★ 02/27/2023
The discovery of a human skeleton, “laid out like a Hallowe’en prop” behind a wall in a café undergoing renovations in 2021 Kings Lynn, England, drives Edgar winner Griffiths’s harrowing 15th mystery featuring forensic anthropologist Ruth Galloway (after 2022’s The Locked Room). After Ruth is assigned to the cold case, she learns that the remains belong to Emily Pickering, a Cambridge University archaeology student who disappeared in 2002 on a field trip to a prehistoric flint mine. The investigation escalates dramatically when Ruth’s druid friend, Cathbad, is incriminated in Emily’s murder and goes missing. Other suspects include a Cambridge tutor, members of the deceased café owner’s family, and Emily’s fellow students on that long-ago dig. Meanwhile, Ruth’s department at the University of North Norfolk may be shut down, and her married partner, Det. Chief Insp. Harry Nelson, with whom she shares a young daughter, hints that he wants her to move in with him. Griffiths expertly blends a well-wrought procedural with distinctive characters, academic politics, and romance. Fans old and new will be rewarded. Agent: Kirby Kim, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Apr.)
Griffiths expertly blends a well-wrought procedural with distinctive characters, academic politics, and romance. Fans old and new will be rewarded.” (For The Last Remains) — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“This brilliant series, brimming with comedy and compassion, has demonstrated that archaeology, just like the best crime fiction, is the study of everyday people . . . Elly Griffiths has honed her skills to become one of our very best writers. Bravo!” (For The Last Remains) — The Times (UK)
“The Last Remains does not disappoint . . . it will have you laughing, crying, gasping and staring wide eyed, because Griffiths delivers a thrilling roller-coaster ride.” — Crime Fiction Lover
"Ruth Galloway is a remarkable, delightful character...A must-read for fans of crime and mystery fiction." — Associated Press
“Forensic archeologist and academic Ruth Galloway is a captivating amateur sleuth—an inspired creation. I identified with her insecurities and struggles, and cheered her on.” — Louise Penny, author of the best-selling Armand Gamache series
"Galloway now seems as real as Marple and Morse." — The Times (UK)
03/01/2023
A skeleton is found behind a wall during a renovation and Detective Harry Nelson is called in, along with famed archaeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway. The skeleton is determined to be Emily Pickering, a young archaeology student who went missing following a field trip nearly 20 years ago. Also on that field trip was Ruth's good friend Cathbad, who becomes a suspect just as he goes missing himself. Meanwhile, Ruth's archaeology department is set to be closed down by the university, and Nelson has separated from his wife, finally giving space for Nelson and Ruth to consider their feelings for each other and for the future. Many familiar faces make appearances in this 15th satisfying installment of the series (following The Locked Room). Each person plays a necessary role in solving the case as tension rises and dangers increase. VERDICT As Griffiths teases on her Twitter feed, this is the last Ruth Galloway book "for now." The novel has a nostalgic feel, and readers will feel satisfied with how things are wrapped up. —Sarah Sullivan
2023-03-11
Another suspicious death increases the pressure on Dr. Ruth Galloway’s relationship with DCI Harry Nelson, which has never been resolved despite the daughter they share and the murders they’ve solved together.
Ruth is happy to get away from the University of North Norfolk, where she’s a respected archaeologist whose department has just been cut as insufficiently profitable. An expert in old bones, she’s worked cases with Nelson for years, sharing their daughter, Kate, while he’s still married and has three children with Michelle, who’s currently living in another city. Nelson wants Ruth and Kate to live with him, but after years of seeing him choose Michelle and their children first, she’s understandably reluctant. Now a builder has called Ruth to check out a skeleton found behind a wall in an old shop; she identifies the bones as being fairly modern because there’s a metal pin in the ankle. The bones turn out to be those of Emily Pickering, a Cambridge archaeology student who was last seen on a field trip with Prof. Leo Ballard, several other students, and a druid called Cathbad in 2002. Cathbad, who’s been Ruth’s friend for years, readily admits to knowing Emily and Ballard, whom Emily’s parents accused of masterminding her disappearance. Then Cathbad vanishes, deepening the mystery of Emily’s murder. Cathbad is partner to Judy, Nelson’s best officer, who must recuse herself. Frantic with worry, Judy relies for support on Ruth, whose own life is in a shambles as she considers her future with teaching and with Nelson. She’ll find herself in real danger before the crime and her problems are solved.
Another treat in an excellent series that balances detection with personal relationships.
In Elly Griffiths's Dr. Ruth Galloway/DCI Harry Nelson mystery series, narrator Jane McDowell handles the convoluted plot and subplots with confidence. Human bones have been found behind an old wall. Ruth, a Cambridge archaeologist, is asked to date the remains. Shockingly, they are the bones of missing Cambridge student Emily Pickering, who was last seen on a field trip with other students and Professor Leo Ballard 20 years earlier. McDowell handles the sexual tension between Nelson and Ruth with sensitivity, and her delivery of minor characters always sounds authentic. From Cambridge's decision to cut the Archaeology department to the suspects and motives for Emily's murder and the upheaval in Ruth's and Nelson's lives, McDowell gives listeners much to unravel in this tangled mystery. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
In Elly Griffiths's Dr. Ruth Galloway/DCI Harry Nelson mystery series, narrator Jane McDowell handles the convoluted plot and subplots with confidence. Human bones have been found behind an old wall. Ruth, a Cambridge archaeologist, is asked to date the remains. Shockingly, they are the bones of missing Cambridge student Emily Pickering, who was last seen on a field trip with other students and Professor Leo Ballard 20 years earlier. McDowell handles the sexual tension between Nelson and Ruth with sensitivity, and her delivery of minor characters always sounds authentic. From Cambridge's decision to cut the Archaeology department to the suspects and motives for Emily's murder and the upheaval in Ruth's and Nelson's lives, McDowell gives listeners much to unravel in this tangled mystery. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
