The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths

review by Maryom



Life hasn't been going well for Ruth Galloway - her mother died not long ago, and, while  everyone around her seems to be embarking on a life of 'happily ever after', her on/off lover Harry Nelson has gone back to his wife. So when Angelo Morrelli, an old acquaintance, asks her to check out some curious finds at his archaeological dig in Italy, and make it a bit of a holiday, she's all too willing to go. In the hilltop village of Castello degli Angeli she finds remains dating back to Roman times but a mystery surrounding events of Italy's more recent past.
Meanwhile, back in Norfolk, DCI Nelson is facing a more pressing danger - the possibility that a newly released offender is out to take revenge.

The Dark Angel is the tenth book featuring forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway, and this time Ruth is taken away from her beloved Norfolk salt marshes to the heat of Italy. I've always loved the descriptions of Norfolk with its seemingly limitless vistas stretching away to the horizon but that's an area I know fairly well and wondered how much I was adding in my own memories of the area. This time, the setting is totally unknown to me but the heat, the narrow streets, village square with cafes and church, and distant views of vineyards were totally brought to life. It isn't all picturesque scenery and holiday fun for Ruth, though. There are threatening messages left at the house she's staying in, Morrelli claims to have received death threats, and the land itself seems unwelcoming, shaking the village with an earthquake!
Ruth's sometimes lover, and father of her daughter Kate, DCI Harry Nelson again plays a large part in the story. He's finding himself torn between his desire to be with Ruth, and the obligations he feels towards his pregnant wife, even if there's sneaking suspicion at the back of his mind that he might not be the child's father.

I haven't read all ten books, and those I've read haven't been in chronological order (!), but I love this series - particularly its blend of personal story and crime. This book is no exception, though there might be a slight more emphasis on the personal side of Ruth's life this time, as she and Nelson try to resolve their feelings for each other. The characters as always are well drawn and believable, even the minor supporting ones, and when the villain is unveiled, there's a satisfying feeling that, if we'd read the hints properly, the reader should have guessed who it was.
And, of course, though each story is complete, the crime solved, and the villain brought to justice, the ongoing Ruth/Nelson relationship continues drawing you into the nest book, and the next...

Maryom's review - 5 stars 
Publisher - Quercus 
Genre - adult crime 

The Vanishing Box by Elly Griffiths

review by Maryom

"Christmas 1953. Max Mephisto and his daughter Ruby are headlining Brighton Hippodrome, an achievement only slightly marred by the less-than-savoury support act: a tableau show of naked 'living statues'. This might appear to have nothing in common with DI Edgar Stephens' investigation into the death of a quiet flowerseller, but if there's one thing the old comrades have learned it's that, in Brighton, the line between art and life - and death - is all too easily blurred..."

This fourth Stephens and Mephisto mystery takes the reader to a snowy 1950s Brighton, where, as always when these two old army comrades are together, the glamour of theatre life rubs shoulders with murder. In her boarding-house room, Lily Burtenshaw's body is found, posed to resemble a famous painting of an historical event. Only nineteen years old, Lily was a quiet, shy girl, who worked at a local flowershop, but the positioning of her dead body bears a resemblance to the 'tableaux' presented by the 'living statues' act currently engaged at the Hippodrome Theatre. Surely there couldn't be a connection between them? Maybe Lily was mistakenly killed by someone who assumed she was one of the female performers temporarily staying at the same boarding-house? It's a disturbing, unlikely crime for Brighton, and the leads uncovered by DI Edgar Stephens seem to take him only to blind alleys. Max meanwhile has been befriended by one of the 'living statues', an unlikely move given their respective ages, and one which he treats with a degree of scepticism, but maybe this young, attractive woman can shed light on the identity of Lily's murderer ...

