Dr Ruth Galloway lectures at the University of North Norfolk. Ruth lives alone in a remote cottage in a place called Saltmarsh, which is wild and overlooks the North Sea. Ruth is forty, overweight and hides herself under bulky clothes; she shares her home with her two cats Flint and Sparky.
When she is asked by Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson to look at some bones they have uncovered in the Marsh, she dates them from the Iron Age, but DCI Nelson was hoping they were the bones of a five-year -old girl called Lucy who went missing ten years previously. Although disappointed that the bones found are 2000 years old, DCI Nelson takes her into his confidence and shows her the letters he received at the time of the girl’s disappearance.
But the discovery of the bones is of archeological interest and Ruth wastes no time in contacting her old friend Erik Anderssen who she first met at a dig ten years ago, but has returned to Norway. He and his wife Madga, and Peter, who she at on time though she was in love, and her friend Shona had all come together that enchanted summer on the Saltmarsh.
Then a second young girl goes missing and unwittingly because of her expertise Ruth finds herself drawn into the mystery. Soon it becomes clear that she too is now a target of the unknown killer.
This is a very atmospheric book, I was reading it in summer yet I could still feel, the wind the rain and the isolation of the marshes. There are many threads running through this tale, and slowly and skillfully they are pulled together to show a picture, but not the picture one expects.
Elly Griffiths draws you into the world of archaeology. Her characters are real, warts and all, and yet maybe because of that they come to life, I felt that I knew them, and I cannot wait to meet with them again. A compelling book that I highly recommend.
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Lizzie Hayes