The death of a ninety-year-old woman with a heart condition should absolutely not be suspicious. DS Harbinder Kaur certainly sees nothing to concern her in carer Natalka’s account of Peggy Smith’s death.
But when Natalka reveals that Peggy lied about her heart condition and that she had been sure someone was following her…
And that Peggy Smith had been a ‘murder consultant’ who plotted deaths for authors, and knew more about murder than anyone has any right to…
And when clearing out Peggy’s flat ends in Natalka being held at gunpoint by a masked figure…
Well then DS Harbinder Kaur thinks that maybe there is no such thing as an unsuspicious death after all.
My Review
This is the second novel by Elly Griffiths to feature DS Harbinder Kaur, a Sikh detective with sardonic wit whom I met in The Stranger Diaries. Since she was the best character in that book I was delighted to spend more time with her in sleepy Shoreham-on-Sea. When Ukranian cleaner Natalka reports her suspicions that 90-year-old Peggy Smith has been murdered she finds it hard to believe her but as the attractive, animated, young woman explains that Peggy was a “murder consultant” for famous crime writer, Dex Challoner, and that she had inferred her past included espionage, Harbinder starts to take the case seriously.
Meanwhile Natalka enlists the help of ex-monk, Benedict, now a café owner and Peggy’s neighbour, dapper former BBC radio presenter, Edwin, to help her with her investigation. When the case is complicated by the sudden death of Dex Challoner, Harbinder realises a serious plot is involved but she is annoyed to hear that Natalka and her friends have driven to Aberdeen to meet the participants of a writers’ festival.
On one level this is a cosy mystery with amusing incidents and likeable characters but there are darker elements too. Two men were seen acting suspiciously by Peggy shortly before her death and when Natalka hears them talking she realises that they are Ukrainian. She believes they are looking for her, but how can this connect with the murders of Peggy and Dex?
Elly Griffiths has produced another delightful novel which intrigues and amuses, featuring a cast of characters from all walks of life, ages and cultures. A really great read.
The Postscript Murders at Amazon UK
My review of The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
Lizanne lost in a good book 