have you on the edge of your seat, making guesses at those behind the crimes but each time she somehow completely fools you repeatedly. A highly entertaining, masterful and utterly engrossing police procedural. Many thanks to Quer us for an ARC.

This was a 3/4 * read for me. I’ve loved many of Elly Griffiths’ books and am enjoying this new series with DS Harbinder Kaur but felt this one was overly convoluted at the end. A fairly cozy mystery though, and much to enjoy.

This is the second book in the DS Harbinder Kaur series but I read it as a standalone and it made complete sense. I didn't even realise this was the second book until I looked at goodreads. For me, this wasn't one that would stick in my mind really. I read this a couple of weeks ago and have meant to write this review since then and completely forgot about it because the book wasn't that memorable.

The book is told from four different perspectives which could be slightly confusing initially but it made sense after a couple of chapters. The characters were great, they evolved and built friendships throughout the book. It was a well written book which was easy to read but it was just missing something for me. There was nothing that really made the book a great mystery so it ended up feeling a bit flat.

I love Elly Griffiths's mystery novels because of their clever twisty plots and warm-hearted characters. The Postscript Murders is the second in the Harbinder Kaur series. The first one, The Stranger Diaries, was a modern gothic mystery. The Postscript Murders is more a nod to classic 'golden age' crime fiction. You don't have to have read the first book in the series to enjoy this one.
Peggy Smith was a 'murder consultant'. She advised crime writers on their plots and invented original ways for them to kill off their characters. When she died at the age of 90 in a retirement home, Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur doesn't believe there is anything suspicious about it. Until Peggy's carer is held up at gunpoint - for a book!

Elly Griffiths is brilliant at creating characters that you really care about. I was so pleased when she decided to write another book featuring the dour Harbinder Kaur - now I'm hoping Elly will write another story featuring the stars of this story - Natalka (Peggy's care assistant), Benedict (the ex-monk) and Edwin (Peggy's friend, an ex-BBC producer). They would make a wonderful investigating team!

The Postscript Murders is like a fan letter to classic murder mysteries. Many of the secondary characters are crime writers and you get a glimpse into their lives. I love the way Natalka, Benedict and Edwin hare off to Aberdeen and gate-crash a writers' conference, determined to speak to Peggy's old clients and solve her murder. There is lots of bookish talk and even book bloggers get a mention. It's terrific fun!

The Postscript Murders is one of my favourite reads this year - such a gorgeous cover too! Recommended for all fans of traditional murder mysteries and readers of authors such as Richard Osman (The Thursday Murder Club) and Kate Ellis (the Wesley Peterson series). I'm counting the days until the next one - fingers crossed!



Thank you to Elly Griffiths and Quercus for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

his book is the second in the Harbinder Kaur series. In fact, I have not read the first, The Stranger Diaries, (shock and horror from those of you who know my compulsion for reading a series in order!) However, this book reads perfectly well as a standalone novel but I will definitely be getting my hands on a copy of The Stranger Diaries at the first opportunity.

DS Harbinder Kaur is a character who I would really like to spend more time with and I sincerely hope that there will be more books in this series. Ms. Griffiths has a real skill in portraying her characters in a way that by the end of the book you feel as though you have made a friend.

Another thing I really like about her books is that they are never full of blood and gore but meander along at an appropriate pace which allows the reader to really get to know the endearing characters. It is coupled with a terrific plot that kept me turning those pages well past my bedtime.

Slumbersome Shoreham.....
When a ‘murder consultant’ is found dead a complex investigation begins. With a great setting of the slumbersome Shoreham, a credible and colourful cast of characters and a clever plot this is a wholly entertaining murder mystery with plenty of twists along the way. Both engaging and enjoyable.

This is a murder-mystery story about murder-mystery writers. However, the detectives are a motley crew: a Ukrainian carer, an ex-monk, a retired BBC Radio Presenter and a Sikh Detective Sergeant. The title is a play on words P.S. for P.S. in the acknowledgements for one of the books and reflects aspects of the cryptic crossword nature of some of the clues. Peggy Smith, the P.S. mentioned above, lives in sheltered accommodation in Shoreham is known to some writers as a ‘Murder Consultant’ because she is good at devising novel ideas for them. Her sudden death by ‘natural causes’ strikes the unlikely group as suspicious and launches them into their investigation which involves an extended trip to a writers convention in Aberdeen before returning to Shoreham for resolution. There are a fair number of red herrings and at times it verges on the preposterous. However, all the loose ends are neatly woven together by the end. At a couple of points in the book reference is made to stories which are ‘cosy crimes’ of the Marple type and this would certainly serve as a description for this one. I enjoyed it and I think most readers would.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

DS Harbinder Kaur isn't suspicious when an elderly woman dies with a heart condition but those around her aren't so sure. They think she may have been killed as she believed someone was following her. Soon it becomes more than one suspected murder but who could be behind it?

