Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
If you're new to this series and wondering if you should give it a try because you've heard people like me raving about it, let me give you one piece of advice: if you're a mystery reader who prefers the crime and its investigation over the characters, you might just want to give this series a miss. Now... it hurt me to say that because I'd love to have everyone read and love these books, but it's true. The characters in Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway series have personal lives that are every bit as rich as the mysteries they solve-- sometimes more so-- and their personal lives can often impinge on the investigation.
In The Woman in Blue, we learn about another location in the county of Norfolk-- Walsingham-- and the place of women in the Church of England. It also gives us a chance to see Ruth side by side with a woman with whom she went to university. Ruth-- an archaeologist and single mother to five-year-old Kate, who is the result of one night of passion with the very married DCI Harry Nelson. What a contrast with Hillary, the Anglican priest!
One of the strengths of this series is the relationship between Ruth and Nelson. This is no simple case of infidelity. Griffiths does an excellent job of showing the characters' good and bad points. It isn't a matter of readers blythely choosing which character they believe is hardest done by and cheering him or her on. As time passes, Nelson's wife is becoming a more important character, and no one can tell what the future will bring for any of them. I think Griffiths is superb at showing life in all its complexity.
But how about the mystery, I hear you ask. It's a good one. There may not be much archaeology this time around, but there are several things going on, and one of the tasks readers have is to decide if everything connects to one source... or if there's more than one villain. It's certainly not an easy decision to make!
If you love mysteries with an excellent sense of place, complex and intriguing crimes to solve, and absolutely splendid characters, you'd be hard-pressed to find a series better than Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway.
In The Woman in Blue, we learn about another location in the county of Norfolk-- Walsingham-- and the place of women in the Church of England. It also gives us a chance to see Ruth side by side with a woman with whom she went to university. Ruth-- an archaeologist and single mother to five-year-old Kate, who is the result of one night of passion with the very married DCI Harry Nelson. What a contrast with Hillary, the Anglican priest!
One of the strengths of this series is the relationship between Ruth and Nelson. This is no simple case of infidelity. Griffiths does an excellent job of showing the characters' good and bad points. It isn't a matter of readers blythely choosing which character they believe is hardest done by and cheering him or her on. As time passes, Nelson's wife is becoming a more important character, and no one can tell what the future will bring for any of them. I think Griffiths is superb at showing life in all its complexity.
But how about the mystery, I hear you ask. It's a good one. There may not be much archaeology this time around, but there are several things going on, and one of the tasks readers have is to decide if everything connects to one source... or if there's more than one villain. It's certainly not an easy decision to make!
If you love mysteries with an excellent sense of place, complex and intriguing crimes to solve, and absolutely splendid characters, you'd be hard-pressed to find a series better than Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway.
Joan W. (justreadingabook) reviewed The Woman in Blue (Ruth Galloway, Bk 8) on + 1713 more book reviews
Still enjoying the series and the adventures and friends Ruth Galloway has. If you want a nice detailed read with great characters, historical information and a few twists and turns then this is the series to try.
A good story, but not as good as I had hoped. There's only one bit that's remotely related to archaeology, and that subplot seemed unnecessary except as a diversion. The mystery was okay but not a lot of suspense. My favorite thing about this series is the relationships between the characters, and it looks at one point like there's going to be some big changes but then that fizzles out. Not sure how long Griffiths is going to keep the tangle between Nelson and Ruth going. Still, always nice to spend time with one of these books.
Eadie B. (eadieburke) -
Book Description
Known as England's Nazareth, the medieval town of Little Walsingham is famous for religious apparitions. So when Ruth Galloway's druid friend Cathbad sees a woman in a white dress and a dark blue cloak standing alone in the local cemetery one night, he takes her as a vision of the Virgin Mary. But then a woman wrapped in blue cloth is found dead the next day, and Ruth's old friend Hilary, an Anglican priest, receives a series of hateful, threatening letters. Could these crimes be connected? When one of Hilary's fellow female priests is murdered just before Little Walsingham's annual Good Friday Passion Play, Ruth, Cathbad, and DCI Harry Nelson must team up to find the killer before he strikes again.
My Review
This is the 8th book in the Ruth Galloway series and it does not disappoint. I very much enjoyed learning the of history of Walsingham and the yearly Passion Play that is performed. Elly Griffiths gave many clues to the murderer but they were hidden pretty well. The plot kept the pages turning and the ending was full of surprises. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment in order to check up on the many relationships that are continually changing. I would highly recommend reading this series in order as the stories are built one upon another.
Known as England's Nazareth, the medieval town of Little Walsingham is famous for religious apparitions. So when Ruth Galloway's druid friend Cathbad sees a woman in a white dress and a dark blue cloak standing alone in the local cemetery one night, he takes her as a vision of the Virgin Mary. But then a woman wrapped in blue cloth is found dead the next day, and Ruth's old friend Hilary, an Anglican priest, receives a series of hateful, threatening letters. Could these crimes be connected? When one of Hilary's fellow female priests is murdered just before Little Walsingham's annual Good Friday Passion Play, Ruth, Cathbad, and DCI Harry Nelson must team up to find the killer before he strikes again.
My Review
This is the 8th book in the Ruth Galloway series and it does not disappoint. I very much enjoyed learning the of history of Walsingham and the yearly Passion Play that is performed. Elly Griffiths gave many clues to the murderer but they were hidden pretty well. The plot kept the pages turning and the ending was full of surprises. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment in order to check up on the many relationships that are continually changing. I would highly recommend reading this series in order as the stories are built one upon another.
