Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths
Genre; Crime
Ruth’s old friend Dan Golding thinks he has made a discovery that will change archaeology forever – but he needs Ruth’s help. Then, Dan is killed in a fire, leaving Ruth with one clue: the tomb of the Raven King.
DCI Nelson is also rediscovering the past. He meets his friend Sandy Macleod, now at Blackpool CID, who tells him there are mysterious circumstances surrounding Dan’s death. A Neo-Nazi group at Dan’s University has been making threats and could be involved.
Many of Dan’s colleagues seem fearful and have secrets to hide. Ruth is drawn into the mystery, and where she goes, so does her daughter, Kate. This time, it’s not just Ruth’s life at risk.
My Thoughts:
First of all, I’m confused by the change in title of the book. On this cover, which is the cover I read, it’s simply Dying Fall and on a later version, it’s The Dying Fall, but let’s get past that and know we’re all talking about the same book and I haven’t just made an error in my blog post title.
I love the Ruth Galloway series. I love that the crime genre is coming from a different direction than just a detective investigating a case, that Ruth is a forensic archaeologist and I also love that Ruth is very human as a female character. She is overweight, she worries somewhat about that weight but doesn’t do much about it and she is generally insecure. I think many woman can identify with her no matter what front they put on to the outside world and this is refreshing to read. She has a wonderful mix of friends who all love her for who she is, and she in return accepts them for who they are.
In this novel, the same themes I love run through. I ended the book having loved it. There were lots of bone talk and history around them, the tension was ratcheted up wonderfully towards the end where I had to keep turning the pages and turning as quickly as I could. Ruth’s relationship with Nelson is continually explored and the difficulties this causes both parties. Ruth’s relationship with Cathbad is a mainstay of the book this time around as well, as the novel is set in Nelson’s home county of Lancashire and Cathbad goes with Ruth and Kate as Ruth needs to go there to look at some bones her friends found. Cathbad does a lot for her with Kate while she does her own stuff.
The only problem I had with this novel was how slowly I felt it started. There was little talk of bones, history around them or murder in the first part of the book where most of it was focused on Ruth herself. Though Griffiths’ writing is flawless and as I’ve said, I do love Ruth, I love her in the context as an archaeologist in action, not just meandering about.
But saying that, this novel has to have one of the best opening prologues I’ve read in a long time. The last line of it sent shivers down my spine!
It is a great read and one definitely worth picking up if you are a Ruth Galloway/Elly Griffiths fan.
Kristina Stanley says
I wonder if the title was changed to help sales. I’ve read that lots of authors experiment with changing the title and even the cover to boost sales. Just a thought.
Rebecca Bradley says
Interesting thought Christina and I’m not sure which came first, Dying Fall or The Dying Fall!
Margot Kinberg says
So glad you liked this as much as you did, Rebecca. I’m a fan of the Ruth Galloway series; and part of the reason is that Galloway is a very human character. She’s smart, successful and all that, but also as you say insecure in some ways. You’re spot on too, I think, about the network of friends she has. I also have to say I like the occasional looks we get at her ‘official’ uni life.
Rebecca Bradley says
There is so much to like about Ruth isn’t there Margot? So many facets of her life that we get to have a look at. I will be all caught up with the series soon I think!
crimeworm says
I thought another one had a change of name that was totally different – which isn’t fair in case you end up buying it twice. I must check and see what one I was thinking about. I’ve noticed a few books reappearing on NetGalley with different titles!
Rebecca Bradley says
I know with UK and US books they have totally different titles so you do have to be careful there. For some reason the marketers in the different countries don’t think each title will work for their home country so it’s changed. I know Karin Slaughters titles are always changed in countries.
FictionFan says
It was also called A Dying Fall at one point! I must say I find this series one of the most variable I follow – some are great, some are really quite poor. This was one of the better ones, I felt, though I do find the emphasis is more and more on Ruth and less and less on crime.
Rebecca Bradley says
Three different titles with such a minor detail change? Why bother? I thought I was losing my marbles when I noticed the two different titles. I’m glad I didn’t see three! And yes, I agree with you about the emphasis. I like Ruth, but I do love crime so I wish there was a better balance.
Steph says
I’ve still yet to read any of this series. That needs to change soon, always seeing great reviews
Rebecca Bradley says
You’ll love the first one in the series Steph, and the second one, but then it starts to change a little, but it’s definitely worth a look into. Just because it’s a break from the norm.
Jacqui Murray says
This is the last book I read in Griffiths’ series. It was too morose and–almost whiney for my taste. I enjoyed her earlier books and will probably try one of the next ones. I posted a review on Amazon with my thoughts and got lots of opinions on both sides. I love that.
Rebecca Bradley says
I think her books do tend to split opinion Jacqui. Though it’s great to see some of Ruth’s character, we are reading the books because we are crime lovers so there needs to be a better balance I think. And I hope she does take this feedback that must be coming through and balance it a bit more evenly.
Kay says
I am the biggest fan of this series. I love Ruth and her whole group of people. Even Nelson. Maybe especially Nelson. And little Kate. I read this one earlier this year and then the next and am ready to read the new on when it is published here in a couple of weeks. As to the slowness of the start, I wondered whether this was more of a ‘vacation’ book. Ruth is going to the area to consult, but it is a bit of holiday for her and Nelson is definitely on a break. With the donkeys and fair rides, seems very vacation-ish to me. And my copy here in the US was called A Dying Fall.
Rebecca Bradley says
It was definitely a vacation book wasn’t it Kay, but Ruth purpose of going was because of her friend Dan’s request and I’d hoped we were going to get into it a bit quicker than we did. I do love all the characters. And I love the series and will keep following it. The fact that she does what she does for a living brings something different to the crime fiction scene and I really enjoy that so I’m sticking with it.