... a pure joy to read ... written with a wonderful lightness of touch and it is clear from the off that Griffiths is enjoying every minute of writing it. Kaur is a great character ... this book is something of a smile-fest, with some hearty chuckles thrown in for the fun of it and there’s a cosy vibe too ... The scenes at the crime festival and the authors they meet there are wonderful. Griffiths has more than a festival or two under her belt and she uses that experience to fine effect. I’m sure fellow authors will recognise some of the people who feature, but we readers have no need to worry – we’re drawn in, rather than perhaps feeling left out of the in-jokes ... Amidst all the fun there’s a tightly rendered plot which keeps you guessing… and guessing ... There’s plenty of darkness and worry out there at the moment, but books like The Postscript Murders offer some welcome light relief – and isn’t that something to be applauded?
Griffiths’ strong sense of place—the sea is sparkling yet unsettling, Aberdeen’s cliffs beautiful yet unforgiving—provides a rich foundation for a cleverly constructed story with complex, memorable characters. Each is granted multiple turns to share their innermost thoughts, from feverish yet fearful interest in their detective work to poignant musings on years past. Through them, the societal tendency to underestimate the elderly is examined and defied time and again ... a cozy bibliophile’s delight of a mystery that turns writerly research and acknowledgments into fodder for pivotal plot points, offers a tongue-in-cheek peek at the publishing business and pays tribute to friendships that transform into chosen families.
Elly Griffiths’ love letter to mystery novels, the authors who write them, and the people or places that inspire them. It is great to see the literary process from this angle; as an acclaimed mystery writer, there is no better tour guide through it than Griffiths. Whether she is writing a new installment of a series or composing a stand-alone novel, you can never go wrong with her clever literary creations.
