Death of a Dancing Queen by Kimberly G. Giarrantano - #bookreview

 

Starla Wells lit a cigarette and slipped into the shadows. She pressed a spiked heel against the brick exterior of the building, and her bent knee revealed a slender thigh and a garter belt with a tiny dagger tucked underneath...

***

The Blurb

After her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Billie Levine revamped her grandfather’s private investigation firm and set up shop in the corner booth of her favorite North Jersey deli hoping the free pickles and flexible hours would allow her to take care of her mom and pay the bills. So when Tommy Russo, a rich kid with a nasty drug habit, offers her a stack of cash to find his missing girlfriend, how can she refuse? At first, Billie thinks this will be easy earnings, but then her missing person's case turns into a murder investigation and Russo is the detective bureau’s number one suspect.

Suddenly Billie is embroiled in a deadly gang war that’s connected to the decades-old disappearance of a famous cabaret dancer with ties to both an infamous Jewish mob and a skinhead group. Toss in the reappearance of Billie’s hunky ex-boyfriend with his own rap sheet, and she is regretting every decision that got her to this point.

Becoming a P.I. was supposed to solve her problems. But if Billie doesn’t crack this case, the next body the police dredge out of the Hudson River will be hers. 

My Review

I have heard it said that this book is similar to Veronica Mars. I am not familiar with this television series so can not compare. What I can tell you is that this is a very good book and I enjoyed it immensely.

Billie Levine is an excellent character and highly likable. She is 25, feisty and has attitude. She is a Jewish Private Investigator who has taken the business over from her retired grandfather. She lives with him, her brother, David and her mother. Between them they are sharing the care of her mother who has Alzheimers. However, they are struggling but cannot afford to have her cared for in a dedicated facility. This aspect of the story was sad but I suspect that it is a situation which many readers will be familiar.

There is a great plot to this book too with a mystery that Billie is trying to solve.  She is trying to locate a missing young woman who is fascinated by true crime. In doing so, she also gets involved in investigating the murder of another young woman years before. The author brings both strands of this story together really well and I was completely gripped by it.

The story involves a Jewish gang and a skinhead Nazi mob. There was so much going on in this book that it made for fast paced and fascinating reading. It was definitely a book which made me play the 'just one more chapter' game which kept me up past my bedtime.

There were many secondary characters all of which were well portrayed. There were many but I did not get confused by them at any point as the author does a great job in bringing both characters and plot together.

I am thrilled that this is the first in a three book series. I am looking forward to spending more time with Billie.

 If you like the sound of this book you might also enjoy The Redeemer and The Associate both of which are by Victoria Goldman. The title links will take you to my reviews.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1915202420

Publisher:  Datura Books

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  344 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

Datura Book Publications

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Waterstones

About the Author

Kimberly G. Giarratano is an author of mysteries for teens and adults. Her debut novel, Grunge Gods and Graveyards, won the 2015 Silver Falchion Award for Best YA at Killer Nashville. A former librarian, she is currently an instructor at a SUNY Orange County Community College and a reviewer for BookPage. She is also the chapter liaison for Sisters in Crime. 

Born in New York and raised in New Jersey, Kim and her husband moved to the Poconos to raise their three kids amid black bears and wild turkeys. While she doesn’t miss the Jersey traffic, she does miss a good bagel and lox.

You can also find Kimberley at:

Author Website

FaceBook

Instagram

BlueSky

(book and media courtesy of the publisher)

(all opinions are my own)

(bookshop.org affiliated)

Reading Round Up for February 2025

With February being the shortest month it seems to have passed by so quickly.

I don't know about you but I am longing for the spring to arrive now. In fact, as I sit writing this the sun is shining. It is still extremely cold though and there was a thick frost on the garden this morning.

I was unwell for part of February and had a whole week when I didn't blog. I am still playing catch up as some of the books that I read during that time did not get reviewed.

I hope that you all had a good February. What did you read?

