Customer Reviews

The Crossing Places (Ruth Galloway Mysteries)

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First Sentence: They wait for the tide and set out at first light.

Archaeologist Ruth Galloway is a single, overweight woman who lives with her two cats on the edge of the Saltmarsh. DCI Harry Nelson asks for her help when human bones are found on a nearby beach. Nelson is haunted by the case of Lucy Downey, a young girl who disappeared ten years ago. A second child now disappears. Nelson believes the two cases are linked.

It is always a treat to start a book by an author I'd not previously read and discover it is a very enjoyable book.

The opening is particularly effective and creates a strong sense of place. In fact, it is the evocative quality of Ms. Griffiths' descriptions that entranced me and held me fast into the story. Add to that fascinating historical, geological, archeological and forensic information that enhances the story, but never overwhelms or slows it down.

The characters are only slightly less effective. I loved Ruth. She is definitely a character with whom I can identify. It is so refreshing to not have a young, slim, gorgeous protagonist. She is smart, strong and independent. A slight criticism would be that the author focused more than needed on Ruth's weight and being single. There's a point where you say, "Okay, I've got it." Nelson, on the other hand, seemed rather anachronistic in his view toward women and I was rather amazed at some of the things he didn't know, particularly with a British education.

The other characters felt contrived. I did guess the villain fairly early on, but there were enough twists and red herrings that I wasn't completely certain. There is an incident with one of Ruth's cats I felt was predictable and not really necessary to the plot.

The story does have a bit of a Gothic feel, which I enjoyed, and some very good suspense. It kept me reading from page one straight through in one sitting. I was surprised by the very ending, but not particularly in a good way. Still, taken all together, the positives far outweighed the negatives and I look forward to more books by Ms. Griffiths.

THE CROSSING PLACES (Trad Mys-Ruth Galloway-England-Cont) - G+

Griffiths, Elly - 1st in series

Houghton, Mufflin, Harcourt, 2009, ARC - ISBN: 978-547339898

If you have any preconceptions about archaeologists, they probably don't include overweight nearly-40-year-olds living in isolated cottages. With cats. How much excitement can there be on the edge of a remote saltmarsh in the east of England?

Author Elly Griffiths shatters your preconceptions with her first book featuring Ruth Galloway. Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson "invites" Ruth to examine the body of a child found buried in the marsh, hoping to find closure on the disappearance of young Lucy Downey ten years before. The body turns out to be from the Iron Age, possibly tied somehow to the henge site discovered on the marsh around the same time. Two-thousand-year-old bodies preserved in peat are right in Ruth's line, but when another child is taken, Ruth finds herself "helping the police with their inquiries."

The Crossing Places is steeped in history, myth, and even a bit of madness--all pulled firmly into a modern setting. Ruth Galloway is an abrasive, outspoken loner, but she meets her match in DCI Nelson. This unexpected involvement in forensics could put her life into a spin--if she survives the danger of the Saltmarsh and the people interested in it.

The book foreshadows some of the outcomes, which may be a problem for readers who prefer their mysteries to be solved only at the end. There is also a slightly surreal aspect to some of the minor characters. These quibbles aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to the next in the series (which will be released in the U.K. in early 2010). I found the landscape, history and main character absorbing. For me, a five-star read.

Linda Bulger, 2009

"The Crossing Places" has an unusual setting, that of a desolate saltmarsh in the east of England. The protagonist is an almost 40-year-old overweight,single, and loner archaeologist, Ruth Galloway, who lectures in forensic archaeology at the University of North Norfolk. Ruth seems content to be living in a cottage near the marshland, much to the chagrin of her parents. The story takes off when Det. Chief Insp. Harry Nelson calls upon Ruth's expertise in identifying remains found in the marsh, hoping that a decade old cold case, involving the disappearance of a child will be solved. The site of the remains is the same place Ruth had excavated one summer ten years earlier. When the remains are identified as being from the Iron Age, DCI Nelson is frustrated, especially since he has received strange hints in the form of letters about the missing child's whereabouts. When another child disappears, Ruth finds herself becoming deeply embroiled in the case, even as the people of that past summer resurface in her life.

The story is refreshing and engaging, and Ruth makes an interesting protagonist. The interaction between Ruth and DCI Nelson is also a highlight of the novel. There are some nice twists here, and I admit I was hooked. I look forward to reading more stories featuring Ruth Galloway, and for those who can't wait - I'd also recommend: Haunted Ground: A Novel, and Lake of Sorrows: A Novel, both by Erin Hart (the stories have an archaeological theme, are steeped in folklore, and feature peat bogs).