I'm a huge fan of Elly Griffiths so was really excited to read this book and it did not disappoint. Its a follow on to Stranger Diaries which was really good too. The story is a brilliant mystery with a well done ending. I loved the twists along the way and couldn't figure out who the murderer was until the very end. The plot is a steady build and jumps from different characters allowing more depth to the story. The ending is brilliant and tied the story up well. The characters are well developed and you become really invested in their lives. I particularly loved Edwin. A fantastic crime thriller.

This was my first Elly Griffiths book, and won’t be my last. In the Postscript Murders we meet some intriguing characters brought together by their various links to Peggy Smith, an elderly resident of the Seaview sheltered housing on the seafront at Shoreham. Peggy’s sudden death is initially accepted as unremarkable due her advanced years, but suspicions are raised and three unlikely friends link with DS Harbinder Kaur to investigate. Benedict, an ex-monk who runs a coffee shack on the seafront; Natalka, Peggy’s Ukrainian carer with a secret; and Edwin, a retired BBC producer and Peggy’s fellow resident in Seaview, embark on an odyssey to Aberdeen, finding out more about each other and Peggy’s past in a well paced plot with a satisfying denouement. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Net Galley, Quercus Books and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

Elly Griffith’s The Stranger Diaries was one of my favorite books in 2019 and the author has brilliantly followed it up with an exciting and thrilling sequel The Postscript Murders.

Harbinder Kaur returns as the much-loved DS of West Sussex CID along with Neil in this murder mystery which is more of cozy fiction than a police procedural. Harbinder’s self-deprecating humor is spot on and her quirky and lovable character definitely brings a smile on reader’s face.

Joining Harbinder in this mystery set in the world of publishers, agents, editors and murder consultants are the three stooges; Benedict a coffee shop owner and ex-monk, Edwin, a retired BBC broadcaster and Natalka a carer for the aged and a mathematic whiz whose razor sharp mind, in fact, hooks on to the discrepancies in the death of the 90 year old sprightly crime aficionado Peggy Smith. The trio’s antics as amateur sleuths are the most charming part of the story.

The story unfolds thru each of these characters and drama heightens as one death follows another, taking us thru the seaside coastal town and Aberdeen. The locations in the story have been described so wonderfully that one can’t help but feel enchanted and long to be a part of the scenic locales.

As the plot thickens with Ukrainian mafia, Russian spies, war activities of the past, the atmosphere intensifies before Harbinder can bring everything to a conclusion.

It was enormously witty and comical to see Harbinder’s parents and their ‘neither in India nor in England ways of adaptation and even the mention of akki roti and parathas.

Be ready, dear readers to be charmed by the still staying-with- parents, gay, Harbinder Kaur of Sikh origins who loves to play Panda Pop.


This review is published in my blog https://rainnbooks.com/; Amazon India, Goodreads, and Twitter.

I love all Elly Griffiths’ books, but have always had a special place in my heart for the Ruth Galloway series (much featured on the blog). They were safe in their place at the top of the pyramid of EG’s works. But is there a competitor?

IN 2018 I really enjoyed The Stranger Diaries, a fabulously intricate gothic-y thriller with an old Victorian building, an old Victorian author and an old Victorian ghost story (lovingly created for the book) and some very modern crimes - and a new policewoman, Harbinder Kaur. It was excellent and so I was really pleased when I heard that EG was featuring her in another book. And this one, The Postscript Murders is an absolute triumph, for several reasons, some of them personal to me.

Subjects close to my heart include crime stories, authors, the Catholic church, maths, book events of various kinds, and Cold War history. All of them feature in this book, from lighting candles in church to calling people kulaks (I thought it was only us did that!).

