The Locked Room
(Ruth Galloway series #14/14)
by Elly Griffiths (2022)
(Read on Kindle, February 2022)
The 14th book about forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway in Norfolk is set in 2020, and hence with the outbreak of Covid19 and all the restrictions, lock-downs and worries brought about by that as background. As Ruth gets asked to examine a skeleton found near an old burial ground for victims of the plague, centuries ago, some parallels are also drawn between those times and today. Meanwhile, Nelson and his team are investigating a series of recent deaths that may or may not be suicides. Ruth also has a private mystery to deal with, as when sorting through things that belonged to her mother she finds a photo of her own cottage in Norfolk - from before Ruth moved in there, or even knew of its existence herself (and her mother never mentioned it). And in the present time, a new neighbour has just moved into the cottage next door to hers...
As usual, Elly Griffiths weaves an intricate pattern of mysteries and coincidences that may or may not turn out related; and at the same time she continues to let her main characters and the relationships between them develop and grow. After 14 books, I still love this series. I also think she did really well in this book with involving the covid- and lock-down situation in a realistic way - including closed schools, working from home, keeping distance, wearing masks, trying to keep up with the news, worrying about loved ones etc.
4 comments:
I love this series, and now I want to look up where I am in reading it. The one you review looks excellent.
Looks like a lot of different plots and twists to keep you on your toes.
Every time you post a review of a Ruth Galloway book, I think I am sure I have read one or two of them in the past, but can not find any review of mine about them. Anyway, I think it is a series I want to start properly, too.
Fourteen reviews (??) may be enough to give you that feeling, Meike! (LOL) (Not sure if I really wrote reviews of them all, but still...) Starting from the beginning is probably a good idea though, even if they can probably be enjoyed as standalones as well. There's usually a bit of looking back involved as well.
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