A Room Full of Bones: The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries 4

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The story involves a small, local museum and the planned opening of a recently unearthed casket of a medieval bishop. Moving on from this, we learn of the local nobility's ownership of native bones taken by his ancestor from Australia in the last century. There is unexplained death of course, and hints of more other-worldly happenings alluded to in an earlier book. The story of Ruth, Nelson, the various members of the police, Cathbad the local Druid who always seems to be in the middle of everything, and now a visitor from Australia are all developed further. Quite a mix. There are some forensic surprises too. As an Australian reader, I found much of the archaeological content of A Room Full of Bones particularly fascinating, as the retention of indigenous human remains and other significant items within both Australian and international museum collections is an ongoing controversy. The characters are constantly engaging - particularly the vulnerable Ruth - the writing is perceptive, as well as wryly humorous ... this is recommended' Spectator. * Spectator * As Ruth becomes further embroiled in the case, she must decide where her loyalties lie - a choice that her very survival depends on.

Elly Griffiths has written an entertaining and engaging story with core characters that feel real and rounded. While this book stands alone, it might be bettered enjoyed if read in sequence in the Dr Ruth Galloway series. Elly Griffiths is the author of the Ruth Galloway and Brighton mystery series, as well as the standalone novels The Stranger Diaries, winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel, and The Postscript Murders. She is the recipient of the CWA Dagger in the Library Award and the Mary Higgins Clark Award. She lives in Brighton, England. There is no way you get to PhD level without hearing about NAGPRA and the issue of repatriation of human remains belonging to Native American and Australian Aborigine tribes. It's a sensitive issue and a very interesting one, and I heard about it for the first time during the last year of my BA. Again lots of copying and pasting from wikipedia, lots of generalization, and nothing else. I am hooked on this series. I am finding it like a box of chocolates that I can't put down. I am thinking about creating a new shelf for the Galloway series - "coronavirus escapes," which will include anything I have read since March 2020 that helps me avoid the present reality.Forensic archeologist and academic Ruth Galloway is a captivating amateur sleuth-an inspired creation. I identified with her insecurities and struggles, and cheered her on. " -- Louise Penny, author of the bestselling Armand Gamache series A second dramatic death draws together the curious results of Ruth’s archaeological examination of Bishop Augustine’s remains with the Slaughter Hill racing stables and a series of threatening anonymous letters that Lord Smith has received. The imagery of snakes is common to both medieval Christianity and Australian dreamtime stories and Elly Griffiths utilises this to full spooky effect has more than one character experiences terrifying hallucinations and portents of death. Are there paranormal elements in play, or is there a more prosaic explanation for what's going on? Not copying the two diminutive bits of forensic archaeology information straight from wikipedia would help, too. I suppose it may not make a difference to most readers, but having started a biological anthropology course just 3 months before reading this book I had enough knowledge to get infuriated at how superficial Griffith's presentation of forensic archaeology is. I'm not expecting her to get a degree in forensic sciences or anything, but at least get your facts straight and don't simplify things for the sake of a plot twist.

The recurring characters are interesting and have depth. The relationships developing between them make me want to leap from one book straight to the next. I do love Ruth and so many old and new characters are particularly interesting. Some people and events seemed so real to me I had urges to look them up. Lovers of well-written and intelligent traditional mysteries will welcome [Griffith’s] fourth book . . . A Room Full of Bones is a clever blend of history and mystery with more than enough forensic details to attract the more attentive reader.”— Denver Post I love that she faces dilemmas and is human and fallible when making her choices. She gets tired, and grumpy, and irritable. She occasionally says things she later regrets. She 'believes' she is being a good mother by eating the chocolates from her daughter's advent calendar, thereby saving Kate's teeth. Sounds like something I would do! British countryside near the sea. This is where the main character lives. It's creepy and dark at night. Bonus. What's not to like about the British countryside?

EXCERPT: At the end of the gallery she steps from tile to carpet and, to her surprise, finds herself in a red-walled Victorian study. A stag's head looms over a painted fireplace and a man sits at a desk, frowning fiercely as he dips his quill into an inkwell. Soon the museum’s wealthy owner lies dead in his stables too. These two deaths could be from natural causes but when he is called in to investigate, DCI Harry Nelson isn’t convinced, and it is only a matter of time before Ruth and Nelson cross paths once more.