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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
I really, really loved this one. The plot was engrossing, I found myself attached to all of the characters, I enjoyed the literary references. I hope Griffiths keeps Benedict, Natalka, and Edwin around for future DS Kaur novels.
I love Elly Griffiths' style; regardless of whether it's the Ruth Galloway or the Harbinder Kaur series, she uses the same elegant style to tell a fun, twisty murder story where good always wins out in the end. My only complaint with this book is that the most interesting character (90 year old Peggy Smith) was murdered before the story began!
This one didn't work for me. There was no tension, the plot was confusing with weak motives and the pacing was erratic. The first book in this series; The Stranger Diaries, is one of my all time favourite books and I love the character of Harbinder Kaur.
mysterious
Felt slow, better for when I can get more immersed
This book started off strong, but really fell short for me. 2.5, but I'll round it to 3.
Other than the plot itself (that was a bit lackluster at the end) the way that Harbinder was written really irked me. I honestly checked the backflap to see what the author looked like because the way that Harbinder experienced racism, prejudice, and stereotypes felt extremely inauthentic (while also in the same page she was making stereotypes and assumptions about Russians). Her reactions, responses, and the way she was treated throughout the book was what I can only categorize it as "what a white person thinks racism feels like in modern-day society," to put it lightly.
Other than the plot itself (that was a bit lackluster at the end) the way that Harbinder was written really irked me. I honestly checked the backflap to see what the author looked like because the way that Harbinder experienced racism, prejudice, and stereotypes felt extremely inauthentic (while also in the same page she was making stereotypes and assumptions about Russians). Her reactions, responses, and the way she was treated throughout the book was what I can only categorize it as "what a white person thinks racism feels like in modern-day society," to put it lightly.
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Although Elly Griffiths isn't a cozy mystery writer, THE POSTSCRIPT MURDERS has the fun, upbeat feel of a cozy. There's murder and mayhem, yes, but it's still a humorous, mostly clean story that's got a quirky, enjoyable cozy vibe. The characters are likable, the mystery is twisty, and Griffiths' prose is on-point as always. Overall, this is just an entertaining read. I enjoyed it very much.
The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths
The Postscript Murders gives us a cozy murder mystery, in the style of Agatha Christie. No in your face blood and guts, just a 90 year old woman who is such an expert on how to kill people that authors use her as their "murder consultant". But when Peggy dies, one of her caretakers, Natalka, gets suspicious for a number of reasons. Natalka had seen Peggy that morning and she was just fine, so Natalka, Benedict, the local coffee shack guy, and Edwin, Peggy's 80 year old neighbor, start brainstorming things they've found and become amateur murder sleuths, to the annoyance of DS Harbinder Kaur, who is the official investigator on the case. Peggy's death does seem suspicious, especially when an intruder holds a gun on Natalka and Benedict, while they are looking at crime books in the late Peggy's apartment.
We get to see things from the viewpoints of Natalka, Benedict, Edwin, Harbinder and others. Eventually Natalka, Benedict, and Edwin take off to an Aberdeen literary festival to do their snooping, and things get more dangerous and perplexing. Both Benedict and Harbinger are the most entertaining to me, with their inner thoughts on everything that was going on. Natalka brings to mind a beautiful spy (I'm not saying she is a spy), Edwin, at 80, is as suave as he was in his younger days, and Harbinder gets so irked by her partner Neil that she imagines he's a small woodland creature, although I don't think this helped her relationship with him, one bit.
Harbinder played a role in The Stranger Diaries but it's not necessary to read that book to enjoy this one. I hope we see more of Harbinder (and friends) in future books. I'd love to see things from the viewpoint of Neil, Harbinder's partner. As much as she thinks he drives her nuts, I suspect he has a few complaints of his own.
Pub: March 2nd 2021
Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for this ARC.
The Postscript Murders gives us a cozy murder mystery, in the style of Agatha Christie. No in your face blood and guts, just a 90 year old woman who is such an expert on how to kill people that authors use her as their "murder consultant". But when Peggy dies, one of her caretakers, Natalka, gets suspicious for a number of reasons. Natalka had seen Peggy that morning and she was just fine, so Natalka, Benedict, the local coffee shack guy, and Edwin, Peggy's 80 year old neighbor, start brainstorming things they've found and become amateur murder sleuths, to the annoyance of DS Harbinder Kaur, who is the official investigator on the case. Peggy's death does seem suspicious, especially when an intruder holds a gun on Natalka and Benedict, while they are looking at crime books in the late Peggy's apartment.
We get to see things from the viewpoints of Natalka, Benedict, Edwin, Harbinder and others. Eventually Natalka, Benedict, and Edwin take off to an Aberdeen literary festival to do their snooping, and things get more dangerous and perplexing. Both Benedict and Harbinger are the most entertaining to me, with their inner thoughts on everything that was going on. Natalka brings to mind a beautiful spy (I'm not saying she is a spy), Edwin, at 80, is as suave as he was in his younger days, and Harbinder gets so irked by her partner Neil that she imagines he's a small woodland creature, although I don't think this helped her relationship with him, one bit.
Harbinder played a role in The Stranger Diaries but it's not necessary to read that book to enjoy this one. I hope we see more of Harbinder (and friends) in future books. I'd love to see things from the viewpoint of Neil, Harbinder's partner. As much as she thinks he drives her nuts, I suspect he has a few complaints of his own.
Pub: March 2nd 2021
Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for this ARC.