Maura (maura853) - , reviewed on 10/20/2019 + 542 more book reviews

An effective page-turner that, once again, makes good use of the strange, remote setting of Norfolk's north coast, of the historical context of crimes, "ancient" and modern, and of Ruth Galloway's expertise as a forensic archaeologist.

I think Griffiths is settling down in this, the third outing for archaeology professor and amateur detective Ruth Galloway -- characterisation feels less like she is wheeling on cardboard cut-outs to fill the spaces that need filling (Sex-mad BF!! Crazy but lovable guy who thinks he's a druid!) and the relationships between Ruth and the secondary characters, and among the secondary characters, are becoming pleasingly complicated, in ways that hint at rewarding sub-plots for future volumes.

So this was working on 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for Best Signs of Improvement in a Long-Running Series -- and then I hit the point when Galloway and her off-again, off-again love-interest (and no, that isn't a typo) DCI Harry Nelson are stranded in a spooky old house in a blizzard, in a scene that is completely contrived in order to generate fake tension, introduce a completely implausible suspect (because, so far, all of the suspects are about 90 years old) and ... well, you'll see ...

So that whole blizzard interval -- over-written and very, very implausible -- lost it a whole star, for me. But I'll keep reading the crime-fighting adventures of Dr. Ruth Galloway -- it's good "comfort reading." Like an episode of "Vera," with added archaeology.

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details