Elly Griffiths 2 for 1: A Room Full of Bone & A Dying Fall

Ellie Griffith's 6th book is coming out this month and I thought to myself, "Wait, what?? When did books 4 and 5 come out??"  I've reviewed books 1-3 here on this blog, because I rather like her books here are the links in order:  1. The Crossing Places 2. The Janus Stone 3. The House at Sea's End.


I read these two books back to back and here are some observations.  There's a scene that can almost be taken word for word from one book right out of the other.  They both talk about how Ruth is trying to leave the house, but her home phone is ringing.  Her home phone never rings since all her friends and family all have her "mobile" number, but something tells her to answer it anyway.  I thought I had mistakenly started reading the wrong book, the two passages were so similar.  Secondly, I don't think Ruth eats anything other than pasta.  She's always cooking pasta, eating pasta, serving pasta.  She's always complaining about being overweight, maybe try laying off the pasta.
 Mix it up a bit Ruth, try a salad.  Go crazy and eat a hamburger, just as long as there's no pasta involved.

About the books individually, A Room Full of Bones tells the story of the discovery of the body of a medieval Bishop.  The people involved with the discovery seem to be dying off at an alarming rate.  Does it have something to do with the Bishop or does it have something to do with the museum hoarding the bones of Aborigines.  A group called the Elginists are becoming increasingly threatening about getting the bones of their people back to their homeland and are wanting Ruth to help them with their quest.

A Dying Fall is all about King Arthur and the possibility that his bones may have been discovered by a colleague of Ruth's.  However, he was killed shortly after his discovery, but not before he could get a message out to Ruth asking for her help.  It seems he came across some revelations about King Arthur that would completely rewrite the history books and the local hate groups shut him down before he could make his findings known.

Despite my observations, I love Elly Griffiths' books.  Ruth is one of my favorite literary characters.  She's kind of like the Indiana Jones for middle aged working moms.  The next book, The Outcast Dead, is out and I will definitely be reading it for sure!!

Series Week: Ruth Galloway Mysteries

Way back in August of last year I listened to the audiobooks for the first two Ruth Galloway books by Elly Griffiths, Crossing Places and The Janus Stone.  I really enjoyed both.  I thought that Ruth Galloway was a great character and I couldn't wait to read the next book.

The next book is here and it is called The House at Seas End.

A team of archaeologists, investigating coastal erosion on the north Norfolk coast, unearth six bodies buried at the foot of a cliff. How long have they been there? What could have happened to them? Forensics expert Ruth Galloway and DCI Nelson are drawn together again to unravel the past. Tests reveal that the bodies have lain, preserved in the sand, for sixty years. The mystery of their deaths stretches back to the Second World War, a time when Great Britain was threatened by invasion. But someone wants the truth of the past to stay buried, and will go to any lengths to keep it that way...even murder.

All of our favorite characters are back in this book.  Reading this book was like settling in with some old friends.   There was an addition of a new friend of Ruth's Tatjana that I didn't quite understand as much, but she played her part I guess.

If you've been keeping track Ruth was pregnant in the second book.  In this book she's had her baby and she's struggling with being a single parent.  Kate, Ruth's daughter, is bringing out a whole new side to Harry Nelson.  And, the last paragraph of the book leaves a tantalizing clue about what's going to happen in the next book regarding Kate, Ruth, and Harry.

As usual, Elly Griffiths created a fantastic whodunit.  There's a horrific murder to solve that took place during World War II.  Interwoven in the story is Tatjana's tale of genocide in Bosnia.   I was biting my nails wanting to know how both stories were eventually going to play out. 

I can't wait for the next book to come out in this series and looks like maybe it won't be too long.  The next one is called A Room Full of Bones, not sure what the US release date is.

Ruth Galloway Mysteries: The Crossing Places & The Janus Stone

This is a new series of mysteries by Elly Griffiths.  They feature forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway.  The first book The Crossing Places came out in 2009.

Description:  When a child’s bones are found on a desolate beach, Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson calls Galloway for help. Nelson thinks he has found the remains of Lucy Downey, a little girl who went missing ten years ago. Since her disappearance he has been receiving bizarre letters about her, letters with references to ritual and sacrifice.

The bones actually turn out to be two thousand years old, but Ruth is soon drawn into the Lucy Downey case and into the mind of the letter writer, who seems to have both archaeological knowledge and eerie psychic powers. Then another child goes missing and the hunt is on to find her. As the letter writer moves closer and the windswept Norfolk landscape exerts its power, Ruth finds herself in completely new territory – and in serious danger.


It was followed up this year with The Janus Stone. 

Description: It’s been only a few months since archaeologist Ruth Galloway found herself entangled in a missing persons case, barely escaping with her life. But when construction workers demolishing a large old house in Norwich uncover the bones of a child beneath a doorway—minus its skull—Ruth is once again called upon to investigate. Is it a Roman-era ritual sacrifice, or is the killer closer at hand?

Ruth and Detective Harry Nelson would like to find out—and fast. When they realize the house was once a children’s home, they track down the Catholic priest who served as its operator. Father Hennessey reports that two children did go missing from the home forty years before—a boy and a girl. They were never found. When carbon dating proves that the child’s bones predate the home and relate to a time when the house was privately owned, Ruth is drawn ever more deeply into the case. But as spring turns into summer it becomes clear that someone is trying very hard to put her off the trail by frightening her, and her unborn child, half to death.

I listened to both of these on audiobook.  I thought they were excellent.  I had been on the waiting list for The Crossing Places at the library for months...which is strange for a book that had been out for over a year.  When I was at ALA, they had The Crossing Places and I mentioned to the representative there that I had been on the waiting list for that book.  She said that was the sort of thing they love to hear.  Right after that, I found an audio copy of it at another library so I was pretty happy. 

If you're a fan of mysteries I'd definitely recommend checking these out.  I thought they were both well written and well planned.  The whodunnit was kind of a surprise both times.  I really loved Ruth Galloway.   She's a great main character to build a series around.  Harry Nelson, is another fun character.  After reading the second book I'm very keen to read the next book to see how things are going to turn out for Harry. 

My one little criticism with the books came with the topic of religion.  I'm not a big bible thumper or anything like that, but these books seemed very anti-religion.  No, not anti-religion necessarily, but there's a great deal of discussion about religion so pro and some con.  Personally, I'm Catholic and there was a lot of anti-Catholic sentiment particularly in The Janus Stone.  At times it was a little off putting, but it was educational at the same time.  I had never heard the term "Left Footer" before and had to go find out what it meant.

That was something else I liked about these books as well, they taught you something as you were reading.  There was so much about archaeology and history crammed into these books.  If that's something you like, these books will be perfect for you.

The third book in this series, The House at Sea's End, will be out early next year in the US.   It looks like it's already out in the UK, so kindle readers *may* be able to get it.  I just looked on Amazon and it appears to be available.