Welcome to Litsy!

“Benedict is very aware of his own faults…he knows among them is an unhealthy fascination with murder…”
Me too?!

n Shoreham, Edwin and Natalka are asked to look into the deaths of writers by relatives unsatisfied by the official explanation of death by natural causes. Are these cases related to some of Harbinder Kaur's cases up in London?

Harbinder was very much taking a back seat in this one, with just a few perfunctory appearances. Big changes in the Shoreham characters' lives gave the book an air of a wrapping up of the series.

#coffeeandabook

I enjoyed this cosy mystery in the Harbinder series. The characters Edwin, Natalka & Harbinder give it depth & keep you turning the page. A fun mystery involving several authors from the same writers retreat dying, & the investigation takes us to the retreat & book club. So a little insider-y with tongue in cheek. The many & various victims felt a little disjointed but it comes together. A comfort read with heart & humour.

I will read everything Elly Griffiths writes, so I was excited to pick up this one, which is part of the Harbinder Kaur series but really more about three characters from that series‘s first book. I liked revisiting those characters and the mystery was an interesting one. I also liked the writing retreat and book club being part of the story. It felt a little long but I still enjoyed it.

I even went to the bookshop - it's called The Owl Service and it's very cool...

#Bookshops #London

He traced the first stirrings of his Doubts to buying a copy of Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers at Waterstones in Bradford, whilst supposedly on his way to a retreat. He remembers the shop itself, as beautiful as any cathedral, appearing like a cornucopia of temptation.

Fun! There was some good misdirection in this book which featured the charming characters from The Postscript Murders. Harbinder Kaur, the DI, was not a big focal point of this one, and I would have liked to see more of her. This story was very literary, taking place around the world of publishing, writing retreats, book clubs, etc. I liked it and was surprised by the ending!

At the pool on a (finally) cool day. Better for reading than swimming!

I enjoy this series. This is book 4, but even though it is the Harbinder Kaur series, she is not the main focus. Similar vibes to Thursday Murder Club series, although only one character is elderly.

Delightful, light and satisfying. I‘m a fan of her Dr Ruth mysteries. Just read this because I have loved those and it popped up in the library.

I don‘t think this is one of Griffith‘s best, but still a solid mystery and a fun read. Harbinder Kaur makes a more-or-less cameo appearance, but the story focuses on the three amateur sleuths from The Postscript Murders, and alternates through their points of view. It‘s a bit of a slow build, but an interesting premise, and I love these characters. Recommended, but I suggest Postscript Murders first.

While DI Harbinder is in this book, she is not the main character, which is a bit of a minus from me. Instead we also read from Natalka, Benedict, and Edwin‘s POV. Out of those 3, I liked Edwin the most, he really is the fun uncle or a surrogate grandfather type ☺️ Natalka and Benedict were my least fave, but props to Elly on the writing because I have a gut feeling I wouldn‘t love hanging with those 2 in real life either😆 Still a solid “pick”

Um, this doesn‘t seem accurate 🤔 Goodreads has this title as #4 in the ‘Harbinder Kaur‘ series and the titles on the left page has the other works in that series under the “Other Works” section, but the title page has that it‘s a Ruth Galloway Mystery….? Am I taking crazy pills? 🫠

US release day for this, and it landed on my Kindle this morning. Started it this evening, and already hooked. Mystery reading in the dark 😄