Elly Griffiths has again transported the reader back to a time which feels like it ought to be gentler and more innocent - after all, it snows for Christmas - but seems more to balance on a knife-edge between glamorous and sordid - the (almost) nude performers are only allowed if they stand rigidly still, complying with a ruling which deems them 'artistic' rather than 'rude'. Human nature being what it is though, particularly in crime novels, someone always finds themselves driven to murder.

After an excess of psychological thrillers and domestic noir, I'm finding myself increasingly drawn back to the whodunnit school of crime fiction - perhaps because it's presented more as a puzzle to solve. Someone is murdered, the police, perhaps with the assistance of an interested 'bystander' such as Miss Marple or Max Mephisto, set about finding the culprit, and, after a number of dead ends and red herrings, find him or her. That's not to say there isn't tension, but it's not the over the top nerve-racking suspense of a psychological thriller. Elly Griffiths' stories fit me perfectly, whether the Ruth Galloway series mixing archaeology and murder in modern-day Norfolk, or this Stephens and Mephisto '50s set series.
There's a nice balance between the two aspects of the story - the crime-solving and the personal lives of the 'regular' characters - which makes this possible to read as a stand-alone novel while it fits into a longer story-arc of the characters personal lives - and much as in the Ruth Galloway series, it's difficult to anticipate which route those lives will take.

Maryom's review - 4.5 stars 
Publisher - Quercus 
Genre - adult historical crime

The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths

review by Maryom

Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway has been called in after bones are discovered during building works for an underground restaurant in Norwich. She's assuming that they'll be old bones of interest only to historians - but, as you'd expect as this is a crime novel, she's wrong. 

Meanwhile the police led by DCI Harry Nelson have 'underground' problems of their own - a man is reported having disappeared in the vicinity of a hole which suddenly appeared in a road, and, in a separate case, a local rough sleeper has gone missing, perhaps gone 'underground'. As they follow up on rumours, the network of tunnels left behind after chalk-mining under Norwich come to figure prominently in enquiries, and the bones discovered by Ruth take on a much more sinister interpretation.

This is the ninth 'outing' for Ruth Galloway and Harry Nelson, and it hasn't lost any of the pull of the earlier books - in fact, I think that helped along by their personal stories the series actually gets more gripping. I've come to the series late, and, despite my best intentions to start at Book 1(The Crossing Places) and read my way through sequentially, I'm darting about the ongoing story of Ruth and Harry in a rather higgledy-piggledy order. It doesn't really matter though - the 'crime' aspect of each book is self-contained, and I've found it nice to be able to jump ahead and find out where Ruth and Harry's relationship is heading before going back and reading how it developed. I'm not entirely sure how I want it to progress - Ruth I feel deserves a happy ending; Harry I'm less convinced about.

Meanwhile there are crimes to solve.This time, everything is pointing towards the tunnels under Norwich as the location of nefarious goings-on. Seemingly unconnected events join up in a way that is credible rather than far-fetched, and there's quite enough in the twists and turns department to keep the reader guessing. The tunnels seem fascinating but its one story location I shan't be hurrying to visit. Griffiths is excellent at capturing atmosphere but whereas I've previously loved her windswept marshes, I wasn't so happy about narrow tunnels. Like Ruth, I'm not happy with small, claustrophobic spaces or people who merrily talk about the tonnes of rock above one's head ... Fortunately most of the action takes place above ground in King's Lynn, in places I recognise from holiday visits there, and Norwich (which I must visit now) and there's a mention or two of lovely Wells next the Sea. I'm starting to think I should plan a little Galloway and Nelson-themed tour of Norfolk for summer, though preferably without any crime  :)

Maryom's review - 5 stars 
Publisher - Quercus 
Genre - adult crime thriller

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

review by Maryom

When the bones of a child are found on the North Norfolk saltmarsh, DCI Harry Nelson half-hopes, half-dreads that they may belong to Lucy Downey who went missing 10 years ago when she was five years old, but these are far older bones. Forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway from the University of North Norfolk dates them as belonging sometime during the Iron Age, probably a ritual burial taking place in the tidal zone belonging to both land and sea. Nelson is struck by the similarities of how Ruth describes this pre-historic event, and instructions of where to find Lucy, contained in letters claiming to be from her abductor. He feels Ruth's knowledge of ancient sites along the coast, and her understanding of the beliefs behind these burials may be of help to him in his modern day, seemingly unsolvable case, and Ruth gradually finds herself involved in this long-standing puzzle. 

