Elly Griffiths writes lots of great crime books – but I do have the softest spot for this series which features DI Harbinder Kaur.
In this book – the third in the series – Detective Kaur has moved to London and is finding her feet with new flatmates, colleagues and city crime. When a school reunion ends in a suspicious death, DI Kaur and her team find themselves investigating some high-profile school alumnae and links to a murder many years previously. Their work is hindered by the fact that one of their team – DS Caitlin Fitzgerald – is one of the suspects…
As with all Griffiths’ books, the plotting is clever and the denouement unexpected – I was so cross with myself that I couldn’t identify the culprit at all from a relatively small field of school friends. I liked the fact that the narration shifts between characters; I particularly loved Anna’s story which was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for her (and me!), plus it was a brave choice to give us access to Caitlin’s thoughts as the first thing she tells us is that she is a murderer (no spoilers here – this is literally in the opening lines!) The only issue I had is that this sometimes confused the timeline slightly for me as we see the same event from multiple perspectives.
As in the previous books, DI Harbinder Kaur is a charismatic and appealing central character – she is both a good detective and also quite socially awkward. She has a brilliant way of making hilarious observations about her new colleagues – her wry asides about DS Jake Barker, poseur extraordinaire, made me laugh so much. The way she ineptly negotiates her relationship with her flatmate, the gorgeous Mette, is also sweet and charming. We definitely need to see more of DI Kaur.
It’s hard to write too much about this book without giving spoilers, but I really did like the way that Griffiths managed a large-ish cast of suspects without them becoming confused in my mind. Although they had distinctive jobs (MPs, actress, rock star – it was clearly quite a school!), I did have a sense of realistic and developed characters. Similarly, the police officers also had clear and defining characteristics which allows readers to see the dynamics of the team around DI Kaur.
I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys cleverly-plotted police procedurals or multi-perspective crime novels (like those written by Lucy Foley). Griffiths’ use of humour and a relatable detective make for a thoroughly entertaining read – and you don’t need to have read the other books in the series to love this one.
Thanks to NetGalley for my copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
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Header photo by David von Diemar on Unsplash
Great review, Kate! This sounds like a great crime novel. I love multi-perspectives and that the book has humor is just another bonus for me. Thanks for sharing!