The Last Remains - Elly Griffiths

 The Last Remains - Elly Griffiths

Release Date: April 25, 2023

She read

This is the 15th in the Ruth Galloway series; it is the first I have read.  How have I missed this author?  The book worked well as a standalone and although the author did a good job of filling in background information,  I wished I had read some of the earlier stories to know more about the characters’ histories. 

Taking place just after the worst of the Covid pandemic, archeologist Ruth Galloway is called in to assist on a case when a skeleton is found encased behind a wall in a shop being renovated.  Her life is complicated as the university where she teaches announces they are going to close the archeology department while she is also trying to her figure out her relationship with DCI Nelson.  When the bones are identified as belonging to a young woman who went missing twenty years earlier, they lead to links within the world of archeology and a close friend of Ruth’s. 

This was a well written, engrossing read.  I didn’t want to put it down.  I enjoyed all the richly drawn characters in this well plotted and quite atmospheric novel, as well as some of the folklore from the Norfolk area. 

I have read that this may well be the last book in this series.  While loose ends were tied up at the conclusion of the book, I hope that there will be more!  Ruth is a strong, intelligent, capable female main character.  I’m sorry it took so long for me to meet her!

Thanks to #netgalley and #marinerbooks for the ARC.

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