A little over three years ago, I read The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths. It was the first in her Ruth Galloway series, and even though the first book is not the strongest of the volumes, I was hooked. Over the next couple weeks, “hooked” turned into “obsessed,” and I devoured the entire as-of-then-published series (11 books) in under a month. Since then, I’ve read each new release as they’ve come out, all the way up to book 14 this past summer. A couple days ago, Audible suggested that I use a credit to pre-order The Last Remains, the 15th book in the series, which will release in 2023. My heart caught in my throat when I read the first line of the description:

[spoilers for earlier volumes] in this not-to-be-missed last act of the beloved Ruth Galloway series…

But. But. I wanted the series to go on forever! I mean, I know 15 books is a long run for a series, and I know Griffiths has other series that I enjoy also, but I’m so going to miss my yearly fix of Ruth, Nelson, Kate, Cathbad, and all the rest. I suppose soon it’ll be time to go revisit those early books that I sped through. It’s not the same, though, not quite. There are so few mystery/crime procedural series that I just love, so I’m going to miss this one quite badly. Though honestly, I just need to thank Griffiths for giving me so much bookish joy over the last three years. She’s been one of my favorite authors discovered in recent years, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!