THE POSTSCRIPT MURDERS

4 stars out of 5

I've read only one other book by this prolific author, and more's the pity. With this one - an advance review copy courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley - I've become a fan. This is the second installment of her series that centers around Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur, an interesting character who is 36, gay, and still lives with her parents (who don't know she's gay). She's contacted by Natalka, a caregiver for elderly Peggy Smith, who found the woman dead. But there are no signs that anything is amiss, and since Peggy was 90 years old, Harbinder doesn't see a problem. The only thing remotely strange is that Peggy has business cards indicating that she's a "murder consultant" and is listed in the acknowledgements of books by several authors of crime books that apparently are favorites of the much-read Peggy.

That soon changes when Natalka and her friend, barista and former monk Benedict, return to Peggy's flat to start clearing out some things left by Peggy's son - who seemed in a hurry to sell his mother's flat - and encounter a gun-wielding masked person who grabs a book - one that's out of print - and runs. When Harbinder still seems reluctant to pursue the case seriously, Natalka, Benedict and Peggy's elderly neighbor of several years, Edwin, set off to investigate on their own. They begin by visiting a crime writers' conference in a not-too-distant town, where they run into several of the writers who have credited Peggy for suggestions they've incorporated in their books.

Then comes another murder; at that point, Harbinder begins to suspect that Peggy may have been murdered after all. From different locations, she and Natalka's competent team start sharing their findings, all of which lead up to a mostly surprising conclusion. Overall, well-written with intriguing characters whose interactions held my interest throughout. I'm already looking forward to the next one!

The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, March 2021); 284 pp.