Review: The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths

The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths, February 2018, 368 pages, Hardback, Quercus, ISBN: 1784296635

Reviewed by Mark Bailey.
(Read more of Mark's reviews for Euro Crime here.)

THE DARK ANGEL is the tenth in the Ruth Galloway Mystery series by Elly Griffiths – this time Ruth Galloway has a change of scene but even then she still finds a murder to investigate.

Dr Ruth Galloway returns home from Clough and Cassandra's wedding to find a message on her answerphone from an Italian former boyfriend and fellow archaeologist Dr Angelo Morelli, asking for her help. He has discovered a group of bones in a tiny hilltop village near Rome but does not know what to make of them – they might be Roman but there are anomalies. Ruth has not had a proper holiday in years and decides that even a working holiday to Italy is welcome.

Ruth and daughter Kate, together with friend Shona and her son Louis, travel to Castello degli Angeli. Here she finds a baffling Roman mystery and a dark secret involving the War years and the Resistance. She is soon joined by Harry Nelson - concerned about Ruth and Kate when he learns of an earthquake - and Cathbad. But by then the ancient bones have sparked a modern murder and Ruth must discover what secrets there are in Castello degli Angeli that someone would kill to protect.

I am a big fan of the Ruth Galloway novels and though I do feel that they are best enjoyed in sequence, you can probably pick up most of the background needed to enjoy each novel as you go along - probably more so here as there is a lot of scene setting in early chapters. There is the usual excellent characterisation that one expects in Elly Griffiths’ books – believable, flawed but ultimately likeable ongoing main protagonists: Ruth Galloway, Harry Nelson and Judy amongst the adults with Kate coming to the fore. There is the usual twisty plot here that engages the reader and this particular novel benefits, I think, from the change in milieu from East Anglia to Italy.

As I have stated about previous Ruth Galloway mysteries - if you do have a liking for modern cosies with perhaps a little hint of grit then I would strongly recommend this to you.

My major niggle would be that it is a bit convenient for Nelson to turn up, but even more so with Cathbad – yes there is a reason, but them both leaping on a plane at short notice is a bit of a stretch.

Mark Bailey, February 2018

Review: Smoke and Mirrors by Elly Griffiths

Smoke and Mirrors by Elly Griffiths, November 2015, 352 pages, Hardback, Quercus, ISBN: 1784290262

Reviewed by Michelle Peckham.
(Read more of Michelle's reviews for Euro Crime here.)

This is the second book from Elly Griffiths that is set in Brighton, post-Second World War, featuring detective Edgar Stephens. There is a new person on the CID team, a woman called Sergeant Emma Holmes, the subject of a lot of teasing, although Edgar takes a good professional attitude, and knows not to ask Emma to ‘put the kettle on’. The case facing the team at the start is the disappearance of two children; Mark, aged twelve and Anne, aged thirteen. They had been out playing after school, but had failed to come home when it became dark. And then, the children are found dead a few days later, discovered by a dog walker, with a trail of sweets leading to the bodies.

Edgar’s old friend Max Mephisto is also in town, playing in the pantomime 'Aladdin' as Abanazar, the Demon King, a job forced on him due to lack of work. Magicians are losing out to comedians such as Tommy Cooper, and the new development of television.

It turns out that Annie was a budding playwright, and had not only been writing plays, but had organised the other local children into an acting troupe, so that they could perform the plays in the garage of ‘uncle’ Brian. The garage itself had been set out as a mini theatre with red curtains above a small stage at one end. Brian is sure that the children hadn’t just run away, as they’d been looking forward to going to see 'Aladdin' the following week. But even more strangely, Annie’s latest play had been entitled ‘the Stolen Children’. Is there a connection? Or can the children’s death be somehow related to another similar children’s play ‘Hansel and Gretel’ or ‘Babes in the Wood’?

