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When she's not digging up bones or other ancient objects, Ruth Galloway lectures at the University of North Norfolk. She lives happily alone in a remote place called Saltmarsh overlooking the North Sea and, for company; she has her cats Flint and Sparky, and Radio 4. When a child's bones are found in the marshes near an ancient site that Ruth worked on ten years earlier, Ruth is asked to date them.
Brighton, 1950: When the body of a girl is found, cut into three, Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens is reminded of a magic trick: the Zig Zag Girl. The inventor of the trick, Max Mephisto, is an old friend of Edgar's. They served together in the war as part of a shadowy unit called the Magic Men. Max is still on the circuit, touring seaside towns in the company of ventriloquists, sword-swallowers, and dancing girls.
DS Wesley Peterson, newly arrived in the West Country town of Tradmouth, has his hands full when a child goes missing and a young woman is brutally murdered on a lonely cliff path. Then his old friend, archaeologist Neil Watson, unearths the skeletons of a strangled woman and a newborn baby in the cellar of an ancient merchant's house nearby. As the investigation continues, Wesley begins to suspect that these deaths, centuries apart, may be linked by age-old motives of jealousy, a sexual obsession and desperate longing.
Detective Chief Inspector Ryan retreats to Holy Island seeking sanctuary when he is forced to take sabbatical leave from his duties as a homicide detective. A few days before Christmas, his peace is shattered, and he is thrust back into the murky world of murder when a young woman is found dead amongst the ancient ruins of the nearby priory. When former local girl Dr. Anna Taylor arrives back on the island as a police consultant, old memories swim to the surface, making her confront her difficult past.
When DI Vera Stanhope finds the body of a woman in the sauna room of her local gym, she wonders briefly if she’s uncovered a simple death from natural causes. But a closer inspection reveals ligature marks around the victim’s throat…Vera pulls her team together and sets them interviewing those connected to the victim, while she and colleague, Sergeant Joe Ashworth, work to find a motive.
When a woman's body is discovered in a cathedral and hours later a young man is found hanging from a tree outside his home, Detective Lottie Parker is called in to lead the investigation. Both bodies have the same distinctive tattoo clumsily inscribed on their legs. It's clear the pair are connected, but how? The trail leads Lottie to St Angela's, a former children's home, with a dark connection to her own family history. Suddenly the case just got personal.
When she's not digging up bones or other ancient objects, Ruth Galloway lectures at the University of North Norfolk. She lives happily alone in a remote place called Saltmarsh overlooking the North Sea and, for company; she has her cats Flint and Sparky, and Radio 4. When a child's bones are found in the marshes near an ancient site that Ruth worked on ten years earlier, Ruth is asked to date them.
Brighton, 1950: When the body of a girl is found, cut into three, Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens is reminded of a magic trick: the Zig Zag Girl. The inventor of the trick, Max Mephisto, is an old friend of Edgar's. They served together in the war as part of a shadowy unit called the Magic Men. Max is still on the circuit, touring seaside towns in the company of ventriloquists, sword-swallowers, and dancing girls.
DS Wesley Peterson, newly arrived in the West Country town of Tradmouth, has his hands full when a child goes missing and a young woman is brutally murdered on a lonely cliff path. Then his old friend, archaeologist Neil Watson, unearths the skeletons of a strangled woman and a newborn baby in the cellar of an ancient merchant's house nearby. As the investigation continues, Wesley begins to suspect that these deaths, centuries apart, may be linked by age-old motives of jealousy, a sexual obsession and desperate longing.
Detective Chief Inspector Ryan retreats to Holy Island seeking sanctuary when he is forced to take sabbatical leave from his duties as a homicide detective. A few days before Christmas, his peace is shattered, and he is thrust back into the murky world of murder when a young woman is found dead amongst the ancient ruins of the nearby priory. When former local girl Dr. Anna Taylor arrives back on the island as a police consultant, old memories swim to the surface, making her confront her difficult past.
When DI Vera Stanhope finds the body of a woman in the sauna room of her local gym, she wonders briefly if she’s uncovered a simple death from natural causes. But a closer inspection reveals ligature marks around the victim’s throat…Vera pulls her team together and sets them interviewing those connected to the victim, while she and colleague, Sergeant Joe Ashworth, work to find a motive.