My February Reads

My Heart is Hurting by S.E. Reed

This was a wonderful book that will have you reaching for the tissues. It was my favourite read of the month. You can find my review here.

The Sun's Shadow by Sejal Badani

This is a very heartfelt story which tugs at the heartstrings. It is well worth reading and you can find my review here.

The House of Echoes by Alexandra Walsh

I love a dual timeline novel. It provides me with the perfect reading combination - historical fiction and contemporary. You can find my review here.

The Housemate by Sarah Bailey

This was a fabulous book, and I read all of it's 476 pages in two sittings. If you would like to read my review you can find it here.

New Arrivals on West India Dock Road by Renita D'Silva

This was a lovely historical saga set in London's East End and was full of colour. You can find my review here.

The Midlife Trials of Annabeth Hope by Alice May

This is a fabulous rom-com of a book. You can find my review by clicking here.

The Contest by Jeff Macfee

This reminded me of The Hunger Games.

Fervour by Toby Lloyd

This was well written but I found it rather depressing.

Aristotle for Novelists by Douglas Vigliotti

I read this as part of a read-along. It was a fun book to read and I enjoyed it.

Mary I: Queen of Sorrows by Alison Weir

As always, the author wrote a cracking tale of Queen Mary I. I recommend all the books in this series.

Books I Am Partway Through

The Undesirables by Sarah Wise

The Bookseller by Valerie Keogh

Death of a Dancing Queen by Kimberley G. Giarratano

(all opinions are my own)

The Housemate by Sarah Bailey - #bookreview #blogtour

 

Through the dust and faded bird s**t on the windscreen of her Mazda, Oli Groves watches the cops huddled next to the letterbox of 28 Paradise Street, St Kilda...

***

The Blurb

The new standalone thriller from the award-winning writer of the bestselling Gemma Woodstock trilogy.

Three housemates. One dead, one missing and one accused of murder. 

Dubbed the Housemate Homicide, it's a mystery that has baffled Australians for almost a decade. 

Melbourne-based journalist Olive Groves worked on the story as a junior reporter and became obsessed by the case. Now, nine years later, the missing housemate turns up dead on a remote property. Olive is once again assigned to the story, this time reluctantly paired with precocious millennial podcaster Cooper Ng.

As Oli and Cooper unearth new facts about the three housemates, a dark web of secrets is uncovered. The revelations catapult Oli back to the death of the first housemate, forcing her to confront past traumas and insecurities that have risen to the surface again.

What really happened between the three housemates that night? Will Oli's relentless search for the murderer put her new family in danger? And could her suspicion that the truth lies closer to home threaten her happiness and even her sanity?

A riveting, provocative thriller from the bestselling author of The Dark Lake, Into the Night and Where the Dead Go.

My Review

This was a fabulous book, and I read all of it's 476 pages in two sittings.

Ten years prior to the main narrative of the book, Oli Groves was a junior reporter and was covering the brutal murder of Evelyn Stanley, one of three student housemates in Melbourne. Another of them, Nicole disappears that night and the other, Alex is arrested for the murder.

The main character Oli is now a more seasoned reporter and is paired up with a podcaster, Cooper Ng. I loved reading how this pair worked together. Oli feels like she is babysitting him, whilst Cooper is slightly in awe of her. It was an interesting working relationship to observe.

Oli was an interesting character, and I found her engaging. She lives with widower, Dean and his twin daughters. Being with Dean is all she ever wanted but the case she is investigating is causing Oli to have doubts about the relationship. She was a well-rounded character with many attributes and flaws. I loved her determination and doggedness in seeing the case through to the end.

It is full of twists and turns, and every time I thought I had worked out what was going on, something else would come along and challenge me to revise my thinking. Perfect in a book of this genre. This one kept me on the edge of my seat throughout and I could not put it down. It has an exciting and fast moving plot and was very quick to read.

It is a compelling and gripping novel and I highly recommend it to fans of contemporary mystery fiction.

