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British author Domenica de Rosa, whose previous novels have been set in Italy, adopts the pseudonym Elly Griffiths for her first foray into crime and the first in a projected series. THE CROSSING PLACES features the Norfolk saltmarshes which the author learned about from her archaeologist husband. They were important in prehistoric ritual as they were the in-between places, neither land nor sea. It's the perfect title for this mystery which probes many crossing places between the past and present. Griffith chooses as her protagonist, Ruth Galloway, a forensic archaeologist and lecturer at North Norfolk University. She lives on the edge of the great salt marshes which mark the coast of East Anglia. When a child's bones are discovered on the marsh Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson asks Galloway to help in dating them. Nelson has been haunted for ten years by the unsolved case of a missing girl, Lucy Downey. He hopes an identification would finally lay it to rest but the bones with its torque necklace are from the Iron Age and indicate a sacrificial rite. Galloway is excited by this new find and wonders what the connection might be with the Bronze Age wooden henge she helped to unearth at the water's edge, also ten years ago. Inspector Norton reveals that for many years he has been receiving a series of enigmatic letters containing biblical, literary and mythological references. When Galloway studies them she is struck by the inclusion of a word only an archaeologist would use - cursuses, meaning a shallow ditch. Galloway's tutor and mentor Erik had been the chief archaeologist on the dig for the henge. Her new discoveries bring him back to the scene along with another of his ex-students, Cathbad, a self-styled Druidic figure. Could they be involved in some way? When another child goes missing. Galloway successfully deciphers the connections between the historic past and clues in the letters from Downey case which lead the police to discover the body of this latest victim. Will her insights lead to the discovery of Lucy Downey as well? When one of Galloway's cats is brutally killed it's clear that someone is threatened by her abilities. Griffith's lyrical descriptions of the Norfolk landscape and weather succeed in making the treacherous salt marshes intriguing if not appealing. The growing respect and interaction between the unglamorous and slightly overweight academic and the no-nonsense, somewhat crusty inspector indicates the likelihood of their future collaboration in this series. THE CROSSING PLACES is a particularly successful blend of interesting archaeological information and a crime fiction story and will make a good summer read.
Reviewed by Ann Pearson, July 2009
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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