In the third installment of the Harbinder Kaur series, Kaur tackles her first murder case as a DI in the Homicide and Serious Crimes Unit at the Met. The case involves a prominent murder victim and his former school friends, throwing Kaur headfirst into the deep end of her new job. The narrative unfolds through two timelines: one set twenty-one years ago during the last month of Manor Park School, and the other in the present day as the former schoolmates gather to celebrate their graduation. As Kaur investigates the murder, connections to a past tragedy involving a less-liked schoolmate, David, emerge, leading her to question whether the events of the past are linked to the present crime.

The alternating viewpoints capture the complexity of the story, though it takes some time to grasp all the characters and navigate the jerky timeline shifts. Despite the challenges, the novel offers an intriguing plot with sprinkles of humor, especially through Kaur's witty observations and entertaining asides, making for an engaging read.

This is the third in a series, but the only one I've read, unusually for me, who isially starts with the first one. But thanks to NetGalley and an interesting premise, I gave it a try. I'm glad I did. The series protagonist, Harbinder Kaur, has just made several life changes, so the previous ones did not seem as necessary to have read. One of my favorite crime novel tropes is history (Even better if it's London history) coming back to bite contemporary characters in the ass, and Bleeding Heart Yard is full of this. If not London history, then high school history, as the first murder takes place at a 20 year reunion. The plot is intricate and the suspects are many, including one of Haribder's colleagues. LOved the resolution and will definitely read the earlier ones!

A group of old school mates get together for a friendly reunion only to find one of them is murdered right in the school during the celebration. The tight group come to understand this death may be because the victim had some knowledge about a potential murder that took place their senior year. When another from the group turns up dead just days later, the friends all start wondering who knows what they did all those years ago...and what lengths would they go to keep the secret buried?

I have to say this is not my normal genre but overall was quite pleased. Albeit there were a lot of players to keep straight, especially with toggling across a handful of narrators, but still I was able to keep the story and characters straight. I saw some other reviewers mention the slow burn storytelling combined with lots of dialogue causing the book to drag and get boring in spots, but I found I got used to that pretty quickly. I didn't see the outcome at all so was pleasantly surprised. Things did wrap up a bit quick and without much fanfare which I had hoped given all the build up it would've been a bit more of a bang than a quiet thud reveal. Overall I give this 4 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read in exchange for my honest review.

The synopsis of this book had me sold as I’m a huge fan of police procedurals and it included a high school reunion of late 90s graduates. Harbinger is the DCI and while reading I quickly learned that this book was apart of a series. I’m a stickler for reading books in order to truly know the characters at play. I recommend reading the first two books before this one because it’s a great series to start.

The linked Harbinder Kaur books have been such an enjoyable set of books, and each one has been distinct and intriguing. This one, with its London setting and the school reunion murder, is exceptionally done with excellent characters. There were plenty of possibilities and connections, and it both moved Harbinder forward as a character and told a solid story.

Would recommend to fans of Tana French and Elly Griffiths. Not a cozy but also not gritty. Can be read as a standalone but is part of a series.

Another solid mystery. She writes so well I look forward to them all. IN this the setting and characters came alive.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

This. is the 3rd book in the Kaur Harbinder sale. When friends reunite and remember their school years, they are concerned when another member of their group is killed. Harbinder steps in to investigate, and one of her officers, Cassie, is nervous, as she is one of the friends. She remembers that they all lured one of the boys to the railroad tracks where he died. They all kept quiet about it for years, but now, another of their group died suspiciously, and Cassie is distraught.
Kaur tries to understand the connection to the bleeding heart yard, and scrutinizes the group's past.
I enjoyed this one as much as I enjoyed the other Harbinder book I read. I am enjoying this series.

Another clear winner from Elly Griffiths. Originally her protagonist, Harbinder Kaur was intended
to be a stand alone hero. I am so pleased that Harbinder, and her colleagues are part of a series.
Here Harbinder is investigating a death that occurred at a school reunion. The reader knows, but Harbinder is unaware that one of her Detectives, Cassie Fitzgerald, is deeply involved. Griffiths has moved the location from Harbinder's seaside town to London. A promotion to Detective Inspector
and a new setting provides a wealth of new opportunities for Harbinder.

I do enjoy all of Griffiths series. As her fans know, she has received my accolades for her work. Harbinder, with her wry outlook, combined with her Punjabi Skih background has become one of my favorites. Twists and turns in Bleeding Heart Yard lead the reader on a merry chase. Welcome to London, Harbinder. May you have many more adventures.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Cassie is unsure about attending her high school reunion. She had a lot of friends in school. Whe a class mate was murdered manyvyears ago, she tries to forget. Whike attending the reunion many memories come back.

The author slowly builds suspense, tension, and doubts in this psychological thriller which did bring interesting twists and turns along the way. you’ll notice I said slowly builds the story.

This book read ok as a stand alone novel.