Book Details:

ISBN: 978 1915523648

Publisher:  Datura Books

Formats:  e-book, hardback and paperback

No. of Pages:  400 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Amazon AU

About the Author

Sarah lives in Melbourne, Australia with her partner, three children and cat.

As well as writing books, Sarah is the managing director at advertising agency VML, overseeing the Melbourne and Sydney offices. 

You can also find Sarah at:

Author Website

Facebook

Linked In

Twitter / X

Instagram

Why not check out some of these other fabulous bloggers

(book and tour graphics courtesy of the publisher)

(media courtesy of the author's website)

(all opinions are my own)

(bookshop.org affiliated)

Last Seen Online by Lauren James - #bookreview

 

Folks! I just watched the first episode of Loch & Ness and oh my god! That was some QUALITY television. They've amped up the chemistry of the books to a frankly absurd level. Every time Jayden and Fang (aka Rob Hennings and Nathan O'Donnell) are on-screen together my laptop overheats...

***

When Delilah meets Sawyer Saffitz (son of Anya Saffitz, aka Hollywood royalty), she becomes hooked on a decade-old scandal. In her quest for the truth, Delilah uncovers blogposts written by the mysterious “gottiewrites” and is soon caught up in a world of greed, fandom conspiracy theories … and murder. And the deeper Delilah digs, the more dangerous it becomes – because someone is willing to kill to hide the truth.

***

If you like a young adult novel with a twisty turny ending you will love this book.

The main character is Delilah. She is a teenager who wants to be an actress and who loves true crime stories. When a school audition with Sawyer, the son of famous parents, goes embarrassingly wrong, Delilah gets a taste of what it is like to be splashed all over social media for the wrong reasons.

A few years earlier Sawyer's famous mother, Anya, stars in a television series when one of her co-actors is murdered in real life, and another co-actor is imprisoned for his murder. Delilah and Sawyer decide to investigate the crime together which leads them into some devastating realisations.

The book alternates between Delilah's perspective, blog posts and forum messages. It is an interesting format and easy to get caught up in the various messages that were being posted. 

It made for gripping reading about the cult of celebrity, fame and fandom. It was a quick read as it was fairly addictive. I very much wanted to see where this book was heading and it had a great twist at the end.

I highly recommend this for a young adult audience.

ISBN: 978 1406397390

Publisher:  Walker Books

Formats: e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  320 (paperback)

About the Author:

Wren James is the Carnegie-longlisted British author of many Young Adult novels as ‘Lauren James’, including Last Seen Online, Green Rising, The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker and The Quiet at the End of the World. Amazon MGM Studios is developing The Loneliest Girl in the Universe as a feature film. Joe Roth and Jeffrey Kirschenbaum will produce the film alongside Katherine Langford.

They are a RLF Royal Fellow and the story consultant on Netflix’s Heartstopper (Seasons 2 and 3). Season 3 will guest star Jonathan Bailey, playing a role created by Wren.

Wren is the founder of the Climate Fiction Writers League, editor of the anthology Future Hopes: Hopeful stories in a time of climate change, and a member of the Society of Authors’ Sustainability Committee. They work as a consultant on climate storytelling for museums, production companies, major brands and publishers, with a focus on optimism and hope. They run a Queer Writers group in Coventry.

Their books have sold over two hundred thousand copies worldwide in seven languages. The Quiet at the End of the World was shortlisted for the YA Book Prize and STEAM Children’s Book Award.

Wren’s writing has been described as ‘gripping romantic sci-fi’ by the Wall Street Journal and ‘a strange, witty, compulsively unpredictable read which blows most of its new YA-suspense brethren out of the water’ by Entertainment Weekly.

Wren was born in 1992, and has a Masters degree from the University of Nottingham, where they studied Chemistry and Physics. They have taught creative writing for Coventry University, WriteMentor, and Writing West Midlands. Follow them on Instagram @laurenelizjames.

(book courtesy of the publisher)

(media courtesy of the author's website https://wrenjames.co.uk/)

(all opinions are my own)

Books I Want to Read in July 2024

 

It's July and a whole new month of reading ahead.

