The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries 4 - A Room Full of Bones

The appeal of the Ruth Galloway books by Elly Griffiths are: an unconventional heroine surrounded by quirky characters such as Cathbad the Druid; the archaeological subject matter and the mystery plot.

In this book the author has had to deal with what would happen once the paternity of Ruth's daughter was discovered. This side of the book is unexpected but satisfying. Where the book falls down is in the plotting of the mystery and the archaeological component.

This time Ruth is caught up in the politics of cultural heritage, involved in a collection of Aboriginal artefacts and human remains in a local museum. For an archaeologist she seems pretty clueless about the longstanding debate over the return of cultural artefacts - it's as if she has never encountered it. Also the Aboriginal mythology which forms a main part of the 'mystery' is rather clumsily treated with references to tradition and magic that seem to have been drawn from a sketchy understanding and then manipulated to give the plot some zing.

I love the characters Griffiths has created. They are like real people, not the normal "removed from reality" folks that populate so much fiction. Great, unexpected turns in the plot. Love her sense of humor.

Ruth Galloway, one of my all time favorite characters in a mystery. Combining a story line around Forensic Archaelogy & mystery, is a stroke of genius. The characters have evolved rather nicely. Wasn't sure about the relationship between Ruth & DCI Nelson, but somehow she found a way to make it palatable. Can't wait for her next one!!

I loved the first 3 Ruth Galloway Mysteries and was anticipating another enjoyable jaunt with Room full of Bones. Regrettably this mystery seems disjointed and rather slapped together. I have always enjoyed the interactions between Ruth and Harry in the previous books. Unfortunately this offering provides none of that clever chemistry. The author decribes what is happening with the characters but there is very little interaction. The mysteries in the story are descrribed. You can guess the resolutions pretty easily. Then the 2 disjointed themes are flimsily cobbled together at the end Save your money.

I loved the other books in this series. This one was, in my opinion, poorly edited. And, it was fairly obvious to me from the beginning how the mystery would be solved. The butler did not do it and neither did the author this time around.

Elly Griffiths has done it again. Her life-like protagonist Ruth Galloway and her friends have had another exciting adventure, and left me wanting more. I already have the next installment on pre-order and I can't wait.

Although a good yarn this Ruth Galloway mystery smacks of political correctness as an indigenous Australian seeks to repatriate bones removed to a Norfolk museum in the nineteenth century. So far so good but Griffiths surrenders to the temptation to include as well as Aboriginal mysticism more Druidism (present in the other novels) and mysterious illnesses and detailed nightmares.This takes somewhat from the overall impact of the story .

Still the novel is worth reading because it explores further the relationships between characters who have appeared in the other Ruth Galloway mysteries.

I enjoy Ruth Galloway books very much. They are fun to read and I always try to solve the mystery and sometimes I get parts right. There is always enough of a twist that I can completely figure it out. I like that!

I enjoyed the first three books in this series. This one seemed awkward and disorganized. Ruth's persona was vague and none of the characters was very interesting. I found myself mentally tapping my foot, anxious for the book to end. I hope the next one gets back on track.

I have loved every one of the Ruth Galloway books, but this often left me cringing. Using 'Aborigine' as an adjective has not been done for thirty or more years and yet some dimwitted editor didn't check. It smacks of colonialism. Add to that the fact that Bob offers the didgeridoo to a woman to try (an absolute no no in nearly all Aboriginal groups) and I stopped taking this seriously. As for the smoking ceremony, don't start me, or Mother Earth, or any of the other very British/Druidical ideas which I have enjoyed in Griffiths' other novels. Seriously, I'm so disappointed at the embarrassingly frequent cultural assumptions and errors made here. Next time have your work double checked by an editor with an understanding of what's cringeworthy and what will work. You didn't even spell Oodgeroo Noonuccal correctly. Would your editor have misspelled Keats?

