I didn't realise that there were so many Ruth Galloway books! I read the first one two years ago and really enjoyed it, so when I was given the chance to read the latest in the series I jumped at the chance.

Things have moved on a lot since that first book. Ruth is feeling a bit out of sorts.Her relationship with Nelson, the father of Kate,her daughter, seems to be going nowhere especially now Nelson's wife is pregnant. When she asked to assist Angelo, a fellow archeologist in Italy she is delighted and along with her friend Shona, Shona's son & Kate they set off for the hills of Italy.

From the start things seem a bit strange. There is threatening graffiti on the door to the apartment they are staying and a wolf's skull appears a day or so later. Ruth finds out that the history of the town casts a long shadow. Who is trying to kill Angelo and has Ruth now put herself and her family in danger.

I love the cast of characters in Elly Griffiths' books. As she switches from Norfolk to Italy she keeps the reader interested throughout. There are probably many more complex mystery books out there, but for good interesting characters I think you'd have to look hard. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me catch up with Ruth & her friends again.

It was lovely to read about familiar people again .
I enjoyed reading this book as much as the others .
Can't wait for the next book hopping that Ruth and Nelson will get together some time in the future.

HE DARK ANGEL is the tenth in the Ruth Galloway Mystery series by Elly Griffiths – this time Ruth Galloway has a change of scene but even then she still finds a murder to investigate.

Dr Ruth Galloway returns home from Clough and Cassandra's wedding to find a message on her answerphone from an Italian former boyfriend and fellow archaeologist Dr Angelo Morelli, asking for her help. He has discovered a group of bones in a tiny hilltop village near Rome but does not know what to make of them – they might be Roman but there are anomalies. Ruth has not had a proper holiday in years and decides that even a working holiday to Italy is welcome.

Ruth and daughter Kate, together with friend Shona and her son Louis, travel to Castello degli Angeli. Here she finds a baffling Roman mystery and a dark secret involving the War years and the Resistance. She is soon joined by Harry Nelson - concerned about Ruth and Kate when he learns of an earthquake - and Cathbad. But by then the ancient bones have sparked a modern murder and Ruth must discover what secrets there are in Castello degli Angeli that someone would kill to protect.

I am a big fan of the Ruth Galloway novels and though I do feel that they are best enjoyed in sequence, you can probably pick up most of the background needed to enjoy each novel as you go along - probably more so here as there is a lot of scene setting in early chapters. There is the usual excellent characterisation that one expects in Elly Griffiths’ books – believable, flawed but ultimately likeable ongoing main protagonists: Ruth Galloway, Harry Nelson and Judy amongst the adults with Kate coming to the fore. There is the usual twisty plot here that engages the reader and this particular novel benefits, I think, from the change in milieu from East Anglia to Italy.

As I have stated about previous Ruth Galloway mysteries - if you do have a liking for modern cosies with perhaps a little hint of grit then I would strongly recommend this to you.

My major niggle would be that it is a bit convenient for Nelson to turn up, but even more so with Cathbad – yes there is a reason, but them both leaping on a plane at short notice is a bit of a stretch.

I think if Elly Griffiths chose to write a cookery book it would be a #1 best seller.
In The Dark Angel she has maintained the high standard readers of the Ruth Galloway series have come to expect and love.
Packed full of familiar characters the story is homely but never sentimental, action filled but interspersed with chunks of humour and lighter touches.
The star of this 10th novel is the main location, Italy. You can feel the heat, smell the lemons and see dusk falling in the Liri valley.
How the author manages to get the main players to relocate to Italy is genius in itself but to then create two compelling plots at home and abroad is quite brilliant. Of course we are not on a jolly, there are Roman bones to involve Ruth in archeology and another TV appearance.
There are many references to angels, death, liminal spaces and the hereafter. Great fun to read.
How Nelson can be wronged and still lose face is part of the ongoing saga; especially with Tim back on the scene.
It is also about family, loyalty and reputation and will appear to all who like a gentle novel as well as fans of the crime mystery,
A cat and a dog also have supporting roles.
Who would have thought that Cathbad spoke Italian. There is a summery of the main characters at the end of the book to assist new fans with some little known facts as well as a potted history.
Elly Griffiths goes from strength and now writes with an ease and captures the knack of telling good stories.