Also, The Postscript Murders made me laugh out loud, it is witty and hilarious. But, I should make it clear, this is not some satire on the book industry, nor is it a comic caper (I like funny books, I like crime stories, but on the whole I HATE anything that combines the two in a way in which humour, slapstick and ludicrous situations take over from proper detection). EG treads a careful line – the book events, the signing, the literary festival are all very funny and recognizable, but they are not (on the whole) ridiculous or exaggerated for comedic effect. This is a genuine crime story with some chilling moments, and once I got into the final third I couldn't put it down, desperate to know what was going to happen.

The book starts with the death of Peggy Smith, an old lady in a retirement block of flats in a small south coast resort. She turns out to have had an enormous interest in crime fiction, and to have business cards saying ‘Murder Consultant’: the subtitle of the book is ‘They couldn’t do death without her’. It’s not clear (yet) whether she has been murdered, but there are some funny goings-on at the funeral and afterwards. I defy anyone to get that far and not to want to find out what is going on – it’s a superb setup.





EG’s books have fantastic lead characters, but she also does group dynamics very well, the relations between her characters are always full of joy and interest and tension, and here she has excelled herself. We have Harbinder and her colleagues – Harbinder starts as she means to go on, inviting someone into ‘my office’, when it is actually her boss’s, but then regretting it ‘when she sees how untidy it is. Also, Donna has got one of those awful cutesy calendars with babies in flowerpots.’

But in parallel we have Natalka (Harbinder’s visitor), and her companions Benedict and Edwin, all friends of the dead woman, an ill-assorted trio who want to find out what happened to Peggy.

“Peggy called the police ‘cossacks’” says Edwin. “It caused quite a stir at our neighbourhood watch meeting.” He stops, suddenly remembering DS Kaur’s presence.

“Don’t worry. I’ve been called worse” she says.

And this is where the story really takes off in a way close to my heart – because there is obviously a connection with old crime books, new crime books, Golden age authors, modern day authors. They have to look up authors, find books, make lists.



Well. It’s the dream, innit? Me and my blogging friends would be SO GOOD at that: the prospect is dizzying. If only someone would require us to solve a crime through our knowledge of crime books… **** see also below.

There are more deaths, and the investigation moves to Aberdeen in Scotland, where a literary festival is taking place. Natalka, Benedict and Edwin – ‘a glamorous woman, an awkward bespectacled man and an elderly gentleman in a cravat’– embark on a road trip to get there.

They play Who Am I?, which lasts until the M25. It’s not a complete success. Benedict’s choices are too obscure and religious (St Therese of Lisieux, Thomas Cranmer, Padre Pio), Edwin’s too old-fashioned (Marlene Dietrich, James Mason, Jacqueline du Pre) and Natalka’s too modern (Dua Lipa, Stormzy, Jameela Jamil).

The jokes come thick and fast, but so does the tension, and the scenes in a windswept house on the Scottish coast are particularly scary, and slightly reminiscent of one of my all-time favourite crime books, Christianna Brand’s Green for Danger: a group of disparate people are almost quarantined together for their safety, but then where exactly does the danger lie – within or without? There are twists and turns right up to the last pages – the book has some very varied plotlines, in a good way.

I sighed with delight at the end of it. More please, of Harbinder, but also of the others...

This book was joy from start to finish.

Pictures show my own collection – I bet I have more crime books than the charity shop had, and I didn’t have to go very far into my house to get these tiny samples.

****I was busy casting some of my crime-book-blogger friends in different crime-solving roles in The Postscript Murders, and there were two particularly strong candidates.

In a post on last year’s Bodies from the Library conference, I wrote this only-slightly-imaginary dialogue between two of my friends based on a previous event:

"At the Edgar awards banquet in NY I sat between Curtis Evans of The Passing Tramp, and John Norris of Pretty Sinister Books. They were the best ever company, but also faintly terrifying. I’m going to make up this example, but it will give you an idea what it was like. The awards would mention a book called, let’s say, Red Murder.


Curt would say ‘There was a book by that name published in 1934. It was by James Woodentop.’
John would say ‘1935 surely?’
Curt would say ‘British edition was 34, US 35.’
John would say ‘the publisher was Wildcrime books’
Curt: ‘In the US. Tuppence books in the UK, picture of a giant bloodstain.
John: ‘The green and white Penguin can’t have been till 1945.’
Both: ‘Can’t get it now for under $100’
And so on.
No book is truly forgotten while those two are still around."

Now, imagine them solving a crime-book-related crime…