The Crossing Places: The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries 1

Elly Griffiths

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1786481863 ISBN 13: 9781786481863

Publisher: Quercus, 2016

WINNER OF THE 2016 CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY. A child's bones are discovered on the windswept Norfolk marshes. Believing them to be ancient, the police call in Dr Ruth Galloway, forensic archaeologist. But this is no prehistoric grave. It seems a cold missing person case has now become a murder investigation. A must-read for all crime fiction fans, particularly readers of Val McDermid and Ann Cleeves.

'I've never before read a crime novel in which [archaeology and detection] blend as successfully as in The Crossing Places' Shots magazine

Dr Ruth Galloway is called in when a child's bones are discovered near the site of a pre-historic henge on the north Norfolk salt marshes. Are they the remains of a local girl who disappeared ten years earlier - or are the bones much older?

DCI Harry Nelson refuses to give up the hunt for the missing girl. Since she vanished, someone has been sending him bizarre anonymous notes about ritual sacrifice, quoting Shakespeare and the Bible. He knows that Ruth's expertise and experience could help him finally to put this case to rest.

But when a second child goes missing, Ruth finds herself in danger from a killer who knows she's getting ever closer to the truth...

Review:

Griffiths weaves superstition and myth into her crime novels, skilfully treading a line between credulity and modern methods of detection (Sunday Times)

A great series (Guardian)

Griffiths' excellent series is well informed and original (Literary Review)

Archaeology and crime often walk hand in hand in crime fiction, and seem a natural fit as they have in common both bones and quests for the truth. I've never before, however, read a crime novel in which the two blend as successfully as in The Crossing Places ... Elly Griffiths' characterization is as good as her writing, and I can't wait for the next in the series (Shotsmag)

Book Description:

WINNER OF THE 2016 CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY. A child's bones are discovered on the windswept Norfolk marshes. Believing them to be ancient, the police call in Dr Ruth Galloway, forensic archaeologist. But this is no prehistoric grave. It seems a cold missing person case has now become a murder investigation. A must-read for all crime fiction fans, particularly readers of Val McDermid and Ann Cleeves.