38. The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths

#12 Ruth Galloway

listened on Audible

2020
373 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 5/27/2023
Goodreads rating: 4.20
My rating: 3.75

Setting: Contemporary Norfolk, England

My comments: It's been two years, and Ruth and Kate - now nine - live with Frank in Cambridge where both Ruth and Frank teach.  The mystery for this episode, back in Norfolk, is a bit convoluted with a large group of ex-hippie-type people who hang around together totally supporting each other and the man who is arrested for the murder of two women.  At the end of this one Ruth has said no to Frank's marriage proposal and decides to move back to her much-loved cottage in Norfolk.  There will be an opening for the head of archaeology at her previous university, and she and Nelson have gotten closer and closer...so the next book is going to definitely take us in a more positive direction in that respect, I think.  Pretty decent mystery, but a little dragged out.

Goodreads synopsis:  Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway changed her life—until a convicted killer tells her that four of his victims were never found, drawing her back to the place she left behind.

68. The Chalk Pit (#9 Ruth Galloway) by Elly Griffiths

listened on Audible

2017
374 pgs.
Adult mystery series
Finished 11/22/22
Goodreads rating: 4.14
My rating:  3.5
Setting: Contemporary King's Lynn, England

My comments: So many characters it was hard to keep them straight, but an interesting story about the possibility of (homeless) people living underground.  Somehow, though, much that happened was at least one step away from believability....and it ended with a huge question mark.  Michelle is pregnant.  Ruth and Nelson just happened to fall into bed together once again.  Very little build up for that.  I think too much was left for the imagination in this one, but my fullest attention wasn't on the story.  I kept listening when I got into bed and falling asleep....over and over again.  So this may have impacted some of my enjoyment.

Goodreads synopsis:  Boiled human bones have been found in Norwich's web of underground tunnels. When Dr Ruth Galloway discovers they are recent - the boiling not the medieval curiosity she thought - DCI Nelson has a murder enquiry on his hands.

Meanwhile, DS Judy Johnson is investigating the disappearance of a local rough sleeper. The only trace of her is the rumour that she's gone 'underground'. This might be a figure of speech, but with the discovery of the bones and the rumours both Ruth and the police have heard of a vast network of old chalk-mining tunnels under King's Lynn, home to a vast community of rough sleepers, the clues point in only one direction. Local academic Martin Kellerman knows all about the tunnels and their history - but can his assertions of cannibalism and ritual killing possibly be true?

As the weather gets hotter, tensions rise. A local woman goes missing and the police are under attack. Ruth and Nelson must unravel the dark secrets of The Underground and discover just what gruesome secrets lurk at its heart - before it claims another victim.

48. Lost Girls by Angela Marsons

D. I. Kim Stone #3
read on my iPhone
2015, Bookouture
442 pgs.
Finished 8/16/17
Adult Mystery
Goodreads rating:  4.4 - 8048 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary England

First line/s:  "Emily Billingham tried to scream through the hand that covered her mouth."

My comments:  Kim Stone is great...fearless, smart, and snarky. Unlikeable in so many ways, which makes her even more likeable in just as many. She does have a softer side, which is appearing more and more. No matter how long I go between reading about her, I remember more than I usually do with other serial characters. This particular story made me uncomfortable, there was so much hate and violence, but I couldn't wait to get back to it each time I had to stop reading. Edge-0f-your-seat plot and incredible characterization is making Angela Marsons one of my favorite authors to date!

Goodreads synopsis: Two girls go missing. Only one will return.  The couple that offers the highest amount will see their daughter again. The losing couple will not. Make no mistake. One child will die.
          When nine-year-old best friends Charlie and Amy disappear, two families are plunged into a living nightmare. A text message confirms the unthinkable; that the girls are the victims of a terrifying kidnapping.
          And when a second text message pits the two families against each other for the life of their children, the clock starts ticking for D.I. Kim Stone and the squad.
          Seemingly outwitted at every turn, as they uncover a trail of bodies, Stone realizes that these ruthless killers might be the most deadly she has ever faced. And that their chances of bringing the girls home alive, are getting smaller by the hour…
          Untangling a dark web of secrets from the families’ past might hold the key to solving this case. But can Kim stay alive long enough to do so? Or will someone’s child pay the ultimate price?