The Stranger Diaries: A Mystery

Elly Griffiths is an exceptional writer. I have followed her Ruth Galloway novels (and pre-ordered them) ever since I read the first one. I did not connect with her Magic Men series, but on the basis of other reviews, I dove into this one. With no reservations, it is terrific! So good, that I am hoping that it is the beginning of a new series. The story begins with an excerpt of a ghost story. The spooky ghost story sets the tone and serves as an element of plot and mystery for the book. It is the murder of a teacher that drives the investigation. The characters in this police procedural are very well developed which is good because the point of view switches between the main characters. It is never confusing because the chapter titles are the name of the character who has that turn with the point of view. Our detective is DS Harbinder Kaur. She could definitely carry a series. The story is complex and richly detailed. The setting along the Sussex coast adds another element of interest. We were traveling through this area of England while I was reading the book and her descriptions were spot on. The evocative setting, excellent characters, spooky ghost story, well-thought-out plot, and skilled writing combined to make a very good mystery story. Elly Griffiths is part of an elite group of mystery writers that I follow and preorder. Her Ruth Galloway books (and any future Harbinder Kaur books) are eagerly anticipated and enjoyed. A few other mystery writers that I consider to be in that elite group are Louise Penny (Armand Gamache set in Canada), Anne Cleeves (The Shetland Island books and Vera Stanhope novels set in Northumberland), Martin Walker (Bruno, Chief of Police set in the Dordogne region of France), Paul Doiron (Mike Bowditch set in Maine), Cay Rademacher (set in Provence), Jean-Luc Bannalec (set in Brittany), Robert Galbreath a.k.a. J.K. Rowling (Comorran Strike set in London), and the remarkable Jane Harper (set in Australia). Many congratulations and thanks to Elly Griffiths for this well-written and very entertaining story.

This book started off slowly. It began with a character, Clare, who was writing in her diary the kind of simple banal stuff we diarists write. And then she mentions that a friend of hers has been murdered. She’s horrified but really not that horrified. I actually didn’t like Clare, she seemed very cold and self-absorbed. Then a second character takes over the narrative, one of the detectives on the murder case, Harbinder Kaur. I liked her a lot better, she explained what was happening with the murder (I mean, if one is reading a mystery, it’s because one wants to know about the murder!) And she is a fun character, Sikh, lives at home with her parents, doesn’t understand some of the niceties of Clare’s life (her opinion of diarists is so funny.) She becomes quite friendly with Clare and Clare’s daughter Georgie who becomes the third narrator. Georgie is 15 years old, a good writer, and very involved with a creative writing group with three other teens. They are mentored by a teacher at the sixth form school, who professes herself to be a white witch. One thing that surprised me was the Georgie had a 21 year old boyfriend, Ty. Clare seems to be quite cavalier about it all although she rather desultorily writes from time to time that Ty is too old for her. Those are the main characters with a few that hover in the background; one of these minor characters gets murdered and another attacked before the murderer is finally caught. I thought I had the puzzle solved three quarters of the way through the book but the ending actually surprised me. Griffiths threw a couple of red herrings in and I was taken in. This is a good light read. Yes, it is suspenseful and there is a ghost story in it. As I said, I felt it started rather slowly but that could be because I have read Griffith’s other books and it is quite different from them.

I’m now an Elly Griffith fan. This was a captivating, easy and fun to read mystery, and I’m looking forward to reading more of her books.

Every year I try and read the nominees/winners of the Edgars to see what the judges are thinking. As it happens I had already read The River and Good Girl Bad Girl (nominated). Stranger Diaries won for best overall novel. I really loved The River and Good Girl Bad Girl. Stranger Diaries, not so much. Everyone’s tastes are different. Stranger Diaries is written in a mystery construction, with a slow burning conflict which I didn’t have a problem with. I have said before I like a book that immerses me in the Fictive Dream, where my world falls away. What turned me away in this book was the point of view. The first section is a teacher who is a friend of the murder victim. This is in first person present tense. I really enjoyed this voice and wanted more. I wish the entire book had been written in her POV. Each time an author shifts to another point of view there is a risk of dumping the reader out of the Fictive Dream and that’s what happened. In the next section was the point of view of the cop. It’s written in first person past tense. I didn’t not like this character, she was too full of herself for my tastes. I stayed with it though hoping for it to change back. The next section was first person present tense of the first character’s daughter. I didn’t think the author pulled off the teenage voice and I was yet again dumped out of the Fictive Dream. The story set in England where I didn’t understand the school system this didn’t help either. This book has great depth of character, it was the choice of voice that turned me away. If you like British mysteries, you might give this one a shot.

5 stars for an outstanding mystery of very high quality! It's intellectual, spooky, smart, modern and historical feeling at the same time. I highly recommend that you read it!

Ms- Griffithd is best known for her Dr. Galloway and Stephens & Mephisto books. This wonderful book could be the starting point of another series or so I hope. I think that DS Kaur and the discoverer of the mystery of Mariana have more life in them. The short story at the end, “The Stranger” that gives name to the whole book is a gem on its own.

I really enjoyed the reading. It took me only a few hours to finish it. Great and unexpected story. Well-written!

I had read all of the Ruth Galloway books and all of the Brighton Mysteries so was keen to have a go at the Harbinder Kaur books. I also recently read the EG short story collection and that gave me a taste of the detective. I was initially confused by the novel as it is marked as book one in a series but the detective's name is not mentioned on front or back covers - very odd! This was first published in 2018. The book has 406 pages split into 47 chapters that are then grouped into 13 parts. We see the narrative from three perspectives - Clare, Harbinder and Georgia. It's good to read an Elly Griffiths book that uses modern policing. The plot is set in current times but it not so technical as to make it age quickly. Harbinder Kaur is a great character - she is female and of Asian heritage - the combination making her unusual in the police force and Elly Griffiths uses this with a subtle touch. Her writing is matter of fact and positive, just like the detective herself. In the first half of the book each of the characters narrate lengthy sections which works well for the reader to get to know them. It's great to see three strong characters providing good contrast to each other and allowing the story to be told in different ways. Running through the plot as various themes. The Victorian gothic story and it's author seem to effect everything - we also see the importance of diary entries. I hadn't read the back of the book until about half way through and I'm glad as it gives away more then I needed to know. There are no actual spoilers but too many hints about how the plot is going to play out. I loved the ending even though I managed to predict most of it - actually I enjoyed being able to predict some of it as it was logical and very satisfying. I bought into each of the three characters and am looking forward to reading the next in the series.

Toda la tensión y todo el misterio se construyen súper bien, me gusta el dinamismo de meter varias voces sin embargo el desenlace se siente como demasiado simplón, como que no estaba a la altura del resto. Lo disfruté y me mantuvo intrigada pero el final no está emocionalmente al nivel de la expectativa que el mismo libro construyó.