(The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries 1)
I like stories filled with good characters and plenty of mystery and this really delivers on both fronts.
The book blurb:
“Dr Ruth Galloway is called in when a child’s bones are discovered near a prehistoric site 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 creepy anonymous notes about ritual sacrifice. 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.”
There were elements of this that reminded me of the TV series, Bones, but this is so much better. The characters here are much more down to earth and Ruth (the main character) doesn’t take over in the way that Brennan does in the TV show. The archaeological expertise interweaves into the police investigation in a very believable way, too.
I enjoyed the dynamic between Ruth and the police detective, Nelson. He understands and appreciates her expertise and she knows that, while her involvement is important to the case, it’s Nelson who is the police officer leading the investigation.
Ruth’s interests, loves and weaknesses are all laid bare without anything feeling forced or unnatural and some of them lead her down dark and dangerous paths. Yet, in spite of this she prevails, finding her own way to help Nelson close the case.
I was so taken with the book and its characters that I’m already reading the second in the series and hoping it delivers like the first. Definitely recommended to those who like crime fiction set in desolate areas of Britain.