I read this one aloud to my wife and we both really liked it.

This is the second Harbinder Kaur novel and I'm glad because she's a fun character. A grumpy lesbian cop who lives with her annoyingly doting parents, Harbinder is a great central character, especially when the series conceit is having multiple perspective characters related to the story. She's got a sharp mind, working class sensibilities, and a sarcastic inner monologue.

The first book's perspective characters, mother and daughter Clare and Georgia, are mentioned several times. Clare and Harbinder have become quite good friends, and I'm still positive that Harbinder is nursing a crush on her. But the new perspective characters are great, each with a viewpoint as funny and compelling as Harbinder's.

Natalka is a bisexual Ukrainian math nerd working as a carer in Shoreham. She's clever, outgoing, brusque yet friendly, and also deeply afraid that her brother was killed in the war. Benedict is a former monk who quit because he wanted to fall in love and subsequently opened a small coffee shack on the waterfront. He's an absolutely adorable character, an actual cinnamon roll. The third is Edwin, a gay octogenarian who spent a career at the BBC and is lonely rounds out the characters. These three are a lively bunch and the switching perspectives gives you real insight into their personalities.

I hope there are more in this series because both books have been fun, twisting murder mysteries that have left me satisfied with the ending and eager for the next. ( )

Digital audiobook narrated by Nina Wadia
3.5***

This is book two in the series featuring Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur, but it can easily be read as a stand alone.

A 90-year-old woman is found dead by her caretaker. It’s a peaceful scene; Peggy Smith’s body is sitting in her usual spot – a chair by the window where she liked to watch the goings on of her neighborhood. But Natalka, an immigrant from Ukraine, gets suspicious when she finds a stash of crime novels, all dedicated to Peggy, “murder consultant.” Then an armed intruder arrives as Natalka and her friend are trying to clean up Peggy’s flat, and, at gunpoint, steals one of the books, and the author of the stolen book is shortly found murdered! So, the case gets the attention of D.S. Kaur.

This is NOT a cozy, as there is a true detective at the center of the investigation, but Natalka and two cohorts (Benjamin, a former monk who runs the local coffee shop, and Edwin, Peggy’s 80-year-old neighbor) run a sort of parallel investigation that (mostly) helps Harbinder solve the case.

I really enjoyed this. It’s not a traditional hard-hitting detective novel, nor is it a sweet and quirky cozy mystery. Instead it is a brilliant composite of those subgenres. I liked the relationships between these characters, how they came together and pulled apart; how they countered one another’s theories, and supported each other’s efforts. And I liked learning something about Harbinder, a gay 30-something detective, who still lives at home with her parents. I want to know more about her.

I also rather liked the supporting cast of Natalka and Benjamin and want to know more of their story, but from what I read of the synopses of the other two books in the series, they don’t appear again. Spin off?

As for the main reason I like mysteries 
 I was kept guessing right to the end, and that’s a good thing. This is the first book by Elly Griffiths that I’ve read. It won’t be the last.

Nina Wadia does a find job of narrating the audiobook. I don’t think I’ve heard a narration by her before and I’m impressed with her talent for voices. I’ll have to look for more of her audios. ( )

Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur investigates the seemingly unsuspicious death of a ninety-year-old woman with a heart condition who had a very extensive collection of crime novels, each one dedicated to her and each containing a mysterious post-script.

While Harbinder was doing the police work, 3 other people who were friends of Peggy, the 90 year-old, did their own amateur sleuthing. There were likeable characters and nice relationships between them but the plot seemed predictable and similar to other stories I’ve read. I’ve enjoyed several books from Griffiths’ other 2 series but I was a little disappointed with this one. ( )

I love Harbinder! Her sense of humor and the way her mind works is compelling. The mystery in this book unfolds at a steady pace and left me trying to figure out who was responsible. Can't ever guess the end of these mysteries by Elly Griffiths...might get one part right but will miss something significant. Highly recommend this book series. ( )

Pure distraction as Harbinder Kaur investigates some seemingly natural deaths that don't feel right. Particularly interesting just now, as one of the characters is Ukrainian, and there are many references to Russian shenanigans of historical significance (pre-dating the current atrocity) and possible spy activities. ( )