The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths

When Italian archaeologist Dr Angelo Morelli finds some Roman bones in a remote and tiny Italian hilltop town, he’s intrigued enough by them to call on his old friend Dr Ruth Galloway, a forensic anthropologist from Norfolk. Angelo is sure that the addition of a foreign expert at the scene may attract some media attention – he likes to be in the spotlight. But it’s such a beautiful place and Ruth jumps at the chance to spend a fortnight away from home, especially if she can bring Kate her daughter as well as her best friend and her little boy. They will have the run of a lovely old apartment in the local castle, the home of Angelo’s late father. The sea isn’t far away, the town has bars and cafes, and there should be hardly any work at all. It sounds perfect.

But, of course, that’s the dream. The reality is a little different. The history of the small town lives within it, its people cannot let the past go, and something troublesome murmurs below the surface. And Angelo is convinced that somebody is trying to hurt him, even kill him. It’s perhaps fortuitous then that circumstances conspire to bring DI Harry Nelson to Italy from Norfolk. But keeping Ruth and Kate safe is not all that’s on Nelson’s mind. Nelson is a man who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders.

The Dark Angel is the tenth book in Elly Griffiths’ outstanding Ruth Galloway series, a series that is deeply and widely loved by many. It’s certainly one of the series that I love the very most. Ten books! That is something to celebrate indeed. This might be crime fiction but, as all devotees of the series know, that is not what these books are about. There are pleasing mysteries in them all, including The Dark Angel, but the focus, and our attention, is most definitely on Ruth, Nelson and Kate as well as the other regular characters who are so important in their lives, such as Michelle, Cathbad, Judy and Cloughie. Even Bruno the dog and Flint the cat. If you haven’t read any of the others then you would certainly enjoy The Dark Angel but I think you might be missing its point – and to find that you’d need to have fallen for Ruth and those she loves.

The Italian setting is absolutely wonderful! I always enjoy the Norfolk locations of the other books but this hilltop town is so beautifully created, such a mix of stunning scenery and history with foreboding and menace. As Ruth spends her days here, drinking wine, dipping in the sea, mixing with the locals, I felt myself transported. I loved the depiction of the children – and had a laugh when Ruth has to cover up (literally) the things in the smart apartment that they break. I could feel the heat on my skin and almost taste that wine. Glorious.

To be honest, the mystery is not the most gripping or involving. In fact, it’s almost entirely incidental. I was carried away by Ruth and by Nelson. I’m saying nothing about what happens between them in these pages but I could not have been more engrossed and read much of it in one sitting. The story moves between events in Italy and back home in Norfolk and I was kept at the edge of my seat. I suppose you could call this a soap opera, it’s certainly a tangled web, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

Elly Griffiths writes about people and relationships so beautifully. The language is light and so real and genuine. It provokes an emotional response and I spent hours utterly engaged by it. Elly Griffiths writes with such heart and insight for these characters that she clearly loves every bit as much as we do. We are the richer for it, even though I was an emotional wreck by the end of it. I cannot wait for the next book in the series. Luckily, I have a couple of books in Elly Griffiths’ other series, the equally brilliant Stephens and Mephisto novels, to keep me going. We are so lucky to have Elly Griffiths and the fact that she is as prolific as she is talented is something to celebrate.

Other reviews
The Chalk Pit (Ruth Galloway)
The Zig Zag Girl (Stephens and Mephisto 1)
The Vanishing Box (Stephens and Mephisto 4)

EXCERPT: Giving your son to God sounds sinister somehow. Ruth once found the body of an Iron Age girl who had been tied down and left on the marshes to die, an offering to some faceless, nameless diety. She thinks of Isaac carrying the wood on which he is going to be sacrificed by his father, a story which pops up quite often in her parent's church, where it seems to be held up as an example of good parenting.

THE BLURB: Dr Ruth Galloway is flattered when she receives a letter from Italian archaeologist Dr Angelo Morelli, asking for her help. He's discovered a group of bones in a tiny hilltop village but doesn't know what to make of them. It's years since Ruth has had a holiday, and even a working holiday to Italy is very welcome!

So Ruth travels to Fontana Liri, accompanied by her daughter Kate and friend Shona. In the town she finds a medieval shrine and a dark secret involving the war years and the Resistance. To her amazement she also finds Harry Nelson, who is enduring a terrible holiday at a resort nearby. But there is no time to overcome their mutual shock - the ancient bones spark a modern murder, and Ruth must discover what secrets there are in Fontana Liri that someone would kill to protect.