As I sit writing this the weather is cool for July and I can see black clouds from my window. It looks as thought I won't be retreating to the garden with a book today.

What are your reading plans for this month? Here are a few books which I hope to read.

Butter by Asako Yuzuki

Honeycomb by S. B. Caves

The Missing Family by Tim Weaver

The Faith of Their Fathers by Samuel M. Sargeant

Smelly Peggy by Helen Stephens

Luigi: The Spider Who Wanted to Be a Kitten by Michelle Knudsen & Kevin Hawkes

Summer at the Santorini Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin

Mist Over Pendle by Robert Neill

Love's Work by Gillian Rose

Dog Stories Ed. by Diana Secker Tesdell

Happy Reading

The Mother by Valerie Keogh - #bookreview #blogtour

 

It was late Friday afternoon. Sarah was speaking to Nick about their weekend plans, her mobile pressed to her ear as she tapped on the keyboard with the fingers of her other hand. They'd been invited to a housewarming party that night by an old college friend of hers... who had been gregarious, irreverent, and fun in college...

***

A terrible wife...

Sarah Westfield is unhappily married to perfect husband Nick. Handsome, devoted and kind, he should be the ideal man for her, but Sarah knows their marriage is the biggest mistake she’s ever made…and she wants out.

But then Nick offers her one last chance to make their marriage work – a baby.

Sarah is horrified – a baby would tie herself to this man forever…wouldn’t it? Or could it be exactly what she needs?

So Sarah agrees.

A terrible mother?

When the baby arrives, Sarah struggles with motherhood and her resentment towards Nick only grows. Sarah feels more trapped than ever, but she loves her precious daughter...doesn’t she?

And then baby Kaya goes missing...

And everything Sarah has ever believed in comes crashing down around her...

***

If you like the crime mystery genre with a twisty turny plot then you will love this.

This is not the first book that I have read by Valerie Keogh. I have previously read The Mistress, and also The Nurse. If you would like to read my reviews of either of those books, please just click on the title to do so.

Ms. Keogh is so skilled at creating her characters that she seems to inhabit them. The main character in this book, Sarah, is utterly believable and easy to identify with. She is a busy GP with an overbearing husband who she is not in love with. Add a newborn into the mix, and it makes for a complex situation.

Although one of the themes is child abduction, it was not portrayed in a traumatic manner. Rather it was the linch pin which allowed Sarah to consider her feelings towards her husband and child. There were points where I found her a difficult character to like, but she won me round by the end of the book.

It is fast paced and the dialogue and excellent prose keep the plot moving along perfectly. It is suspenseful throughout and every time I thought I had worked out where the plot was going, the next page would turn my theory on it's head. The ending was surprising and I had not worked out that it would end in that way.

The book is publishing today and it is well worth getting your hands on a copy.

ISBN: 978 1805494317

Publisher:  Boldwood Books

Formats:  e-book, audio, hardback and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages:  296 (paperback)

About the Author:

Valerie Keogh is the internationally bestselling author of several psychological thrillers and crime series, most recently published by Bloodhound. She originally comes from Dublin but now livesin Wiltshire and worked as a nurse for many years. Her first thriller for Boldwood was published in August 2022.

(ARC and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

The Only Way Out is Death by Varun Gwalani - #blogtour #bookreview

 

I'm falling and my arms are waving wildly, an impotent struggle against forces far beyond my control. The wind tears at my skin and I'm hurtling towards the ground faster than I can imagine, and yet it seems impossibly far. I want the pain to end, I want to stop falling, I want to just crash and finish this...

***

Twelve powerful people are kidnapped and imprisoned in an empty hotel.

Each one of them has three choices:

Live out the rest of their days peacefully in the hotel,

Die by suicide so the rest of their companions can go free,

Or murder one of their companions so they alone can go free.

