Synopses & Reviews
“Elly Griffiths draws us all the way back to prehistoric times . . . Highly atmospheric.” —
New York Times Book Review
The service of the Outcast Dead is held annually in Norwich commemorating the bodies in the paupers’ graves. This year’s proceedings hold special interest for forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway, who has just unearthed the notorious Mother Hook, hanged in 1867 at Norwich Castle for killing multiple children. Now Ruth is reluctantly starring in a TV special, working alongside the alluring historian Dr. Frank Barker. Nearby, DCI Harry Nelson is investigating the case of three children found dead in their home when another child is abducted. A kidnapper dubbed the Childminder claims responsibility, but is the Childminder behind the deaths too? The team races to find out — and after a child close to everyone involved disappears, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
“An uncommon, down-to-earth heroine whose acute insight, wry humor, and depth of feeling make her a thoroughly engaging companion.” — Erin Hart, Agatha and Anthony Award–nominated author of Haunted Ground and Lake of Sorrows
Elly Griffiths’s Ruth Galloway novels have been praised as “gripping” (Louise Penny), “highly atmospheric,” (New York Times Book Review), and “must-reads for fans of crime fiction” (Associated Press). She is the winner of the 2010 Mary Higgins Clark Award.
Review
"What connection could the discovery of a notorious child killers corpse have to a new series of unnerving crimes? Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway thinks that the body shes unearthed near the walls of Norwich Castle may be that of Mother Hook, a woman who took in unwanted children, possibly sold their bodies and was hanged for murder in 1867. Ruths publicity-seeking department head is thrilled when the producer of the TV series Women Who Kill decides to add Mother Hook to the lineup. Ruth herself is less pleased even though the job brings her together with Frank Barker, an attractive professor of American history who thinks Mother Hook was innocent. At the same time, DCI Harry Nelson, the father of Ruths daughter, Kate, is investigating the deaths of a couples three young children. The first two incidents were written off as crib deaths, but the third looks like murder, and Nelson suspects the parents. As Ruth continues her work on the program, Nelson gets another child-related case. A young girl has been stolen from the house of her wealthy parents, whose nanny spends more time with the children than they do. After a frantic search, the child is found along with a cryptic note from “The Childminder.” No sooner is that case resolved than the son of Ruths friend Judy, a member of Nelsons team, is taken from his sitter, and another note from the Childminder turns up. Judy is married to her high school sweetheart, but her son is the product of her affair with Cathbad, a druid friend of Ruths who had helped her in past cases (A Dying Fall, 2013, etc.). Could all these cases be related? Griffiths lovingly develops the complicated, often testy relationships between the continuing characters in the course of a mystery perhaps a shade less exciting than her usual fare."--Kirkus Reviews
"Griffiths bases her title and the books opening scene on an actual ceremony for “the outcast dead” (paupers and prostitutes long ago flung into a mass grave), held every year at Cross Bones Graveyard in London. The ceremony, which Griffiths transports to Norwich, fits beautifully with the fictional recent find at Norwich Castle of a grave likely containing the bones of Mother Hook, a woman hanged outside the castle for murdering children entrusted to her care. Heroine Ruth Galloway, the Norwich University lecturer and forensic archaeologist seen in five previous mysteries, does a star turn for a TV series in considering the guilt or innocence of the Victorian Mother Hook. At the same time, Galloways sometime lover and father of her three-year-old daughter, DCI Nelson, investigates the wrenching case of a mother accused of smothering her baby. Griffiths deftly blends the themes of two women accused of child killing. Then she turns up the heat under this seething cauldron of blame and guilt by having two Norwichchildren kidnapped. A deft blend of death in the past, death in the present, and death chillingly close to occurring."--Booklist
"In Mary Higgins Clark Award-winner Griffithss competent sixth mystery featuring archeologist Ruth Galloway (after 2013s A Dying Fall), Mark Gates, a TV researcher for a British documentary series called Women Who Kill, takes an interest in Ruth after she uncovers the bones of the notorious Mother Hook, a Victorian-era child minder accused of killing at least 20 children in Norwich. Despite the damning folktales, Ruth suspects that Mother Hook was innocent—a belief that clashes with Marks vision of a monstrous child murderer. As Ruth seeks clues lost long ago, her former lover, Det. Chief Insp. Harry Nelson, is closing in on a 37-year-old woman who may have killed her three infants. Meanwhile, the self-described “Childminder” begins kidnapping young children from their homes. Griffiths astutely plays on modern anxieties about working parents and childcare. A clever ending compensates for the frequent narrative-slowing switches between Harrys and Ruths cases."--Publishers Weekly
