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The Ruth Galloway series,
books 1 (2009)- 9 (2017). |
The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths, the first book in the Ruth Galloway series, sat on my to-read shelf for a long time. The murder mystery description had caught my eye, but at the same time, the story line described seemed mystical and almost stereotypical in it's 'British woman with bad ass job saves the day' angle. After letting it sit there for a long while, I finally dove into this one. I regret that I didn't do it sooner. We are first introduced to British archaeologist, Ruth Galloway, through the discovery and exhumation of the body of a little girl, found in a salt marsh near Norfolk, England. She is met by surly Detective Chief Inspector, Harry Nelson, who expects Ruth to date the body in hopes that is the solution to a long time cold case. This brief bit of archaeological dating in tandem with the cold case intrigues Ruth, and she dives into a case that is much more complicated and much more deadly than she and Harry could have imagined.
I was right about my initial assumptions; this is a murder mystery, with subtle touches of mysticism, spiritualism, and other-worldliness. All of Griffiths'
Galloway books have an archaeological slant, which alone creates an air of mystery. Most of the archaeological sites at the focus of each novel are from ancient times (Galloway's specialty) and have some type of religious/occult background; this element plays a part in the mystery and sometimes, tends to help the solution as well. The mysteries in this series vary. Some of gruesome and complex and have the reader on the edge of their seat. Others are simple, rather predictable. However, these simple mysteries allow Griffiths to explore the dark side of people; the mystery is not the main part of the story, but rather the dark, complicated natures of those involved are the story. Writing about the complexity of people and their relationships with others is where Griffiths excels. The characters are written simplistically. Griffiths does not flesh out her characters in description; rather, she uses inner thoughts and character interactions to illustrate the personalities of her characters. The minor characters are just as enthralling and colorful as the major characters, and all play intrinsic roles in each story. There are cops, druids, kids, crazy parents, and significant others that not only develop the main characters, but also help to push the story along. These characters, although minor, become as important to the story as the main, and the reader will become just as entrenched with them as they do with the main characters.
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| Author Elly Griffiths |
There is a certain 'Britishness' about this series which makes it awesome. Griffiths throws in British colloquialisms that make the words come alive. The characters show a particular stoicism that is definitely a British stereotype, but, in the series' case, helps create a quiet feeling of impending urgency and doom. The quiet, reserved interactions between the characters create a feeling of withheld information that will reveal itself throughout the course of the story. Ruth herself is a quiet, reserved hot mess; her personal life is a disaster, she struggles with choices between personal and professional, but she almost always presents a persona of a knowledgeable, collected academic . This makes Ruth more relatable, as she plows through life and cases wildly, but also keeps calm and carries on, even in the face of disaster. The descriptions are just enough to give you a vague idea of the settings and of physical appearances; otherwise, Griffiths dedicates the word count to ideas, thoughts, dialogue, and action. This series gets back to the roots of the mystery genre; nothing cozy, cutesy, or cookie cutter about these books, only the human condition, darkness, and history that still drives people to greatness or madness.
Do not, I repeat, do not be a Megan and let this series languish on your 'To-Read' shelf. You are doing yourself an injustice. These stories are excellent examples of what could happen when history meets the present and how it can spell dark disaster.
