Ruth Galloway | Series Review

I absolutely love the mystery/thriller genre and every summer I can’t get enough of them.  This summer’s addiction has been Elly Griffith’s Ruth Galloway series. Since this is a series review, I will try to keep spoilers to a minimum but there are some spoilers.

Ruth is an archeology professor in Norfolk, England who is asked to consult on a murder investigation by Detective Chief Inspector Nelson. The rest of the series sees her continuing to consult with the local police force, as well as her shenanigans with the cast of characters around her.

This is a really fun series. It is suspenseful with so many twists and turns — very classic mystery. What sets this series apart for me are the characters. Ruth is ambitious, she is fat and doesn’t really care, and she [SPOILERS] becomes a mother who continues to be ambitious and driven.

The cast of characters in this book is great. There’s her friend the Druid, the bumbling policeman Clough and the very capable detective Judy Johnson, her flakey friend Shauna and other assorted background characters. The characters are well-developed as the series goes on, with their own baggage and ambitions.

Ruth Galloway’s stories also have an amazing atmospheric setting. Ruth lives out on the Saltmarsh, a potentially sacred pagan place, but a definitely atmospheric one. It would be easy for that kind of setting to be really cheesy, but Griffiths uses it sparingly and to great effect.

There are currently seven Ruth Galloway novels, with a couple of companions too. I highly recommend if you enjoy good characters, fast plots, and staying up late.

Friday reads

 

I’ve been really enjoying listening to audiobooks during my commute, and The Vacationers is my currently reading. 

The Posts go on a family vacation to Majorca, ostensibly for their 35th wedding anniversary and their daughter graduating from high school. Between the Posts, their son and his girlfriend, their daughter, and their friend and his husband, there are plenty of family secrets just dying to come out. Or just make everyone really awkward. 

So far, this is a pretty enjoyable read that I would describe as a beach read, though that probably doesn’t do it justice. It’s more literary than a beach read, but more beach-appropriate than your standard literary fare. 

Spring Break Reads and Listens

I got to spend a long weekend in sunny Florida with my mom soaking up sun and heat last week. It was the perfect antidote to this long, arduous winter to just sit in the sun and fry (just kidding, skin cancer is real folks. Except I’m super pale so I did fry. But onward!). And of course, what is a beach day without a few books?

I’m finally getting into this one, after getting it for my birthday several months ago. I read about half of it at the beach. I heard someone describe it as a socialist Pride and Prejudice and I wish I could remember who it was because that description is spot on. So far, there’s been lots of pride, a little prejudice, and explorations of family, class, and the ethics of burgeoning capitalism.

This one may seem like a strange beach read, but bear with me. I really enjoy suspenseful, borderline horror stories but I am a huge scaredy-cat. Add the fact that my apartment makes a lot of weird noises at night and horror just isn’t something I normally read. I find the beach, however, is the perfect place to read these kinds of stories. How could you possibly be terrified when it’s so sunny and peaceful? I didn’t finish this one on the beach either, but I did stay up late finishing it one night (which then required watching some Friends to stop being freaked out) and a review is forthcoming.

I also brought my tablet for reading some great articles, including an old New Yorker piece on the beauty of Parks and Rec and the pitfalls of “you’re welcome.” I also listened to Julie Andrews on Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin and a fantastic two-part episode of This American Life called “Cops See Things Differently” (part one, part two).