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The Janus Stone (Ruth Galloway #2)

by Elly Griffiths (Goodreads Author)

3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 · rating details · 2,173 ratings · 331 reviews

It’s been only a few months since archaeologist Ruth Galloway found herself entangled in a missing persons case, barely escaping with her life. But when construction workers demolishing a large old house in Norwich uncover the bones of a child beneath a doorway—minus its skull—Ruth is once again called upon to investigate. Is it a Roman-era ritual sacrifice, or is the kill...more

Hardcover, 352 pages

Published January 21st 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (first published January 1st 2010)

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Apr 23, 2012 Gg rated it 3 of 5 stars

Light reading with more mystery than the first one.

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Apr 05, 2013 Everyman rated it 2 of 5 stars

Although this book is advertised as a mystery, those who are looking to read a serious mystery are probably better off skipping it. The real focus of the book, which is the second in a series which now extends to at least four books, is the developing relationship between the unmarried Ruth Galloway and a married police detective, father of her as yet unborn child. (This apparently as a result of a one night stand which took place in the first book of the series, though I haven't read that and d...more

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Feb 21, 2013 Sallee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

I found this 3rd Ruth Galloway a page turner. I could hardly put it down and indeed was able to read in one day. Ruth, in this story, finds herself pregnant from her one time with Inspector Nelson. Gradually as time goes on, her close associates begin to notice.
Construction workers are tearing down a large old Victorian mansion to make way for new condos. Bones are discovered under a stone doorway arch and Nelson wants to find out if they are from recent times or they are ancient bones. Becau...more I found this 3rd Ruth Galloway a page turner. I could hardly put it down and indeed was able to read in one day. Ruth, in this story, finds herself pregnant from her one time with Inspector Nelson. Gradually as time goes on, her close associates begin to notice.
Construction workers are tearing down a large old Victorian mansion to make way for new condos. Bones are discovered under a stone doorway arch and Nelson wants to find out if they are from recent times or they are ancient bones. Because of England's history, ancient sites are commonly unearthed during construction. Ruth is called in to unearth the findings. This time it is a child, but she also has a filling in one of her teeth and they find stanous fluroide present. This places the demise in the area of the 1950s. The house, had a one time served as an Catholic orphanage and during that incarnation, two children went missing...a boy and his little sister. Is the little skeleton that of the missing girl? Carbon dating finds that this death took place prior to the time of the orphanage, when the house was occupied by the Spens family. There is a Roman dig going on nearby and Ruth meets Max who is the archeologist at the site and they become friends. Actually, she finds herself attracted to him and during a dinner on the small boat he is staying on, she finds herself telling him of her pregnancy. He is not judgemental and you can see friendship blooming. As Ruth investigates there is someone who is upset about what her expertise might uncover and she finds herself with someone leaving a two-headed stuffed calf on her porch, and at the Roman site a dead cockeral is found and Ruth's name is written in blood upside down on a piece of the wall.When she is visiting the site again to look at a Janus stone that has been found, she is in the trench when she looks down and sees a newborn baby lying on the ground, She faints, hitting her head and becomes unconcious. She is found and rushed to the hospital. The Druid, Cathbad notifies Nelson and hopes the baby is ok and as they are rushing to get to her, Nelson realizes that Ruth's baby is his. Ruth and baby are ok but Nelson feels that someone is trying to kill Ruth and has his police women stay at her house with her. The story progresses quickly to an terror filled ending with Ruth almost being killed. Who did it? You'll have to read and see all the surprising quirks and turns in a very well written mystery. I can't wait to read the next book where she gives birth, and Nelson has to come to terms with being a father while being a married man in love with his wife and two daughters and now a new daughter too.(less)

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Dec 29, 2012 Flannery rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime, series

I really like this series. I´ve read the first book a while ago and the archeological allusions are quite interesting. It´s not that sort of archeology that one would expect, no sensational findings or treasures. Instead it concentrates on real archeology - some bones and minor findings, lot´s of coloured earth. Besides, only archeological sites in Norfolk are described here, because Ruth Galloway lives there. She is specialized on bones and so she is involved everytime, some old bones are found...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Su rated it 3 of 5 stars

