A Room Full of Bones

First Line: The coffin is definitely a health and safety hazard.

The coffin in question belongs to a medieval bishop named Augustine who is dug up when the site of his burial is scheduled to be turned into a huge grocery store. Despite all the warnings Augustine gave about leaving his remains alone, a small "unveiling" is scheduled in the Smith Museum, presently owned by one of Augustine's descendants. Forensic archaeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway has been asked to preside over the opening of the coffin, but when she shows up at the museum a little early, she finds the curator dead on the floor by the bishop's remains.

Ruth's daughter Kate has just turned one, and Ruth feels as though she's slowly getting the hang of being a mother, even if show more Kate lets her get very little sleep. She'd like to be more interested in the curator's death, but the coroner labels it natural causes, and Ruth moves on to the next items in her busy agenda.

Bishop Augustine's unveiling is done very quietly, which is a good thing because something totally unexpected occurs. Augustine's descendant, Lord Smith, shows Ruth a room full of Aboriginal bones another ancestor harvested and brought back to England from Australia. A group called the Elginists is demanding that the bones be repatriated to their homeland, but Lord Smith views them as his rightful possessions and refuses. Shortly thereafter Lord Smith dies-- also of natural causes?-- and Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson is brought in to investigate.

Having been searching for drug smugglers, Nelson isn't convinced that these deaths are natural, especially when threatening letters to both victims turn up, but when he's hospitalized with a mysterious and deadly fever, his team have to take up the slack and try to find out how a medieval bishop, Aboriginal bones and drug smuggling all tie in together.

Although part of a series, this book can easily be read as a standalone because Griffiths fills in many details from the previous books (sometimes to the detriment of earlier plot points). The story here is a good one, with several elements that I didn't deduce before the author showed me how they fit together.

If you're the type of reader who demands that favorite characters remain front and center in each book of a series, you're going to be a bit disappointed in this one. Although there is much about Ruth and Harry's ever-evolving relationship, they are often at the periphery of the investigation. Although I did miss them, this allows Griffiths to let her secondary characters stretch their wings a bit and provide many exciting scenes.

Two things really excited me about this book. One was the plot. I love stories with strong elements of superstition and legend in them that can be explained by something concrete and almost commonplace. Not only does it give my brain a workout, this sort of plot does the same for the characters in showing how they react to it and investigate it. Griffiths' plot moved like a well-oiled machine, and I found myself reading faster and faster in an attempt to gather it all in and find a solution before the characters did.

The second thing that excited me was Griffiths' cast of characters. The cast is growing and developing strong new faces, which bodes well for the future of the series. The relationship between Ruth and Harry with its awkwardness and misunderstandings, the way Ruth is adapting to motherhood and the appearance of another man in her life, the way Harry and his wife are trying to hold things together... all these elements are constantly evolving as they would in the real world. In this book I was reminded time and again of my favorite "relationship" series written by Deborah Crombie. To have this series join the ranks of those in which the characters attain such a level of verisimilitude is very exciting stuff indeed. show less

These are always inventive. In this case there's an array of crimes, but none of them are the one you think you're going to be reading about when you first start reading and Ruth discovers the first body. In this case we have a coffin of an ancient Bishop, some aboriginal skulls, a drug smuggling case and some animal rights activists all mixed up, to varying degrees, in the resolution of the first death. The refreshing thing in this book is that Ruth doesn't run headlong into danger, she has more of an onlookers role in this one. It all gets a bit far fetched, but isn't that part of the fun?

