The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Spot on tone, combining the Victorian ghost story with a modern murder mystery.
Parallels done seamlessly, what could have been with a heavy hand under a less talented author.
Switch in perspective one of my least favorite tropes in mystery fiction but Griffith does it well. Each narrartor has a distinct character and story to tell. From Clare, we get the mother, ex-wife and friend point of view. With Georgia, a teenager daughter, smarter than her mother realizes, who clarifies as well as mystifies the reader. DS Harbinder Kaur is delightfully complex, too complex to do justice with just one novel. Their different perspectives create a whole that viewed one way leaves unanswered questions, viewed another gives us the clues to follow.
Intelligent writing, spooky settings, and appropriately nasty murders.
In the end, I guessed “who dunnit”—but that doesn’t take away from the masterful story telling and keen observations of modern life and sensibilities. The “why” was a bit of a stretch, but still a great story, well told.
I love Griffith’s Ruth Galloway novels, and hope that this, too, becomes a series. I think there is a lot more to learn about Georgia, Clare and Harbinder.
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