MY THOUGHTS: I completely understand why the Ruth Galloway series is, and I quote, 'My favourite current crime series' - Val McDermid.

Elly Griffiths writes in a quietly sinister fashion that keeps me glued to the page. Her characters are delightful, but all too human, all capable of deceit, guilt, indecision and bad judgment. It was lovely to catch up again with Cathcart (known as Michael in his pre-druid life) and his very perceptive pronouncements. He is a very deep character, and one of my favorites.

My favorite passage from the book is this- 'As he speaks, he turns to the tombstone, white and stark among the older graves, like a false tooth in a mouthful of decaying molars.' Wandering through graveyards is a pastime of mine. I make up stories about the inhabitants, and wonder about their lives. However, I doubt that I will be able to do so in the future without thinking of the 'decaying molars'.

The setting for this book moves from Norfolk to the Liri Valley region in Italy, a rather beautiful and historic area. I soaked up the atmosphere, and swear I gained a kilo from all the delicious sounding pasta they ate. Although the village of Castello degli Angeli where Ruth is staying is completely fictional, other places they mentioned and visited are real, and I journeyed along with them, enjoying the sights if not the food, courtesy of Google Earth.

The plot is not particularly fast-paced, but the book loses nothing because of this. In fact it is, in this instance, a redeeming quality. That is not to say that there is no action, because there is plenty.

The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths is an extremely satisfying read. I award it ☆☆☆☆1/2 simply exquisite stars.

Thank you to Quercus Books via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system.

This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

I absolutely love the Ruth Galloway series and devoured this in a weekend - it was like taking a mini break in Italy! Her love of that country comes through in every sentence and the end was genuinely moving. I can't understand why this series hasn't been televised, it's wonderful

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...

While it as nice to see Ruth and Nelson out of their comfort zone, I don't think this book has been one of the best in the series. I didn't feel it was as gritty, or as exciting as the previous books. This book just didn't have the same oomph as the first 9. Probably because it's different to what the others are like but I didn't really like it. I didn't feel the suspense or the mystery that was supposed to be there, and I'm a little disappointed. I really hope this isn't the beginning of the end for Ruth. Written as well as the others though and that's what counts. I didn't really like the storyline, both in Italy and England so that's my only issue with it.

In a complete change of scene, Dr Ruth and entourage head off for Italy. For various reasons (very slightly contrived, but who cares?) she and Kate and Shona and Louis, and then later Nelson and Cathbad, all turn up in a small town called Castello Degli Angeli, an hour from Rome. It is a beautiful walled town, and Kate and Shona have an apartment set in the walls. And so we have archaeological researches, a mystery, the usual mayhem, a handsome Italian academic, an earthquake, a link back to difficult times in WW2. It is an elaborate plot that certainly sustains the reader’s interest, and the description of summer life in the town is beautifully done. There is a parallel story going on back in North Norfolk, involving a criminal from Nelson’s past and a threat that may or may not be serious. If you thought the personal lives of the characters had reached their peak last time, prepare for more big big developments…

Rather than describe the plot further (if you’re a fan you’ll read it, if you haven’t tried the series you should start at Book 1) I decided to try to analyse why these books work so well for me, what it is that makes them rise so far above most of the competition. Bear with me, I’m working this out as I go along…






This is the tenth book in the series - they are all over the blog - and I have loved every one of them without reservation. Dr Ruth Galloway and Harry Nelson are my favourite sleuthing pair, and Nelson is my favourite policeman, the thinking woman’s detective crush. These books have so much to offer – I love the historical details, and the rounded characters: although Ruth is definitely the protagonist, others get their point of view, and everyone is presented as having normal faults – but they are not judged. The books are also hilariously funny, with the characters’ interactions working in a way we understand after 10 books. And Elly Griffiths does all this without having undue gruesomeness or those horrible descriptions of violence to women that are so prevalent: there are murders, but they are not sickening, though these books are anything but cozy. I love Griffiths’ basically liberal, good-hearted view of the world.

