How much fun it is to be back in Ruth Galloway's world! As ever, the plot isn't the greatest, slow to get going and filled with cliches - but then plot is not what keeps me coming back. Griffiths has written a tremendous ensemble of characters, even if, as here, there have to be vast coincidences to bring them together. Quirky just doesn't do justice to them and the asides have me snorting with amusement: Nelson on picking up one of Michelle's books, "who writes this rubbish? If he met a man like Christian Grey he'd have him up on a charge before he could say 'safe word' ".

One of my favourite comfort read series, this is pure entertainment.

I just love Elly Griffith’s Ruth Galloway novels so when I received The Lantern Men, her new one, from NetGalley I knew I was heading for a perfect weekend!
In this book Ruth has moved away from Norfolk to live in Cambridge with Frank but although she has a great job at the University of Cambridge and a wonderful home with Frank she still misses the Saltmarsh and of course Nelson, Kate’s father.
When Nelson asks Ruth to help with a case she is over the moon, not just because she enjoys consulting for the police but she is also excited about seeing Nelson on a regular basis again.
Frank is nice and dependable but she is not madly in love with him which becomes obvious as the book progresses.
The case Nelson is working on is complicated. Ivor March is in prison accused of the murder of two girls but two others are missing and Nelson is keen to find them. When March says that he will reveal their location if Ruth excavates, Nelson calls on her to help.
However Ruth’s old boss Phil did the previous excavation and Ruth begins to look at his work in order to see if there are any clues.
I enjoyed catching up with my favourite characters- they are like old friends now and I’m always eager to see what they are up to. Cathbad is entertaining but endearing - his feelings and strange ideas usually contain an element of truth.
Ruth’s self deprecating manner always makes me smile. Her insecurities about her body, her hair, her prowess in the kitchen are described in a humorous way. Her relationship with Nelson is central to the plot and as a reader I keep hoping they will end up together although I like his wife, Michelle too!
I read the book in a day barely pausing for breath and now I am bereft as I will not see Ruth, Nelson , Cathbad, Judy et alia for another year unless Elly Griffiths has another one up her sleeve ready to publish very quickly.
Five stars from me and highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is an eagerly awaited (at least in my case) addition to the Ruth Galloway series and it certainly delivers as much as I hoped. Ruth is now working at Cambridge University and living in the city with her American partner Frank and daughter Kate. The conviction of a serial killer and a subsequent search for more victims means that she once again is called to work alongside Nelson (hurrah!) and help with the identification of old remains.

All the favourite characters are there - Cathbad, Nelson's family, and the usual faces at the police station, even Clough, who has moved to a nearby force, becomes involved. As the investigation involves a writers' retreat and some 'new age' characters Nelson has plenty of opportunities to say 'bollocks' and there are lots of amusing asides along the way.

Highly recommended, I just wish the next one was out.

I’ve been a devoted follower of Ruth and Nelson since the first book in the series came out in paperback (I bought it at the station to read on a train journey that Inthen didn’t want to end). This is the 11th, and starts 2 years after the events of The Stone Circle. It seems to mark a new beginning for Ruth and her daughter Kate who now live in Cambridge, rather than King’s Lynn. The novel takes Ruth back to north Norfolk both personally and professionally, weaving the extensive cast of characters into a gripping narrative.

Number twelve in this endearing series. Much has changed since the last book for Ruth Galloway, new home, new job, settled relationship but as always she is drawn into a police case that teams her up with DCI Nelson. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's fast paced, cleverly plotted and as always the characters are excellent. The chemistry between Ruth and Nelson is as strong as ever.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for an advance copy of The Lantern Men, the twelfth novel to feature forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway and DCI Harry Nelson of the Norfolk Police.