Spent a nice Saturday afternoon entirely sucked into this book and its predecessor, The Crossing Places. I find the main character's fretting about her weight (and her belief that, as a 200-pound woman, she should only wear baggy black clothes) as annoying as when people do it in real life. On the other hand, a 40-year-old single woman with a strong network of friends, who men find attractive, and who is a knowledgeable expert in her field of forensic anthropology, is refreshing and fun. I like...more

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Aug 30, 2012 Ricki rated it 5 of 5 stars

Book # 2 in the Ruth Galloway series is a real winner! I enjoy reading mysteries with female main characters but am not quite sure what I think of Ruth Galloway as a protagonist. I like my female lead characters to be strong, smart and confident, to be doers and not helpless damsels in distress. Ruth Galloway is somewhere between those extremes.

She is overweight, not especially good looking, awkward rather than outgoing, and often doubts herself. On the other hand, she is very smart in her area...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-2nds-challenge, 2012-e-book-reading-challenge, 2012-reading-challenge-addict, 2012-support-your-local-library-cha, ruth-galloway-mystery-series

The Janus Stone is the second book of the Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths, set on England's Norfolk coast. Dr. Ruth Galloway is a forensic archaeologist who teaches at university and enjoys the wild solitude of her home near the water.

A developer would like to quickly raze a property in Norwich to build trendy modern homes, but a Roman church once stood on the site, so archaeologists must examine the site before artifacts are lost. Ruth is called to investigate when bones are found burie...more

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May 06, 2012 Rob Kitchin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Griffiths has an engaging style of writing that draws the reader into Ruth and Harry’s worlds of archaeology and policing, and their awkward relationship. The two lead characters, along with Cathbad, a local druid, are very appealing and the strengths of the book are the unfolding of their relationship and the sense of place of the Norfolk coast. However, whilst the style of the storytelling, the characters and setting are good, the book struggles more with respect to the plot and the mystery. T...more

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Jan 31, 2012 Jenn Ravey rated it 5 of 5 stars

In a land so ancient, Norfolk is a gem for archaeologists and a headache for contractors. When a building in the midst of being razed for a new apartment complex is discovered to be on top of an old Roman site, construction stops and digging begins. But the archaeological team finds something it didn't expect - the bones of what look like a child beneath the door frame. DCI Harry Nelson immediately calls Ruth Galloway, forensic archaeologist, to determine whether these bones are from beyond rec...more In a land so ancient, Norfolk is a gem for archaeologists and a headache for contractors. When a building in the midst of being razed for a new apartment complex is discovered to be on top of an old Roman site, construction stops and digging begins. But the archaeological team finds something it didn't expect - the bones of what look like a child beneath the door frame. DCI Harry Nelson immediately calls Ruth Galloway, forensic archaeologist, to determine whether these bones are from beyond recent memory or if there could possibly be a crime worth investigating.

At the same time, further research shows the site was once a Catholic children's home, and after Nelson tracks down the priest and former head of the house, he discovers that two children went missing from the home 40 years ago. Inconsistencies and long-forgotten details muddy the case, but someone is worried. Ruth is left sinister gifts on her doorstep, much like a cat bringing prey to its master, and it doesn't take long for the threats to intensify as Ruth and Harry dig much deeper than anyone intended.

Unlike some mysteries where the relationships remain stagnant because there is no character arc, Ruth and Harry are both changing. Their connection is inexplicable to each, but they are drawn to one another and have a quiet affection for each other. Though Harry is married and the two seem to be better friends than anything, I loved the deference, respect, and confidence Harry and Ruth show. Plus, several characters from The Crossing Places return and take greater part in the novel than in the first.

