Pandemic lockdowns have Ruth Galloway feeling isolated from everyone
but a new neighbor--until Nelson comes calling, investigating a
decades-long string of murder-suicides that's looming ever closer, in
USA Today Elly Griffiths' penultimate novel in the beloved series.
Three years after her mother's death, Ruth is finally sorting through
her things when she finds a curious relic: a decades-old photograph of
her own Norfolk cottage--before she lived there--with a peculiar
inscription on the back. Ruth returns to the cot-tage to uncover its
meaning as Norfolk's first cases of Covid-19 make headlines, leaving her
and Kate to shelter in place there. They struggle to stave off isolation
by clapping for frontline workers each evening and befriending a kind
neighbor, Zoe, from a distance.
Meanwhile, Nelson is investigating a series of deaths of women that may
or may not be suicide. When he links a case to an archaeological
dis-covery, he breaks curfew to visit Ruth and enlist her help. But the
further Nelson investigates the deaths, the closer he gets to Ruth's
isolated cot-tage--until Ruth, Zoe, and Kate all go missing, and Nelson
is left scrambling to find them before it's too late.
PRAISE FOR ELLY GRIFFITHS AND THE RUTH GALLOWAY SERIES
Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel
Winner of the Mary Higgins Clark Award
Winner of the CWA Dagger in the Library Award
"Galloway is an everywoman, smart, successful and a little bit unsure of
herself. Readers will look forward to learning more about her." --USA
Today
"Elly Griffiths draws us all the way back to prehistoric times . . .
Highly atmospheric." --New York Times Book Review
"Forensic archeologist and academic Ruth Galloway is a captivating
amateur sleuth--an inspired creation. I identified with her insecurities
and struggles, and cheered her on." --Louise Penny
