I thought I had read more in this series, but in fact had only read the first. I think it suffered from my lack of familiarity with the characters. My fault, not the author’s!
I do love the setting: Brighton and the time: 1960s.
For those who have read the rest of the series I am sure this book would have been a lot more enjoyable.

To truly enjoy this last instalment of the Ruth Galloway series, I strongly recommend reading the rest of the series first.

I approached this book with some trepidation as I knew it was to be the last in the series. I’ve loved all these books: Dr Ruth Galloway is such a real character, and I have loved reading about her many adventures, and rather complicated love life!

Set in June 2021, Covid is still having a huge impact on everyone’s lives. Our beloved Cathbad (everyone’s favourite druid) is suffering from long Covid and hasn’t returned to his usual exuberant self. DCI Nelson’s team are disrupted by members having to self isolate at home after being ‘pinged’ - it’s hard to believe it’s only two years ago.

When a human skeleton is discovered during a renovation of a local cafe, Nelson calls Ruth to assess their age. They are modern, and are identified as those belonging to Emily Pickering, a young archaeology student who went missing in the 1990s. Suspicion falls on her Cambridge tutor, and Cathbad who was also a member of her class.

As Nelson and his trusty team investigate, Ruth is struggling on two fronts: the announced closure of the Department of Archaeology at the University of North Norfolk, where she is the Head of Faculty, and the complicated relationship she has with Nelson, which has waxed and waned throughout the series. Ruth feels that she is at a moment in time where her life is going to change - but in what way? Will she move to London to be near her ageing dad, or will she and Nelson set up home in his hometown of Blackpool? Could she ever leave her beloved Norfolk?

Griffiths has some fun - having a go at Boris Johnson for ‘scrapping the A level and now closing university departments. He claims to be a classicist but he seems pretty anti-history, if you ask me’. She even has a gentle laugh at writers when Tanya wonders ‘why would anyone pay to listen to an author taking about their books? People are really weird’.

There is a deep affection for all the characters in this series, and Griffiths brings them all back for this last hurrah. She is definitely saying a fond farewell to them all, and I was torn between wanting to finish the book to find out how it all works out, and wanting to take my time because I know it’s the last time I’ll be hanging out with these characters, in beautiful Norfolk, which is itself a major character in the series.

Griffiths does not disappoint, tying up all the loose ends in the final chapters, and leaving this reader feeling bittersweet, knowing that there are no more adventures with these friends in Norfolk (unless Griffiths weakens to pressure and surprises us with a Christmas special, haha).

DI Harbinder Kaur is thrilled to be in charge of a Murder Investigation Team based in West Kensington; finally living in in a share house in London and no longer under her parent’s roof. She’s still finding her feet, and looking for ‘the right moment’ to come out to her team. She also wants to ‘show her colleagues that she may be a diminutive Sikh woman, but she enjoys a pint as much as the next Met detective’.

One of her team, DS Cassie Fitzherbert is at a school reunion where another ex-student, Garfield Rice, is found murdered. As Rice was an eminent MP, Harbinger is under pressure from above to find the murderer. Cassie can’t be involved in the investigation, but she has an uneasy feeling that one of her old school friends could be responsible.

Bleeding Heart Yard is a real place in London and even gets a mention in Dickens’ [b:Little Dorrit|31250|Little Dorrit|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1496619146l/31250.SY75.jpg|80851]! When a second ex-student, also an MP, is found murdered on the cobblestones of the Yard, Harbinder’s team concentrate their investigation on the ex-students who were members of The Group, as they called themselves back in 1998; and Cassie was a member of this group. Could their colleague be involved in these murders? And do they relate to the ‘accidental’ death of a student back in 1998? Is Cassie a murderer?

This is a straight forward police procedural, but we also see the development of Harbinder’s character, as she confidently leads the investigation, and also begins to find personal happiness. I look forward to more investigations with DI Harbinger Kaur.

This latest instalment in the adventures of Dr Ruth Galloway does not disappoint! This is the first book I’ve read that is set during the pandemic. It brought back so many memories of the initial reactions to this virus. ‘There won’t be a pandemic’, says Tanya. ‘It’s just the flu. People should take vitamin C tablets and stop complaining.’ Who doesn’t remember this sort of scepticism at the start of 2020?

Ruth finds herself pivoting to online teaching (Zoom anyone?) while trying to juggle her daughter, Kate’s lessons at home.

