The Stranger Diaries

 Elly Griffiths' new series with Detective Harbinder Kaur as the lead with her assistant Neil working for a small police force looks like the beginning of a very interesting mystery series.  

Harbinder is already shaping up to be a complex character, she is from India, a woman in her thirties living with her parents and gay.  Starting off with all those personal traits leaves plenty of room for Griffiths to build a wonderful character storyline as the series progresses.  Her partner Neil Winston, seems to be typical white male, playing off Kaur's personality with a more average alter ego, married always asking questions and playing the empathetic role to Kaur's caustic rougher personality. 

This is plot follows a combination cozy murder and a psychological thriller.  We meet the characters living in a small town outside London, Clare, a teacher working at a private school, divorced, living with her teenage daughter, Georgia.  Framing the whole novel around a short story written by an author, who once lived at the school, and the diaries that a few of the characters keep is a unique way to move the plot forward.  We are given parts of the short story along the way as the main story unravels.

When murders start happening at the school, Clare  is at the center of the controversy.  You are always wondering as you hear the same story from varying points of view who to believe.  Reading carefully looking for the slip up from one of the characters that will give away their hand, but this very cleverly written and you will be surprised at the end.  There are many references to famous authors and quotes from literature.  Interestingly, this is the second book this year using the quote, "Hell is empty, all the devils are here."  

Griffiths keeps you guessing all the way to the end who the murder could be and you are constantly second guessing yourself as you are reading holding back from getting attached to any characters because you cannot trust that they are not going to turnout to be the killer.  Well written and fun to read.