The first novel in the series certainly incorporates local mythology and history, but The Janus Stone is distinctly more focused on Roman mythology because of the discovery. The unnamed killer appears in the text between every couple of chapters, preparing sacrifices and detailing Roman rituals. The effect was beyond eerie and set up the action quite well, reinforcing the need to find out the identity of the killer, as he or she seems to be readying for a final act.(less)

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Oct 12, 2011 Suspense Magazine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ruth Galloway, a forensic archaeologist is called in to investigate the headless skeleton of a child found in the rubble of an old mansion (formally an orphanage). While trying to uncover the mystery though, she is given some not so subtle warnings to back off. Ruth quickly realizes someone is trying very hard to throw her off the trail and if this is not enough, Ruth is pregnant with her first child and now her life and the life of her unborn child is in serious jeopardy!
“The Janus Stone” is G...more

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Jun 25, 2011 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars

The second book featuring forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway, following up on the first, Crossing Places. It is a stand alone book, but I would recommend reading them in order if only to get all the nuances between the characters - particularly between Harry Nelson and Ruth.

Loved the book, as I did the first. So very spooky and creepy but with well developed and believable characters. What a wonderful "heroine" is Ruth. Prickly and overweight - her idea of exercise is that "maybe" she'll go fo...more

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Jun 21, 2011 Jasmine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: british

so i have a huge goodreads petpeeve. and this is that I want an authors page to say they've written the number of books they've actually written, cause if it says 5 and I've read two I'm all excited for the three I haven't... except. yeah, see my point. I just combined a bunch of stuff on elly griffiths page for this exact reason. but that's all beside the point.

More on topic. why did I read this. even after I read the first one and called it, what did I say? fine. yeah fine's an insult. cause...more

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Jun 06, 2011 Marleen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the second mystery featuring Dr. Ruth Galloway, forensic Archeologist, and I liked it as much as I did the first one.
The story is set about four months after the terrifying ending of the first book and Ruth is back working in the university, living her solitary life and... pregnant. A pregnancy she keeps to herself for as long as she thinks she can, but is soon forced to share with others, including the baby's father.
When bones are found under an archway in an old building being torn dow...more This is the second mystery featuring Dr. Ruth Galloway, forensic Archeologist, and I liked it as much as I did the first one.
The story is set about four months after the terrifying ending of the first book and Ruth is back working in the university, living her solitary life and... pregnant. A pregnancy she keeps to herself for as long as she thinks she can, but is soon forced to share with others, including the baby's father.
When bones are found under an archway in an old building being torn down for conversion into appartments, Ruth is called in to examine the bones and the site they were found in. Because the bones turn out to be relatively recent, DCI Harry Nelson is called in and he soon finds himself wondering what he could be dealing with. Is this a case of straight-forward murder or is he looking at a chilling ritual killing? And who could these tiny bones possibly belong to?
As the case develops Ruth finds herself targetted by someone who seems determined to scare her either away from the investigation, or to death. And before the book ends Ruth will have to take actions she wouldn't have considered possible in order to protect herself and, more importantly, her unborn child.

I really enjoy this series. I have a soft spot for archeological mysteries anyway, but the character of Ruth gives these books an extra charm. Ruth is not you're average beautifuly, atletic and overly competent mystery heroine. Quite the opposite really, since she is over-weight and a rather solitary person. For me though, that only adds to her appeal. It seems to make her more real, and therefore the danger she gets into more theatening.
Another thing I like is that the reader is giving an insight into the actions and thoughts of every person involved in the investigation, meaning that there are no late surprises when the mysteries solution is revealed. The reader has as good a chance to solve the mystery as the characters have, and that's the way a good mystery should work in my opinion.

I'm really glad that I already have the third book in this series here at home, and know that I will be picking it up very soon.
Another 4.5 stars for a great read from me.(less)

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May 23, 2011 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars

THE JANUS STONE sees the return of archeologist Ruth Galloway, an expert on bones, and DCI Harry Nelson, an expert on murder. It is a few months after the end of THE CROSSING PLACES. Ruth is in the early stages of her pregnancy, happy and looking forward, confidently, to raising her child alone.

Ruth vists a new archeological site when bones are found. “This body, you say it is under a wall?.. .Yes, we just dug a trial trench and there it was. We think it it’s the wall of a villa, quite a sizeabl...more

THE JANUS STONE sees the return of archeologist Ruth Galloway, an expert on bones, and DCI Harry Nelson, an expert on murder. It is a few months after the end of THE CROSSING PLACES. Ruth is in the early stages of her pregnancy, happy and looking forward, confidently, to raising her child alone.