Nelson and his Serious Crimes team are investigating a series of suicides that are now looking rather suspicious, while practicing social distancing and wearing masks. We have adapted so quickly to this strange new world, it’s hard to believe that it has only been two years since Covid first reared its ugly head.

This is a series that needs to be read in order to fully appreciate the character development, and the references to past events. I must admit, there were a few too many convenient coincidences in this latest book, but I really didn’t care. It’s the company I come back for: Ruth and Nelson, the wonderful druid Cathbad (everyone’s favourite character!), Judy and Tanya. They are old friends, and it is heartwarming to spend some time with them, even if it is in lockdown!

Elly Griffiths, you’ve done it again! The Night Hawks is the thirteenth instalment in the Dr Ruth Galloway series, and it is as entertaining as the previous twelve! All our favourite characters are here, even a return visit from Cloughie. Ruth has returned to her beloved Norfolk, where there are three murders to be investigated by our favourite DCI Harry Nelson. Add a good dose of weird Norfolk superstition, a group of over-zealous detectorists who discover a Bronze Age hoard, and a rising body count and you know you’re in for a treat.
Highly recommended (but make sure you’ve read the previous books in the series first).

When I reviewed The Stranger Diaries last year, I commented that I hoped that Griffiths would write more books with the delightful DS Harbinder Kaur - and here it is, book two.
I really enjoyed The Stranger Diaries, however, I think The Postscript Murders is even better. Harbinder is such a likeable character; always prepared to not take herself too seriously: “Harbinder completes her last batch of filing and mentally awards herself a gold star. ‘Best Gay Sikh Detective in West Sussex’, first out of a field of, well, one.”
On the surface, nothing appears untoward when 90 year old Peggy Smith dies. However, Peggy was in the best of health, and her carer, Natalka, is suspicious. Peggy was, after all, a ‘Murder Consultant’, and she had been sure someone was watching her.
Before we know it, Natalka, together with Edwin, Peggy’s dear friend and neighbour and Benedict, the local coffee shack owner (and former monk) decide to play amateur detectives and are on a road trip to Aberdeen to attend a literary festival and interview a writer who dedicated all his books to Peggy; “For Peggy, with thanks for the murders”. Unfortunately, murder follows them.
I cannot begin to tell you how much fun this book is! It had me laughing out loud at times. There is an ongoing joke where Harbinder copes with her partner, DS Neil Winston, by imagining “him as a woodland creature, sly, slightly stupid but ultimately loveable”. Whenever he makes one of his inane comments, she thinks: ‘Nibble, nibble, washes whiskers’ or ‘examines nut, twitches tail’. I think I’ll use this method myself to help cope with tedious company!
This book, like the first in the series, has a literary theme and is immersed in the world of writers, publishers, and book festivals. Clues are hidden inside books, both metaphorically and physically and there are enough literary references to make any reader happy, particularly crime book readers.
The Postscript Murders could be considered a ‘cosy crime’ (although I avoid the term as it suggests a book that is not particularly well written which is certainly not the case here)- the murders are not described in gruesome detail and you can sense that our intrepid amateur detectives are not in any real danger.
Highly recommended for anyone looking for a fun, escapist (and very well written) crime novel.

I am a huge fan of Elly Griffiths’ adult crime series featuring Dr Ruth Galloway, so I couldn’t resist reading her first book for children. And what a treat it is.
A Girl Called Justice is set in 1936 and Justice Jones is sent to Highbury House: School for the Daughters of Gentlefolk. ‘As soon as she saw the school, Justice Jones knew that it had potential for murder.’
Up to this point, Justice has been home schooled by her mother. But after her mother’s death, her father, a famous QC, thinks it best for Justice to learn with children her own age.
Justice is delightful company. She’s determined to find and solve crime, particularly murder and it’s not long before her wish is granted. She experiences the usual boarding school problems: bullies; terrible food; inadequate heating and overbearing teachers. But she also quickly makes firm friends and allies and together they work to discover who is responsible for a series of unexplained deaths at the school.
Elly Griffiths has created a feisty and appealing character in Justice Jones; one that young readers will be able to identify with easily. She’s missing her mother terribly, but is also a typical 12 year old girl, looking to make friends and solve crime.
I’m looking forward to reading more of Justice Jones’ adventures.
(And the wonderfully detailed floor-plans of the school at the start of the book are a delightful bonus!)
Highly recommended for readers aged 8+.

