The Janus Stone
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'The setting is enticingly atmospheric. I closed the book wanting to know more... as well as feeling the satisfaction that a really intelligent murder story can give' Independent.
Review
'The setting is enticingly atmospheric. I closed the book wanting to know more... as well as feeling the satisfaction that a really intelligent murder story can give' Independent.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
41 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Ruth Galloway - forensic archaeologist - is pregnant, but she is not sure how or when to tell the father - DCI Harry Nelson. In the meantime there are two fascinating archaeological digs taking place not far from where Ruth lives at Saltmarsh on the North Norfolk coast. One is a Roman site near Swaffham, where she knows the archaeologists working there and the other is the site of an old house in Norwich where the developer is intending to build luxury apartments. Ruth is called in because the headless skeleton of a small child is found under a doorway of the house in Norwich.
From this creepy beginning an atmospheric story unfolds with Ruth's own life becoming increasingly at risk as she and Nelson gradually uncover the secrets the skeleton hides. Ruth is far from being a typical heroine, overweight, unfashionable and ferociously clever with few social graces. But there is something endearing about her fierce independence and her determination to unravel the mysteries presented to her. I really enjoyed this story not least because I am familiar with the area in which it is set. I thought it was cleverly plotted and the final denouement was tense and exciting. There was a reappearance of some of the characters from the first book in this series - `The Crossing Places'. Cathbad, the Druid, Shona - Ruth's somewhat flaky friend, and of course Harry Nelson.
The background of Roman and Pagan mythology and modern day Catholicism is fascinating and well researched and I thought the character of Father Hennessey, the Catholic priest who ran the children's home which formerly occupied the Norwich site, was well drawn and convincing. The relationships between the police involved in the investigation were also interesting. This book is an excellent follow up to `The Crossing Places' and I look forward to reading the next in the series.
From this creepy beginning an atmospheric story unfolds with Ruth's own life becoming increasingly at risk as she and Nelson gradually uncover the secrets the skeleton hides. Ruth is far from being a typical heroine, overweight, unfashionable and ferociously clever with few social graces. But there is something endearing about her fierce independence and her determination to unravel the mysteries presented to her. I really enjoyed this story not least because I am familiar with the area in which it is set. I thought it was cleverly plotted and the final denouement was tense and exciting. There was a reappearance of some of the characters from the first book in this series - `The Crossing Places'. Cathbad, the Druid, Shona - Ruth's somewhat flaky friend, and of course Harry Nelson.
The background of Roman and Pagan mythology and modern day Catholicism is fascinating and well researched and I thought the character of Father Hennessey, the Catholic priest who ran the children's home which formerly occupied the Norwich site, was well drawn and convincing. The relationships between the police involved in the investigation were also interesting. This book is an excellent follow up to `The Crossing Places' and I look forward to reading the next in the series.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I am so glad that I enjoyed this book. I found Elly Griffiths' first book disappointing and quite shallow in places but with her second book, she leaves us in no doubt that there is a definite future for Ruth Galloway, forensic archaeologist and DCI Nelson.
The two main protagonists have become more rounded and believable characters and the cast of recurring lesser inhabitants of Ruth's world are more delicately drawn and now provide a believable support network for her.
As in the first book, Ruth is brought in to investigate some recently unearthed bones, and we are drawn into a more recent crime event than it at first appears. The action takes us over much of Norfolk from Norwich via Swaffham to Ruth's bolt hole on the windswept North Norfolk marshes and involves Roman myths, Catholicism and missing children.
Her relationship, or lack of it, with Nelson is intriguing and made all the more interesting by her recent pregnancy, and I felt myself warming to Ruth far more than I had in the first book. I didn't second guess the ending this time and was more than surprised at times. I hope that we see more from Elly Griffiths as I for one am more than happy to follow her journey through life and love on the bleak marshes of East Anglia.
The two main protagonists have become more rounded and believable characters and the cast of recurring lesser inhabitants of Ruth's world are more delicately drawn and now provide a believable support network for her.
As in the first book, Ruth is brought in to investigate some recently unearthed bones, and we are drawn into a more recent crime event than it at first appears. The action takes us over much of Norfolk from Norwich via Swaffham to Ruth's bolt hole on the windswept North Norfolk marshes and involves Roman myths, Catholicism and missing children.