The usual slow but careful investigation follows, with Edgar and Emma both following up on different possible leads, to try to find out why the children went missing and who took them. Is there a link to the theatre and even to the theatrical production that Mephisto is starring in? The introduction of Emma onto the investigating team is a nice touch, and Edgar seems to have an incredibly modern attitude to women, choosing to use her skills and intelligence, rather than giving her more menial tasks to do. A gentle, entertaining story, that makes good use of the backdrops of Brighton and the theatre.

Michelle Peckham, April 2016

Review Roundup: Abbott, Baylis, Belfoure, Griffiths, Indridason, Jordan, Lagercrantz, Lang, Lironi, MacLeod, Pembrey, Spencer, Thomas

Here are thirteen reviews which have been added to the Euro Crime website today, all have appeared on the blog since last time.

You can keep up to date with Euro Crime by following the blog and/or liking the Euro Crime Facebook page and follow on Twitter, @eurocrime.

New Reviews

Terry Halligan reviews Stranger Child by Rachel Abbott;


Lynn Harvey reviews M H Baylis's Black Day at the Bosphorus Cafe;

Amanda Gillies reviews The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure;

Michelle Peckham reviews The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths, set in Norfolk;

Michelle also reviews Arnaldur Indridason's Oblivion tr. Victoria Cribb;


Amanda also reviews Black List by Will Jordan;

Laura Root reviews David Lagercrantz's Fall of Man in Wilmslow tr. George Goulding;


Rich Westwood reviews J A Lang's Chef Maurice and a Spot of Truffle, set in the Cotswolds;

Amanda also reviews Oh Marina Girl by Graham Lironi;

Ewa Sherman reviews Murder in Malmo by Torquil MacLeod;

Ewa also reviews Daniel Pembrey's The Harbour Master (books 1 - 3), set in Amsterdam;

Terry also reviews Sally Spencer's Supping with the Devil

as well as Ugly Bus by Mike Thomas.


Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, along with releases by year.

Review: The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths

The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths, October 2015, 400 pages, Quercus, ISBN: 1848663331

Reviewed by Michelle Peckham.
(Read more of Michelle's reviews for Euro Crime here.)

The abandoned airfields in Norfolk are apparently known as ‘the Ghost Fields’ and these provide the backdrop to the latest outing from Elly Griffiths. As the book begins, Ruth Galloway, archaeologist and sometime consultant to the local police force, is on a ‘dig’ with a large group of students, on the hunt for Roman remains, while being irritated by her boss Phil. Several fields away, a body is discovered inside an old Second World War plane, buried in a field that is part of Devil’s Hollow, which is being prepared for a new housing development. And so, at the start of this, the seventh book in the series, Ruth is called in by DCI Harry Nelson to give her opinion. Immediately, she spots a couple of curious things, such as the fact that the soil has only recently been disturbed and the preservation of the body isn’t consistent with the chalky soil, and then she discovers the bullet hole in the corpse’s forehead, and it’s clear this is not just the body of a pilot trapped in his plane after a crash that has gone undiscovered, but a murder. But, who put the body there, and why? And, who is the murdered man?

A slow investigation ensues, as the first task is to identify the body, who turns out to be someone called Frederick J. Blackstock, of the posh family Blackstocks. A family who once seemed to own much in the local area, and still live in Blackstock Hall, but are clearly down on their luck. However, Frederick had supposedly emigrated to America in the thirties, and while he had been known to be a pilot in the war, the family had been told that his plane went down in the sea, with no survivors. He was one of three brothers. Lewis (the oldest) had survived the war, but disappeared during the 1950s, and as Frederick had already died, the third brother George (the youngest) inherited the Hall. So, how could the body of a man who had apparently died in the war, suddenly turn up in the cockpit of a plane with a bullet hole in his head? And, as this is clearly an old murder, where has his body been all these years?

The find is exciting enough to attract the media, and in particular an old acquaintance of Ruth’s, a TV presenter with whom she appeared on a TV show before (Women who Kill), and with whom she has a sort of relationship (Frank Barker). This leads to further complications in Ruth’s private life, as she has a young daughter who was fathered by Nelson, but they do not live together or even have a romantic relationship, as Nelson does not want to leave his wife Michelle. Cue romantic agonizing by Ruth as she tries to decide if Frank is still interested in her or not, and even if he was, what would she do anyway. Meanwhile, even Nelson’s private life is becoming somewhat complicated, as Michelle seems to be up to something behind his unsuspecting back.