Review
Praise for the Ruth Galloway Mystery Series "Elly Griffiths draws us all the way back to prehistoric times…Highly atmospheric." —
The New York Times Book Review "Galloway is an everywoman, smart, successful and a little bit unsure of herself. Readers will look forward to learning more about her." —
USA Today "Ruth Galloway is a remarkable, delightful character…A must-read for fans of crime and mystery fiction." —
Associated Press "Forensic archeologist and academic Ruth Galloway is a captivating amateur sleuth—an inspired creation. I identified with her insecurities and struggles, and cheered her on. " —Louise Penny, author of the bestselling Armand Gamache series "These books are must-reads." —Deborah Crombie, author of the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series "[Ruth Galloways] an uncommon, down-to-earth heroine whose acute insight, wry humor, and depth of feeling make her a thoroughly engaging companion." —Erin Hart, Agatha and Anthony Award nominated author of Haunted Ground and Lake of Sorrows "A wonderfully rich mixture of ancient and contemporary, superstition and rationality, with a cast of druids, dreamers and assorted tree-huggers as well as some thoroughly modern villains…A great series." —The Guardian "[An] excellent series…Skillful and engaging." —The Globe and Mail "Griffiths is one of Englands freshest mystery writers. Her novels combine a dramatic sense of place with a complicated mystery, and with each new installment, her character of Ruth Galloway becomes more complex and dynamic." —Curled Up with a Good Book "Griffiths does a lot to humanize forensic archaeology and serves up great dollops of historical details in her Ruth Galloway series…Griffiths is great at conveying the archaeologists passion for finds, forensic or historic." —Booklist, starred review "Griffiths is a true mystery writer." —Ann Arbor News
Review
"What connection could the discovery of a notorious child killers corpse have to a new series of unnerving crimes? Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway thinks that the body shes unearthed near the walls of Norwich Castle may be that of Mother Hook, a woman who took in unwanted children, possibly sold their bodies and was hanged for murder in 1867. . . . Griffiths lovingly develops the complicated, often testy relationships between the continuing characters in the course of a mystery perhaps a shade less exciting than her usual fare."--Kirkus Reviews
"Griffiths bases her title and the books opening scene on an actual ceremony for “the outcast dead” (paupers and prostitutes long ago flung into a mass grave), held every year at Cross Bones Graveyard in London. . . . Griffiths deftly blends the themes of two women accused of child killing. Then she turns up the heat under this seething cauldron of blame and guilt by having two Norwichchildren kidnapped. A deft blend of death in the past, death in the present, and death chillingly close to occurring."--Booklist
Synopsis
Ruth Galloway uncovers the bones of what might be a notorious Victorian child murdress and a baby snatcher known as "The Childminder" threatens modern-day Norfolk in the latest irresistible mystery from Elly Griffiths.
Synopsis
Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway uncovers the bones of a Victorian murderess while a baby snatcher threatens modern-day Norfolk in this exciting new entry in a beloved series.
Every year a ceremony is held at Norwich Castle for the bodies in the paupers graves: the Service for the Outcast Dead. Ruth has a particular interest in this years proceedings. Her recent dig at Norwich Castle turned up the body of the notorious Mother Hook, who was hanged in 1867 for the murder of five children. Now Ruth is the reluctant star of the TV series Women Who Kill, working alongside the programs alluring history expert, Professor Frank Barker.
DCI Harry Nelson is immersed in the case of three children found dead in their home. He is sure that the mother is responsible. Then another child is abducted and a kidnapper dubbed the Childminder claims responsibility. Are there two murderers afoot, or is the Childminder behind all the deaths? The team must race to find out—and the stakes couldnt be any higher when another child goes missing.
About the Author
ELLY GRIFFITH's Ruth Galloway novels — The Crossing Places, The Janus Stone, The House at Sea's End, A Room Full of Bones, A Dying Fall, The Outcast Dead, and The Ghost Fields — have been praised as "gripping" (Louise Penny), "highly atmospheric," (New York Times Book Review), and "must-reads for fans of crime fiction" (Associated Press). She is the winner of the 2010 Mary Higgins Clark Award.