This is a very good entry in the Ruth Galloway series. Ruth is called to examine a "collection" of likely aboriginal bones to determine whether they are in fact human, as well as the recently exhumed skeleton of a centuries-dead bishop whose coffin turned up in an excavation. All are in the possession of the wealthy Smith family, whose ancestor was responsible for bringing the human relics from Australia generations ago, and who can claim the bishop as family. Nothing is easy, naturally. The skeleton turns out to be full of surprises, and an activist group is determined that the Australian remains be repatriated so that the Old Ones can be at peace. Ruth's Druid friend Cathbad is in the midst of everything as usual. Nelson's wife has show more issued an ultimatum, and he's not making any progress with an investigation into a drug ring operating on his turf. People associated with those bones are mysteriously dying, and the horses in the Smith's prestigious racing stables seem to be suffering an inordinate amount of colic. It's nonsense, really, but there is that story about the bishop putting a curse on anyone who would ever disturb his remains by opening his coffin... show less

Note: Spoilers for previous books in this series

The fourth book in this charming crime series begins six months after the end of the third book. In the first three books, we met Ruth Galloway, an 40-ish overweight forensic archeologist at the (fictional) University of North Norfolk, and Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson of the Norfolk Police. The two teamed up to solve several crimes since Ruth is an expert on bones, and now Ruth is seconded to the Serious Crime Unit, which is headed by Nelson.

Ruth has been summoned to the local Smith Museum for the opening of a coffin that has been excavated and is believed to hold the bones of the 14th Century Bishop Augustine Smith, an ancestor of the museum’s owner, Lord Danforth Smith. When show more she arrives, however, she finds that the curator, Neil Topham, is lying dead beside the coffin. Further, there are threatening letters in Neil’s desk drawer. The museum houses a great many bones of Aboriginal Australians. A group calling itself the Elginists, dedicated to the repatriation of sacred artefacts, are believed to be behind the letters; they have also written to Lord Smith. They insist the remains of the ancestors must be returned “so they may enter the Dreaming [i.e., spirit world] and so complete the cycle of nature.” Otherwise, “The Great Snake will have its revenge.”

Nelson is called to the scene, taking a break from his work trying to figure crack a drug-smuggling ring in the area. When drugs are also found in Topham’s desk, Nelson senses a tie between the two cases.

Meanwhile, this is the first time he and Ruth have seen each other in six months. At her daughter Kate’s christening, Nelson’s wife Michelle figured out that Nelson was the father of Ruth’s baby, and insisted Nelson agree never to see Ruth or Kate again, except as it was necessary to see Ruth for work. Nelson told Ruth of this development, and then complied with Michelle’s wishes. Ruth was very hurt, but also did not want to ruin Nelson’s marriage.

Ruth has mixed feelings for Nelson, a combination of irritation, respect, and attraction. She refuses to consider whether or not she loves him. In any event, she is seeing someone occasionally - the archeologist Max Grey. She also has the frequent company of Cathbad, a modern-day druid and a bit of a “mystic archeologist” as well as Kate’s godfather and friend to both her and Nelson.

Nelson also is not clear on his feelings for Ruth. He loves his family, but he also can’t stop thinking about Ruth. And of course he loves his newest child. It’s all too painful to think about, so he tries not to do so.

Interesting subplots also concern complicated relationships and interrelationships: a member of Nelson’s team, Detective Sergeant Judy Johnson, is engaged to be married, but is attracted to Cathbad. Another Detective Sergeant, Dave Clough, is dating an archeologist from Ruth’s team at the university. Ruth’s sort-of best friend Shona is now living with Ruth's boss, Phil, and they are expecting a baby.

Suddenly, another person ends up dead, and Nelson himself becomes mortally ill. Both Ruth and Michelle are forced to confront uncomfortable truths, as Judy and Dave solve the crime and almost lose their own lives.

Discussion: Ruth is a lovely character, all the more likable, to my mind, for being so far from the stereotypical thin, gorgeous protagonist. The other main characters are excellently drawn with many layers, making them seem quite like real people.

