"A perfect novel for the armchair detective as this hugely entertaining read is set within the world of aspiring and published authors as they attempt to survive murder and mayhem."
This stimulating and lively (yes lively, even with all the deaths) crime novel hits all of the right notes. While The Last Word is a standalone murder mystery, it features a lot of the characters from The Postscript Murders which was shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger Award. It also includes the now Met based Detective Inspector, Harbinder Kaur, who appears in her own set of mysteries. Bestselling and prizewinning author Elly Griffiths has set this several years after the first, Natalka and Edwin are running a detective agency and find themselves involved in a case where writers and authors are being targeted. I absolutely love the connection within these two novels to the book world, it’s fascinating and incredibly entertaining. It is all rather clever, and beautifully balanced between the crime-solving private investigators, the police, and writers. Each chapter focuses on one of the characters, it really allows you to settle in while seeing events from a broad perspective. Edwin has to be a favourite of mine, this self-confessed oldest sleuth in the country adds an elegant flair to proceedings. The coastal location in Sussex just sings, and the writers' retreat is appropriately foreboding. I thoroughly enjoyed the standalone setting and timing of this novel that continues the stories of Natalka, Edwin, and Benedict, so just had to include it as a LoveReading Star Book. The Last Word is a gloriously fiendish and refreshing yet warming novel I can wholeheartedly recommend.
| Primary Genre | Crime and Mystery |
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A cosy, twisty, standalone mystery that reintroduces the glorious characters we met in the bestselling The Postscript Murders - shortlisted for the Gold Dagger.
Natalka and Edwin, whom we met in The Postscript Murders, are running a detective agency in Shoreham, Sussex. Despite a steady stream of minor cases, Natalka is frustrated, longing for a big juicy case such as murder to come the agency's way. Natalka is now living with dreamer, Benedict. But her Ukrainian mother Valentyna has joined them from her war-torn country and three's a crowd. It's annoying to have Valentyna in the tiny flat, cooking borscht and cleaning things that are already clean. To add to Natalka's irritation, Benedict and her mother get on brilliantly.
Then a murder case turns up. Local writer, Melody Chambers, is found dead and her family are convinced it is murder. Edwin, a big fan of the obit pages, thinks there's a link to the writer of Melody's obituary who pre-deceased his subject.
The trail leads Benedict and Edwin to a slightly sinister writers' retreat. When another writer is found dead, Edwin thinks that the clue lies in the words.
Seeking professional help, the amateur investigators turn to their friend, detective Harbinder Kaur, to find that they have stumbled on a plot that is stranger than fiction.
The Last Word features in the following genres: Crime and Mystery, Thriller and Suspense, Fiction, Books of the Month, Recommendations, Star Books, Crime and mystery: private investigator / amateur detectives, Crime and mystery: cosy mystery
The Last Word is available in Paperback, Hardback
The Last Word was written by Elly Griffiths and published by Quercus Publishing
The Last Word has 338 pages
£8.99