The investigation into Frederick’s death is not a major priority although Nelson does gradually push ahead with it. While Nelson wishes he was investigating a standard current day murder, Ruth loves to engage with the layers of history beneath their feet. Eventually, it’s down to Ruth’s insatiable curiosity that a few clues start to be uncovered that begin to lead to the final denouement. Some interesting history about the Second World War, and the American airbases in Norfolk are weaved into the plot. But in the end, it is all going to boil down to old family secrets waiting to be discovered. A gentle, meandering plot with a tense ending, and enjoyable as always.

Michelle Peckham, October 2015

Review Roundup: Griffiths, Law, Lipska, Sansom, Wanner, Watson

Here are six reviews which have been added to the Euro Crime website today, all have appeared on the blog since last time*.

*I am trialling a new approach for the next few weeks in that all reviews will appear on the blog rather than being separate under the Euro Crime website. I feel this will give the reviews more exposure and make them more findable in a search engine. The reviews will appear daily ie Monday to Friday, with roundups on Sundays. This week has been British authors, next week will be Translated authors, the week after that Scottish authors and the week after that, is again Translated authors.

I'd be interested in any comments about this new approach. I think I'm the only one that worries about the distinction between blog and website! The blog is free and I currently pay to have the website. As it stands, if Euro Crime were to cease then the website would disappear after a couple of years but the blog might  remain indefinitely.

You can keep up to date with Euro Crime by following the blog and/or liking the Euro Crime Facebook page and follow on Twitter, @eurocrime.

New Reviews

Michelle Peckham reviews Elly Griffiths's The Zig Zag Girl, the first in a new series set in post-war Brighton;


Ewa Sherman reviews J S Law's debut Tenacity set in a submarine;

Rich Westwood reviews Anya Lipska's A Devil Under the Skin, which is the third in the Kizska and Kershaw series;


Susan White reviews Lamentation by C J Sansom;

Amanda Gillies reviews Len Wanner's Tartan Noir: the Definitive Guide to Scottish Crime Fiction


and Michelle also reviews S J Watson's Second Life.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, along with releases by year.

Review: The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffths

The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths, July 2015, 336 pages, Quercus, ISBN: 178429196X

Reviewed by Michelle Peckham.
(Read more of Michelle's reviews for Euro Crime here.)

In this first in a new series from Elly Griffiths, the setting is Brighton shortly after the war, and starts with the discovery of a murdered girl, cut up into three parts as it she had been in a magician’s trick cabinet and the trick had gone wrong. The detective investigating the case, DI Edgar Stephens, should know because he was once recruited to join a group of magicians in a special unit known as the Magic Men, during the war. The Magic Men were set the task of using their knowledge of trickery to try to deceive the enemy. While the unit didn’t last long, Edgar had made a few magician friends, and he knew he could contact one of them, Max, to find out his thoughts on the murdered girl. And fortunately, Max was working in a theatre not too far away.

The plot thickens when the murdered girl is finally identified, and it turns out that she had links with the magicians in the Magic Men. Slowly, more murders follow, each somehow linked to or involving other members of the group. Is the murderer specifically targeting former members of the group, and if so, why?

This is a gentle, entertaining read, with a lovely flavour of post-war Britain, the age of gentleman but with hints of the first few changes to come as old ways gradually fall away. Edgar is the perfect gentleman Detective Inspector, and Max Mephisto is a clever, sophisticated and good looking magician, still clinging to his life as a performing magician in the theatre, despite the signs that shows of this sort are slowly declining in popularity. And, there is the intriguing character of Ruby, who applies to be Max’s assistant, but really wants to be a magician. Who is she, what is her connection to events, and why does she apparently disappear into thin air. Slowly all is revealed in this wonderful mixture of magic, and detection rolled into one.