The Crossing Places is the first of the Ruth Galloway series, published back in 2009, and a book I've intended reading for quite a while - in fact since I first heard Elly Griffiths talking about the series three years ago.  I'd been intrigued by the mix of modern crime and forensic archaeology, and the setting, which for this story is the misty North Norfolk coast, where I know it's too easy to lose one's bearings and not know which way to head back to dry land - I've fortunately never been caught out on the marshes in a rising tide though, as happens in the story!  Anyway, when recently I spotted a free i-books download offer for The Crossing Places, I jumped at it.

I'd always wanted to start this series here at the beginning, and follow the characters and their changing relationships from the very start, although in some ways, having heard the author speak about them more than once, they were almost like old friends. 

The only downside to eventually getting round to something you've anticipated for so long, is that it might disappoint but happily this lived up to all my expectations. The plot is well-constructed, offering a variety of possible perpetrators and motives, easing into things gently but increasing the tension as Ruth herself is threatened, and the relationship between Ruth and Harry works well as a different thread. 

I loved the character of Ruth - that she's independent and determined to do things her way, ignoring all the presumably well-meaning advice from friends and family about losing weight or getting married and settling down. As it is, she's happy doing what she wants - pursuing her career, living with her cats in a small house in a place she loves, no matter how desolate others find it.

With the series now on Book 8, the Woman in Blue, I know that there's more to come in the relationship between Ruth and Harry Nelson, and more crimes for them to solve. I now intend catching up as quickly as I can.  

Maryom's review - 5 stars 
Publisher - Quercus 
Genre - adult crime thriller

Smoke and Mirrors by Elly Griffiths

review by Maryom

It's November 1951 and Brighton is getting ready for Christmas with lights along the prom and panto in the pier theatre - even the weather is getting in the mood with snow blanketing the town. For DI Edgar Stephens and his team, the snow isn't welcome at all - it's merely hampering the police's efforts to trace two missing children. Thirteen year old Annie and best friend twelve year old Mark had been playing on the street with other children, rehearsing one of the rather gruesome fairy-tale inspired plays that Annie used to write, but in the few minutes it took to walk to the sweet shop they had disappeared. When their bodies are discovered, with a trail of sweets seemingly pointing to them, the immediate suspect is the shop-owner, but to Edgar the whole scene seems reminiscent of the tale of Hansel and Gretel. He seems surrounded by too may leads, and too many suspects - the young teacher who encouraged Annie's writing? the neighbour who allowed the children to perform in his converted garage? or maybe there's a link to a previous murder, many years before, in which a child star appearing in the panto Babes in the Wood was killed?
Edgar's friend, and war-time colleague, Max Mephisto, in Brighton playing evil villain Abanazar in Aladdin, comes to his help with behind the scenes theatre gossip but, as a stage magician, feels that somehow the investigation is being distracted in the classic "smoke and mirrors" way...

Oddly, I've been to a couple of  Elly Griffiths 's events, really enjoyed them and left feeling I really must read her books - but not got round to it! I'd intended to pick up this new series at the beginning - but again I've failed, and jumped in at Book2. Although I'll go back and read the first, The Zig-zag Girl, this second stands well alone. The back story is explained enough for a new-comer to understand, though I'd guess there are spoilers for book one in there, but really this story stands on its own. It unfolded in a way to keep me hooked - first the desperate search for the children, then the sad discovery of their bodies, with insights into possible motives and suspects revealed gradually, as and when discovered by the police, but not deliberately with-held by the author (I hate that!). Set in the 1950s there are obviously a lot of modern methods unavailable to DI Stephens and his colleagues - but in some ways this can lead to a more engrossing story; the answer isn't found by an anonymous scientist in a lab but by old-fashioned observation and deduction.
There's also an intriguing personal story going on for Edgar Stephens, which I won't divulge but which has me wanting to know what will happen next in his life. In this respect, I think readers ARE going to be teased - with Edgar being led in a direction they won't want him to go!
I'm now a confirmed Elly Griffiths fan and my only regret is not having made the effort to read her work before - but on the plus side, there's lots waiting for me to discover and I don't have to wait for a new book to be published.


Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Quercus
Genre - adult historical crime

Derby Book Festival - author event - Elly Griffiths

An enthusiastic crowd was at Waterstones Derby yesterday evening to welcome crime author Elly Griffiths, there to talk about her series of novels starring Ruth Galloway, forensic archaeologist. I've seen the author at a previous event where she shared the 'stage' with two other writers; last night she had it all to herself and proved to be a fluent, engaging speaker, comfortable standing alone in front of the crowd.
Elly started the event by telling us that that isn't really her name at all; it's actually Domenica De Rosa and under it she's published four books, all loosely connected by Italy, but when she turned to crime writing her agent suggested taking a different name and she chose her grandmother's - Ellen Griffiths.

She talked for about half an hour on a wide range of topics - where she gets her inspiration, advice for budding authors, anecdotes from other events, the Ruth Galloway series - its characters and Norfolk settings - and a new one starting with The Zig Zag Girl  - set in the 1950s and mixing crime and music hall magic acts - after which she answered questions from the audience. Sometimes at this point in an event the crowd can get all quiet and nervous, waiting for someone else to be the first to ask something - not so last night. Elly seemed really approachable, and chatted comfortably with her fans.

Shame to say, despite this being my second Elly Griffiths event, I haven't read any of her books - but last night has convinced me that I should; with such a lot of catching up to do with Ruth Galloway, I'm tempted to start with the new series and The Zig Zag Girl.

Exotic Crime - author event

 Last week we went to Waterstones in Nottingham for an author event with a difference - instead of one author, there were three! The theme was crime in exotic locations and Martin Walker, Colin Cotterill and Elly Griffiths were there to talk about their respective novels set in locations from France to Thailand and Laos to the closer-to-home Norfolk coast.
Now I must admit that I haven't actually read anything by any of these authors but, although much of the audience at these events is made up of die-hard fans, I find them an excellent way to discover new books to read.

 So what did I find out this week?

Colin Cotterill  told us about his life which has taken him from Britain first to Australia and then to Asia where he lives now. His long running Dr Siri series of murder mysteries is set in Laos but, as Dr Siri is now in his 70s when even an imaginary crime-fighter should be taking things easy, Cotterill has a new series with a new heroine, crime reporter Jimm Juree, which is set in Thailand. Grandad, There's A Head on The Beach is the second in this series

 Elly Griffiths used to be an editor - and never believed authors when they talked of how a plot came to them 'in a flash' or of the characters taking control of their destinies. Now she's an author herself, she knows better!  Her series starring forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway is inspired in part by Griffiths' husband who left his lucrative City job and retrained as an archaeologist.

After many years travelling as foreign correspondent for The Guardian, Martin Walker settled down in the Perigord region of France in the 1990s. His latest book, The Resistance Man, is the sixth in his series of detective stories drawing inspiration from the people and landscape of his adopted home. The main character, chief of police Bruno Courreges, and many of the supporting cast are based on his friends and neighbours.




After the reading there came the normal Q+A session - but with a difference. After the audience had asked their questions, the authors had one they wanted to ask - how many people would be interested in reading an erotic novel with elderly characters? A sort of geriatric Shades of Grey? The booksellers present were all in favour of it; the general public less so. The authors were adamant that this was a serious question - so perhaps we know what they're planning for future books.....

All in all another interesting evening.