Ruth vists a new archeological site when bones are found. “This body, you say it is under a wall?.. .Yes, we just dug a trial trench and there it was. We think it it’s the wall of a villa, quite a sizeable one…” “Funny place to find bones, under a wall,” says Nelson. “The may have been a foundation sacrifice,” says Max….”The Celts, and the Romans sometimes, used to bury bodies under walls and doors as offerings to the gods Janus and Terminus.” “Terminus?” “The god of boundaries….Janus. God of doors and openings….the bodies were often children’s.” Ruth suspects that these bones date from the Roman period, making the bones a symbol of a tragedy in the distant past.

Then Ruth is called to examine more bones at a major reconstruction project in the town. A very large home, built in the Victorian era, is being torn down to make room for a new housing complex. For many years, until 1981, it had been a home for children, operated by an order of nuns. Buried under a step, is the headless skeleton of a small child. These bones are far more recent; these bones fall into Harry’s area of expertise. Two children disappeared from the orphanage? Could the bones belong to one of those children?

As Ruth investigates the sites, she is the victim of some nasty practical jokes that involve children. Is it because the skeletons are those of children or is it because someone realizes she is preganant?

Edward Spens, the owner of the property, wants the investigations concluded quickly. It is costing him money to have the archeologists interrupting the work but Ruth and Harry refuse to be hurried. A child was killed, the body hidden. Spens’ real estate deal means nothing in this context. In fact, the Spens family owned the house before it became an orphanage. What might they know about the child under the step?

Between chapters, the author provides notes taken from a diary. The entries are impossible to date. Some seem to refer to Ruth’s investigation, some seem to be written in the distant past. The diary entries strengthen the mystery of the bones.

As with THE CROSSING PLACES, the first book in the series, the author provides much historical detail and that makes the books even more interesting. Ruth’s developing relationship with Dr. Max Gray, the archeologist who specializes in the Roman period, may help in understanding the importance of the Janus stone.(less)

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Mar 28, 2011 Jasmyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, mystery, series, ruth-galloway-mystery, netgalley

Ruth Galloway is a forensic anthropologist. Our story starts with the discovery of a set of bones under the doorway of a building being torn down for new development. Ruth is called in to investigate and determine if the bones are "old" or "new". Her analysis leads to the discovery of a murdered young girl.

I was hoping for something different from this book. A big fan of the Bones series on TV, I thought the story would be more scientific. However, it is much more about the people solving the cr...more

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Mar 26, 2011 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a good book that could have been excellent. I'm sure others have gone into detail about the plot. Briefly, Ruth Galloway, an archaeologist approaching 40, is drawn into a murder mystery when the bones of a child are discovered at a construction site. The position of the bones indicates the child may have been a Celtic or Roman sacrifice victim, but, when they are dated, they turn out to be modern.

Griffiths excels at atmosphere, and her characters are complex and believable. The villain...more

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Feb 22, 2011 switterbug (Betsey) rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was both charmed and haunted by the first Ruth Galloway mystery, The Crossing Places (Ruth Galloway). Griffith's sense of place--the salt marshes of Norwich, England--was stark and moodily disquieting. The land seemed almost anthropomorphic in its presence, and served to heighten the story and even strengthen the weak spots, including her strained and rushed denouement. Ruth, a Ph.D. anthropologist, is a flawed and frank woman of forty, an unapologetic atheist with a no-nonsense style. In this...more I was both charmed and haunted by the first Ruth Galloway mystery, The Crossing Places (Ruth Galloway). Griffith's sense of place--the salt marshes of Norwich, England--was stark and moodily disquieting. The land seemed almost anthropomorphic in its presence, and served to heighten the story and even strengthen the weak spots, including her strained and rushed denouement. Ruth, a Ph.D. anthropologist, is a flawed and frank woman of forty, an unapologetic atheist with a no-nonsense style. In this second installment, she remains steadfast. One of my favorite lines is:

"...God is a made-up fairy tale, like Snow White, only nastier."