Her relationship, or lack of it, with Nelson is intriguing and made all the more interesting by her recent pregnancy, and I felt myself warming to Ruth far more than I had in the first book. I didn't second guess the ending this time and was more than surprised at times. I hope that we see more from Elly Griffiths as I for one am more than happy to follow her journey through life and love on the bleak marshes of East Anglia.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Don't you just hate it when you find a fabulous now author and then find they have only written 2 books...? I am really looking forward to hearing more from Ruth and Harry Nelson in future books; I found both 'Crossing Places' and 'The Janus Stone' on the same day and read them both within a couple of days as they were 'unputdownable'! Write quickly please Elly!
The last time I found an author this appealing was a couple of years ago when I discovered Phil Rickman; but he kept me entertained for months with the number of books he had already written!
So what is the appeal? The story is well written and researched, and pacy...but this is not what keeps readers gripped. The characters leap out from the pages; Ruth, with her self contained existence, living in a remote cottage with her cat; her parents with their born again fervour, which is totally alien to Ruth. (I love their reaction to her pregnancy) Harry, who plainly loves his wife and family, but who seems to be headed towards a sort of menage a trois in future books...and my favourite character, who just has to be Cathbad! I can just see him now, purple cloak swirling, a sea breeze tugging at his hair, gazing mystically out to sea...lol...
Is he genuinely posessed of magical powers? I look forward to seeing how he develops. I am really looking forward to seeing how they all develop, so come on Elly, back to the computer...
Michelle Jones
The last time I found an author this appealing was a couple of years ago when I discovered Phil Rickman; but he kept me entertained for months with the number of books he had already written!
So what is the appeal? The story is well written and researched, and pacy...but this is not what keeps readers gripped. The characters leap out from the pages; Ruth, with her self contained existence, living in a remote cottage with her cat; her parents with their born again fervour, which is totally alien to Ruth. (I love their reaction to her pregnancy) Harry, who plainly loves his wife and family, but who seems to be headed towards a sort of menage a trois in future books...and my favourite character, who just has to be Cathbad! I can just see him now, purple cloak swirling, a sea breeze tugging at his hair, gazing mystically out to sea...lol...
Is he genuinely posessed of magical powers? I look forward to seeing how he develops. I am really looking forward to seeing how they all develop, so come on Elly, back to the computer...
Michelle Jones
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Soap Opera + Gothic Novel + Mystery = Ruth Galloway Series
As much as I enjoy a good mystery, I find that I am in a rut, reading the same authors over and over. Read more
Published 3 days ago by takingadayoff
a pleasant Norfolk sojourn
Griffiths has an engaging style of writing that draws the reader into Ruth and Harry's worlds of archaeology and policing, and their awkward relationship. Read more
Published 24 days ago by Rob Kitchin
A superb second novel
Having read and thoroughly enjoyed the first in the Ruth Galloway forensic archaeology investigations, I was hoping the second wouldn't fall flat, as sometimes they do. Read more
Published 25 days ago by wendy
Excellent series.
I've finished the series now having started in February & not being able to stop! The characters are wonderful as is the description of the area which I love. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Kaz P
Another easy-reading page-turner
Keen to know what happened to forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway after the end of Elly Griffiths' crime début The Crossing Places, I started reading the second instalment... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Joanne Sheppard
Excellent
I am used to reading 'popular' American Crime Fiction - serial killers with an improbable number of victims, police who can fight without dropping (and without eating). Read more
Published 3 months ago by Molly Davidson
Read #1 before this one
This is the second book in Elly Griffith's series about Ruth Galloway, a forensic archeologist who lives in northern Norfolk. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Julia Flyte
Think about reading the first book before this one
Lots of positive things to say about this book. It was a pretty good crime thriller, the descriptions of the saltmarsh area in Norfolk were vivid and memorable and the author did a... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Papillon
3.5 stars - readable but a few too many far-fetched moments
First off - I haven't read the first book in this series - that doesn't seem necessary to the plot of this one, despite there being a continued storyline regarding the relationship... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Misty
Read this for the characters and quirky humour not the plot
In this second book of the Ruth Galloway series, Griffiths gives us more archaeology, more deadpan, quirky humour, and a deeper insight into the intriguing relationship between... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Roman Clodia
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