Ruth Galloway is the impressive heroine of Elly Griffith's "The Crossing Places." She lives in England's Saltmarsh, a wild and desolate place, home to a few cottages, a bird sanctuary, and old artifacts, some dating back thousands of years. Galloway is a forensic archaeologist, with a special interest in bones, who teaches postgraduates and participates in digs when the opportunity presents itself. She admits, self-deprecatingly, that she is no model. Thirty-nine and overweight, Ruth never married, although she once had a live-in relationship with a man named Peter. Now she is contentedly alone, with two cats for company.

Galloway's predictable life is disrupted when Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson of the Norfolk Police asks for her help in a disturbing case involving a missing child. Her knowledge of the landscape as well as her familiarity with ancient rites, rituals, and legends prove helpful to Nelson who, although happily married, is drawn to this independent, forthright, and brilliant woman.

Griffith's depiction of the marshes is beautifully evocative. It's a magical place "where the earth meets the sky," and to some, it is a symbolic link between life and death. Ruth helps Nelson search for the body of a five-year old girl named Lucy Downey, who went missing ten years earlier. A series of taunting letters containing religious, literary, mythological, and pagan allusions imply that Lucy's remains may be buried in the area. When another child is snatched while playing in her parents' front garden, Nelson and Ruth step up their efforts to find the perpetrator.

"The Crossing Places" is a spellbinding and fast-moving mystery with a lively and well-defined cast. Erik Anderssen was Ruth's charismatic mentor who piqued her interest in archaeology. Ruth's best friend, Shona, teaches English and has an unfortunate habit of falling in love with married men. Michael Malone, known as Cathbad, is a mystic who lives in a caravan, wears a purple cloak, and believes in "being at one with the natural world." Peter, Ruth's former lover, reappears, much to her consternation, after separating from his wife. As Ruth attempts to juggle her personal and professional lives, she learns that a psychotic killer may have chosen her as his next victim.

Although "The Crossing Places" is involving, engrossing, and suspenseful, the conclusion is a bit too convoluted and far-fetched. Still, those who admire the wonderfully original character, Ruth Galloway, will want to read the sequel, "The Janus Stone," scheduled for publication later this year.

Round the eastern coast of Norfolk, the North Sea creeps upon the land and leaves behind a desolate place known as the salt marsh; a landscape of oozing mud and deep pools hidden beneath rampant grass and reeds. Thousands of years ago, this hostile place may have held religious significance for primitive peoples. Upon it they built a wooden henge and set markers to navigate the quicksand beds.

Today, this lonely site is shunned by most, but Dr Ruth Galloway chooses to live here near where she first excavated the site of the ancient henge. Dr Galloway, archaeologist, anthropologist, and professor at Northern Norfolk University, views the salt marsh with a strange combination of fear and awe, love and loathing. Although the road to her cottage, one of only three houses on the marsh, is frequently flooded and impassible, she is determined to ignore these inconveniences and remain to discover the history of the long ago people who dwelt here.

Her anthropology expertise makes her the logical person to consult when the shifting bog gives up the body of a child. Could this child be Lucy Downey, taken from her home ten years ago with never a trace or clue to her fate? The missing child has haunted Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson these long years. After the child went missing, the kidnapper taunted him with letters giving cryptic clues to Lucy's final resting place. A brief examination by Dr Galloway results in the discovery of an Iron Age torc around the child's neck and she determines this is not Lucy but rather an amazingly well preserved corpse that dates to perhaps 600 BC.

Another crushing disappointment for DCI Nelson, but a career building discovery for Galloway. Still, the Inspector senses an ally in Ruth. Her ready knowledge of folklore and ancient myths may aid him in discovering clues in the letters written by the kidnapper (if they were indeed written by him and not some publicity seeker trying to gain attention from a high profile case). Thus, Ruth is drawn into the search for the long missing Lucy and her abductor.

Author Elly Griffiths creates a vivid picture of this desolate bog, a place of neither sea nor land that holds many secretes and must be coaxed into revealing them. The British have a knack for writing dark and brooding atmosphere. I have a feeling that we Americans would look upon this place as a mostly sunny wetland full of wonderful birds and colorful plants, but that would not add to the sinister tone of the story. Instead, Griffiths paints us a landscape, lonely and unfriendly, dark and wet and always willing to accept the sacrifices of man and hold them forever.

Ruth Galloway is an unusual main character. Neurotic, aging and overweight, struggling with a lot of anger and self worth issues, she isn't an especially likable heroine. We glimpse her thoughts and see mostly self absorption and repressed hostility. It was not Ruth's character, but rather the romance of ancient legends that pulled me deeply into the story. DCI Nelson is also a compelling character. He is both intense and focused and the reader can't help but sympathize with his frustration over his failure to resolve the Lucy Downey case.