And she is now three months pregnant. The father is Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson, the taciturn and capable, and generally happily married father of two teenage daughters. In the first novel, Ruth and Harry were thrown together in a case. Bones buried beneath the marshes led to a twisted investigation and one intimate night together, a night where forces almost transcendent brought them together. They did not embark on a continuous affair, and their feelings for each other are blurry. Harry is still a bit of a cynical enigma, but a tender family man.

Now, in the heather and coarse grasses of Swaffham, a university-supported ancient Roman dig site is the primary location for the second team-up of Ruth and Nelson. Bones are again unearthed--this time the headless skeleton of a child of indeterminate age and time. Complicating matters is the necessary interruption of a development project of entrepreneur Edward Sens. He is building a seventy-four-unit luxury apartment complex on this site that was once a Catholic orphanage.

A cat-and-mouse crime thriller ensues, with a variety of new and old characters, including (but not limited to) an elderly Catholic priest, a sexy love interest for Ruth, (he is also an anthropologist), a dying nun, and Cathbad, the Druid, from the first novel. Griffiths balances Ruth's personal story and the criminal investigation with sufficient finesse and wry wit, and there is a tough tension whenever Ruth and Nelson are in the same room or space. However, despite all the back stories of peripheral characters, they don't organically come alive. Griffiths uses too much exposition to tell, more than show, her characters and story. Even Nelson remains archly narrow, but there's hope for his character to develop.

Moreover, the landscape and climate, which was so potent in the first novel, is given short shrift in this one. It is there, and lovely when it is, but more sparing, in small doses. How disappointing, because it was the most moving aspect of the author's talent. THE JANUS STONE is lightly competent, and she has learned to control the plot better this time around, but the pacing is just as rushed. The unfolding is a bit more manageable, less hysterical, but still melodramatic. Griffith's police procedural is just another stone in the river without her earthy, lucid, topographical and climactic inclusions. The archeological parts add color and weight, but sometimes they feel like artifacts to the story, and were more telegraphed than embedded, despite their impact.

I may go back for the third installment, THE HOUSE AT SEAS END. The prologue and first few chapters were included in this book, as a tease. Why am I going back? To see what happens to Ruth and Nelson, of course. And to hope for more vibrant terrain. If I don't see significant improvement and development of character and story, then it will be my last go-round for this series. And if the author kills off Nelson's wife in some tragic accident for convenience, I will put the book down even before I finish it.
(less)

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Feb 21, 2011 Cheryl Bradley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to NetGALLEY and Hougton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers, I recently received an e-copy of The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths to review. This is one of the Ruth Galloway mysteries, the 2nd in the series and their were numerous references to the previous case, a bit of which bordered on too much for my taste. Like the others, I wished I had read the first book in the series before starting this one.

However, the characters in the story are compelling. Ruth Galloway is a forensic archaelogist (re...more

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Jan 20, 2011 Lis Carey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, fiction

Forensic archeologist Ruth Galloway is settling back into normal after the unsettling events of a few months ago when she gets a call from the head of the university archeology department. Construction workers on the site of an old house in Norwich that previously served as a children's home have found the bones of a young child. The bones need to be identified, and it needs to be determined as quickly as possible if this is an archeological find or a crime scene. Knowing the police need to be i...more Forensic archeologist Ruth Galloway is settling back into normal after the unsettling events of a few months ago when she gets a call from the head of the university archeology department. Construction workers on the site of an old house in Norwich that previously served as a children's home have found the bones of a young child. The bones need to be identified, and it needs to be determined as quickly as possible if this is an archeological find or a crime scene. Knowing the police need to be involved, Ruth calls Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson, whom she's worked with in the past.
What she hasn't yet told Nelson, who is married and has two teenage daughters, is that she's pregnant as a result of their one night of "We Didn't Get Killed" sex four months ago.
As they piece together the evidence and determine that they have the body of a young girl, they also learn that two children disappeared from the children's home in the early 1970s--and that one of them was a girl about the age of the child whose bones they have. And in the mid-1950s, the young daughter of the family living there at the time, when it was still a private home, also died at the right age--supposedly of scarlet fever.
Meanwhile, another archeologist, Max Gray, working on a site in Swaffham, is showing a friendly and possibly more than friendly interest in Ruth. Ruth is interested, but does she need the complications? Will he still be interested when he knows she's pregnant?
While she's juggling all these problems and complications, alarming things start to happen around Ruth. Someone sacrifices a cockerel and writes her name in blood at the Swaffham site. She hears someone breathing nearby when she's out in the dark, and stumbles and passes out when she sees what appears to be a dead baby--and turns out to to be a model from a museum exhibit.
The tension develops nicely, and the mystery is satisfyingly complex and interesting. This is the second of the series, and some things, such as Ruth's pregnancy and the relationships among some of the characters, are products of the events of the earlier book, The Crossing Places. However, since I have not read it, I can feel completely confident in saying that this book stands on its own sufficiently to be a satisfying, enjoyable read.
Strongly recommended.

