By Janet Quinn
As a crime fan, I love finding a new series that I like. I remember how happy I was when I discovered The Crossing Places by Elly Griffith, the first title in the Ruth Galloway series. The series was published in the US in 2010 and now comprises fifteen novels. Griffiths is a great writer with a strong sense of place. The English coast of Norfolk, where the series is set, is like another character in the book. Although these are crime novels, they go far beyond mystery and are full of vivid characters with exciting relationships that change and develop over time. These books are a real joy to read, and clever dialogue makes this series even better.
The Crossing Places introduces us to Dr. Ruth Galloway, a professor and forensic anthropologist with a messy home life and some interesting friends, including a modern-day druid named Cathbad. Cathbad is an eccentric and a deep thinker who is one of my favorite characters. Ruth is introduced to the world of investigation and crime solving when local police detective DCI Harry Nelson asks her to identify some bones for him. Ruth is a fantastic character to build a series around. She is strong, smart, kind, independent and funny. Harry, on the other hand, is bombastic and old-fashioned in many ways. The testy relationship between Ruth and Harry is complex, evolving and often hilarious. Even better, the bond between Ruth and Harry makes a case for a world where there are people from different backgrounds and ideas who may disagree all the time, but still continue to work together and respect each other.
In “The Crossing Places,” Ruth and Harry are forced to relive painful memories from the past as they work together to find a lost child named Scarlet Henderson. A missing person case revives speculation about an older case of Harry’s, in which a missing girl named Lucy Downey was never found. Harry is haunted by the fact that he never found Lucy. Ruth is flooded with memories of a student archaeological dig she was part of when Lucy disappeared. The dig was led by a charismatic professor steeped in Nordic beliefs and customs. The two storylines involving Harry and Ruth begin to intertwine in eerie ways, and many secrets are revealed as the investigation progresses.
I highly recommend The Crossing Places and the books that follow it. The entire Ruth Galloway series and other books by Elly Griffiths are available at the Denver Public Library, so check one out soon.
Summer of Adventure at the Denver Public Library runs through August 10. Join the fun at your local library branch or at summerofadventure.org.
Janet Quinn is a librarian at the Virginia Village Branch Library. She loves walking, hiking, and being in nature. She also enjoys reading, thinking, and talking about books.