ENJOYED THE STORY LINE. LIKED THE CHARACTERS. YOUR NOT LIABLE TO FIND A REVIEW AS INDEPTH AS THIS ONE BUT THE IDIOT BOX IS WARNING ME THAT I'M YET TO MEET THE 20 WORD REQUIREMENT! MUST NEVER LIMIT YOUR COMMENT TO "I LIKED IT " . READ ALL OF THE RUTH GALLOWAY MYSTERIES! WHY ? BECAUSE " I LIKED THEM". IF I WERE A TRUE LITERARY CRITIC I'D MENTION ELLY'S BRILLANT PUNCTUATION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. GOT MY 20+ .READ'EM IF YOU LIKE!

These books have interesting characters and settings. The lead protagonist, however, seems to be channeling an uncritical thinker which used to be unusual in an academic. On the one hand she is positive Christianity is old fashioned and without value, on the other she fairly vibrates with concern that aboriginal beliefs are manifesting near at hand. I can put up with artists scurrying to telegraph their left wing bona fides except when it's on my dime. I would be embarrassed to recommend this series to anyone I care about.

After having read a few of the Ruth Galloway mysteries, the novelty is starting to wear off. It all feels a bit samey, the plot was predictable and a bit boring. Not sure whether I'll get the next one in line...

I thought this book sounded interesting,..a good beach read, however once I started reading, I felt like I had missed the first 50 pages. You know, like you walked into the room just as the punch line to a joke was delivered. Then I did some checking and found that this is one of a SERIES of books. Not wanting to go back and buy the series at this time, I immediately stopped reading and went on to something else. Sorry, I'm just a tad obsessive about not reading books out of series order. I apparently should have paid more attention before I clicked "buy" or the info should have been more forthcoming. Maybe if I buy the rest of the series one day, I can rate this book on what I read and not on what I didn't read.

This is the fourth in the series featuring Ruth Galloway, forensic archaeologist -- a bone specialist -- working in Norfolk and living in near isolation out on the edge of the Saltmarsh. She’s become a regular consultant for the cops, in the person of DCI Harry Nelson -- by whom she also managed to get pregnant, but he’s married so she’s now also a single mother, something that doesn’t really come naturally to her.

The case this time involves the uncovered coffin of a 14th-century bishop who is the ancestor of a local bigwig and minor aristocrat Danforth Smith, who runs a training stable for race horses. But first the curator of the little museum where the coffin was going to be ceremonially opened dies suddenly. Then Smith dies, also suddenly. That’s too many coincidences and Nelson starts poking into things.

At the same time, Ruth and Harry both get caught up in the activities of a group seeking the repatriation of Australian Aboriginal bones and artifacts. That’s an admirable goal (though Smith, whose grandfather brought them back to England, considers the body parts his personal property), but curses are being thrown around and Nelson has to wonder if a more direct mode of attack has replaced the letter-writing campaign.

This is a first-rate series, with original plots and credible characters, combining police procedural detail with personal issues among the players.

This is the 4th book in the Ruth Galloway series. Ruth has been asked to attend the opening of a coffin of a medieval bishop. This is supposed to be a media event, but the discovery of the body of the curator by Ruth delays the opening to a more private gathering. Harry Nelson is called in to investigate the murder and views the opening of the coffin. Ruth misses the initial opening due to a phone call, but is shocked to discover that the bones point to an intriguing possibility about the bishop. The case gets more complicated when the museum’s owner, present at the opening, is found dead, and DCI Harry Nelson also falls ill. Ruth is torn between Harry and worries of passing on the mysterious ailment to her daughter. She finds that the aboriginal bones collected by the museum founder’s ancestors are a point of controversy, one her new neighbor, along with Cathbad are protesting. The family’s horse racing/training business may also play a role in the mystery. Without Nelson’s help, she must figure out the truth behind the “curse” and who might be behind the deaths before it is too late for Harry with help from some of the other investigators on the police force.

In my earlier reviews, I forgot to mention Cathbad. He is both a delightful and mysterious man, and I was delighted to see him back in this novel. Along with Max, Harry, Michelle and the rest. When Ruth goes to the local museum to witness the opening of a coffin purported to belong the a 15th century bishop, she discovers the near dead body of the curator. Meanwhile, Harry and his team - Clough, Judy and the others are investigating a drug smuggling ring. When Harry shows up at the museum, Ruth and his relationship is somewhat strained due to the fact that Harry's wife, Michelle, has forbidden Harry to see Ruth or his daughter, Kate, ever again. We meet a new character, Bob, who is an Australian aborigine who is lobbying for his ancestors bones to be repatriated. They now sit in the basement of the aforementioned museum. He is a friend of Cathbad's and is even more mysterious than Cathbad himself. Ms. Griffiths pulls it all together, including reuniting Kate, Ruth and Harry. Ruth sees a potential relationship with an old friend, Max. And Harry's mysterious illness turns out to be credible with a little help from Cathbad.

