The Zen Leaf

And once again, I sped through the rest, so here are the last of my mini-reviews. In general, I have LOVED this series so much!!

The Chalk Pit (audio)
A homeless woman goes missing, and when the police begin to investigate, a few homeless men end up murdered. Meanwhile, a hole has opened up in a road when an old mining tunnel under it caves in, and Ruth Galloway is called in to investigate some bones found inside. What follows is a story of cannibalism, secret societies, and the realities of sleeping rough.

Once again, the series has moved beyond traditional mystery and into a more political bent. There’s a lot of comparison between press coverage when a middle class woman disappears vs when a homeless woman disappears, that sort of thing. The climax was particularly intense because the focus was on disappearance more than murder, and the possibility of saving several people. I enjoyed the book, but need to take a moment to mention the audio performance. The book was read by Jane McDowell, who read the first few books of the series. While she reads fine, I didn’t like the way the production added extra flare – phone calls that sound distant as if you’re hearing through the receiver, radio program audio that has static and tinniness, etc. I would have preferred to go back to the original, plain way of reading, personally.

The Dark Angel (audio)
Ruth Galloway is called away to Italy to help a colleague with a particular find, but finds herself wrapped up in the tiny town’s history and secrets.

On the positive side: This had the best opener of the series so far, hands down. It’s also the first book to take place outside of England, and the change in scenery was fun. Unfortunately, the negatives outweighed the positives. The change in scenery was fun, but it meant that the mystery mostly involved new-to-the-reader characters, and it was difficult to get invested. Ruth’s colleague was so ignorant about history and archeology that I had a difficult time suspending my disbelief about him. Plus the history of the town was all wrapped up in WWII politics, which I’ve said before is one of my least favorite things to read about. But honestly, I think I would have enjoyed the book well enough if not for the audio. Not only did it have the same weird “enhancements” of the last book, but McDowell read all the Italian characters with grating exaggerated accents. This, as I’ve said before, is one of my audio pet peeves. I honestly wish I’d returned the book to Audible, read this one in print, and used that credit to get the next book in the series! Lesson learned.

The Stone Circle (audio)
Mysterious letters, highly reminiscent of those DCI Nelson received in The Crossing Places, begin to show up, leading toward the discovery of a skeleton and the reopening of a cold case nearly 40 years old.

Ahhh! It’s the last of the series currently published, and while I wanted to make the experience stretch out – the next one won’t release until June – I sped right through it. This one was soooooo good! Lots of very intense moments and misdirections, excellent psychology, really creepy characters. I loved it, and I’m sad that it’s so long before I can read the next volume.

Also, I haven’t commented on it much in previous mini-reviews, but one of my favorite things about this series is that the characters, when put into extremely difficult situations, never get an easy way out. There is no deus ex machina, even when it could be really easy for the author to set that up. Real life is hard, and so the characters have to face those difficulties head on, making choices or falling back on the more timid “do nothing” path. The characters and their lives have interested me far more than the individual mysteries, and that’s why the series has been so amazing. I really can’t wait to read more.

Well, in the beginning of all this, I was planning to not read all these back to back, but yeah that’s not happening. Here are the next few mini-reviews…

A Dying Fall (audio)
When a former university friend of Ruth’s is killed in a house fire, she’s surprised to get a letter from Dan sent shortly afterwards. The letter, postmarked before the fire, sounds afraid, and Ruth gets DCI Nelson to check in with Dan’s local constabulary. Neither Ruth nor the police think the fire was an accident.

Once again, this is a book that gets political, dealing with white supremacy groups. It also goes into Arthurian legend and the Raven King, all mixed up with far-right groups, anti-immigration sentiment, antisemitism, and all sorts of other nasty business. The climax is incredibly suspenseful, and for the first time in the series, I had a moment of fear-for-characters so strong that I was holding my breath. I don’t know if I can say that the books are getting better and better, because they’ve been strong from the start, but the more time I spend with these characters, the more I connect. I think I’m going to be heartbroken when I get to the end of the series.

The Outcast Dead (audio)
Dr. Ruth Galloway uncovers the bones of what may be a famous historical female killer, Mother Hook, and is swept up in a TV production that wants to do a profile on the Victorian-era murderess. Meanwhile, children begin to go missing in Norfolk.

Oh I loved this one! Each volume continues to vary the stories. After two highly politically-charged novels, this one focuses more on historical facts and modern-day psychology. There are some really tense scenes and end up leading to some great developments in the characters, and more intrigue is introduced in the present day to stir things up. It was awesome. One note, though: For this book and the previous, Clare Corbett reads the audio. Previous volumes, when I’ve managed to get them on audio, were read by Jane McDowell (as well as future volumes, from what I can see). Of the two, I prefer McDowell. Some of Corbett’s accents and voices are a bit over-the-top for me.