Too often I finish a book and think ‘where was the editor?’ as it’s dragged on and on and on. Well, that is certainly not the case with this latest instalment of the Dr. Ruth Galloway series. It went way too fast, and before I knew it, I’d raced to the end. Now I have to wait another year to spend time with Ruth and Nelson and all the other well-loved characters in this series.

Griffiths has created characters that have developed over time; they are not all wise or loveable, and they sometimes do things that make you want to cry out ‘Stop. It’s a mistake’. You can’t help but invest in what happens to them all.

Aside from the characters, the murders are intriguing and have sinister undertones. I love the weaving into the plot of Norfolk folklore and legends. I was dismayed to find Ruth living in Cambridge, but knew she would be drawn back to her beloved Norfolk fens, which play an integral part in making this series so outstanding.

Another great page turner from Elly Griffiths. This time she has turned her hand to a gothic thriller in a contemporary setting. She cleverly includes gothic tropes such as: an eerie abandoned building where mysterious lights are seen at night, inexplicable notes appearing in a character’s diary, acknowledgement that ghosts do really exist (and you don’t have to be a flake to believe in them!), and murders emulating those that occur in…..a gothic short story, taught by one of the characters.
Who can resist a story within a story? Not me!
This is a very clever novel, told from multiple perspectives with well developed characters. Griffiths’ women are well drawn and nuanced. They are extremely capable, but riddled with self-doubt and -criticism - like most women I know!
This is a stand alone novel, however I think there is scope for Griffiths to write more books featuring DS Harbinder Kaur.

I’ve read all the Ruth Galloway novels written by Elly Griffiths, so I thought I’d investigate other series she’s written.

The Zig Zag Girl is the first book in the Stephens and Mephisto series. It’s 1950 and a girl’s body is discovered, cut into three pieces. DI Edgar Stephens is reminded of an illusion performed by his old friend Max Mephisto, ‘The Zig Zag Girl: girl in a cabinet, blades cut through top and bottom. Pull the mid-section out to make a zig zag shape, open a door to show the midriff.’

Stephens and Mephisto first met during the war when they were part of a special unit called the Magic Men, whose mission was to create the illusion to the enemy, now in Norway, that Britain was ‘bristling with guns and boats’. As their commanding officer says ‘the idea is to employ some deception’.

When a former member of the unit is murdered, again resembling a magic trick, Stephens convinces Mephisto that it all ties in to their time as members of the Magic Men, and that their lives are in danger. They work together to find the killer, before he strikes again.

I’m a sucker for stories set around the theatre and Griffiths has re-created the tired and shabby world of second-rate theatres in a time when variety shows were dying, and audiences craved more than slight-of-hand tricks. The city of Brighton is a well drawn character; ‘a seedy seaside place, full of actors and foreigners and men wearing perfume.’

Griffiths has a bit of fun with a local theatre ‘doing an Agatha Christie. Pre-West End run. It’s a strange play. Called The Mousetrap. Ever heard of a name like that? My bet is that it’ll only run a few weeks, never make it to the West End.’

I enjoyed the concept of a policeman joining forces with a magician to solve crimes. Griffiths has written four more books in this series, so I’m keen to see what trouble Stephens and Mephisto can get into in the next book.

I found the writing a little flat in this latest instalment in Ruth Galloway’s adventures! The story had too many elements that were very familiar - it didn’t feel fresh. I finished this book a few days ago, and I’ve already forgotten the plot!
But it still gets three stars because I love the Norfolk setting, and I feel great loyalty towards Ruth and her friends and colleagues.

I confess that the Ruth Galloway series is my not-so-secret guilty pleasure! The Dark Angel finds Ruth and her daughter Katie accepting an invitation to Italy from an old archeologist colleague, to have a holiday (and look at some newly uncovered bones, of course). And before you can cry “murder”, the local priest is found dead in his church, and DCI Nelson appears, with Cathbad in tow.

I missed the Norfolk setting, but I appreciate that Griffiths wanted to introduce a more exotic setting to escape Ruth’s hometown turning into another Midsommer!

For lovers of this series, I can safely recommend this latest instalment, which contains a number of surprises in the personal lives of the characters. If you are new to the series, I highly recommend reading them in order, starting with The Crossing Places.

This is the ninth book in the Dr Ruth Galloway series, and it ticks all the boxes! It has just the right mix of mystery, archaeology and character-driven plot.