Note:: I received a free electronic galley from the publisher via NetGalley(less)

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Dec 31, 2010 Denise rated it 3 of 5 stars

Omnia Mutantur, Nihil Interit*, December 31, 2010

This review is from: The Janus Stone (Ruth Galloway) (Hardcover)
I knew when I opened the first page of this book that I should have read the first one in the Ruth Galloway mystery series -- The Crossing Places (Ruth Galloway) -- so if you haven't read it, stop and remedy that now. This second book immediately made me wish I had "met" the characters previously so I could understand what led to Ruth's pregnancy and to know the relationship she ha...more

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Jul 25, 2010 Linda B rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wanted to read The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths because I read and reviewed her first of the Ruth Galloway books, The Crossing Places, and enjoyed it very much. I wish I could say the same about this book. In the first, the author used location descriptions that were so vivid they brought the location of Saltmarsh to life, and its story about finding the bones of an unknown child was touching.

In the Janus Stone, those rich descriptions were missing. The mystery was ok, but it was again about...more

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Jun 06, 2010 Marie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In The Janus Stone, the bones of a child are discovered under a doorway during the demolition of a Victorian mansion while evidence of the two-faced god, Janus, is unearthed at a Roman site near Norwich. Ruth Galloway, head of the forensic archaeology department at the University of North Norfolk and an expert on bones, decomposition and death, has been called in to give her advice. She wonders if the findings at one site help her get to the bottom of things at the other. She has her hands full...more

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Mar 05, 2010 Nicola rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Reason for Reading: Next in the series.

Summary: A Victorian home is being pulled down to make way for a luxury apartment building but is stopped due to the finding of Roman remains. As archaeologists work they find a headless skeleton of a child under the doorstep of the home and forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway is called in for her expertise by DCI Harry Nelson. The house was last used as a Catholic children's home and that sends the investigation in a direction that will not easily bring a...more Reason for Reading: Next in the series.

Summary: A Victorian home is being pulled down to make way for a luxury apartment building but is stopped due to the finding of Roman remains. As archaeologists work they find a headless skeleton of a child under the doorstep of the home and forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway is called in for her expertise by DCI Harry Nelson. The house was last used as a Catholic children's home and that sends the investigation in a direction that will not easily bring answers. At the same time someone is literally trying to scare Ruth to death and when that doesn't work perhaps they'll have to get up close and personal to finish off the job.

Comments: I love this series! This book is even better the first, The Crossing Places. This was a fast, page-turner that I read very quickly; I just couldn't put it down. Not only are there several possible suspects there are a few possible choices for the identity of the victim! I only just managed to stay a few pages ahead of each reveal but the final solution is one that you could not possibly see coming from the beginning.

Both Ruth and Harry are back the same as we remembered them from book one, only Ruth is less self-conscious but still her same outspoken, hard-headed, overweight, unfashionable self. For me personally, she is a character I could like ( I want to like) only I have great issues with her moral conduct and Harry's as well, though both of their personal lives take new directions and this is being addressed. I am eager to see where they are each headed personally in the next book. Since the personal life is integral in these books I do recommend reading them in order.

I also was quite taken with the Catholic part of the story. Of course, starting with the investigation into a children's home the usual preconceived prejudices are rampant and several characters are anti-Catholic. But once a retired Sister and Father are introduced as characters the journey of these characters and the Catholic part of the plot which leads to the eventual reconciliation of one of the characters is very satisfying.

