by Elly Griffiths
The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths is the 12th instalment in the Ruth Galloway series.
Ivor March has been convicted of killing two women and DCI Harry Nelson of the Norfolk Police is convinced that he is also responsible for the deaths of two more women who are currently missing. March agrees to reveal the location of the bodies, but only if forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway is brought in to uncover them.
The investigation which follows is a really interesting combination of good old-fashioned detective work mixed with supernatural elements and local folklore. A series of historic murders is connected to the story of The Lantern Men, who lure people to their deaths on the Cley and Salthouse Marshes at night.
Having only previously read the standalone novel The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to jump straight in to the 12th Ruth Galloway story, but I was really drawn to the interesting characters and unique setting of the book. There were a few references to the past relationships between some of the main characters and also some references to older cases, but there was enough information to get the general idea about what had happened.
This was a really unusual plot, hugely atmospheric with some great characters and it kept me guessing right until the end. My only quibble was that after building the story right up until the last few chapters, the revelation about how various characters were involved seemed to come from nowhere and didn’t get a full explanation for me. Having said that, I thought it was a really enjoyable read and I am looking forward to going back to read the others in the series.
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