Bones are discovered (of course) in a tunnel under Norwich, and Ruth is called in to determine their age. When Ruth reveals that they are recent, DCI Nelson is heading a murder investigation. Meanwhile, DS Judy Johnson is leading an investigation into a missing local ‘rough sleeper’. Griffiths explores the world of rough sleepers with empathy and humanity, and I think readers will feel very differently next time they pass a homeless person in their city. Then another women goes missing. There are rumours of a secret community living underground, in a tradition that is said to occur all over the world: complex networks reflecting the cities above. Could this be where the missing women have gone?

There is a great reference to libraries that I must share:

“Libraries are the cathedrals of the modern age. All that knowledge, available for anyone to use. It’s quite a subversive thought.”

Throughout these ongoing investigations, we follow the rather complicated personal relationships of our main characters. If you haven’t read the previous books in the series, you will not appreciate a lot of what is happening between the characters, so I strongly suggest reading these books in order!

Book 8 in the Ruth Galloway series is a bit disappointing. There was no archaeology featured in the crimes, so Ruth’s involvement was tenuous to say the least. This was all very Midsommer Murders and lacked the ingredients that I most enjoy in this series: archaeology, a Norfolk setting and the character Cathbed.
However, the characters are always good company, and the continuing tension between Ruth and Nelson looks to be heading for some sort of resolution - just not in this book!

The Ghost Fields is the 7th instalment in the Ruth Galloway series. I recommend reading these books in order, as the book involves a lot of references to what has happened in the lives of the characters in the past.

A plane from the Second World War is found buried in a field. The pilot is still inside. Ruth is called in and quickly reveals that 1) the pilot has been shot in the head and 2) the body has been placed in the plane-wreck in recent years. A local aristocratic family, The Blackstocks, are implicated.

I knew nothing about “the ghost fields”. There are apparently 32 abandoned airfields from World War 2 in Norfolk and Griffiths convincingly conveys their eerie atmosphere. As always, Norfolk is a main character in this book. As my favourite character, Cathbad, a druid and close friend to Ruth, says “the boundaries between land and sea are blurred in Norfolk. That’s what makes it such a special place.” There isn’t as much mysticism in The Ghost Fields as there has been in earlier books. Although Ruth tells Nelson she can tell when death has been from unnatural causes: “A grave is a footprint of disturbance, and [I] think that the disturbance stays in the air and in the land for a very long time.”

Ruth is likeable and relatable. She is a single mum and her daughter Kate is never far from her thoughts. She is constantly worried about getting back in time to collect her, which adds authenticity to her character. Her strained relationship with DCI Nelson, Kate’s father, who has remained with his wife, is honest and messy - just as it would be in real life!

This is the sixth book in the Ruth Galloway series. The characters have now become firm friends, so I find it hard to review the book honestly!
The plot is a bit thin in this latest mystery and Ruth’s involvement is a little tenuous. In fact, this book is more about the characters’ lives than any murder that draws them together.
Reading The Outcast Dead is a bit like hanging out with old friends: even if the conversation is a bit ordinary, we love the company!

I have fallen back in love with this series! I think the trick to really getting the most out of Ruth Galloway’s adventures is to just go with the flow, a bit like my favourite character in the series, Cathbad (a druid) would most definitely recommend. So, I now just breeze through Griffiths explaining references to past plots and I successfully suspend my disbelief that a forensic archeologist would have their life threatened on such a regular basis.
A Dying Fall takes us away from Ruth’s beloved Norfolk home to the much more prosaic landscape of Blackpool. Dan, an old college friend has died in a house fire, and we quickly learn that it was deliberately lit. Ruth receives a letter from Dan written shortly before his death, asking for her assistance in identifying some bones he has discovered: bones that he suggests could be of someone very famous indeed. He also alludes to being very frightened - of what, he doesn’t reveal. When Dan’s university ask Ruth to look at the bones, she accepts, telling herself that it will be an opportunity for a nice, peaceful holiday - not!!!

Cathbad accompanies Ruth to help look after her daughter Kate, who is now an active and curious two year old. And to add some further complication, DCI Harry Nelson is also in the neighbourhood, visiting his mother; reconnecting with an old colleague in Blackpool and trying to be a good husband to his long suffering wife Michelle.

