It appears I just did mention them! On the upside, Griffiths, as always, creates a good sense of place in this bleak Norfolk landscape, and her characterisation of Ruth is excellent, even if I find the character progressively more irritating. But I'm afraid overall I think this is one for die-hard fans only - it's getting hosts of 5-stars, so it must be working for some people. But I think this fan has stopped being die-hard — the standard in the series seems to oscillate wildly from brilliant to pretty poor, and in my opinion it's time to draw it to a close and for Griffiths to move on to something different.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Quercus. Aug 24, Kathy rated it it was amazing Shelves: It was the year that I discovered Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway series and got to read the first five Ruth Galloway novels one right after the other. It was a blissful reading spring that year. But, once you're up to speed in a series, there is the yearly wait for the next book, and in a favorite series such as this one by Elly Griffiths, it's a hard wait. Once again, it was worth the wait. The Ghost Fields brought to life those characters I missed so was one of my best reading years ever.
The Ghost Fields brought to life those characters I missed so much. These characters have been developed with skilled care by the author, and it is little wonder that they have become like family to readers of the series. When the remains of a man, later to be identified as those of a member of a prominent family named Blackstock, are unearthed inside an American WWII plane in Norfolk , Dr. Ruth Galloway is called in by DCI Harry Nelson to help discover the chain of events leading to the dead man's death and subsequent placement in the plane, as her first pronouncement is that the victim had been shot in the head and couldn't possibly be the pilot.
Thus begins an investigation into the death of Fred Blackstock, originally thought to have died as a part of an American flight crew in the waters off of Norfolk. The connection to what are called the "ghost fields" in the area is a step back into the days of WWII when there were American airfields established in Norfolk. DCI Nelson has his work cut out for him in dealing with the Blackstock family members who remain at Blackstock Manor, as buried secrets of missing family members and order of inheritance must be sorted.
To further frustrate Nelson is the arrival of a television company that is doing a film on the American ghost fields with the focus being on Fred Blackstock who early in his life relocated to America and ironically ended up dying so near his British ancestral home as a part of the American forces. As well as the professional frustration, there is the added personal distraction with the American academic Frank Barker, who will narrate the film.
Frank and Ruth have a past together, but before that Nelson and Ruth had a past, and there are a lot of emotions running amok. When another present day murder occurs, the urgency to solve the mysteries of the past is full on. Griffiths gives us the intensity that always accompanies her stories, as dark secrets come undone and twists of fates surface. There is never a lull in the flow of action and suspense. The author masterfully lets the reader know that danger is right around the corner, but we are wonderfully surprised with it when it strikes.
The interplay of the characters and the growth of relationships and understandings throughout the series is a thing of beauty to watch. Ruth Galloway is strong and competent, but she is human, and human have their frailties, too. She is one of my absolute favorite fictional characters. This book in the series is rather a crossroads for Ruth's personal life, and readers will be grateful for Ruth confronting some of her feelings for others. Fans of Elly Griffiths and this series are going to be most thrilled with this well-plotted mystery that answers so many questions on so many fronts.
Mar 24, Moonlight Reader rated it really liked it. I think that this was my least favorite of the three I read this weekend - I didn't love the mystery. To talk for a moment about the characters, I'm pretty tired of eternal Nelson - Ruth - Michelle triangle. It is unclear to me what either of those women find to hold on to in their relationships with him. Someone needs to shit or get off the pot. I thought, perhaps, Ruth would do so in her relationship with Frank, who seemed like a pretty good buy, but, I guess not. That triangle has run its course and it time for someone, anyone, all of them, to move on.
Great labyrinthine modern day murder mystery dating back to World War 2. A dead body is found in a buried World War 2 aircraft wreck, but it's not the original pilot This is my second book by Elly Griffiths and my first of the Ruth Galloway series. The character of Ruth works really well.
She's strong, but with the human frailties we all have and prefer to keep hidden. The book captures the beautiful Norfolk coast w Great labyrinthine modern day murder mystery dating back to World War 2. The book captures the beautiful Norfolk coast well with a blend of fictional and real locations sprinkled through the story. Being interested in military history I was also intrigued by the World War 2 element, which has been well researched.
Eagle eyed readers may feel this is somewhat let down by the book cover showing a Spitfire which was rarely flown by the US air force and not an aircraft type mentioned in the story.
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However, I'm being too pedantic and all in all this is a highly readable crime thriller, with rich characterisation. I love this series! Mar 27, Barbara rated it really liked it Shelves: I really like this series, and in this story, we see forensic archeologist Ruth Galloway continue to be non-committal in relationships with men, and doing her best to juggle her university teaching job, being a consultant for the police, and raising her 5-year-old daughter Kate.
The title comes from the name used for abandoned World War II airbases scattered along the Norfolk coast. A local lad from a family of gentry, the Blackstocks, had go I really like this series, and in this story, we see forensic archeologist Ruth Galloway continue to be non-committal in relationships with men, and doing her best to juggle her university teaching job, being a consultant for the police, and raising her 5-year-old daughter Kate. A local lad from a family of gentry, the Blackstocks, had gone to America before the war and came back as an airman.
