The Ghost Fields: The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries 7 (Ruth Galloway, #7)

by Elly Griffiths

When a bullet-ridden body is unearthed from a buried WWII plane, Dr Ruth Galloway must find out who the victim was - and who put him there.

Norfolk is experiencing a July heatwave when a construction crew unearths a macabre discovery - a buried WWII plane with the pilot still inside. Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway quickly realizes that the skeleton couldn't possibly be the pilot, and DNA tests identify the man as Fred Blackstock, a local aristocrat who had been reported dead at sea. When the remaining members of the Blackstock family learn about the discovery, they seem strangely frightened by the news.

Events are further complicated by a TV company that wants to make a film about Norfolk's deserted air force bases, the so-called Ghost Fields, which have been partially converted into a pig farm run by one of the younger Blackstocks. As production begins, Ruth notices a mysterious man lurking close to the Blackstocks' family home.

As the biggest storm Norfolk has seen in decades brews in the distance, human bones are found on the family's pig farm. Can the team outrace a looming flood to find a killer?

• ISBN10: 1848663307
• ISBN13: 9781848663305
• Publish Date: 26 March 2015
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 7 May 2016
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Quercus Publishing
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Mystereity Reviews]

Deducted half a star because there wasn't a lot of Cathbad. *sigh* I love Cathbad. #CharacterCrush

So the plot in this book, the 7th in the Ruth Galloway series, was very Shakespearean. Fathers, sons, brothers, a dash of crazy, a scant teaspoon of biblical floods, a dollop of romance and a pinch of marital infidelity. All that was missing was the where-fore-art-thou's. A WWII plane is uncovered in a field with skeletal remains inside, which leads Ruth, Nelson and the team to an eccentric area family with skeletons in the closet. Well, one less skeleton, as it was in the field.

Of course, I love getting back to King's Lynn and catching up with the gang. I love the characters in this series, and the location is a character in itself. An interesting plot woven around a lot of action, just the right pacing to keep it interesting without getting bogged down.

What I didn't like was that the plot took a backseat to all the soap opera-y things going on. Ruth has steadily degenerated from a strong, independent woman to one that simpers after the man she can't have and agonizing about the one that she can. The storyline with Judy going into labor at the house was a little much. Also didn't care for the whole infidelity storyline. It didn't add to the story and I guess it was only there to set the stage for a future plot. There also wasn't a lot of forensic-y things for Ruth to do. And I pity her poor students, who probably never get their tests back in a reasonable amount of time.

Overall, the minuses are just nit-picky things that bothered me but didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. It was still an enjoyable read in one of my favorite series and, of course, leaves me pining for the next.