How is the excavation of a medieval bishop, a protest demanding the return of Aborigine skeletons, and a growing drug problem all connected. All three are brought together in this great mystery that blends events that are that could not be further apart. Ruth continues her struggles as a single mother. juggling the many parts of her life, and DCI Nelson the father of Ruth's daughter has been forbidden from having any contact with her by his wife. Nelson desperate to save his marriage agrees and the close relationship he once had with Ruth is now strictly professional, though he yearns to connect with his new daughter. The cast of Nelson's squad continues to expand as the spotlight really shines on them as they investigate a growing drug problem that is flooding the region.

It is not just the past and present that are blended together but folklore and rationality as well, Ruth the forensic archeologist is dear friends with Cathbad a self proclaimed druid, who is always there when he is needed and often finds himself in trouble with the local police force. He also has quite possible some of the greatest lines in the series, he is not the comedy relief, rather he is a vital friend to Ruth and several other characters, and something more to one person in particular. It is nice to see that his relationship with a character from the previous book is expanded, and of course the obvious suspect is not real culprit. The red herrings are always appreciated!

Ruth, is much closer to the case then she finds comfortable after she discovers the local museum curator dead and he is not the only victim. Is it the curse of an aborigine shaman causing the deaths, or is it the curse of a medieval bishop who threatened death to whomever disturbed his grave. The modern day descendants of the bishop have arranged for the body to be interned at the museum where they also have a large collection of Aboriginal skeletons are kept in a dingy basement. The results of a previous English lord;s expedition to Australia. Ruth is further involved when the family patriarch requests her to authenticate the skeletons, and her new neighbor on the salt marsh is somehow connected to it all. As the the mysteries are unraveled DCI Nelson falls deathly ill from an unknown illness and with his survival in doubt Ruth is forced to make a decision. That will have consequences.

Finishing a book of this gripping series that features Ruth Galloway is always a little bit sad.
It's like leaving friends or family until further notice...

Personally, I like the main character very much.
She is e anthropo-patologist without the glamour of a Kathy Reich's "Bones" or a "Scarpetta" by Patricia Cornwell - she, simply, is "herself" without additionals.
A woman - now a "Single-Mother", raising her daughter alone, like many of us...
But also a scientist of pure blood.

And here we come to the theme of the book - pure blood.

The owner of a stable of racing horses, a "pure blue blood" himself, is about to open a coffin with the remains of an very distant ancestor, one "Bishop Augustine" in his family's own Museum.
But before this can happen, our Ruth, invited for the ceremony, discovers the body of the Museum's curator beneath that very coffin...
Cause of death? Unknown...
Later on, Ruth - as a main witness - encouters DI Nelson, also know to the reader of the 3 former books The Crossing Places: A Case for Ruth Galloway, The Janus Stone and The House at Sea's End again. Without spoiling I cannot go into the personal situation of our heroine.

So I limit myself to the facts.
An investigation about the smuggling of hard drugs into the UK crosses path with menacing letters to the late curator, and also to the blue-blooded Lord.

Then, at the opening of the bishop's coffin, there will be a very big surprise for all the guests...
A new neighbor will move into the house next to Ruth, recommended by Cathbad the Druid...
And a whole different sight of the events will come to our main protagonists when a cellar full of bones and sculls is to be evaluated by Ruth.
She will be overwhelmed by horror and pity for the poor creatures and their earthly remains, former Aboriginees from Australia, hunted, killed.
"Exported" by their killers into their private museums or homes.

But now there is a movement, an organization for re-patriate such "trophies".
Is the culprit inside this very group?

There are many questions and more twists in this story that I am able to descrive without spoiling.
So let it be...