The Only Way Out is Death follows the story of these twelve people from the perspective of a young lawyer, Kiriaki, told as the events unfold. She has to forge messy alliances, navigate complex relationships and feuds, and, above all, try to stay alive. Meanwhile, the mastermind of this death game is lurking just out of view, watching them closely, making sure they are primed for murder.

Will Kiriaki find the mastermind before it's too late for her?

Will she outmaneouvre the cutthroats before they cut her throat?

There are twelve selfish lives in the hotel.

Will it end in twelve selfish deaths?

***

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner. I was one of the panellists last year and I was delighted to read this book. It isn't my usual reading fare but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

It is a real page-turner of a book, with a fast pace and lots of twists and turns. It kept me gripped from the beginning, and I was very keen to get to the bottom of what was going on.

Told from the perspective of Kiriaki, she gradually reveals the personalities behind her fellow captives. Throughout the book the characters held captive alongside her, reveal their reasons for being there, including Kiriaki herself. Based during the time immediately following the pandemic, each were in someway responsible for it's taking hold and killing millions of people. The malevalent mind behind the capture of the twelve captives has put them all in a position that if they leave the hotel in which they are held, they will initiate another, more devastating pandemic on the world.

The author demonstrates a collection of moral dilemmas which each character faces; to kill or be killed, to take their own life or to live forever within the walls of the hotel. It was such an interesting and different plot to the books which I normally read that I was gripped by it. As a reader it was impossible not to ask myself the question - what would I do in such circumstances? The book is a fascinating and thought provoking read, which I enjoyed very much.

This was an exciting novel from this author which I recommend to readers.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

***

ISBN: 978 9392279676

Publisher:  Saga Publications

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  295 (paperback)

***

About the Author:

Varun Gwalani is the author of six novels: Believe, The First Storyteller, The Story Circle, The Novel Year, Who Saves the Hero? and The Only Way Out is Death. Each book is a different genre, with his latest book "The Only Way Out is Death" being a murder mystery thriller.

In addition to being an author, Varun has been a teacher of creative writing and English for several years now. He's an advocate for mental health awareness, having given a TEDx talk and written several articles on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Varun also loves reading, board games and video games, and he can often be find blending these interests by playing a visual novel. He would also like to tell you about the thing he hates the most: writing in third-person.

(book and all media courtesy of The Write Reads)

(all opinions are my own)

How Not to Murder Your Ex by Katie Marsh - #bookreview #blogtour

 

On the many occasions Clio had imagined murdering her husband, it had never been anything like this. Her mind's eye had always turned away from what came next - avoiding the gore that would accompany the click of a trigger or the scream that might follow his flailing body after it was pushed from a cliff. She had never been serious, anyway. Everyone knew that. It was just Clio saying her piece, moaning about Gary the way she always did. People thought it was funny - last week her darts team had even stuck his picture over the bullseye for their Friday night match...

***

It is 5:30 am on Clio's forty-fifth birthday and her hated ex is lying dead on her doorstep. Even worse, this is no accident. Someone’s killed him...

When single mum Clio’s ex Gary turns up dead on the doorstep of her caravan – the one she’s been forced to live in ever since he stole every penny she had – there’s only one suspect. Her.

What’s more, she doesn’t remember much about the night he was killed – not just because of the forgetfulness that’s been plaguing her along with the hot flushes – but because she definitely had one too many cocktails with her two best friends Amber and Jeanie.

Clio does remember them talking about how much they all hated him though. And, in the frame for murder, she has to ask herself – if she didn’t kill Gary, who did? One of his many enemies? Or someone a little closer to home? And can she and her friends find the real killer before it’s too late?

***

This is an excellent book about the friendship of three women, Clio, Amber and Jeanie. It is about the lengths they will go to protect their friend when she is wrongly accused of murder.

In fact, whilst there is much to recommend this book, it is the friendship between the three women that is to the fore. They never doubt one another, and at all times the bond between them is their focus, sometimes to the detriment of their own families. At other times, it is the wider family that drive their actions and cement their bond even further.

