Book Review: The Ghost Fields (Ruth Galloway #7) by Elly Griffiths
I was going to make my review: ‘I love Ruth. I love Nelson. I want them to get together and have secksy times. End of.’ Then I realised I probably should say something more intelligent in a review than that, so here goes…
The Ghost Fields is number seven in the Ruth Galloway series. The mystery this time surrounds a body found in a WW2 plane wreckage which has been dug up during preparation for a new housing estate. Ruth is called in and quickly determines the person was murdered and not killed by the crash. Soon after, members of the victim’s family, who also previously owned the land where the plane was discovered, are also attacked. Assuming the attacks and the original murder are linked, Nelson and co set out to investigate.
In typical murder mystery fashion, there’s a plethora of characters who could be the likely killer. This time around I picked the perpetrator quite quickly. This did not spoil the reveal as I had no idea why this person was committing crimes (it wasn’t just my gut instinct, there were a few clues along the way) and so I was still interested in the why/when/how etc.
There’s a couple of heart stopping moments when it came to the mystery/thriller plot. One involving regular character Clough, and one that made me wonder if Griffiths is a fan of Hannibal Lecter. *shudder*
The Ghost Fields title comes from the name given to the many now abandoned airfields which were built during the war. Some were genuine fields, and some simply ruses to fool the Germans. All the history Griffiths presented was interesting; I was never bored with the storyline and even though Griffiths has already used WW2 in a previous installment, it felt fresh and new and original.
I will insist, however, that if you’re still reading the series at this point, you’re not really reading it for the mysteries. It’s the characters you’re interested in.
Other than new policeman Tim (I’m still sitting on the fence when it comes to him and I actually keep waiting for Griffiths to kill him off!), all the regular supporting characters are like old friends to me now. Griffiths’ characterisation is always great. Even Ruth’s daughter, who has now started school, has her own unique personality and ‘voice’. Reading about their lives is like wrapping a cosy blanket around me on a cold night.
I would never recommend you read this book (or any of the others in the series for that matter) as a standalone. To understand the characters, and to get the full effect of the soap opera of their lives, you really have to read the Ruth Galloway books in order. I laughed and cried and gasped aloud at some of the situations Griffiths forces them into during this installment.
I’m definitely going on to number eight, especially after Griffiths finished on a huge cliffhanger/teaser (I hate/love her so much).
An obvious 5 out of 5 for me.
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