Her character portrayal is wonderful: I would often resist descriptions like that above – women thinking about her weight – but Ruth is merely being realistic and observational and funny, there is no element to dislike here,no alarm bells. And over and over again in the books I admire the way the author gives people real, inconsequential thoughts: she gets inside heads as varied as Cathbad, everyone’s favourite druid, and Dave the (apparently) archetypal tough policeman.

She features people who don’t usually appear in this kind of (for want of better words) intellectual, or literary-minded mystery – certainly not in key roles. Harry and Michelle are a fascinating couple, because they are so normal, so apparently straightforward: this is no Morse, Michelle is a hairstylist, she is no Ruth, but they are lovely, written in a totally unpatronizing way, without the need to suddenly make them start reading Proust or learning Ancient Greek. Nelson is unreconstructed, he is a good man, although the jury is out on whether he is actually sexist, but what he is NOT, is, manipulated by the author to show some different and unconvincing side of him. He is one of the most rounded and real characters I have ever read. And Michelle too – one of my favourite bits of the entire oeuvre comes in a short story Griffiths wrote about Ruth at Christmas (a sweet seasonal gem that I re-read every year):
[Ruth] suddenly feels a great affection for Michelle. In fact, she almost wishes that she could spend Christmas with her. Michelle would cook for her and buy her stocking presents.
This is plainly ridiculous – Ruth is a grown woman with a child, and Michelle is her rival in love, but this reader knew exactly what she meant, it was one of those weird random thoughts that real people have, and the glamorous Michelle is a truly nice woman, and it must be great to be her daughter.

These books are flatout terrific novels, and I hope they go on forever – though am really wondering what comes next for the main characters after a dramatic ending…

Funerals and graves feature a lot in the book, so (given the title) the two pictures of graveyard angels, by the ever-excellent Perry Photography, seem perfect.

I keep using the word real in this post: Castello degli Angeli was so vivid in the book that I was secretly surprised at the end to find it doesn’t exist. The lower picture shows Arpino, a real place in the right area.

The Ruth Galloway series is like returning to an old friend. I'm always excited for a new release and I know it's going to be a great read. The Dark Angel reinforced this feeling!

I love the combination of archaeology and crime that runs at the core of this series, and The Dark Angel is no different. What is different, however, is that this book is not set mainly in Norfolk, as many of the previous novels are, but instead a lot of the narrative takes Ruth (and Kate) away to Italy! Though I love reading about Norfolk locations (some real, some made up) it's actually quite refreshing to have the action relocated to sunny, exotic Italy - Fontana Liri, to be exact - and to meet some different characters as well as the favourites we've grown to know and love. In fact, I almost wish we saw a bit more of the old favourites in this book, but as I said it's always nice to have a change! Ruth is a great character, as always, and still so solid, sharp and, ultimately, very believable; I never think she is overly dramatic about things and I feel like I can identify with her thoughts and feelings as she's often so normal, despite not being normal - ie. brilliant - at her job. I also liked reading more about Nelson and his strong views; I do like him despite definitely not agreeing with everything he says or does. He's not a perfect love interest and sometimes he's quite annoying!

Something I always think about this series is that it's never rushed. Take Ruth and Nelson's relationship (or non-relationship, really), for example - they've been faffing around each other for years and years, and although there have been moments where you think 'This is it! They're finally going to get together', we've yet to see it properly happen- and this no doubt reflects 'real life' a bit more. There aren't always happy endings or people abandoning their partners to run away into the sunset with other people. I won't give anything away about The Dark Angel, but could it finally be time for Ruth and Nelson? That's always something I wonder before I pick up a new book in this series - it keeps me guessing!

There's exciting/ tense elements to the narrative which keep it interesting and it's easy to read; Elly Griffiths has such an enjoyable way of writing. I always expect an intriguing and well written read story, which I definitely got in this novel, along with plenty of interesting archaeological details. A great read which only adds to this brilliant series!