Elly Griffiths, pseudonym of Domenica de Rosa, has created a wonderful mystery that is going to appeal to a lot of people. There is plenty of action and forensic detail for thriller fans and yet no gory bits for more cozy mystery fans. The plot has many layers, is quite intricate as it twists and turns upon itself and is a ton of fun to read. I'm glad to have started this series at the beginning and can't wait for the next Ruth Galloway Mystery! (less)

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Mar 02, 2010 LJ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action_suspense, contemporary_post_1945, england, female_author, mystery, police_procedural, unlicensed_investigator, archaeology

First Sentence: 1 June, Festival of Carna The house is waiting.

An old house is being demolished to make way for a new housing complex when work is halted when the headless skeleton of a child is found beneath a doorway. It is learned the house was once a Catholic children’s home and two young children went missing. The situation of the skeleton, however, suggests a possible ritual burial.

DCI Harry Nelson is called in, as is forensic archaeologist, Ruth Galloway who is, unbeknownst to Nelson, pr...more First Sentence: 1 June, Festival of Carna The house is waiting.

An old house is being demolished to make way for a new housing complex when work is halted when the headless skeleton of a child is found beneath a doorway. It is learned the house was once a Catholic children’s home and two young children went missing. The situation of the skeleton, however, suggests a possible ritual burial.

DCI Harry Nelson is called in, as is forensic archaeologist, Ruth Galloway who is, unbeknownst to Nelson, pregnant with his child after a single night’s intimacy. They must solve the mystery of the skeleton as well as protect Ruth from an escalating threat.

Although I enjoyed Griffith’s first book, “The Crossing Places,” this second entry to the series is so much better. I didn’t care for a revelation and open thread at the end of the first book, but it carried over and became a very effective element to the plot of this story.

Ruth is still a wonderful character but, thankfully, less weight and age obsessed and Nelson is more human. Where the relationship between them could have been trite, it worked because of Griffith’s voice and the structure of Ruth’s character. We learn more about the two main characters, giving them greater dimensionality. I particularly enjoyed that Ruth is an academic who doesn’t know Latin. Griffiths balances these characters with well-drawn supporting characters.

I always appreciate the inclusion of poetry and literary quotations within the story as well as the historic, mythological and religious information. It is a skillful author who can both teach and entertain, and Griffiths does it beautiful. I think part of the reason it works so well is, again, the author’s voice.

Not only does she create excellent dialogue, but there is a delightful humor to her writing that particularly appeals to me. However, in addition, is a cracking good plot and a sense of menace that escalates in tension and suspense to a very satisfying conclusion.

I am so glad I was willing to try the first book, trusted enough to read this, the second book, and I am now very much looking forward to Griffith’s next book.

THE JANUS STONE (Unl. Inves/For. Arch/Ruth Galloway-England-Cont) – VG+
Griffiths, Elly – 2nd in series
Quercus, ©2010, UK Hardcover – ISBN: 9781849161589
(less)

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Jul 13, 2012 M. rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller

Ho potuto constatare che nel caso di questo libro i contro superano di gran lunga i pro.

Per prima cosa non sono riuscito ad abituarmi all'uso del presente indicativo nella narrazione, molto spesso fuorviante ed ambiguo: i dialoghi si fondono con la narrazione. Consecutio temporum quindi quasi inesistente.
Il personaggio principale - Ruth Galloway - �� molto poco corposo, probabilmente l'autrice non avr�� voluto inserire il clich�� del protagonista fuori dal comune o particolarmente brillante, ma...more

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Jan 11, 2012 Julia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the second book in Elly Griffith's series about Ruth Galloway, a forensic archeologist who lives in northern Norfolk, England. If you are new to the series, you will enjoy them more if you start with the The Crossing Places. In this story, Ruth is called to a Norwich building site when bones are excavated during the construction of a set of luxury apartments. While initially it appears that they may be Roman, forensic analysis reveals that they are far more recent. As Ruth investigates f...more

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Mar 28, 2012 Kris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: from-the-library

Wondering through the library, I happened upon this book. The cover intrigued me, so I started reading the flap - "It's been a few months since forensic archaeologist..." and I stopped. That was all I needed to read. I love the Temperance Brennan novels so I had to pick this one up. There wasn't as much forensic detail as Kathy Reichs puts into her books, but it was still great.

