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Ruth Galloway is an archeologist and somewhat surprised to find her department head showing up at her office accompanied by Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson. He wants her to come look at some bones found on the saltmarsh. They are old, but Nelson needs to know HOW old. Specifically, could they be the remains of Lucy Downey, a child who disappeared ten years ago? This is the case that still haunts Nelson. Ruth knows quickly that the bones are not those of Lucy Downey. They are far older, probably from the Iron Age. This is quite a find; the local henge dig is Bronze Age, quite a bit earlier, but Ruth thinks that there is probably some kind of connection. A holy place is a holy place, no matter what period it dates to. The discovery brings Ruth's old mentor Erik back to England from Norway. Her old boyfriend Peter also turns up, having left his wife and thinking perhaps that Ruth will take him back. Another girl is abducted and Nelson again comes to Ruth for help. Her life has gotten away from her and she's not altogether comfortable with this. As Ruth becomes more involved in Nelson's concerns, she realizes that there is much in her world to which she has been oblivious. Some of it is quite relevant to the cases, some of it is far more relevant to her personal and professional lives. All of it contributes to her growing awareness of herself, and of how she relates to her world. This growing sense of herself only makes the end of the book sentimental musings at the end of the book, the thoughts on maternity and the maternal instinct, seem all that much more gratuitous. Griffiths' first crime novel is a stunner. What is so delightful is the complexity of this book. The characters have depths to them. The plot has layer after layer of possibility. The setting - stark, lovely, life threatening, challenging, god-forsaken, and essential to the story. Every once in a while, there is a line that reaches out to the reader, sometimes humorously, sometimes not. Those lines contribute to the general high quality of writing overall. What's next for Ruth and Harry? Let's all hope it's as good as this adventure.
Reviewed by P.J. Coldren, December 2009
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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