This is one of my favourite series of books; one of the ones that I really hang out for the next to be available and, once it is, it manages to jump my TBR all the way straight to the top. I almost feel like I know the characters so well that I can start to consider them as old friends and I love reconnecting with them in each instalment to see what happens next in their stories. With this in mind, and I know we are at book 10 already but, to get the very best from the books, I would recommend starting from book one and reading in order.
In this book, the gang all travel to Italy. First Ruth gets the call to assist and old friend (flame) with an excavated skeleton. She decided to combine the work with a holiday and invites Shona to go with, along with Louis and Kate, their children. Then Nelson gets wind of the trip and, after hearing a rather unsettling piece of news, rushes out with Cathbad to join them, even though wife Michelle is pregnant and a face from his own past threatens to upset things on a personal level.
I do have to admit that I did find the gang reunion in sunny Italy to be a wee bit contrived but, you know what, I love this series and the characters so much that I really didn't care! I can be forgiving when I get what I want!
The stories that run in parallel both back home and in Italy were very well plotted and worked well both together and in isolation. Certain series arcs were progressed nicely and doors opened and closed for several characters along the way. One of the things this author is really good at, in my opinion, is managing the balance between the characters' personal lives running through the series, and the investigations that make up each individual book. Yes, in this book we may be a little at the top end of this personal stuff-wise but nothing that distracted from the crime and solving thereof.
Another of this author's strengths is front and centre in this book too; her wonderful descriptions of the settings. She really does bring them alive for me and I am not a very visual reader in general.
Both settings are also very rich in history and this was also dealt with very well in the narrative.
All in all, a great addition to an already brilliant series. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Thanks Quercus Books and netgalley for this ARC.

Elly Griffiths knows her audience, her stuff, and I''ll be a fan for life. This is one of the best mystery series out there today. It's always growing, new, and fresh. Seeing Italy thru Ruth's eyes will be a experience. I loved the sense that everything is coming to a explosive head soon. Can't wait for the next book.

Well I just love this series with the balance between the look at old bones, and often new ones too, with the ongoing drama in Ruth Galloway’s own life along with that of DCI Harry Nelson and the rest of his team.

In The Dark Angel rather than Ruth’s boss Phil taking to the television we have an Italian archaeologist who is about to reveal some Roman bones to the audience when something interrupts filming. Desperate to provide some authenticity to his dig and tempt the TV crew back, Dr Angelo Morelli invites Ruth to Italy to lend a helping hand. Ruth is in a bit of a rut, her mother died recently and there has been some other unwelcome news in her personal life and anyway Kate could do with a holiday so she decides that Italy is the perfect answer. Inviting her friend Shona and her son Louis the party board the plane for Italy and Angelo’s apartment in a hilltop village.

Meanwhile in Norfolk Nelson is warned that a man jailed for a heinous crime ten years previously has been released. Mickey Webb made some wild threats at the time he was jailed aimed at Nelson but it seems that he has come out of prison a reformed character and one who has found religion, and a good woman to boot.
Italy has plenty of history and of course although Ruth is there to look at some Roman bones the party have hardly made themselves at home before they are informed that they are staying in the home of a former hero of the Second World War when Italy was occupied. And this is exactly why I love this series, no matter the crime, and there are I’m pleased to report, there is one, there is so much detail to enjoy on the periphery to the storyline all told in such a ‘chatty’ manner it is listening to a friend. That combined with catching up with the latest escapades which entertain me enormously while bones are tested, theories are expounded and suspects questioned.

With events happening in two different countries, both personal and criminal, the action moves quite swiftly despite the somewhat more relaxed holiday feeling to brighten the darker moments in Italy.
Elly Griffiths has compiled a great character in Ruth. She is intelligent without being condescending, worried about her appearance but also not overly envious of those with looks. She has turned into a pragmatic single mother to Kate and yet she is no angel – the asides when Louis breaks glass after glass in the apartment provides a wry smile from anyone who has ever had to spend an extended amount of time with a child that doesn’t behave like your own. She has moments of fierce introspection and yet she is obviously a capable and inspirational forensic archaeologist – someone I’m sure would fascinate me if she was a real live breathing person.

This is a series where you should start at the beginning as the story arc becomes more and more integral to the enjoyment of the books as the series goes on and to be honest the ‘non-crime’ sections are a bigger proportion in this episode than the previous books but if you are already a fan, you are in for a real treat.

