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When we last saw her, archaeologist Ruth Galloway was facing the prospect of having her already chaotic life complicated even further by the arrival of a sprog. That baby has now arrived and Ruth is dealing with her return to work after maternity leave and the fact that she sees Kate's father, DCI Harry Nelson almost every day. She wants to keep her distance, but Nelson – despite being (fairly) happily married – has a strong sense of duty. And Ruth has always got on well with his wife Michelle. Ruth finds it impossible to steer clear of Nelson, though, as the two of them are pulled into a case which harks back to World War II. Archaeologists investigating coastal erosion unearth six bodies at the bottom of a cliff. It looks like members of the area's Home Guard had been concealing murder – and the killing isn't over yet. THE HOUSE AT SEA'S END is the third in this top-notch series which has two fascinating characters heading it up, a strong sense of place and a focus on history, both more recent and prehistoric. Griffiths has an enviable ability to make you care about her characters, even if you don't always care for their motives or behaviour – they're simply real people with real flaws. She doesn't judge either. For this I can forgive her several technical glitches. The book contains some bizarre and jarring point of view slips – and this isn't an omniscient narrator (which most writers couldn't spot if their lives depended on it), as much of the time we're either with Ruth or Nelson. I always find it difficult to understand why writers can't see what a disorientating problem it is when they lurch from one character's thoughts to another's in the space of a paragraph or so. And another recurring problem is Griffiths's use of the present tense. It's a technique that I know polarises readers and reviewers. Good writers like Griffiths generally get away with it, but there are times – particularly with flashbacks – when it becomes intrusive and the writing somewhat inelegant. Don't let this put you off reading THE HOUSE AT SEA'S END, though. It's a chilling book which ends on a moment of realisation that it is bound to have repercussions when we next meet Ruth. § Sharon Wheeler is a UK-based journalist, writer and lecturer.
Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, January 2011
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