Name: A Dying Fall
ISBN: 9780857388865

Elly Griffiths

A Dying Fall

Sian Wadey

I've always been a fan of Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway books. To me they are the perfect combination of murder mystery with a sprinkling of lovey-dovey stuff. I think the characters play a large part in this as by and large, I love Ruth Galloway. I think she's funny, clever, brave, and I love the fact that she doesn't see it. Sometimes, she can bang on about her weight too much, but I'll overlook that for such a strong female lead. 
Cathbad and Nelson are also great characters. I love the spiritual side of Elly Griffiths' books, it stops them from becoming bog standard police procedural. Cathbad's actions in this book made him one of the central characters and it's nice to see his view on the world. 
Nelson is still as stoic as ever. Spending a week with his family provides a lot of the comedy, and the tension as Ruth, Kate and Cathbad come to dinner.
It was nice to have a change of scenery and head to Blackpool and Lytham, although I did miss Cloughie. But I think the new location improved the story line. Nelson wasn't the one running the police investigation so we got to see him and Ruth in a new light.
I also enjoyed the fact that, in quite a traditional way, there were only a few suspects and each new piece of evidence sent you to one, or another. I didn't guess the murderer, but then, the Ruth Galloway books are different for me. I enjoy the ride rather than race to finish. Talking of endings, the last books have always had the same ending, Ruth gets herself in trouble, someone (normally Nelson), saves the day. It was good to have a different ending and I'm not a parent, but the way Griffiths' describes Ruth's emotions was incredible. 
Without giving too much away, the archaeology aspects of this case are also really interesting too for any history buff. 
Overall, the only thing I had a major problem with is the title. It kind of gave away the ending a bit and wasn't really linked to anything else. I think 'The Unquiet Grave' would have been much better!

A Dying Fall

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