Throughout the book, the chapters are presented from the perspective of each of the three women which provides further insight into their thoughts and actions. However, the are also chapters devoted to the perspective of the murder victim, Gary. He was not a character that the author intended us to like. In fact, the insight into his mind and conceitedness was sufficient to make us sympathise with Clio even further.

There were sufficient twists and turns in the mystery element of this book to keep me guessing. In fact, it was only shortly before the reveal that I realised who the murderer was.

The book finished at a point where there is ample scope for this to become a series. I sincerely hope that the author does continue with this as the book was both engaging and entertaining and I would love to read more of these characters.

ISBN:  978 1785138768

Publisher:  Boldwood Books

Formats:  e-book, audio and hardback

No. of Pages:  308 (hardback)

About the Author:

Katie Marsh wrote five bestselling, uplifting women’s fiction novels before turning to cosy crime for Boldwood. Previously published by Hodder, the first in her new crime series  How Not To Murder Your Ex, following the fortunes of the Bad Girls Detective Agency, will be published in December 2023.

(ARC and all media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan - #BookReview

 

Lydia heard the distant flap of paper wings as the first book fell from its shelf. She glanced up from the register, head tilted, and imagined that a sparrow had flown through an open window again and was circling the store's airy upper floors, trying to find its way out.

A few seconds later another book fell. This time it thudded more than flapped, and she was sure it wasn't a bird.

It was just past midnight, the bookstore was closing, and the final customers were checking out. Lydia was alone at the register, scanning a stack of paperback parenting books being bought by a teenage girl with pitted cheeks and peeling lips...

***

What do you do when the life you’ve carefully built for yourself comes apart?

Lydia Smith lives a quiet life, spent in the company of her colleagues and customers at the bookstore where she works. But when Joey Molina, a young and mysterious regular, hangs himself in the bookstore and leaves Lydia secret messages hidden in the pages of his books, her world starts to unravel.

Why did Joey do it?

What did he know?

And what does it have to do with Lydia?

***

I borrowed this book from the library, and I absolutely loved it. It was twisty and turny and it kept me enthralled.

It has been very cleverly written. It begins with the suicide of a young man who leaves a puzzle behind him for the main character, Lydia, to solve. As it progresses, the book becomes more about Lydia's past and the secret that she is keeping hidden from those she knows and who she is close to.

Lydia was a fantastic main character. The reader is permitted to know her backstory which gives us an advantage over many of the secondary characters in the book. It is this that gives the book a multi-dimensional feel. What I initially thought the book was about turned out not to be the main theme of the story. The plot is compelling and intricate and the author has paced the book so that it is a page turner with a few surprises along the way.

Whilst the description of the murder is rather vivid, it did not feel gratuitous but was necessary for the reader to understand the childhood trauma which had led Lydia to become the woman that she did.

I enjoyed this book very much. It was an interesting and intriguing read and I hope the author will deliver more fiction of this quality.

ISBN:  978 1786090157

Publisher:  Windmill Books

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  336 (paperback)

Purchase Link - Bookshop.org*

About the Author:

Matthew Sullivan grew up in a family of eight children in suburban Denver, Colorado. He received his B.A. from the University of San Francisco, his M.F.A. from the University of Idaho. His writing has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and has won the Florida Review Editor's Prize and the Robert Olen Butler Fiction Prize. In addition to working for years at Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver and at Brookline Booksmith in Boston, he has taught writing and literature at colleges in Boston, Idaho, and Poland, and currently teaches writing, literature, and film at Big Bend Community College in the high desert of Washington State. He is married to a librarian, Libby, and has two children and a scruffy dog named Ernie. He lives in Anacortes, WA, where he writes and teaches.

Purchase Link - Bookshop.org*

(author photo courtesy of Heather Young)

(author info courtesy of GoodReads)

(all opinions are my own)

*Disclosure: I only recommend books I would buy myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains an affiliate link from which I may earn a small commission.

