Ruth Galloway Series Book 1
Book Blurb:
The first entry in the acclaimed Ruth Galloway series follows the “captivating”* archaeologist as she investigates a child’s bones found on a nearby beach, thought to be the remains of a little girl who went missing ten years before.
Forensic archeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway is in her late thirties. She lives happily alone with her two cats in a bleak, remote area near Norfolk, land that was sacred to its Iron Age inhabitants—not quite earth, not quite sea. But her routine days of digging up bones and other ancient objects are harshly upended when a child’s bones are found on a desolate beach. Detective Chief Inspector Nelson calls Galloway for help, believing they are the remains of Lucy Downey, a little girl who went missing a decade ago and whose abductor continues to taunt him with bizarre letters containing references to ritual sacrifice, Shakespeare, and the Bible. Then a second girl goes missing and Nelson receives a new letter—exactly like the ones about Lucy.
Is it the same killer? Or a copycat murderer, linked in some way to the site near Ruth’s remote home?
My Review:
Dr. Ruth Galloway is a forensic archeologist at the University of North Norfolk. Don’t ask me why, but I liked this protagonist almost immediately. She is in her late thirties, lives with her two cats on an ancient spit of land between sea and land on the Saltmarsh coast. She is very isolated and seems to love it, despite the almost daily miserable gray and stormy conditions battering her small cottage.
When she is asked to accompany DCI Nelson to a desolate area near the area where bones are found, he is hoping she can identify a missing child in his caseload. He is enormously magnetic and catches Ruth’s eye, but she can discern immediately that the bones are probably Iron Age. Still, there is another missing child and he’s back.
Ruth is an interesting MC, easy to invest in, and will no doubt be more deeply developed in succeeding installments. The support characters are developed only as far as need be, but the overwhelming star of the show is the area. The writing chills, planting horrendous scenic storms in the mind’s eye. The area is desolate, wet, cold, foreboding.
I loved the detailed description of the Saltmarsh, the Henge Circle, the old legends and ancient myths. Lots to learn, love that history.
“Herbs picked on St John’s Eve have special healing powers.”
“The past is dead. She, as an archaeologist, knows that better than most. But she knows too that it can be seductive.”
It’s dark, creepy, and the writer takes her time with divulging little nuances, secrets, clues. I suspected the ultimate perp, was right, but wanted to see how it all played out. Yeah, I’m hooked and apparently this series went on audiobooks, so I’ll be looking for those next.
I received a copy of this book from my library that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.
Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars 
Book Details:
Genre: Traditional Detective Mysteries, Amateur Sleuth Mysteries, Amateur Sleuths
Publisher: Mariner Books: First Edition
ASIN: B003UV90G6
Print Length: 306 pages
Publication Date: January 5, 2010
Source: Library
Title Link(s):
Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
The Author: Thank you for visiting my Amazon author page! I’m the author of two crime series, the Dr Ruth Galloway books and the Brighton Mysteries. Last year I also published a stand-alone, The Stranger Diaries, and a children’s book, A Girl Called Justice. I have previously written books under my real name, Domenica de Rosa (I know it sounds made up).
The Ruth books are set in Norfolk, a place I know well from childhood. It was a chance remark of my husband’s that gave me the idea for the first in the series, The Crossing Places. We were crossing Titchwell Marsh in North Norfolk when Andy (an archaeologist) mentioned that prehistoric people thought that marshland was sacred ground. Because it’s neither land nor sea, but something in-between, they saw it as a bridge to the afterlife; neither land nor sea, neither life nor death. In that moment, I saw Dr Ruth Galloway walking towards me out of the mist…
I live near Brighton with Andy. We have two grown-up children. I write in a garden shed accompanied by my cat, Gus.
©2025 V Williams
Graphic courtesy Canva.com
Rosepoint Publishing 
Great review, Virginia. I keep saying I want to read this series, maybe it’s time I start. I love a good MC that I can get invested in.
Thank you, Carla! Interesting writing style, but the atmospheric novel will definitely capture your imagination and the MC is definitely every woman, you and me. well, maybe you–i couldn’t have gone through that much school. but a lot to learn in the book too. i hope you enjoy!
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