Michelle Peckham, July 2015

New Reviews: Brett, Camilleri, Connor, Griffiths, James, Robertson, Russell, Webster, Zeh

Here are nine reviews which have been added to the Euro Crime website today, four have appeared on the blog over the last couple of weeks and five are completely new.

Plus a new competition - win an iBook of Invisible by Christine Poulson (no geographical restrictions).


NB. You can keep up to date with Euro Crime by following the blog and/or liking the Euro Crime Facebook page.

New Reviews

Mark Bailey reviews the new Charles Paris mystery from Simon Brett, The Cinderella Killer;

I review the Judges anthology, which contains stories by Andrea Camilleri, Carlo Lucarelli and Giancarlo De Cataldo (tr. Joseph Farrell, Alan Thawley and Eileen Horne);

Amanda Gillies reviews The Caravaggio Conspiracy by Alex Connor;

Michelle Peckham reviews the latest in Elly Griffiths's Norfolk-based Ruth Galloway series, The Outcast Dead;

Geoff Jones reviews Want You Dead, the tenth in Peter James's Roy Grace series;

Terry Halligan reviews Craig Robertson's The Last Refuge, set in the Faroe Islands;

Amanda also reviews Fatal Act by Leigh Russell, the latest in her DI Geraldine Steel series;

Lynn Harvey reviews Jason Webster's Blood Med, set in Valencia

and Laura Root reviews Juli Zeh's Decompression tr. John Cullen which is set in Lanzarote.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here along with releases by year.

Favourite Discoveries 2013 (4)

Today's instalment of favourite discoveries of 2013 comes from reviewer Geoff Jones, who has two authors he wants to mention.

Geoff Jones' Favourite Discoveries of 2013

Michael Russell has written two books and it is the second one that I’ve read, THE CITY OF STRANGERS. Set in Ireland and New York just before the commencement of the Second World War. Very well-written, atmospheric, well researched including some real people such as a Catholic priest who preached against America joining the war. The hero is a Garda sergeant, Stefan Gillespie, who on an assignment to bring a murder suspect back to Ireland from America, gets involved in helping a beautiful Irish woman and her sister. I haven’t yet read the author's first novel THE CITY OF STRANGERS but will remedy that soon. He is married and living in West Wicklow, Ireland. Previous career highlights include writing scripts for Midsummer Murders and Emmerdale.

Read Geoff's whole review of THE CITY OF STRANGERS.

Elly Griffiths lives in Brighton with her husband, children and two cats; she was born in London but sets her books in the wild desolate Norfolk countryside. Her husband trained to be an Archaeologist and this lead her to writing books featuring the Ruth Galloway character. I initially picked the book for my Lincolnshire village book group. I wasn’t around when it was reviewed but as it seemed to be well received I eventually read THE CROSSING PLACES - a good and interesting read.

She has written a further five Ruth Galloway books and I’ve downloaded THE JANUS STONE to read next. She brings alive the haunting Norfolk coastline. 

Elly Griffiths's Euro Crime bibliography with reviews is here.

The House at Sea's End

The House at Sea's End is the third book in Elly Griffiths's series set in North Norfolk. I've not read it yet but every time I visit North Norfolk and in particular the RSPB reserve at Titchwell I'm reminded of it:

Maxine's review of The House at Sea's End

New Reviews: Eastland, Griffiths, Higashino, Jameson, Persson, Taylor

Six new reviews have been added to Euro Crime today:

Terry Halligan reviews Sam Eastland's The Red Moth, the fourth in the Inspector Pekkala series, and set in 1941;

Michellle Peckham reviews Elly Griffiths's Dying Fall, the fifth in the Ruth Galloway series, usually set in Norfolk but this time the setting is in the North-West

I review Keigo Higashino's Salvation of a Saint, tr. Alexander O Smith with Elye J Alexander, the second novel to feature Tokyo Detective Kusanagi and his friend Yukawa;

Lynn Harvey reviews Hanna Jameson's debut, Something You Are;

Norman Price reviews Leif GW Persson's Linda, as in the Linda Murder, tr. Neil Smith the first in a new series featuring (the non-pc) Evert Backstrom

and Sarah Hilary reviews Andrew Taylor's The Scent of Death set in New York just after the War of Independence.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here along with releases by year.

