The Outcast Dead A Ruth Galloway Investigation Synopsis
Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway has excavated a body from the grounds of Norwich Castle, a forbidding edifice that was once a prison. She believes the body may be that of infamous Victorian murderess Jemima Green. Called Mother Hook for her claw-like hand, Jemima was hanged in 1867 for the murder of five children in her care. DCI Harry Nelson has no time for long-dead killers. Immersed in the case of three infants found dead, one after the other, in their King's Lynn home, he's convinced that a family member is responsible, though others on his team think differently. Then a child goes missing. Could the abduction be linked to the long-dead Mother Hook? Ruth is pulled into the case, and back towards Nelson.
About This Edition
Elly Griffiths Press Reviews
In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion some of our Lovereading Reader Review Panel members were also lucky enough to read and review the first title in the Ruth Galloway series, The Crossing Places. You can read their full reviews by clicking here.
- Emily Wright - 'Elly Griffiths combines detection, archaeology and mythology to create an atmospheric thriller lightened by a touch of dry humour.'
- Suzanne Marsh - 'very refreshing and enjoyable read. Indeed this is a clever novel with the mix of superstition and myth weaved into a modern crime novel. A must buy must read.'
- Phylippa Smithson - 'The trouble with absorbing and fast-paced books is that you tend to read them at the same rapid pace – and then they are over. That's my ONLY criticism of The Crossing Places - its brilliant.'
- Angie Rhodes - 'Great book, with an ending I was not expecting.'
Jan Kirkcaldy - 'Though not surprised by the end result, it was a book I could not put down and as a result read it in one go. I thoroughly recommend it.'
- Edel Waugh - 'Loved it! I will now go back and read the other books in this series as I really did enjoy it. If you liked Kathy Reichs or Patricia Cornwell then perhaps check this series out.'
- Ray Orgill - 'This is really atmospheric writing at its best...Great stuff, great adventure, in fact a great read.'
- Sarah Musk - 'An exciting book set in Norfolk with a clever, resourceful leading character. Dr Ruth Galloway is utterly believable as a sleuthing archaeologist in a child disappearance case.'
- Jillian McFrederick - ', the dynamics of complicated relationships, the mystery of the discovered bones combined with the history of the land. Together they form a blend of ancient times and rituals with the present which I enjoyed immensely.'
- Julie Bertschin - 'Great page turner, gripping from start to finish.'
- Julie Bickerdyke - 'The story is cleverly told and slowly released with relationships explored and exploited to great effect.'
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Further praise for Elly Griffiths...
'Told with a deepening sense of unease, seasoned with a touch of the occult, it is no surprise that BBC television are developing it as a series'
Daily Mail.
'If forensics, history, detectives, romance and some psychologically impaired individuals are your bag, this novel delivers them all ... The twist at the end will have you in a spin
The Sun.
'A compassionate novel that raises questions about parental love and guilt
Sunday Times.
About Elly Griffiths
Elly Griffiths is the bestselling author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries and the Brighton Mysteries. She has won the CWA Dagger in the Library, has been shortlisted six times for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for The Lantern Men. Her series featuring Detective Harbinder Kaur began with The Stranger Diaries, which won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in the USA. It was followed by The Postscript Murders, shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger and Bleeding Heart Yard. Elly has two grown-up children and lives near Brighton with her archaeologist husband and their cat, Pip.
Below is a Q & A with this author.
If you were stranded on a desert island and could take one crime novel, one DVD boxset and one character from a crime novel, who/what would you take?
This is the sort of question I spend a lot of time debating when I should be working! My desert island book is usually The Mating Season by PG Wodehouse as I think that would cheer me up (unlike Ruth I don’t like solitude). But crime novel? It would have to be The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. DVD boxset would be The Office (US version) and the character would be Charles Paris from Simon Brett’s novels as at least we’d have a laugh – and a drink.
Photo Credit: Sara Reeve
Who would you invite to your dream dinner party and what would be on the menu?
I’d invite Clive Stafford-Smith, Marcus Brigstocke, Bruce Springsteen, Germaine Greer and Jilly Cooper. We’d eat Italian food ideally cooked by my late Nonna (it is a dream after all).
What is your favourite line from a film/TV series/book?
It’s a few lines but Flora Poste’s telegram in Cold Comfort Farm. ‘Worst fears realised darling. Seth and Reuben too. Send gumboots.’
If you could write a book with any other crime or thriller writer, who would you choose and why?
I’d have great fun with Lesley Thomson, David Harrison (Tom Bale), Jim Kelly or Alison Bruce. Alison, Jim and I have talked about our fictional detectives meeting as our books are all set in the Cambridge/King’s Lynn area. They’d probably all hate each other too which would make for a fun read.
Who is your favourite onscreen detective?
I really like Jackson Brodie (Jason Isaacs) but my favourite is probably still David Suchet as Poirot.
If your book was being made into a film or a TV series, who would you want to play the lead character?
Ruth Jones or Eva Myles. She’d have to become Welsh but it would be worth it.
What crime novel do you wish you had written?
The Woman in White.
What’s the scariest place you’ve visited for inspiration?
The prison chapel in Lincoln Castle.
You are master of cluedo and have any name, weapon and room at your disposal, whodunit and what happened?
It would have to be the Reverend Green as I do like a theological thriller. Reverend Green (who’s a woman) in the library with the bible.
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