‘The House at Sea’s End’ by Elly Griffiths

My Review (5 stars out of 5)

Investigating coastal erosion, forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway and her team discover six bodies buried at the foot of a cliff. Tests on the bodies reveal that they have lain there since World War Two when Britain was threatened by invasion. Along with her cop pal Harry Nelson, Ruth learns more about the mysterious deaths and finds that someone is keen to keep the truth hidden. The apparently natural death of an elderly care-home resident, who may know something about the bodies, seems a bit of a setback, but when a second man dies, the secrets surrounding Sea’s End House begin to emerge…  

Some time ago I got hold of a couple of this author’s books and subsequently discovered them to be books three and four in the Ruth Galloway series. Although this book (#3) works perfectly well as a standalone, I should’ve started at the beginning of the series. Anyway…

The characters are an interesting lot, particularly those of Ruth and Nelson, who have their own colourful history, which leads to some difficult discussions. Meanwhile, Ruth’s old friend Tatiana, turns up to disrupt Ruth’s daily routines, as the archaeologist struggles to cope with childcare for her baby. Druid Cathbad, with his flowing cloak and strange rituals, is delightful and adds another layer of pressure to the life of one of the other characters. While the story trundles along in a seemingly random way, Ms Griffiths cleverly builds the tension, dropping herrings both red and not-so-red into the plot. The denouement is particularly exciting and leads to a decidedly dangerous confrontation on the beach.

An excellent murder mystery with an engaging and believable central character.

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