Griffiths tackles some interesting issues in this fifth Ruth Galloway ‘adventure’: how hard it is to juggle a career with parenting (not to mention trying to establish a regular night-time routine); how easy it is to look back at our youth and think it was all so wonderful (but in truth, it wasn’t); what makes a good friend and the discovery that life is about moving forward and embracing the future.

Cathbad takes a leading role in this book and he is very hard not to like! Ruth is experiencing what all mothers experience: that constant pull of wanting to be with your child all the time and at the same time thinking you’ll go mad if you don’t get a break! DCI Harry Nelson is still confused about his feelings towards Ruth, and I’m intrigued to see how this is developed in the next book, which I’m very much looking forward to.

Oh,dear. I soooo wanted to love this….It’s ok, but it’s not great. The problem with this series is the repetition of information. If you’ve read the three previous books, you’ve going to have to bear with Griffiths filling in for readers she assumes are starting with the fourth book in the series!
Ruth, supposedly a forensic archeologist with a doctorate, seems to be really kinda thick! She doesn’t seem to know her stuff at all. I cannot believe someone who is a university lecturer in her field has never heard about repatriation of human remains to their rightful indigenous community.
I think Griffiths should shift the focus of this series from Ruth to Cathbad, who is a far more intriguing character.

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series. However, I found this book not up to the same standard.
The mystery was not as interesting, in my opinion. Ruth is constantly distracted by her baby, and worrying about how good a mother she is. The landscape is not as big a part of the story, which I missed. Griffiths keeps needing to explain characters and past events for those who haven’t read the other books, and I found this clumsy and repetitive.
I’m going to read the next book in the hope that this series picks up its game!

I absolutely fell in love with Dr. Ruth Galloway: a feisty and capable forensic archeologist, in the first book of the series, The Crossing Places. And I fell in love with Elly Griffiths’ evocative descriptions of the Norfolk landscape, so I couldn’t wait to launch into the second book.
The landscape does not feature so much in this novel, and I think it suffers for the lack of it. Griffiths has a real knack for creating menace using the extreme weather and landscape - when she returns to that as she does towards the end of this novel when the mist descends, she is in top form!
Ruth Galloway is now in a tricky situation: surprisingly pregnant from a single ‘encounter’ with DCI Harry Nelson and deciding how and when to break the news to him and her colleagues. While the personal drama takes a little too much centre stage for my liking, she is also called in to investigate the origins of a small child’s skeleton discovered during a demolition of a former children’s home in Norwich.
Ruth’s life is (again) in peril, and she is (again) rescued in the nick of time. I hope this is not going to be repeated throughout the series. Twice is really more than enough - more would be just plain silly and too contrived to be believable.
However, I am looking forward to the next book in the series, and seeing how Ruth Galloway manages to cope with impending parenthood, and another (hopefully) thrilling mystery involving old bones and archeological digs!

I read this book in one sitting! Seriously! I. Could. Not. Put. It. Down.
I love the protagonist Ruth Galloway: late thirties; single; owner of two cats; and passionate archeologist. Her ‘self-talk’ was spot on, bemoaning the fact that she is now a size 16; realising that her cats are most probably substitute children, and thinking that her childbearing years are over. She is self-deprecating, but also very focussed and aware of her skills and expertise in her field. She is complex enough to be relatable, without being too complicated (if that makes sense).

She loves her home, an isolated cottage overlooking salt marshes and gazing towards the North Sea in Norfolk. Which brings us to the next major character: the landscape. Griffiths’ descriptions of this wild coast are thrilling, frightening and totally bewitching. Without this landscape, this story would not have sung as it does. It is refreshing to be immersed in an English landscape that is not full of thatched roofs and lace curtains.

Ruth specialises in dating bones. When a child’s bones are discovered in the marshes close to an ancient site that Ruth helped excavated ten years ago, she is asked to date them. The police officer in charge of the case, DCI Harry Nelson, is hoping they belong to Lucy Downey, who went missing ten years ago. They do not. They are two thousand years old: thrilling news for Ruth and her archeologist colleagues, but bitter disappointing to Nelson. When another young girl goes missing, Ruth becomes embroiled with Nelson’s investigation.

This is the first book in a series with Ruth Galloway, forensic archaeologist, as the main character. It is not a perfect book - I found the third person narrative difficult and a bit awkward, and I had worked out who the villain was pretty early in the narrative. However, this is only the first book, and I am really hoping that the writing improves as the series develops. I am certainly looking forward to exploring the Norfolk coast with Dr Ruth Galloway again.