Free Short Story - Ruth's first Christmas Tree (Elly Griffiths)

A seasonal short story, Ruth's first Christmas Tree, by [Euro Crime favourite] Elly Griffiths is available for free.

Ruth's first Christmas Tree is available on US Amazon and also as a pdf via when you sign up at the Quercus website.

It is three days before Christmas and a bitter wind is blowing across Norfolk.

Until her daughter was born, forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway didn’t do Christmas, but now that Kate is a year old, she wants it to be special.

She must get a tree, shop for food, clean the house, buy presents, including one for her new boyfriend—who she isn’t even sure is her boyfriend—and remember to get the turkey out of the freezer.

But time is rushing by and the best-laid plans don’t always work out …

New Reviews: Cotterill, Crouch, Griffiths, Johnstone, MacBride, Marston, Nykanen, O'Brien, Staincliffe & new Competition

New month, new competition. During May (closes 31st) you can enter a competition to win a copy of Tessa Harris's The Anatomist's Apprentice. The competition is open to UK residents. Answer the question and fill in the form here.

Here are this week's reviews of which there are 9 again. There are also more updates to the new releases pages (see below):

Michelle Peckham reviews the delightfully named Grandad, There's a Head on the Beach by Colin Cotterill, the second in the Jimm Juree series set in present-day Thailand;

Susan White reviews last month's competition prize, Every Vow You Break by Julia Crouch set in New York state;

Lizzie Hayes reviews the paperback release of Elly Griffith's A Room Full of Bones the fourth in this North-Norfolk set series;

Amanda Gillies may have found her top read of 2012 in Doug Johnstone's Hit & Run, set in Edinburgh;

Staying in Scotland, Lynn Harvey reviews Stuart MacBride's standalone, Birthdays for the Dead;

Down in Devon, Terry Halligan reviews Edward Marston's The Stationmaster's Farewell where railway detective Robert Colbeck is sent to Exeter;

Moving to Finland, Maxine Clarke reviews Harri Nykanen's Nights of Awe, tr. Kristian London the first in the Ariel Kafka series, set in Helsinki;

Terry also reviews Martin O'Brien's The Dying Minutes the seventh in the Jacquot series set in the South of France

and Maxine also reviews Cath Staincliffe's Split Second.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here along with releases by year. Titles by Tony Black, Bernadette Calonego, Alexander Campion, Rebecca Cantrell, Donato Carrisi, Karen Charlton, Alys Clare, Lesley Cookman, A J Cross, Victor del Arbol, Thomas Glavinic, J M Gregson, Wolf Haas, Max Kinnings, Priscilla Masters, Carol McCleary, Catriona McPherson, Barbara Nadel, Ann Purser, Pauline Rowson, Gerald Seymour, Linda Stratmann, Stefan Tegenfalk, Will Thomas, Kerry Tombs, Morley Torgov, Peter Tremayne, Neil White and Edward Wilson have been added to these pages this week.

New Reviews: Becker, Bruce, Dahl, Ferris, Griffiths, Tallis & Reviewers' Top 5s

As well as 6 new reviews, I have uploaded the Euro Crime reviewers' favourite reads of 2011, by reviewer. Tomorrow I will announce the favourite book, favourite author and favourite translator of 2011 (based on the aforementioned submissions!).

The competition's still open: win Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley (no geographical restrictions).

