The House at Sea's End (Ruth Galloway Mysteries) (Ruth Galloway Mysteries, 3) Paperback – November 20, 2012

I have been very pleased with Elly Griffiths series regarding Archeologist Ruth Galloway. I so enjoyed the first two books that I pre-ordered this third book. I was not disappointed.Griffiths has a wonderful way of developing her characters, holding their character traits through each book and actually building on each trait to make the characters even more inviting and personable as the series moves on.The mystery itself this time is the find of six skeletal remains along a cliff side at Broughton. These six bodies are discovered by a team that is mapping the coastland and mapping the erosion that is happening. While they are working they find the six bodies which have been exposed because of the failure of part of the cliff and the erosion of the salt water waves against the cliffs.It is obvious that the six bodies were meant to never be found, but that hasn't happened. Ruth Galloway and Chief Inspector Nelson will team up again to try and solve this mystery.It is soon realized that the murders are fairly recent since all deaths happened as result of gun shot wounds and five of them appear to be execution style. Who are these murdered men? Who killed them? And why did they kill them?Ruth is able to determine through carbon tests that the bodies are approximately 50 to 70 years old and that each man has German roots, to the same region in Germany.As the story unfolds this was a small platoon of German soldiers who were trying to infiltrate England but were discovered by the Home Guard of Broughton Sea. But why were the men executed? That is still the pressing story.As Galloway and Nelson dig into the story they discover two of the men of the Home Guard are still alive, but not for long. Each of the men dies within the same week. When Nelson has one body exhumed and autopsied it is determined the man was murdered.Further a German Historian shows up and says he knows who the six men were and why they were there. But, he also is murdered. So, who is now murdering people and trying to keep this story a secret? What are they trying to hide? Or who are they trying to protect?All the while we are also dealing with Ruth's new life with a young baby, Kate. How will she work and yet raise a child as a single parent.All of these things plus more are woven together in a story that will keep your attention. I love the way that Elly Griffiths pulls things together. Ties in history as well as archeology and police work. She does a wonderful amount of research and it shows in the depth and realism of her stories. There is also enough tension to keep you on your toes and frankly, you will never guess who the murderer is until the end of the book.It's fantastic. Enjoy!

I've read other (but not all) books in the series, and on the whole have enjoyed the atmospheric series, which is set along the marshy coast of Norfolk (England). The location along the coast of Norfolk is atmospheric and well described - you feel as though you are there (I've been there, and don't recall it being nearly as lovely and mysterious as the author describes - I mostly remember it being very flat and rather cold). The lead character, Ruth Galloway, is a scientist specializing in forensic anthropology. She's sympathetic, capable, and likeable. Her counterpart, police detective Harry Nelson, also comes across as three-dimensional and believable. In fact, a the author creates a cast of colorful and, for the most part, interesting characters.The plot involves the discovery of six skeletons along the beach - exposed after many years due to the crumbling cliff wall. As the police, led by Nelson investigates the bones with the assistance of Galloway, a couple of people who may be associated with the bones die -- could it be a coincidence? They quickly identify the bodies but uncovering the whole story proves more difficult.As to the negatives of this book, there's probably too many characters, some of whom are very minor and not particularly necessary. A gratuitous story line about Bosnia probably could have been left out entirely without affecting the main story in any way whatsoever. I found it detracted from the main story line.But for me, the main shortcoming of an otherwise "good read" is that the mystery plotting is preposterous. I understand that the mystery genre doesn't have to offer a "real life" murder mystery (which mostly involve drugs, domestic violence, and gangs), but this one really is about as silly and unbelievable as a Miami CSI episode. For example, I had no trouble immediately breaking a supposedly "clever" code - way too obvious. A key piece of evidence - dating back to WWII and found in circumstances that would almost guarantee its destruction -- remains perfectly intact and usable. The police detective seems to care little for rules of evidence and keeps pieces of possible evidence untagged in a box, among his personal possessions. He risks destroying something that could become part of a murder trial because he's too impatient to wait for proper treatment of the evidence.And I was disappointed by the ending, because the author doesn't seem to be following the rules of the mystery genre. The author more or less cheats.You may want to stop reading here if you haven't read the book yet, as what follows will affect your ability to guess the killer.The killer is an incredibly minor character, someone scarcely noticed, with the very thinnest of motives. It's extremely unlikely that anyone will guess the killer because they're highly unlikely to even notice the killer, and they would quite rightly argue that the person has little if any motive.Then there's the preoccupation with religion - a common theme in this series. We are treated to several pages describing (in detail) a pagan naming ceremony, and Christianity is treated with disdain that would be easy to name if the author had spoken of Judaism or Islam in the same contemptuous way. I really don't know what her issues are. I do know that the author previously published novels about Italy under the name of Domenica de Rosa (presumably her real name), so perhaps the hostility is cultural - typical of European intellectuals. She's able to say at least one positive thing about Christianity, but in its Catholic form: the little girls get to wear beautiful dresses for first communion. I personally think religious beliefs are not fair game for derision, so I found this constant them irritating in this and other books in the series.I will continue to read the books in this series, but for all the reasons stated above, believe it falls short of deserving five stars.

I love these books! Ok, maybe Ruth has a tendency to attract a bit of unlikely danger but the stories are still fun to read. The new characters introduced that become “part of the gang” are fully fleshed out and interesting on their own. I will continue reading because they are entertaining and fun books.

Fast Paced, enjoyable, and interesting characters.

. It is not bloody or gory. The heroine is a plain and simple woman who is top in her field. Love the historically

This series was new to me. I liked the background descriptions of the Norfolk marshes and the characters. The main character Ruth Galloway, forensic archaeologist is sympathetic and interesting. Mostly a relaxing read, but exciting climax. I am continuing with the subsequent books.

Love this series

It was interesting to read about links to the past and the various local families. Dr Ruth Galloway stories are worth reading.

Simpática pero no más.

Smart and well written, with witty characters and complex emotions. Plus the Norfolk setting, its poetic eerieness, its natural majesty.

Ich liebe die Reihe. Es gibt mehrere Bücher in der Reihe um Ruth Galloway!