Elly Griffiths

Elly Griffiths: The Night Hawks

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Elly Griffiths is playing to her strengths with this (seemingly) effortless, blast to read entry in her Ruth Galloway series.  Ruth is back home where she belongs, having broken it off with the unfortunate Frank, and she and Nelson are once again having fated and tense encounters.  Ruth is now head of the archaeology department at her university, discovering the paperwork and supervision headaches that come with being in charge.  She’s especially annoyed by the “new Ruth”, David, the know-it-all older lecturer she herself has hired.  He seems to be tagging along everywhere she goes and trying to tell her what to do. read more

Elly Griffiths: The Lantern Men

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This novel will be released on July 14.

It’s rare for a writer to sustain interest and excitement through a long series.  Elly Griffith’s Ruth Galloway series, now twelve books strong, has had a few entries not quite as great as some of the very best ones, but this one is one of the best ones.  There might be a couple reasons – one, Griffiths has now refreshed herself with a very different series (the Magic Men books). For another, she’s taken this book and skooched Ruth two years ahead in time from the last book and much has happened.  It’s only unsettling for a moment – you’ll catch on – especially as all the changes are pretty briskly introduced in the first chapter. read more

Book Club read: The Stranger Diaries

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Our next book club will meet on Thursday, January 16, 6 p.m. at the Grand Traverse Pie Company, 291 N. Zeeb Rd.  We’ll be disussing Elly Griffiths’ stand alone, The Stranger Diaries, a gothic style ghost story set in present day Britain on the grounds of a slightly creepy old school.  Griffiths introduces three strong female characters who share narrative duties.  Clever, hard to put down & beautifully written.  Purchase a copy on the website here. In February, we’ll be reading The Life We Bury by Alan Eskens, date to be announced.  All are welcome at book club! read more

Best of 2019

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I couldn’t keep it to 10 this year – can I ever?  My taste does tend toward the traditional and historical fiction side of things, so that’s mostly reflected here.  And a note: Kent Krueger’s This Tender Land, while not strictly a mystery, can definitely be enjoyed by his mystery loving fans.  Quite simply, it’s the best book of 2019 of any variety, and I hope everyone reads it.  I am looking to read it again myself.

There was lots to love this year!  Some long-awaited returns (S.J. Rozan), some debuts (Melanie Golding, Allison Montclair, Jess Montgomery), some trying a different format or series (Ann Cleeves, Elly Griffiths), and of course some solid entries in already great series (Benn, Bowen, Jones, Massey, Shaber). Lots of great, passionate, spectacular writing.  I love being a mystery reader! read more

Best of the Last Decade

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Reading all kinds of lists about the best crime novels of the past decade, I, of course, being incredibly opinionated, felt I needed to chime in.    Looking through this list one of the things that stick out, as far as my favorite reads are concerned, are a very specific sense of time and place.  Sometimes place is pre-eminent , sometimes time, sometimes both.  These books also contain some of the loveliest writing and most indelible scenes, things that remind me of why I love to read.  So in alphabetical order, my favorites of the last decade or so: read more

Elly Griffiths: The Stone Circle

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As Elly Griffiths pens her eleventh Ruth Galloway novel, she comes – appropriately, given the title – almost full circle, back to her first novel.  Cast your mind back to Ruth’s teacher Eric and the henge discovered on the saltmarsh and move forward ten years, and Ruth is now dealing with Eric’s son, Leif, who is in town to look at a newly discovered henge.  Just like 10 years ago, two bodies are discovered on the site, one ancient, and one not so ancient.

Somehow Griffiths’ storytelling style is not only plot oriented, it’s character oriented, so she’s taking into account the many happenings in her character’s lives over the past 10 years.  Ruth is the mother of a 10 year old, thanks to a one night stand with the father, Detective Nelson.  Nelson’s wife is expecting a late in life baby at any moment, which may or may not be Nelson’s – she’d been having an affair.  Their older daughters are unaware that Kate, Ruth and Nelson’s daughter, is their sister. read more

Elly Griffiths: The Stranger Diaries

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This is a banner week for us as we add two new reviewers!  The second is our daughter Margaret. who unsurprisingly is a big mystery fan, and one of her favorites is Elly Griffiths.  Welcome, Margaret!

Elly Griffiths, author of two mystery series, takes a stab at stand alone fiction with The Stranger Diaries. This novel brings us a modern-day gothic horror story while keeping solidly grounded in tradition. Instead of a castle or drafty mansion, there is an old school with secrets. Instead of a threatening lord of the manor, characters are menaced by fellow teachers and students. There is a ghost story in the background of the novel, and a mystery concerning the true identity of someone long dead. Delightfully, the novel’s three heroines are not quite so traditional. read more