The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths

Reviewed by Jeanne

Ruth Galloway, university professor and archaeologist, is called in once again to examine some bones found during a construction survey.  The question is, have they stumbled on a historically important site that is going to hold up construction, or is it an old random burial, or—something else?

Meanwhile, Detective Inspector Nelson is asked to look into an almost hit and run. A young woman who was driving home after dark saw a man standing in the middle of the road in front of her car, but when she got out to look for him, he had simply vanished.  The other members of the team are investigation the apparent disappearance of a homeless woman, hearing rumors of people who have “gone underground.”  The police are unsure of how seriously to take these stories until one of their informants is found murdered and another person goes missing.

This is one of those series best read in order because a great deal of the story is bound up in the personal histories of the characters.  I have to admit that I often remember more about what happens to Ruth, Nelson, Cathbad, Kate, etc. than I do the mystery that frames their stories.  The characters are complex, fully realized people which is why they are so compelling. And while most of the attention is on Ruth and Nelson, the supporting characters also have interesting lives on and off the job.  Fans of the series will find this entry to be particularly delicious, for reasons I cannot divulge without spoilers.

Yet a Griffiths novel is always more than the characters and the mystery.  There are intriguing insights into various segments of British society: the Church of England, for example, or the “rough sleepers” (homeless) who appear in The Chalk Pit.   History always plays an important role, too, and readers learn about the many chalk tunnels under Norwich.

I will say that I was disappointed that one or two questions were never answered in the book, but on the other hand many mysteries in life are never resolved.  Better to leave loose ends than to tie them up too neatly.

I highly recommend this series!

Nevermore: Wiley Cash, Astrophysics, Elly Griffiths, Bloody Roads South, Murder on the Orient Express

Reported by Kristin

Nevermore began with some Appalachian flavor with The Last Ballad by Wiley Cash.  Ella May Wiggins is living in North Carolina in 1929, scraping by on the night shift at the local cotton mill.  The dirt and the danger are hard for the young woman to handle, but she is desperate to feed her family.  Union organizers start pushing for reform, but the leadership denounces their efforts as Communist.  Ella May decides to join the union movement at great personal risk.  The story is told by Ella May’s daughter Lilly, an old woman at the time of the telling.  The mingling of points of view is one of Cash’s trademarks, and he tells the story well.

A tiny book put in an appearance, What Women Say About Men: Witty Observations on the Male of the Species.  While group members chuckled, our reader said that it was a very enjoyable book, and surprisingly, she didn’t finish as quickly as she would have thought because she had to reflect upon the points made.

Another small but dense book was discussed next:  Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson.  Our reader said that this is for people who really want the big picture, and although it took him three weeks to read and digest it, it was well worth it.  Covering universal concepts (pun intended,) Tyson proposes many new facts for the lay person to get his or her mind around, so that many people may end up with even more new questions and ideas to explore further.

The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths brings back anthropologist Ruth Galloway to examine another set of bones, these found in the labyrinth of tunnels under Norwich.  The bones were translucent, almost as if they had been boiled.  Ruth has been involved with a local policeman during the earlier books in the series, and the affair continues.  Our reader very much enjoyed the characters and gives Ruth positive reviews, reading everything in the series for the past several years.

Our next reader was intrigued by Bloody Roads South: The Wilderness to Cold Harbor, May-June 1864 by Noah Andre Trudeau.  Vividly detailed personal accounts from the last strategic push of the Civil War show what carnage the soldiers endured and their thoughts as poured out to loved ones in letters.  Bringing alive the people involved, these little vignettes tell an engaging story to lovers and students of history alike.

Lastly, the new movie in theatres inspired another reader to pick up Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.  Called “the most widely read mystery of all time,” the story is comprised of a classic locked room murder, when Edward Ratchett is stabbed to death inside his train berth with the door locked from the inside (but no murderer in sight.)  Our reader said that she still had about twenty pages to go, and was looking forward to the dénouement.