Ironically, he was reported missing and assumed dead after his plane crashed into the sea. At the opening of the story, a plane with his remains is discovered in a field being excavated for a condo development. Ruth seems to ping pong between men, and despite her descriptions of herself which are of an overweight, dowdy woman in her mid's, she attracts a few.
She probably underestimates both her physical and intellectual attractiveness. Also, her inability to commit may be a plot device as readers continue to wonder what Ruth will do next - in her professional and well as her personal life. Aug 09, Nancy essayist rated it liked it Shelves: I've read all of Griffith's Ruth Galloway mysteries over the last few weeks.
Things I like about the series: However, the last item is also what I've grown to dislike about the series: It's now clear that Griffiths has no desire to resolve their relationship and I'm feeling like I've been played. Is anyone out there writing Ruth and Nelson fan fic? I think I'd rather read that than the next book in the series. Feb 25, Brenda rated it it was amazing. A crashed WWII plane is found during some construction, and there is a body in the cockpit.
This book is also about an aristocratic family who have lived in Norfolk for generations and the secrets in their history. There are surprises in this book! The author consistently shows her characters growing and evolving over Ghost Fields is the name given to the old World War II airfields in Norfolk. The author consistently shows her characters growing and evolving over the course of the series.
I really like where she takes them in this book. The mystery is almost secondary but is solved and explained in the end. Weather plays an important part in the story. It is accurate as the author relates an extreme storm actually occurred in I've enjoyed this series so far and eagerly await the eighth book next month. View all 9 comments. Apr 19, Michele rated it it was amazing Shelves: Ruth Galloway is back in and this time a local developer has unearthed a WWII plane with the pilot still intact.
The only problem is that it's not the original pilot and this corpse has a bullet through his head. Enter Ruth Galloway, forensic archaeologist. This was one of the best Galloway mysteries since the series began Add to that some very interesting developments finally in their personal lives and wow. I hope this movement doesn't flag in the next installmen Ruth Galloway is back in and this time a local developer has unearthed a WWII plane with the pilot still intact.
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I hope this movement doesn't flag in the next installment, which I am going to have a difficult time waiting an entire year for. I do wish Griffiths could churn these books out faster I know, I know Start at the beginning, if you haven't read these books Sep 03, Lynn rated it it was amazing Shelves: The Ruth Galloway series is my favorite series. I look forward to each book that is written and published.
Since many have already given a synopsis of the book, I will say what I like about this series. One can read this as a stand alone book and still be able to follow it. However, I feel the reader would be missing the character development that has happened in the past six books. As a reader, I now care about Ruth and all the other regular characters because of the of the occurrences in past b The Ruth Galloway series is my favorite series. As a reader, I now care about Ruth and all the other regular characters because of the of the occurrences in past books.
As a reader I feel as I know the characters and this makes each new book special. The characters are the real strength of the series. The other strength is the atmospheric location and descriptive weather or climate information. One can see the bleak gray skies and feel the biting winds or rain.
I have liked this from the first book but noticed in this book how well the author sets the scene with the location and weather. Many books drone on and on to describe and set the scene.
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Elly Griffiths does this succinctly and without extra information. This series made me realize that I like atmospheric mysteries. This seems like something I should have known already but perhaps I never thought about it before. I have liked all seven books. The first book is a favorite because I was introduced to Ruth Galloway, an single forty some forensic anthropologist.
The police call her in as a resource person to give information on skeletons they have found. She is also a university professor. I liked her and wanted to know more about her. I loved the isolated area in the salt marsh where she lived. The first book was the most atmospheric for me. It surprised everyone who was found murdered and where the body was.
The mystery revolves around the Blackstocks who live in a bleak manor house. They each have quite different strange or quirky personalities. Then there was the continuation of the lives of all the reoccurring characters. Changes are happening in their lives and the lives are not remaining static. Also, the relationship of Ruth and Nelson intrigues.
One wonders where it will go or if this is how it is going to remain. I love this series but will now have to wait for the next book to be written. I enjoyed it very much. Ruth Galloway is called in to investigate the discovery of a crashed World War II plane buried in a field with the pilot still inside. But Ruth doesn't believe the body has been there since the plane crashed and thinks it has been buried somewhere else and moved to the plane recently.
The plane and the body are discovered at the start of a controversial building development of luxury holiday homes. Ruth's investigation brings her into contact once again with DI Harry Nelson. This is a fascinating Ruth Galloway is called in to investigate the discovery of a crashed World War II plane buried in a field with the pilot still inside. This is a fascinating story and the tension builds right from the start of the book as gradually the connections of past and present are revealed. Ruth is brought into contact again with Frank, the American historian whom she met in a previous book in the series.
Do they have the makings of a relationship? Or is Ruth always going to love the father of her five year old daughter, Kate? It was good to see more of the police characters - Judy who is just about to go on maternity leave; Clough, the same as ever and Tim who transferred from Blackpool having worked on a previous case with Nelson. The characters are well-drawn and likeable. I have a particular soft spot for the occasionally spiky Ruth who is gradually developing more self-confidence and for Cathbad, the Druid who is now the family man living with Judy and their son Michael.