I was aware that this took place in Britain, but didn't realize the author is British also, until I came upon the word...more

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Apr 03, 2012 Joanne Sheppard rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Keen to know what happened to forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway after the end of Elly Griffiths’ crime début The Crossing Places, I started reading the second instalment in her story, The Janus Stone, straight away. Much as I did with The Crossing Places I raced through The Janus Stone, in which Ruth is called into determine the age of a child’s skeleton unearthed beneath a house with a chequered past. This time, however, things are further complicated by Ruth’s unexpected pregnancy, the resu...more Keen to know what happened to forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway after the end of Elly Griffiths’ crime début The Crossing Places, I started reading the second instalment in her story, The Janus Stone, straight away. Much as I did with The Crossing Places I raced through The Janus Stone, in which Ruth is called into determine the age of a child’s skeleton unearthed beneath a house with a chequered past. This time, however, things are further complicated by Ruth’s unexpected pregnancy, the result of a one-night-stand with Harry Nelson, the gruff (and happily married) DCI in charge of the case.

Much as I enjoyed The Crossing Places, there were plot elements that I found faintly ludicrous, and I must say the same applies (perhaps to a slightly lesser extent) here. The story follows much the same formula as its predecessor – bones are discovered, Ruth helps Harry in his investigation along with a supporting cast of recurring characters, Ruth ends up in jeopardy as a result – but it’s all good fun. There’s dark creepiness aplenty and a few shocks, but don’t come to these books looking for gritty realism. There’s a touch of pantomime about the character eventually revealed as the villain, and it all gets a little bit Hammer Horror in places.

Ruth and Harry’s relationship – now platonic – remains convincing, and Harry manages to remain largely likeable despite being a man who has cheated on his wife. His slim, attractive hairdresser, that Griffiths could lazily have depicted as a airheaded cow, is in fact intelligent, kind and interested in the arts, a wise choice on the author’s part as it stirs up all sorts of conflicting emotions for not just Harry and Ruth (who, while fond of each other, are in many ways profoundly unsuited to one another) but also the reader. However fond you are of Ruth, it’s hard to want Harry’s apparently happy marriage to end.

Several more characters return to The Janus Stone from the previous book, most of whom are welcome. I could live without Ruth’s flighty friend Shona, who strikes me as something of a stereotype and contributes little, but the rest of the cast – as I tend to think of them; these books do have the feel of a quality TV crime drama – are three-dimensional and engaging. The setting isn’t as richly described as it was in The Crossing Places, but I should be fair and point out that in The Crossing Places the geography was integral to the plot, which isn’t the case here, so that’s probably to be expected.

Once again, then, a gripping if unlikely story, a bit of Roman mythology thrown in, some genuinely funny observations, and characters I wanted to greet like old friends. I’ll be saving the next book in the series for a rainy afternoon or perhaps a long journey, rather than getting stuck in straightaway, as for me the recurring plot structures and characters won’t benefit from being read in quick succession, but I’ll certainly be continuing to follow Ruth’s progress.(less)

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Dec 06, 2011 Mary Gilligan-Nolan rated it 4 of 5 stars

I don't know how this happened, but I am reading this series backwards. Still, it has not taken away from my enjoyment of these books and I am really looking forward to getting the first one and finding out about how Ruth and Harry first met and the story of Erik. I'm in the dark there about Erik, this is what comes of reading in reverse order. This is the second book, Ruth Galloway, a forensic anthropologist, is called to look at some skeletal remains of a young child, discovered in an old hous...more

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Oct 21, 2011 Cheryl rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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About Elly Griffiths

Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway novels take for their inspiration Elly's husband, who gave up a city job to train as an archaeologist, and her aunt who lives on the Norfolk coast and who filled her niece's head with the myths and legends of that area. Elly has two children and lives near Brighton. Though not her first novel, The Crossing Places is her first crime novel.

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The House at Sea's End (Ruth Galloway, #3)

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