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A review by jacki_f
The Woman in Blue by Elly Griffiths
3.0
This is the 8th book in the series about Ruth Galloway, an archeologist and lecturer based on Norfolk. Whilst it works as a standalone novel, you'll get more out of it if you are familiar with the characters. Half the pleasure of these books is the way that the relationships between them develop and shift.
The Woman in Blue is set in Walsingham, a village in Norfolk that is famous for its religious shrines in honour of the Virgin Mary. Cathbad is housesitting for a friend when he sees a woman in blue in the local graveyard. The next morning her dead body is found nearby. DCI Harry Nelson and his team are brought in to investigate. Meanwhile there is a conference of women in the clergy also taking place in Walsingham. One of the attendees is an old acquaintance of Ruth's who asks for her advice about threatening letters that she has been receiving.
As a murder mystery this is a fairly weak book. The ultimate reveal is far fetched in the extreme and there are so many red herrings and people with equally silly motives that it is near impossible to deduce what might happen. What I did like was the way that the Ruth/Nelson/Michelle triangle is developing and the way that other familiar characters behave. But ultimately, I felt like series needs a shot of adrenalin. It feels like Elly Griffiths isn't quite sure what she wants to have happen with the characters nor how to write a believable mystery. I found the story passably enjoyable but nothing exceptional.
The Woman in Blue is set in Walsingham, a village in Norfolk that is famous for its religious shrines in honour of the Virgin Mary. Cathbad is housesitting for a friend when he sees a woman in blue in the local graveyard. The next morning her dead body is found nearby. DCI Harry Nelson and his team are brought in to investigate. Meanwhile there is a conference of women in the clergy also taking place in Walsingham. One of the attendees is an old acquaintance of Ruth's who asks for her advice about threatening letters that she has been receiving.
As a murder mystery this is a fairly weak book. The ultimate reveal is far fetched in the extreme and there are so many red herrings and people with equally silly motives that it is near impossible to deduce what might happen. What I did like was the way that the Ruth/Nelson/Michelle triangle is developing and the way that other familiar characters behave. But ultimately, I felt like series needs a shot of adrenalin. It feels like Elly Griffiths isn't quite sure what she wants to have happen with the characters nor how to write a believable mystery. I found the story passably enjoyable but nothing exceptional.