I read this in December 2023 and inadvertently again in June 2024!

I was half way through before I realised it was a repeat, but I was enjoying the way it simply flowed easily that I continued till the end.

This is tenth in the series, and I would not start here. Each in the series is half the crime investigation and half the ever-evolving personal lives of the core group of characters. As to the latter, there are some dramatic developments but oddly they don't fall into the 'I never thought that was possible". And it is a little disappointing that there is one major cliff hanger left dangling. It is not unexpected, but it seems (the use of a cliff hanger as opposed to how the cliff hanger turns out) a little cheap (if that is the right word).

I suspect that both anyone still reading this series, and those who have already given up, will not be swayed by anything I say, so I will stop here.

Big Ship

12 June 2024 ( )

The Dark Angel is written by Elly Griffiths and is Book #10 in the Dr. Ruth Galloway Mystery series.
The Dark Angel is a very atmospheric mystery. Ruth has been invited by old friend Angelo Morelli to travel to Italy to help identify bones found in the very picturesque Italian countryside.
Ruth jumps at the chance for a holiday and travels with Kate, Shona and Louis to Castello degli Angeli. But all is not as it seems - the bones, the area, Angelo & his family - all harbor age-old secrets.
I was not prepared for the ending and the future changes that lie in store for the characters.
I can’t wait to read the next installment, The Stone Circle. **** ( )

The will-they-won’t they in this series takes some pretty wild turns.

Ruth Galloway along with her daughter Kate and her friend Shona and her son Louis are invited to Italy at the request of an Italian archaeologist Ruth had met at a conference years earlier. He has found some Roman bones, but it looks like some joker is trying to disrupt his dig and ruin his opportunity to be on television.

The invitation comes at a perfect time for Ruth. She's recently lost her mother to a massive stroke. She's also rekindled her romance with Nelson but that is skuttled when Nelson's wife announces that she is pregnant. However, Michelle hasn't mentioned that the baby could have been fathered by her lover who was once a subordinate of Nelson's.

Meanwhile at home in England, a murderer Nelson put away has been released from prison claiming to have been born again. However, that doesn't explain his lurking outside the homes of police officers who were instrumental in his arrest.

When there is an earthquake in Italy, Nelson rushes to Ruth and Kate's side and gets there just as the local priest is murdered. Motives could lead back to WWII and the Resistance movement as local feelings are still high on the topic.

This was another excellent mystery with a rich emotional element. Ruth's feelings for Nelson and his for her couldn't really be any more complicated. ( )

Ruth Galloway along with her daughter Kate and her friend Shona and her son Louis are invited to Italy at the request of an Italian archaeologist Ruth had met at a conference years earlier. He has found some Roman bones, but it looks like some joker is trying to disrupt his dig and ruin his opportunity to be on television.

The invitation comes at a perfect time for Ruth. She's recently lost her mother to a massive stroke. She's also rekindled her romance with Nelson but that is skuttled when Nelson's wife announces that she is pregnant. However, Michelle hasn't mentioned that the baby could have been fathered by her lover who was once a subordinate of Nelson's.

Meanwhile at home in England, a murderer Nelson put away has been released from prison claiming to have been born again. However, that doesn't explain his lurking outside the homes of police officers who were instrumental in his arrest.

When there is an earthquake in Italy, Nelson rushes to Ruth and Kate's side and gets there just as the local priest is murdered. Motives could lead back to WWII and the Resistance movement as local feelings are still high on the topic.

This was another excellent mystery with a rich emotional element. Ruth's feelings for Nelson and his for her couldn't really be any more complicated. ( )