Here are this week's reviews:

Amanda Gillies reviews the latest from James Becker, The Nosferatu Scroll (or The Vampires of Venice for Dr Who fans...?) which continues the high standard of the earlier books;

Alison Bruce's, third DC Goodhew book, The Calling is listed in Susan White's 5 favourite reads of 2011;

Laura Root reviews K O Dahl's Lethal Investments, tr. Don Bartlett which is the first in the Oslo-based Gunnarstranda and Frohlich series;

Terry Halligan reviews Gordon Ferris's post World War II set Truth Dare Kill the first in the Danny McRae series;

Maxine Clarke reviews the fourth and latest in the increasingly popular Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths: A Room Full of Bones set in North Norfolk

and Lynn Harvey reviews Frank Tallis's Death and the Maiden the sixth in this historical series set in Vienna, which is now available in paperback.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here and new titles by Patti Battison, Rhys Bowen, Gyles Brandreth, C S Challinor, Cassandra Clark, Rory Clements, Julie Corbin, Peter James, Cottrell Howard Cunnell, Maurizio De Giovanni, Diego De Silva, Mark Douglas-Home, Nicci French, Alex Grecian, J M Gregson, Patricia Hall, C S Harris, Elizabeth Haynes, Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson, Roderic Jeffries, Laurie R King, Bernard Knight, Peter Lovesey, Faith Martin, Susan Moody, Amy Myers, Chris Nickson, Chris Pavone, Caro Peacock, Anne Perry, Oliver Potzsch, Jutta Profijt, Mary Reed and Eric Mayer, Linda Regan, Eileen Robertson, Rosemary Rowe, Pauline Rowson, Kate Sedley, Frank Smith, James Thompson, Rebecca Tope, Louise Welsh, Andrew Williams and Simon Wood have been added to these pages this week.

The House at Sea's End - Cover Opinions

This week's selection for "cover opinions" is the US, UK and Canadian covers for Elly Griffiths's The House at Sea's End.

This time round the covers are quite similar but what are your thoughts on the US (LHS), UK (RHS) and Canadian (below) covers? Which would entice you most to pick the book up if you were not familiar with the books of Elly Griffiths?

If you have read it, how well do the covers match the story?

Read the Euro Crime review by Maxine Clarke of The House at Sea's End.

Unfortunately the US edition is not out until January 2012.

New Reviews: Dawson, Griffiths, Lackberg, MacBride, Pastor, Sigurdardottir & a New Competition

One new competition (so far) for January and it is open to UK residents. It closes on 31st January:
Win Assassins of Athens by Jeffrey Siger

Here are this week's reviews:

Terry Halligan reviews Adrian Dawson's Codex which took him a bit of getting into it, but worth it;

Maxine Clarke reviews the third in this increasingly popular series by Elly Griffiths, set in North Norfolk: The House at Sea's End;

I recently reviewed the audio book of Camilla Lackberg's The Stonecutter, tr. Steven T Murray;

Pat Austin reviews the new Stuart MacBride DS Logan McRae outing - Shatter the Bones writing that it's "definitely not for the faint-hearted, this one";

Norman Price reviews Lumen by Ben Pastor and writes that is is an example of "how the crime fiction novel can be used to address historical, religious, and moral questions" (and it's published by Bitter Lemon Press - say no more...)

and also over the Christmas break I reviewed Yrsa Sigurdardottir's My Soul to Take, tr. Bernard Scudder and Anna Yates also on the blog.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive and forthcoming titles can be found by author or date, here.

New Reviews: Cooper, Cottam, Dahl, Duns, Griffiths, Hayder, Kitson, Lewis, Seymour

Here are this week's reviews, a bumper bundle of 9:

Michelle Peckham reviews Glenn Cooper's The Tenth Chamber set in France and revolving around a secret method of longevity;

Amanda Gillies reviews F G Cottam's ghostly The Magdalena Curse;

Maxine Clarke reviews The Man in the Window by K O Dahl, tr. Don Bartlett (we're anticipating a new Dahl in translation in 2011);

Laura Root reviews Jeremy Duns's 1960s set spy thriller Free Country;

Rik Shepherd reviews the paperback edition of Elly Griffiths's The Janus Stone;

Amanda Brown reviews the paperback edition of Mo Hayder's Ritual;

Paul Blackburn reviews Minds that Hate by Bill Kitson, the latest in his DI Mike Nash series;

Geoff Jones reviews Kevin Lewis's Scent of a Killer which is the second outing for DI Stacey Collins;

and Terry Halligan reviews EV Seymour's latest Paul Tallis thriller: Land of Ghosts in which he's sent to Russia.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive and forthcoming titles can be found by author or date, here.

