The Postscript Murders

By: Elly Griffiths

Narrated by: Nina Wadia

Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

"This droll romp is a latter-day Miss Marple.” —Washington Post

Murder leaps off the page when crime novelists begin to turn up dead in this intricate new novel by internationally best-selling author Elly Griffiths, a literary mystery perfect for fans of Anthony Horowitz and Agatha Christie.

The death of a ninety-year-old woman with a heart condition should not be suspicious. Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur certainly sees nothing out of the ordinary when Peggy’s caretaker, Natalka, begins to recount Peggy Smith’s passing.

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 . . .

©2021 Elly Griffiths (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

CrimeReads Pick

wonderfully read. the characters were engaging

I really didn't want the book to end, I enjoyed the characters so very much.

Boring and Disappointing

Although I like the author this book is far from her best. The story was rather boring and failed to hold my interest for very long. Several interesting plot points turned out to be total red herrings and the ultimate resolution to the murders was rather mundane. Too many different points of view prevented the story from moving along and it really dragged in places. The narrator did a good job but couldn’t make the story any more compelling. This book could have been much better than it was. The author can do better. Choose something else by her instead.

Very Enjoyable

The characters were very entertaining and the plot was intriguing. I do wish there was a series coming up with the characters even though Harbinger Kaur is the series…. theses particular characters were delightful.

I love Elly Griffiths

Sweet, cozy murder story with lovable characters. Would love it to become a series but notloose ends.

Fun read !!

Clever, entertaining, and fun characters. An enjoyable easy read for entertainment - beach - plane - trip 😁. Recommend

Solid Follow Up!

I was really looking forward to this after listening Stranger Diaries and it did not disappoint. The reader did a great job with all the different characters and kept me really engaged.

I hope there’s more to come for Harbinder!

Great read

I loved this book. I wish there was a series involving these characters. Maybe there is I’ll go searching. I’m starting to run out of books by Elly Griffith. I’ll be very sad

Just okay

I loved the narrator. However, I felt like some plot points fell flat or ended up being disappointments. The character Benedict was not very compelling at all and I felt as though other character’s arcs were sacrificed in order to give him a happy ending. I did also get a bit frustrated with what I perceived as queerbaiting. I thought it would have been much much more interesting and rewarding to have the two queer characters end up together as opposed to the horribly mismatched straight-passing couple. I think Harbinder deserved a more satisfying ending. The mystery in and of itself felt like it wasn’t very well thought out. The ending was a surprise twist but in a way that it felt like it came out of nowhere and didn’t really make that much sense. Overall, I think that this book just didn’t live up to its description and felt rushed towards the end. I wouldn’t recommend spending a credit on it.

Such a good listen

With many references to other mysteries and authors (fictional and historical), this is a review of the genre within a very good story. The characters were entertaining and the performance was pitch perfect.

Plot a little weak, but . . .

Yes, improbable leeway given to amateur citizen-detectives, and the resolutions at the end feel like they're held together with chewing gum.

But I don't care. I love the characters, especially Harbinder, Neil and Harbinder's father and mother.

I felt similarly about the previous book (Stranger Diaries). The plot was weakened by the intrusive R. M. Holland, and the ending was not believable. But I enjoyed the characters--Harbinder, Clare, Georgie (somewhat), and Harbinder's partner Neil--so much that when the Postcript Murders came out, I bought it in an instant without waiting for reviews.

And I'll do the same when book 3 in the series comes out.