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Archaeologist and university professor Dr. Ruth Galloway lives a quiet, mostly content life in a remote area called Saltmarsh near Norfolk, England. She decided it was a nice place for her to live when she was on a dig there years before.
When bones of a child are found on the beach, detective Harry Nelson asks Ruth for help. He’s hoping they’re the remains of Lucy Downey, a little girl who went missing 10 years earlier. He’s hoping to bring some closure to the case and to her parents.
The bones turn out to be 2,000 years old, but Ruth gets drawn into Lucy’s case. Nelson also asks her to look at a series of letters sent to the police that talk about Lucy and the investigation. The writer claims responsibility for Lucy’s disappearance, and the letters reference not only archaeology of the area but literature and religion.
When another little girl is taken, and another letter written, the stakes are raised. Ruth isn’t an investigator, but she faces danger as she assists Nelson.
The Crossing Places is the start of a long series of mysteries starring Ruth Galloway, and having read about one of the newest ones, I thought I’d give it a try. Author Elly Griffiths has written a couple of other mystery series, and I’ve read the first in the Harbinder Kaur set, The Stranger Diaries. Both are perfectly fine mysteries. I think I liked that one slightly more with its gothic twist, but neither grabbed me so much that I’m going to read more in either series.
Rated: Mild. Profanity includes around 14 instances of moderate profanity, about 25 uses of mild language, and around 55 instances of the name of Deity in vain. Violence includes two child kidnappings, one child murder, the killing of a pet, and dire situations. Sexual content includes references to affairs and one “off-screen” sex scene.
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