This is an absorbing mystery with plenty of interesting historical and archaeological background to it. It can be read as a standalone novel but is probably best read as part of the series as the web of relationships between the series characters is quite complex. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review purposes. Jul 17, Ellen rated it it was amazing Shelves: The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths.
This is the 7th in the Ruth Galloway mystery series and happily my 7th. The reason I keep reading this wonderful series is not only for the realistic characters and evolving relationships This story in particular is my favorite one to date. One thing I can count on with this author, E. They never fail to confound me completely. This ending I never saw coming. The Edward Spens construction company is busy these days. Busy digging up the grounds in Norfolk making ready for the new building site.
Not everyone is as enthusiastic about this new endeavor as Mr. Then the man hired to do the digging hits against something hard and quite large. He gets out of the digger and encounters something that's beyond any explanation. My highest recommendations for this book as well as this series.
View all 3 comments. Feb 04, Lisa B. This continues to be one of my favorite series.
Jan 22, Barbara added it. Another enjoyable Ruth Galloway mystery, although i am finding them rather predictable. But this is part of the charm. We all want to know if Ruth and Nelson will ever get together, but once we know, it will spoil the story - so please keep us in suspense! Apr 30, Cathy Cole rated it it was amazing. Ruth Galloway series is one of my must-buys, and it just keeps getting better with each new book.
In The Ghost Fields, the weather plays an integral part in the action, first with unrelenting heat and then with endless rain and flooding. Griffiths makes Norfolk come to life, and her choice of title is particularly evocative. This book talks not only of the abandoned air fields of World War II, but other "ghost fields" from centuries past. Ruth is dealing with a Bronze Age burial when the book begins, and there have also been battles fought in the exact same area during the English Civil War. No, Norfolk is not short of ghost fields, and further questions arise once we're introduced to the Blackstock family.
They live in a drafty, ramshackle manor house barely holding its own against the water around it, and the family is just as strange as the ancestral home. A pleasant but distant father. A welcoming mother who's filled with unrealistic schemes to turn the house into a moneymaker. A handsome, charming pig farmer of a son who values his privacy.
An incredibly beautiful daughter who's determined to make her name as an actress.
Ruth And The Ghost by W.R. Gingell on Apple Books
Each Blackstock is odd in his or her own way, and trying to gather them together is like trying to herd cats. When DCI Harry Nelson throws up his hands and growls that there are too many Blackstocks, you just have to smile ruefully and agree. But family is an important theme in The Ghost Fields, and it's not just the Blackstocks. Ruth's daughter Kate is five and now in school. Being a good mother is even more important to Ruth than the work she is so passionate about.
Nelson has issues with both his family at home and his co-workers. He even realizes that he considers Clough and Judy to be family. Griffiths knows how to keep her readers completely involved with her characters. The mystery and the characters rely on each other. There's plenty of family feeling, and contrary to a visiting American's belief that "there's never bad weather in England," there's plenty of that as well. By book's end, we may even have sorted out all those Blackstocks.
The only bad thing about finishing The Ghost Fields is knowing that I have to wait for the next book. This series is superb, and this book is the best so far. If you've never met Ruth Galloway, treat yourself. Start at the beginning with The Crossing Places and read each one. You'll be as hooked as I am. Absolutely love this series, one of my all-time favourites.
Ruth is so real to me, and I think she's fabulous. Should this series come to an end I'll be bereft. So far though, still three books to go, yippee! Deducted half a star because there wasn't a lot of Cathbad.
CharacterCrush So the plot in this book, the 7th in the Ruth Galloway series, was very Shakespearean. Fathers, sons, brothers, a dash of crazy, a scant teaspoon of biblical floods, a dollop of romance and a pinch of marital infidelity. All that was missing was the where-fore-art-thou's. A WWII plane is uncovered in a field with skeletal remains inside, which leads Ruth, Nelson and the team to an eccentric area fam Deducted half a star because there wasn't a lot of Cathbad.
A WWII plane is uncovered in a field with skeletal remains inside, which leads Ruth, Nelson and the team to an eccentric area family with skeletons in the closet. Well, one less skeleton, as it was in the field. Of course, I love getting back to King's Lynn and catching up with the gang.
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I love the characters in this series, and the location is a character in itself. An interesting plot woven around a lot of action, just the right pacing to keep it interesting without getting bogged down. What I didn't like was that the plot took a backseat to all the soap opera-y things going on. Ruth has steadily degenerated from a strong, independent woman to one that simpers after the man she can't have and agonizing about the one that she can.
The storyline with Judy going into labor at the house was a little much. Also didn't care for the whole infidelity storyline. It didn't add to the story and I guess it was only there to set the stage for a future plot. There also wasn't a lot of forensic-y things for Ruth to do. And I pity her poor students, who probably never get their tests back in a reasonable amount of time.
Ruth and the Ghost
Overall, the minuses are just nit-picky things that bothered me but didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. It was still an enjoyable read in one of my favorite series and, of course, leaves me pining for the next. May 22, Roman Clodia rated it it was amazing. The Spaceship Next Door. The Network Series Complete Collection. The Echoes of Sol: The Stone of the Tenth Realm.
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