Dr Ruth Galloway Books in order
The Crossing Places
The Janus Stone
The House at Sea’s End
A Room Full of Bones
Dying Fall
The Outcast Dead
The Ghost Fields
The Woman in Blue
The Chalk Pit

I read this book in one sitting (bar a break for lunch!), this was how much I enjoyed it!. This is only the second Ruth Galloway novel I have read having read The Chalk Pit last year. It is clear to see that one book moves on from the next but they are perfectly capable of being read as a standalone. Having said that I would have found it more helpful to the have the biographies of the main characters at the front of the book rather than the end - with a printed book you can always flick backwards and forwards but with the kindle version I didn't even know it was there until I got to the end of the book.
This was a very easy book to read, the characters are well developed and there is always that air of suspense to keep you wanting to turn another page, read another chapter etc. I loved the fact that a large part of the book is set in my favourite country - Italy - and it was easy to associate with the way of life and bureaucracy portrayed in the book. But the contrast between Italy and Norfolk worked well as well. This book left me wanting to know more about what happened between Ruth, Nelson and Michelle (as did The Chalk Pit) but I guess we have to wait for the next book - which I definitely want to read!

I always look forward to a new Ruth Galloway book, and this didn't disappoint.
It is always great to re-engage with Ruth, Nelson, and the gang, and their lives
This time Ruth, Shona and the children are in Italy, where Ruth is advising on the excavation of a skeleton.
Back home, Nelson is concerned when a murderer, who vowed revenge on the police,is set free, having found religion.
In Italy, memories of the last war are very close to the surface, and old feuds are remembered, resulting in a death.
The two stories converge, bringing a dramatic climax, which, answer some questions, but raises new ones.
My only criticism is that the book, while engaging, was very slow to get going, and the way of getting the protagonists together in Italy rather contrived.
Thanks to Netgally, and Quercus books for the opportunity to read this book.

Although the setting here is divided between the sun filled town of Castello degli Angeli in Italy and Norfolk, the emphasis in this book is very much on the relationships between the characters we loyal readers have come to know and feel at home with. For that reason, I would not recommend this book as a good jumping off place to begin reading the Galloway series.
Ruth is contacted by an old acquaintance, Angelo Morelli, who invites her over to take a look at a recent archaeological find in the hope that she can help assure the TV production company that the Angelo’s find is newsworthy. Still recovering from the death of her mother she decides that a working holiday might be just what the doctor ordered, so she and her daughter Katie head off with a friend and her son. It is not long after they arrive before the first death occurs and Ruth becomes embroiled in finding the truth behind the killing.
I wasn’t overwhelmingly drawn into the Italian crime; the setting was fabulous and I enjoyed the whole idea of an academic archaeologist desperately trying to hang on to his TV series, but what was happening back in Norfolk was altogether more dramatic and sinister, whilst in Italy everything has a much more languid feel to it. It was therefore a little harder to care about the crime being solved, although that aspect was neatly enough done.
While Ruth is away, and D.C.I. Harry Nelson has flown over with Cathbad to see her, DS Judy Johnson is left holding the fort in the police station. A recently released prisoner is giving cause for concern and though he seems harmless enough now that he has found God, the memories of his swearing to get back at those who put him away are enough to warrant giving him a stiff talking to.
Meanwhile DS Tim Heathfield is back from Essex to attend a wedding. His return to Norfolk gives more than one person pause for thought.
From the outset, you know that there is a kind of inevitability to what then happens, but that makes it all the more poignant and all the more difficult. It is hard to know where Elly Griffiths will take the series from here, but it feels like a life changing moment and one that will have profound consequences for many of the relationships in this series.
In summary, I did very much enjoy it for the characters and their relationships. I thought the plot was a little lighter and less well fleshed out than usual, but this time my focus was really very much on the characters and their inter-relationships.

Having read all of the Ruth Galloway books, this was an auto read for me. I seem to say it every time with this series but it really is my comfort read.
In this book Ruth is summoned by her old friend Angelo to help date some bones in an Italian dig. Ruth, along with daughter Katie, friend Shona her young son Louis, fly to Italy. Shona is looking forward to a 2 week vacation with the children while Ruth is hoping she can soon relax as well. Unfortunately for Ruth, Angelo declares that he thinks someone is trying to kill him and he hopes Ruth can help uncover who it is.

I really did enjoy this book. I’m finding that these are quite formulaic but I’m not becoming bored with them. I was wondering where the relationship dynamics were going when the previous book ended and I must say that this book did hold some surprises.
As this series continues, I think it’s better to have read a few of the earlier books at least. I feel the back story to the characters and their interactions are getting a little more complex as the books continue. Suffice to say I will continue to look forward the next in the series.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy to read.