The Last Word by Elly Griffiths

THE LAST WORD by Elly Griffiths is the fourth in a series involving detective Harbinder Kaur (start with the first, Stranger Diaries for a great read). Once again, Kaur suggests involving private detectives Natalka (energetic and Ukrainian-born) and Edwin (in his eighties, but still a great contributor) with help from Natalka’s boyfriend, Benedict who runs a coffee stand. Readers will come to know the personalities and motives of each of these three as they look into the death of a local romance writer. Turns out that there seem to be several writers who died recently and they are linked to Battle House where Edwin and Benedict register for a writers’ retreat seminar as they continue sleuthing. THE LAST WORD is a fun read with plenty of twists. And some of the best comments are cultural references like, “It's the same with Duolingo, which he started during lockdown. … he's not going to lose his streak.”  THE LAST WORD received starred reviews from Booklist (“Griffiths is one of the most engaging writers in the business.”) and Library Journal (“satisfyingly twisty cozy”). Enjoy!