The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths - #BookReview #RuthGallowaySeries

The unassuming shop in a King's Lynn backstreet has lived many lives. Once, beyond most people's living memory, it was a bakery. The oven still remains and has, in successive iterations, been a focal point and dining nook and was also, for many decades, boarded up completely. The building has been a cafe, a greengrocer's and an 'Emporium of Wonder' (a junk shop), and is now well on its way to becoming a cafe again. A sign ouside says 'The Red Lady Tea Rooms, opening August 2021', and another informs interested passers-by that Edward Spens and Co are in charge of the renovation...

***

When builders renovating a café in King's Lynn unearth a human skeleton, they call for DCI Harry Nelson and Dr Ruth Galloway, Head of Archaeology at the University of North Norfolk. Ruth is preoccupied with the threatened closure of her department and by her ever-complicated relationship with Nelson.

The bones are identified as those of Emily Pickering, an archaeology student who went missing in the 1990s. Emily attended a course run by her Cambridge tutor. Suspicion falls on him and on another course member - Ruth's friend Cathbad. As they investigate, Nelson and his team uncover a tangled web of relationships within the student group and the adults leading them. Then, just when the team seem to be making progress, Cathbad disappears.

The trail leads Ruth and Nelson to the Neolithic flint mines in Grime's Graves. The race is on, first to find Cathbad and then to exonerate him, but will Ruth and Nelson uncover the truth in time to save their friend?

***

When I first ordered this book from the library, I was number sixty-four in the queue. So when the notification came through that it was waiting for me in my local library I was so pleased. Not only because I was finally going to be able to read it but because it was a couple of days until my holiday and I made sure I found time to pop in there, borrow it and read it while I was away.

I am a big fan of the Ruth Galloway series. I have read each of the books in the series and had eagerly awaited this final book. It did not disappoint. It was lovely to spend more time with Ruth, Nelson, Cathbad and a range of other characters who I have become familiar with during the previous fourteen books.

It was set in the early post pandemic period in Norfolk. Throughout the series Norfolk has played a major role and is as important as any of the characters. 

The question on the tip of the tongues of those who have read this series, is how things ended up between Ruth and Nelson. Well, without giving anything away, I was very satisfied by the conclusion of the book, and several loose ends were tied up. However, you will have to read the book yourself to find out.

Unsurprisingly from a writer of this calibre, the book is well written and engaging. The author is a very skilled storyteller, and I have been immediately captivated by each of the books.  This book is no exception.

Reading this book has been a bittersweet experience as it is the final book. It has been a fantastic series, and I will miss this set of characters who, having spent fifteen books plus a novella with them, they feel more like friends. I guess I will just have to start on one of Ms. Griffiths' other series.

ISBN: 978 1529409710

Publisher:  Quercus

Formats:  e-book, audio, hardback and paperback

No. of Pages:  384 (paperback)

Support Independent Booksellers - Buy From Bookshop.org *

About the Author:

Bestselling crime author Elly Griffiths worked in publishing before becoming a full-time writer.

Her series of Dr Ruth Galloway novels, featuring a forensic archaeologist, are set in Norfolk and regularly hit the Sunday Times top ten in hardback and paperback. The series has won the CWA Dagger in the Library and has been shortlisted three times for the Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year. There are twelve books in the series so far with number thirteen to be published in February 2021.

Her Brighton-based mystery series set in the 1950s and 1960s is inspired partly by her grandfather's life on the stage and the war magician Jasper Maskelyne, who claimed to have spent the war creating large scale illusions to misdirect the enemy. One of the two leading characters in the series, Max Mephisto, is based on Maskelyne. 

In 2017 she was Programming Chair of Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Festival in Harrogate, the oldest and best-established crime fiction festival in the UK.

In 2018 Elly wrote her first standalone novel The Stranger Diaries. The novel was a top 10 paperback bestseller, selected for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club and as a summer 2019 Richard and Judy book.

In 2019 Elly published her first children's book in spring 2019 to great reviews with a second following in 2020.

Elly Griffiths lives near Brighton with her husband, an archaeologist, and their two grown children.

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