New Reviews: Eriksson, Griffiths, Napier

I apologise for the fact that for the second week running there's a reduced number of reviews. Unfortunately my back has seized up, for no reason I can remember, and I keep having to lie on the floor. (This does mean I've caught up with CSI: Vegas). Sitting, standing and walking are rather uncomfortable...

Back permitting, there should be a new competition available soon.

Anyway, here are this week's new reviews:

Maxine Clarke reviews The Cruel Stars of the Night by Kjell Eriksson, tr. Ebba Segerberg, the second Ann Lindell book to be translated but not yet published in the UK;

Pat Austin reviews The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths calling it "a real tour-de-force"

and Amanda Gillies reviews Will Napier's Without Warning, set in the US.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive and forthcoming titles can be found here.

The Crossing Places - Euro Crime review quote

Elly Griffiths's The Crossing Places has recently come out in paperback and I was delighted to spot a quote from a Euro Crime review inside a library copy:


The whole review, written by Pat Austin, can be read here.
(NB. At the time the review was posted it was not widely known that the author also writes as Domenica de Rosa.)

The sequel, The Janus Stone, will be published in February 2010. here's the synopsis:
Ruth Galloway is called in to investigate when builders, demolishing a large old house in Norwich to make way for a housing development, uncover the bones of a child beneath a doorway - minus the skull. Is it some ritual sacrifice or just plain straightforward murder? DCI Harry Nelson would like to find out - and fast. It turns out the house was once a children's home. Nelson traces the Catholic priest who used to run the home. Father Hennessey tells him that two children did go missing from the home forty years before - a boy and a girl. They were never found. When carbon dating proves that the child's bones predate the home and relate to a time when the house was privately owned, Ruth is drawn ever more deeply into the case. But as spring turns into summer it becomes clear that someone is trying very hard to put her off the scent by frightening her half to death...

New Reviews: Akunin, Cain, Corley, Griffiths, Hague, Hinchcliffe

This month's competition is open to all. Win a copy of The Black Monastery by Stav Sherez.

The following reviews have been added to the review archive over on the main Euro Crime website:

New Reviews:

Fiona Walker highly recommends the Erast Fandorin series by Boris Akunin, including the latest one, The Coronation;

Terry Halligan reviews the second in the 'Accident Man' series by Tom Cain, The Survivor, which is now available in paperback;

Paul Blackburn looks at Elizabeth Corley's newest police procedural, Innocent Blood

Pat Austin is enthusiastic about Elly Griffiths's atmospheric debut The Crossing Places;

Michelle Peckham reviews Steven Hague's debut Justice for All which is the beginning of a series set in America

and Maxine Clarke reviews the psychological thriller Out of a Clear Sky by Sally Hinchcliffe.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive and forthcoming titles can be found here.

Publishing Deals - Margie Orford, Elly Griffiths

From Publishing News:

Isobel Dixon of Blake Friedmann has sold a three-book thriller series by Cape Town-based crime novelist Margie Orford to Ravi Mirchandani at Atlantic. London-born and raised in Namibia and South Africa, Orford was detained during the State of Emergency in 1985 and took her final Uni exams in prison. She studied under J M Coetzee and worked in publishing in Namibia, including the African Publishers Network. The series features journalist and part-time police profiler Dr Clare Hart. The first title, Like Clockwork, is already published in Germany with a 100,000 first print.

and

Janklow & Nesbit UK was kept busy in the run-up to LBF with a series of auctions for a bright new talent, Elly Griffiths, whose debut The Crossing Places introduces forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway and DCI Harry Nelson. UK rights have been snapped up by Jane Wood at Quercus, who is charmed by the author's “fresh and engaging writing; her quirky heroine; her wild East Anglian setting; her strong sense of history of how the past informs the present”. Dutch rights went to De Fontein, Norwegian were pre-empted by Aschehoug in sales by Rebecca Folland in London. J&N New York is handling US rights.

I'm looking forward to both these new series, especially the books set in my native (wild?) East Anglia.