The Postscript Murders: a gripping new mystery from the bestselling author of The Stranger Diaries

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Harbinger Kaur is a very interesting character, she seems to have a rough exterior but she shows another side of herself in this novel Edwin is an elegant gentleman who once worked for the BBC, and still has connections in the entertainment industry. Edwin is bored with his retirement life, and longs for interesting things to do. The chance to look into a crime is pure fun for him. Peggy, the “murder consultant”, helped novelists find new and interesting ways of murdering their victims. As those novelists feature in the story, Griffiths is given even more opportunities to turn her wit to writers and their methods.

When Peggy Smith, a 90-year-old woman, is found dead, no one believes foul play had a role in her death….that is no one but her Ukrainian carer, Natalka. Upon the discovery that Peggy served as a murder consultant, thinking up unique ways for characters to die, for popular and critically acclaimed authors, Natalka teams up with Edwin, an 80-year-old “ancient TV producer," and Benedict an “ex-monk-turned-coffee-shop owner” to investigate Peggy’s death. Detective Harbinder Kaur is brought into the fold. MY THOUGHTS: 'No one knows the hour,not even the angels in heaven, or the Son himself...' - Matthew 24

So you’ve probably figured out this is not another gritty thriller. It’s more than that. As events lead police, Kaur & her team of misfits on a dash across the UK, many references are made to well known mystery/crime writers & their work. There’s definitely a golden age vibe to the story, albeit with a decidedly modern edge & more humour. Intricate plotting, compelling characters, smart dialogue & plenty of dry wit makes this an engaging read. Griffiths’ sense of humor is still intact. When Natalka and Benedict, coffee shop owner and ex-monk, decide to investigate, they are confronted by a gun wielding masked man. “But he can’t deny it’s the most interesting thing to have happened to him since Brother Giles forgot the doxology in Matins.”

year-old Peggy Smith’s death appears to have been of natural causes. But her carer, Natalka, thinks otherwise. When she voices her suspicions, two acquaintances — Benedict, a former monk who now runs a coffee kiosk, and Edwin, a friend of Peggy’s and Benedict’s — also become curious. More surprising is that DS Harbinder Kaur of the local police agrees to look into the potential for foul play.I grabbed this off the New Fiction shelf at my library because I recognized DS Kaur from The Stranger Diaries and wanted to see what the author would do with her next. The Stranger Diaries was an eerie story with hints of the supernatural, told in first person through multiple POVs, and I knew this would have to be something very different. I wanted to hear about how Peggy collaborated with the authors and brainstormed with them! I wanted to hear her ideas, and to get to know HER. Peggy could have been one of those characters that we never forget!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.