Evaluation: This is a very appealing series, with well-drawn fascinating characters. I also love that one comes away from the book learning something besides how to commit a murder. (It is possible the author was inspired to write this particular book by this story from the British news in 2009 about the same issue.) show less

In the fourth Ruth Galloway mystery, A Room Full of Bones, Ruth has been asked to attend a local museum for the opening of a coffin thought to contain the remains of a medieval Bishop. When she arrives she discovers the museum’s curator lying on the floor. She phones for an ambulance and the police. When the man is pronounced dead at hospital, suspicions are raised and DI Harry Nelson is called in.

There are three plot lines running through this story. The first is the possible connection of the murder to a storeroom of Australian aboriginal skulls that were collected by members of the Danforth family. An interesting new neighbor of Ruth's, Bob Woonunga, is making a claim for the repatriation of the bones and skulls in the museum’s show more custody. Ruth’s old friend Cathbad is a also member of a group which has requested the items be returned to Australia for a proper burial. The second is a drug smuggling case that is primarily the focus of secondary characters, DS Judy Johnson and DS Clough. The final story line deals with the personal relationship of Ruth and Harry, which was left at a dramatic moment at the end of last book. It becomes even more interesting in this book.

I really enjoy this series. Ruth is an extremely interesting character and it was fun to see the very competent and respected archaeologist struggle as a single mother to a one year old daughter. She is not the main driver of solving the mystery, which is different from the prior books. There's a little supernatural thread in this book, which I found interesting and was later explained in a believable way. This series probably has the strongest secondary characters I can recall. I look forward to reading more about Ruth, Harry and the rest of the police and archaeologist gang in the next book, A Dying Fall. show less

In this adventure, Ruth, a forensic archaeologist, is asked to assist with identification and verification of the remains in a coffin that is being moved to a museum. When the museum director turns up dead (murdered?) an hour before the ceremony is to take place, the plot obviously becomes more involved.

These are great forensic mysteries. There is a stunning sense of place - the eastern shire of Norfolk England on the North Sea, and Ruth's little house on the salt marshes. The reader can smell the sea air, and hear the tide, the winds, and the birds whenever Ruth returns home. There is the ongoing story of Ruth, her daughter Kate (now a year old), and Kate's father, Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson (married to Michele), Kate's show more godfather and Ruth's friend Cathbad who channels Celtic Druids.

New characters abound here also, particularly family members of the museum director and owner Lord Danforth Smith. There is a huge country estate, and race horses to add to the puzzle. The identification of the remains (or is it an ancient mis-identification?) also lends to the mystery. Central to the story is a room at the museum full of bones that Lord Smith's grandfather brought back (stole??) from excavating in Aboriginal Australia. The natives want the bones repatriated so they can live with the ancestors.

The plot has several twists and surprises, making it difficult to explain in a review without spoiling your fun. These are easy reads, but not simplistic. I learn something new about archaeology every time I read one. She certainly has done her research and presents a clear picture of the issues surrounding skeletal remains being removed to museums. I also love the emotional tension Griffiths is developing between Harry and Ruth as the series progresses. These are both healthy, normal, moral people trying to navigate their feelings, trying to raise their daughter, and get on with their respective lives. Each book in the series advances these stories and I can't wait to get my hands on the next one. show less

Definitely my least favorite book of the series so far.

This time around, Ruth finds herself called to a museum for the opening of a medieval bishop's coffin, and stumbles onto murder. But the archaeology and forensics this time around are barely a part of the plot. We spend nearly half of the book with motherhood and relationship dramas and get very little time with the actual crimes occurring. Since we barely get into the crime part of the part, I found myself not caring about the outcome either way.
Ruth is continues her path of self-sabotage and ignores a true chance at happiness while forever pining away for Nelson. Ruth, you can do much, much better. I want to love this series, I really do, but I'm not sure I will continue on past show more book 5. Last chance, Ruth.

P.S. Why drop a bombshell about the bishop's bones and barely dig into it? Why put that in there at all? Seemed like it was for shock value and then dropped. Not necessary, and also not realistic to "diagnose" at a glance. show less