Who is interested in a very good, twisted crime story without big blood spilling will be delighted by the way the secrets are uncovered lay by lay.

So, I can only recommend this mystery to those who like their "killings" subtle.

Read and enjoy, and learn.

In the past five months, I've discovered and read all four of the Ruth Galloway forensic archeologist mysteries. I was very pleased with the first one (The Crossing Places), the second was too similar to the first (The Janus Stone), in the third (The House at Sea's End) Ruth's domestic and romantic complications overshadowed an uninspired mystery. I approached A Room Full of Bones ready to give up on author Elly Griffiths if this wasn't a good solid murder mystery.

Elly Griffiths delivered. A Room Full of Bones featured a creepy Victorian natural history museum full of stuffed animal exhibits and two dead bodies -- the remains of a 14th century bishop and the 21st century museum curator. The owner of the museum was a stuffy nobleman whose wife and children possessed enough possible motives and suspicious behavior for several murders. Then there's the sudden appearance of an Indigenous Australian who wants to repatriate some of the museum's bones. Another suspicious death and then a suspicious illness. Ruth can't keep up with events.

Ruth's complicated personal life stays complicated but it doesn't eclipse the mystery this time. Detective Sergeant Judy Johnson gets a more active role in this story, and the quirky Cathbad hogs more than his share of attention. There's a lot of reference to the past books, which seems unnecessary. I don't think you need to have read the previous books to enjoy the later ones and it's a little distracting trying to remember past plots when they are not relevant to the current mystery.

So, four stars and looking forward to the next episode, which is rumored to be A Dying Fall due in January 2013.

Dr. Ruth Galloway, the 41-year-old Head of Forensic Archaeology at the University of North Norfolk, returns in this new novel by Elly Griffiths. As the book opens Kate, the baby born to Ruth a result of a one-night stand with Detective Inspector Harry Nelson in an earlier entry in the series, is about to celebrate her first birthday. The relationship between Ruth and Harry is now, however, nearly non-existent: To save his marriage, when his wife realized the truth, he had promised never to see Ruth, or Kate, again.

Nelson, head of the county's Serious Crimes Squad of the King's Lynn police, now 43 years old and known as many things (male chauvinist pig among them), loves his wife and their two daughters. Despite his intention to remain true to his promise, he encounters Ruth following the discovery of the dead body of the curator of the Smith Museum, where Ruth is to attend what was to be the opening of a coffin containing the remains, it was thought, of a 14th-century bishop.

The man was thought to be in good health, and there is no evidence of foul play. However, when another death occurs within a few days of the first, the police believe there may be more involved than meets the eye, or the medical examiner's autopsy. There was quite a bit of controversy, it seems, about the museum's `ownership' of skulls and skeletal remains of Aboriginal Australians, with very strong feelings that they should be repatriated to their native land. There is also a legendary curse associated with anyone who comes in contact with them.

The book is replete with mysticism and lore. The characters created by the author in this series continue to fascinate, and there is much discussion of animal rights as well as the repatriation issue. Having loved the other books in the series, this reader at first thought the book moved at a slower pace than the earlier entries, but by the end, as the various plot lines are resolved, and the suspense quickens, those reservations dissolved, and the book is recommended.

Like other reviewers I enjoyed the previous books in this series. In fact, I couldn't put them down. With this one though, I found I could put it down - repeatedly.
I like novels that have a decent balance between plot development and action. Unfortunately, this was light on action (merely a few pages) and endless detail of relationships - Ruth and Max; Ruth and Nelson; Ruth and Kate; Kate and everyone; Nelson and Michelle; Judy and Cathbad; Cathbad and Caroline. Geez!! Enough already. In fact,for a Ruth Galloway novel, Ruth has very little to do with the main plot.
I'll give the next one a try. But, if it devolves from an exciting mystery novel into a Harlequin romance I'll probably bail out of the rest.
The take-away.....if you want 95% relationship detail and 5% light action then this is the novel for you.
P.S. - one more thing - and this is a bit of a spoiler alert - when Michelle asks Ruth to do that act of kindness - I found Ruth to be a selfish and self-centred. It's not particularly endearing to the central character.