My book group recently read The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths and I was curious to read one of her series books. This is the first in the "Ruth Galloway" series and I liked it a lot. Ruth Galloway is an unassuming, somewhat overweight professor at a local university. She specializes in forensic archaeology, the study of old bones. When a child's skeleton is discovered on the salt marsh flats near an ancient henge site that she had helped excavate, she is called in to consult by DCI Harry Nelson. Originally skeptical, Nelson is subsequently impressed with the methodical and thorough approach Ruth brings to her work (and secretly wishes his own forensic teams were as careful), as well as with her straightforward style of communication. She tells him it is a very old skeleton (Iron Age), an exciting find for her, but learns, in turn, that it's a disappointment for Nelson, who had hoped it would be the skeleton of a little girl who was abducted 10 years ago. He has never given up on the case of missing Lucy Downey, although she is presumed dead, and he wants to bring closure to her parents. When a second young girl goes missing, Ruth gets more and more involved in trying to help solve the abductions and, apparently, she is getting a little too close because very serious threats to her safety begin to accumulate. Although not entirely unpredictable, there are enough red herrings to keep you guessing before the culprit is revealed. Wonderful evocation of place and well developed and interesting characters make this a series I would gladly pursue.
Kirkus concludes that, "the first-rate characters and chilling story are entrancing from start to finish." LIkewise, Library Journal notes, "Both Nelson and Galloway are captivating characters, and Griffiths's story is strong, well plotted, and suspenseful, leaving the reader eager for more adventures on the windswept Norfolk coast."
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