The Ghost Fields
During the course of construction, an old WWII plane is found, the dead pilot still inside. Only this pilot is miraculously preserved given the soil content all around him and his plane, and records show that the actual pilot of the craft ejected before the crash. The body has clearly been dead for decades, but who is he, where has he been kept, and why has his body been moved into this macabre setting?

I’ll admit – for the first time, I had difficulty getting into a book in this series. Personally, I think it was the history involved. I’m not a huge fan of war history, and I don’t like books that center on either of the world wars. So much of the book focused on the history of the found “pilot” and around Norfolk’s involvement during WWII that I found my eyes glazing over quite a bit. It wasn’t until midway through the book, when enough intrigue in the present-day story overshadowed the past, that I began to enjoy the read. In the end, I liked it and felt the book was well-written and all, but just not a personal favorite due to content. Also, I was sad that this book, as well as the next volume, simply aren’t available in audio format. Boo!

The Woman in Blue
Female priests, a religious pilgrimage, a cult that worships the image of the Virgin Mary breastfeeding, threatening letters, and a series of murders…can it get spookier than that?

This volume of the series was phenomenal! Religion and politics play into this series quite a bit, and this one dove into a few really dark sides of Christian splinter groups. It also showed the more human face of the clergy, which I really liked. There’s also a lot of major tension going on in the lives of Harry Nelson and Ruth Galloway, the former discovering an unpleasant secret and the latter torn between several loyalties. Very well put together. Also: fun fact – since I began blogging, I’ve read The Woman in White, The Woman in Black, and now The Woman in Blue, ha!

With a dozen books in a series, and my clear desire to read them all back to back, I’ve decided not to give each mini-review it’s own post. I always find it hard to review books that are later in a series, particularly because it’s so easy to give away even minor spoilers from earlier in the series. This is my attempt to jot down a few thoughts on individual books without getting into book specifics. Over all, the series has been amazing, and I’m perfectly happy to spend the next little while reading primarily these stories!!

The Janus Stone (audio)
A skeleton is discovered during an archeological dig that appears far more recent. The police are called out to investigate, and though Ruth Galloway isn’t part of this investigation, someone thinks she plays a crucial role and is out to stop her.

I sped through this one. It was so well done, just as good as the first. I love the characters, I love all the conflicts in their lives that enrich the plot, I love the setting, I love all the classics and historical tidbits that pop up… I’m going to have to stop myself from reading the entire series back to back!!!

The House at Sea’s End (audio)
A team of archaeologists studying coastal erosion discover a half-dozen skeletons uncovered after a rockslide. Ruth Galloway is called in to date the bones, which turn out to be from WWII. But who the bones belonged to, and how they ended up buried on the beach for so many decades – these are secrets that someone doesn’t want dredged up, and they’ll stop at nothing to keep them hidden.

Third volume of this series was just as awesome as the previous two! I’m loving the series so much. Especially wonderful is the way the stories continue to explore not just various mysteries, but the lives of multiple characters – Ruth, of course, with her new baby and single motherhood; police sergeant Judy, who’s not sure if she really wants to get married; DCI Nelson, keeping secrets and struggling with his faith…etc. The characters are what really makes these books come alive, and I’m so happy to continue following them through all these stories!

A Room Full of Bones
Ruth Galloway is embroiled in another mystery when she goes to supervise the opening of a recently-unearthed ancient coffin and finds the museum curator, who was meant to open the coffin, dead. Meanwhile, DCI Harry Nelson falls gravely ill and may not survive.

Four things to say about this fourth book in the series: First, I love that these stories, while a continuing mystery series, don’t keep relying on the same scenarios. Ruth isn’t always in danger, nor is she always the one solving the mystery. The books are far more varied, and that keeps them from getting stale and unrealistic the way some long-lasting cozy series can be. Second, this is the first time Griffiths dives far more into deeper subjects. There are a lot of politics in here, particularly regarding the mistreatment of indigenous people over the centuries. This comes across as part of the fabric of the book, rather than like a moral lesson, which is great. Third, there had to be a dozen little mysteries all adding up to a single mystery in here, all woven together masterfully. I think A Room Full of Bones will take a second, more careful reading for me to wrap my head around everything. Good thing I’m already planning to reread the series at some point! Fourth, I love that the story delves just slightly more into the spiritual/paranormal side. There is no speculative element to this series, just a few folks who believe in various religions and mythologies, and it was fun to see that left a bit more open here. Great book!