Familiar as we are here in America with police procedurals (we are bombarded by shows such as CSI and Law and Order) we may also wonder why the Norfolk police didn't call in experts in the fields of mythology and religion to analyze the letters at the beginning of the abduction case rather than ten years later. All I can say is that most novels have these irritating flaws but if the author has already hooked her readers, minor problems can be overlooked.

For years I have been an avid reader of the novels of Beverly Connor and Kathy Reichs, both anthropologists. Elly Griffiths' first novel The Crossing Place is different, yet similar. Slower paced, and featuring not the self assured professional women created by the first two authors, but rather a competent academic who is more comfortable with cats than police inspectors and who, every morning must deal with her own self image before she can face the challenges of the day. The book needed a lot more archeaology and a lot less angst.

This book lost points with me for the following reasons:

* Slow pace, too much introspection and angst.

* Animal cruelty. I know it's just a book, but the cruelty was senseless.

* The ending was just too well tied up in a bow. All the puzzle pieces fell in place much too quickly and too perfectly.

* I knew who the evil doer was from the beginning (but there were a few surprises in the red herrings Griffiths threw at us).

This debut novel in a new series pairs an archeologist and a detective inspector on the bleak coast of North Norfolk, where life has gone on since before the Bronze and Iron Ages. Ruth Galloway lectures at a local university and is an expert on ancient bones. Chief Inspector Nelson, who is haunted by a 10-year-old case in which a young girl disappeared with no trace found, asks Ruth to look at some buried bones which have been uncovered at an old burial site. The bones turn out to be 2,000 years old, eliminating the possibility that they belonged to the more recent victim.

But that is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, as Ruth becomes more and more involved with Nelson and the investigation. Especially when another young girl is abducted. Tension increases as Ruth finds herself in danger and is threatened by the apparent murderer.

The descriptions of the coast and marshland are terrifyingly vivid, especially during storms. Ruth is made exceedingly human as she contemplates her obesity and lack of a love life. Both her life and the environment are bleak, but hardly without hope. The seeds of future installments are laid in this book, and leave us with something to look forward to. Recommended.

I am a English Mystery Fan - have been for longer than I care to remember

I was looking for a new book to read and the cover of The Crossing Places grabbed

my attention, so I read the inside flap and decided to give it a read.

It is one of the best books I have read in a long time - this is the first in

a new series of books and is well worth picking up.

Elly is a new author for me and is now firmly on my list to watch for new books from.

I cannot wait for The Janus Stone to be available in the USA !!!

Keep writing Elly, DI Nelson and Ruth Galloway are a great team

mary

The intelligent, thoroughly unglamorous protagonist of this engaging mystery is a delight to encounter. The other characters are equally interesting. The plot is intelligently crafted. All sorts of interesting information comes along for the ride. This new writer of mysteries for thinking people is well worth watching.

I'm new to Elly Griffiths works. Unfortunately I read book two in this series before book one. So I was highly motivated to read this volume to gain the understanding of the characters better.

Archeologist Ruth Galloway is paired up with detective chief inspector Harry Nelson when a set of human remains turn up in the salt marsh next to Ruth's home. DCI Nelson is tasked with the case of a missing girl and he is afraid these may be her remains. As a matter of fact he has two missing girls, one case though is ten years old and a cold case.

The bones though turn out to be much older and thus not the girl that DCI Nelson is searching for. But now he and Ruth have a growing relationship and she joins him in looking for Scarlet. Unfortunately Ruth has gotten totally involved and someone is now trying to frighten her off the case. That doesn't work. Ruth is more involved than ever and is drawing in her colleagues and a former boyfriend just because she needs others to talk with.

We meet archeologists, an English Literatrue Professor, a Druid and the Marsh Warden. All will have a role in the developing story.

Griffiths has written a wonderful story that will hold your interest and give you several hours of entertaining reading. You will grow to love all the characters but then realize that one of them is evil. Which one will it be? Will they find Scarlet and Lucy, the missing girls? Will Ruth finally find love ( at almost forty years of age it is a bit late in coming)?

I enjoyed this book immensely as well as her second book, The Janus Stone. Now I'm on pre-order for book #3 and I can't wait.

I'm sure you will enjoy this good novel.

I really liked this book and the following one, the Janus Stone. Am eagerly looking forward to the next in the series. A believable heroine, who is smart and not drop dead gorgeous. My pet peeve with men writers is their irrational fantasy-women. The book is well-plotted and interesting.