This is about a class reunion and a murder of a teen that happened when they were all in high school over 20 years ago.

It was intriguing and pulled you into the story!!
I could not put it down till I finished it.

I absolutely love this series. Elly Griffiths does such a fabulous job with characterization, whether in her Magic Men / Brighton series or this one (I haven't yet started Ruth Galloway, but suspect the same will be true). She has a marvelous knack for crafting characters that leap off the page with their realism and believability, giving each just enough quirks and foibles to make them entirely human and yet also simultaneously entirely relatable - even when they bear no resemblance to your own life whatsoever.

In this latest Harbinder Kaur book, she has once again taken us into detective land with a unique slant that was wholly engaging and entertaining from page one through the end. The novels always read so fast - it's a magnificent thing but also sad because it means then I once again have to wait for the next one...

This could probably be read as a standalone, although I'm not normally a fan of that and don't often say it. The build is in personalities more than in storyline, such that you could probably start here without feeling lost. If you do though, I guarantee your interest will be peaked such that you'll want to go back and read the first two!

Enjoyable enough! I’ll definitely keep reading this series as I love Harbinder Kaur. She's funny and sharp.

I had a couple issues with book three in this series. It feel like so much of the case rested on David’s body not being given an autopsy, and the book gave no valid reasons for why that was. He was shot, and there was no evidence of that? I know he was hit by a train, but I found it farfetched to just believe nothing even basic was done. A teen who went to a prestigious school, died in weird circumstances, and they just assumed it was an accident. They assumed he was on drugs, but didn't even check his blood? A prestigious school would want to have confirmation, to at least separate themselves from having the image that a bunch of kids at their school do hard drugs.

I also didn't understand why Pete suddenly gave himself up? The reenactment still wouldn't prove anything. Sonoma still knew but clearly she wasn’t going to tell anyone, even if she was in danger too. She washed her hands of that whole business.

Finally, there was too much dwindling on the past from all the suspects, but I’m glad Harbinder has a girlfriend, and she met her parents!

In England, a school reunion takes place twenty-one years after graduation. Some of those returning have reached some degree of fame, some in Parliament, some in entertainment, some in more everyday pursuits. While gathered for that reunion, one of their members dies, is murdered. As the police investigate, other murders of these former classmates happen. As the police investigate, the reader learns more about those former schoolmates, their connections, and what’s happened to them over time. We also learn that they participated in an event that brought about another classmates death.

This is a police procedural and a character study combined. It’s reminiscent of Christie’s And Then There Were None, but it doesn’t go so far as to wipe out everyone. I liked the characters, but I had trouble believing in what they did and what they became, and I didn’t care about them. I had trouble believing that none of them had any lingering reactions, like PTSD, following what they did while still in school.

I’ll be honest, I thought this book could have been shortened. I felt it was slow moving at times, and often didin’t hold my attention. I, also, wasn’t surprised by who committed the murder when it was finally revealed. I guess I found that, overall, the story fell flat for me.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I thank all involved for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.

This is the third in a series and while you can pick up and read from here I think you will find it good enough to want to read the first two, which is what I intend to do! Is it possible to forget that you committed a murder? That’s what the storyline focuses on and does it keep you on your toes!

Although well written, this title has solidified that I struggle to engage with police procedure stories. I found the cast of characters hard to follow. When the final reveal was given I found myself asking who? what?!? WHY?!? I enjoyed the dual timelines and felt both stories were well balanced.

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. This author can not write a bad word. Everything she writes is just magical and this was no exception. While I suppose you would call this another book in the Harbinder series I think it’s more a stand-alone mystery told from multiple narrators…..all of which could be unreliable. So many twists and turns and I did not see the end coming. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Twenty one years ago a fellow student from the Manor Park School falls to his death in what seems to be an accident, but was it? A group of old friends have refused to talk about his death for all these years, but when they all meet up for a class reunion, his name comes up and shockingly another of them turns up dead at the reunion. Garfield Rice was a controversial MP, but is his death political or does it have something to do with all those years ago. The friends are all questioning what really happened to Garfield, but when yet another person from the reunion is found dead in Bleeding Heart yard…they must look back at the past before they can head into the future. This book was quite good until reaching the ending that came out of left field and was just too far fetched! Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

BLEEDING HEART YARD is a wonderfully constructed thriller with all the elements a crime lover will want. Griffiths melds the past and present to bring to life a story of deception, hidden truths, and at the heart of it all, love.

In this book, the author unravels a decades-old mystery by creating a whole new crime in the present. She sets the stage with a class reunion and a murder. Then, Griffiths carefully weaves events leading up to the death of a student in the 90s. The players are all accounted for in each timeline, but the way the truth reveals itself is perfection.

The fast-paced prose in BLEEDING HEART YARD propels the reader into a world where many aren’t who they seem. And all of the players seem to have something to hide. Brilliant!