It has been awhile since I have had an
FFB review here. Thanks to the ongoing move to the house I grew up in as well
as everything else going on here, it could be awhile before I have another FFB
review. Today I review The Ghost Fields:
A Ruth Galloway Mystery by Elly Griffiths. Todd Mason has all the other reviews
and their links over at his Sweet
Freedom blog for today. Enjoy your Friday and stay hydrated, my friends.
It is July 2013 as The
Ghost Fields: A Ruth Galloway Mystery by Elly Griffiths begins. For
Barry West, who drives a digger (backhoe), it is a hot day in Norfolk, England
and much like any other day. The fact that the land on which he rips asunder
has been the site of many battles and the spillage of blood by the injured and
dying means nothing to him. All that matters is clearing the land as developer
Edward Spens wants it done as fast as possible. There is going to be a bit of a
delay as Barry West is about to find a vintage WW II plane with the pilot still
inside buried in one of the craters on the land.
That finding will
bring the police and that includes DCI Nelson. It also means he will call Dr. Ruth
Galloway and interrupt her day. Not with a concerned call about their daughter,
Kate, but as a colleague seeking her expert opinion. She will have to leave the
nearby dig where her and her student team has recently a found a body that
possibly dates back to the Bronze Age. A body that was there two thousand years
before the Romans lived, fought, and died on the very soil she and her students
dig through as they work to unearth history. Since she assists the North
Norfolk Serious Crimes Unit as a forensic archeologist, the discovery of a body
in a WWII plane is going to have to take priority over her research work.
Upon arrival at the
scene, it does not take Dr. Galloway long before she thinks something very strange
is going on. Not only is the American war plane in far better shape than one
would think if it crashed, the soil around the aircraft is loose. Even accounting
for the heavy equipment digging around the aircraft before it was discovered,
the soil is far looser than one would expect. The body also is in far better
shape than one would expect for being submerged in chalky soil. Not to mention
the fact the body is sitting in the seat with hands on the flight stick. Clearly,
the body was moved and posed for some reason. The fact that there is a bullet
hole smack in the middle of his forehead further proves Dr. Galloway’s point
that is not an crash related to the nearby American airbase that was last
active during the war.
Who did and why are
just two of the many mysteries at work in The Ghost Fields: A Ruth Galloway Mystery.
Seventh in the series that began with The Crossing Places, this read is
full of mystery and history regarding the role of Americans based in England
during the war. As one expects in the series there is continuing and evolving
character development that continues to move the series forward.
The characters in the
series are not static pieces that never change as years pass. Ruth is 45 and
and her daughter Kate is approaching her fifth birthday while things continue
to change. They have their turning points in the book, as do nearly all the
secondary characters. A lot is in play here relationship wise. Then there are
the mysteries with multiple ones present beyond the ones explained above.
In short, another
good read in a very good series despite a couple of clichéd points that many
readers will see coming long before they happen. One can’t really explain what
without creating a spoiler or two, but one situation is so classic it may
generate a laugh out loud moment as it did for this reader. Despite that fact,
the book is a good one. A series that one simply has to read in order, The
Ghost Fields: A Ruth Galloway Mystery is a highly entertaining read that
blends history and mystery together in a very satisfactory way.
The Crossing Places (Reviewed 12/26/15)
The Janus Stone (Reviewed 11/18/2016)
The House at Sea’s End (Reviewed 12/2/2016)
A Dying Fall: A Ruth Galloway Mystery (Reviewed 2/10/2017)
The Outcast Dead: A Ruth Galloway Mystery (Reviewed 4/21/17)
The Ghost Fields: A Ruth Galloway Mystery
Elly Griffiths
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
May 2015
ISBN# 978-0-544-33014-6
Hardback (also available in paperback,
audio, and eBook formats)
384 Pages
$25.00
Material obtained via the Plano Public
Library System to read and review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2017
Posts
2 comments:
I've read the first two books in this series, Kevin, and liked them immensely. I wasn't sure at first that I would, but I was won over. I also have Griffith's new 'magic' series debut here waiting to be read. I hope to read more of Dr. Galloway's saga - playing catch-up. Yes, I agree, this series needs to be read in order. I hope to do so.
Take good care my friend and please take it easy if you can - lots on your plate these days.
I have not made it to her "magic" series yet. I had hoped to read all of these before we made the move to Dallas, but that is not going to happen. I very much enjoy the series, though there are the occasional cliche moments that smack me funny.
This is true. I am overwhelmed.
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