Ivor March has just been convicted of killing two women and DCI Nelson is convinced that he has killed another two women. When asked March says he will reveal their location if Ruth Galloway agrees to do the excavation. Ruth is wary but agrees and finds more than she bargained for.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Lantern Men which is a very comfortable read with some good twists. I think I say it every time I review this series but it’s as much about the characters and their interactions as it is about the plot so, after so many novels, it’s like meeting up with old friends. It gives the novel a lovely, comfortable feeling that is unmatched in my other reading. Ruth has moved to Cambridge with her partner Frank and Nelson, father of her daughter, Katie, is raising his late baby son, George, with wife Michelle. This creates an interesting and, at times, awkward dynamic which is further amplified by Ruth and Nelson’s unvoiced thoughts on the subject. I love it and am constantly interested in where Ms Griffiths will take it next. It is fascinating to me that it is such an open secret. All the other regulars are there as well although i would have wished to see a more prominent role for the amazing Cathbad, new age Druid and all round prescient being.

I have never thought that plotting was Ms Griffiths’ strongest point but The Lantern Men is one of the better ones. It mixes old myth with some modern day crimes and presents quite a puzzle that I didn’t manage to solve. I like that it settles on a small group of suspects as it makes it easy for the reader to identify them and allows a more in-depth look at their characters, motives and actions while making it more difficult to work out a suspect. Is it Ivor or is he innocent as his supporters claim? Or is it a conspiracy? Who knows? Not this reader who was baffled.

The Lantern Men is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Much has changed in the latest edition of Elly Griffith's forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway series. For a start she is living with the American Frank and her young daughter, Kate in Cambridge, teaching at St Jude's College. She has just completed her latest book at the peaceful writers and artists retreat, Grey Walls, run by Crissy Martin. To her surprise, unusually she finds herself connecting with Crissy, a rare event indeed. In Norfolk, DCI Harry Nelson is not happy that Ruth has moved to Cambridge, and definitely not happy she is living with Frank, and he is unable to see Kate as often either. However, he is happy when serial killer, Ivor March, is found guilty of the murder of two young women buried in his girlfriend, Chantal's garden, the evidence of his culpability sufficient for the jury to convict him.

However, there are two missing women, Nicola Ferris and Jenny McGuire, Nelson is convinced Ivor murdered them too and he wants to bring closure for their grieving families. So he visits Ivor in prison looking to obtain a confession, but Ivor refuses to play ball unless Ruth is involved. It turns out Crissy is Ivor's ex-wife, she and Chantal wholeheartedly believe in his innocence and feel Phil Trent, Ruth's old boss, messed up in the original investigation. In their opinion, Ruth is far more skilled and they are determined to have her on the case. So when Ivor gives a location in the grounds of The Jolly Boatman, despite not liking the man, Ruth agrees to oversee the search for the two women's bodies. She is now back in her beloved Norfolk which she misses desperately. There is folklore in the area of the lantern men leading people astray to their deaths, and in the past Ivor was part of a group of men, the Grey Wall set, referring to themselves as the modern lantern men who rescued women and bought them back to Grey Walls to live for a while.

Ruth and Nelson find more than they expected at The Jolly Boatman and to muddy the waters further, another young woman, a cyclist from the Lynn Wheels club is found murdered. Is this a copycat killing or could there be the remote possibility that Ivor is innocent? It is a joy to return to a well loved set of characters, and there is the introduction of a new team member, Tony Zhang. We catch up with the likes of the prescient druid Cathbad, his wife DI Judy Johnson, DI Cloughie who now runs his own team, Nelson's family and his young son, George, Maddie and all the others. Ruth finds herself suffering panic attacks, it is clear that she is not happy at Cambridge, she misses Nelson, all her dreams of moving on appear to have come to nought. This is a great addition to a great crime series. Many thanks to Quercus for an ARC

** spoiler alert ** I won't be the only one slightly horrified to find Ruth out of her beloved saltmarshes,living in Cambridge and just not hanging around so much with the old gang.


Thankfully this is soon resolved when she's brought in to dig up some bodies at the request of a murderer.

These characters really feel so much like old friends these days,to the point I almost cheered when Clough showed up.
The killer storyline got more confusing as all the main characters were so tied up in each other's lives...

But that could also be said of Ruth,Nelson and their families.

As always a joy to read.
I'm ready for book 13 now.