When a woman's body is discovered in a cathedral and hours later a young man is found hanging from a tree outside his home, Detective Lottie Parker is called in to lead the investigation. Both bodies have the same distinctive tattoo clumsily inscribed on their legs. It's clear the pair are connected, but how? The trail leads Lottie to St Angela's, a former children's home, with a dark connection to her own family history. Suddenly the case just got personal.
The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of James Oswald's gripping new Inspector McLean crime thriller Natural Causes, read by the actor Ian Hanmore. A young girl's mutilated body is discovered in a sealed room. Her remains are carefully arranged, in what seems to have been a cruel and macabre ritual, which appears to have taken place over 60 years ago.For newly appointed Edinburgh Detective Inspector Tony McLean this baffling cold case ought to be a low priority - but he is haunted by the young victim and her grisly death.
Despite her fascination with Jack the Ripper, Detective Constable Lacey Flint has never worked a big case or seen a dead body up close. Until now…As she leaves a south London estate one night, she is horrified to find a woman has been viciously stabbed, right next to Lacey’s car. Thrown headlong into her first murder hunt, Lacey’s quiet life changes overnight. Then Lacey receives a familiar hand-delivered letter, written in red blood, and it is clear the police have a Ripper copycat on their hands.
In Full Dark House, Christopher Fowler tells the story of both the first and last case of an unlikely pair of crime fighters - and how along the way they changed the face of detection. A present-day bombing rips through London and claims the life of 80-year-old detective Arthur Bryant. For his partner John May, it means the end of a partnership that lasted over half a century and an eerie echo back to the Blitz of World War II when they first met. Desperately searching for clues, May finds his friend’s notes of their first case....
What happened to Jacques Gaillard? The brilliant teacher at the École Nationale d’Administration, who trained some of France’s best and brightest as future prime ministers and presidents, vanished ten years ago, presumably from Paris. This ten-year-old mystery inspires a bet—one that Enzo Macleod, a biologist teaching in Toulouse, France, instead of pursuing a brilliant career in forensics back home in Scotland, can ill afford to lose.
The first audiobook which appeared in Georges Simenon's famous Maigret series, in a gripping new translation by David Bellos.Inevitably Maigret was a hostile presence in the Majestic. He constituted a kind of foreign body that the hotel's atmosphere could not assimilate. Not that he looked like a cartoon policeman. He didn't have a moustache and he didn't wear heavy boots. His clothes were well cut and made of fairly light worsted. He shaved every day and looked after his hands. But his frame was proletarian. He was a big, bony man.
Husband and wife Niamh and Ruairidh Macfarlane co-own Ranish Tweed: a Hebridean company that weaves its own special variety of Harris cloth, which has become a sought-after brand in the world of high fashion. But when Niamh learns of Ruairidh's affair with Russian designer Irina Vetrov, then witnesses the pair killed by a car bomb in Paris, her life is left in ruins. Along with her husband's remains, she returns home to the Isle of Lewis bereft.
A team of archaeologists, investigating coastal erosion on the north Norfolk coast, unearth six bodies buried at the foot of a cliff. How long have they been there? What could have happened to them? Forensics expert Ruth Galloway and DCI Nelson are drawn together again to unravel the past. Tests reveal that the bodies have lain, preserved in the sand, for sixty years. The mystery of their deaths stretches back to the Second World War, a time when Great Britain was threatened by invasion. But someone wants the truth of the past to stay buried, and will go to any lengths to keep it that way... even murder.
This was my introduction to Ruth Galloway: I didn't realise this was the 3rd book in the series (1. Crossing Places 2. Janus Stone). However, that didn't matter because the story and characterization are complete: you don't need to have read the first two books to enjoy this one.
I liked the narrative pace, which allowed the complex psychology of the different characters time to unfold. I was also kept guessing about the identity of the murderer. I particularly liked the descriptions of the bleak Norfolk landscape.
Jane McDowell reads well, although her Norfolk accent lapses into a kind of generic Archers-countryfolk accent at times.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
What did you like most about The House at Sea's End?
Ruth Galloway is a wonderful character (fiesty, feminist, athiest, fallible). In this third book, the tension between her and Nelson builds excellently, and I found the story more contemporary and easier to follow for that.
Have you listened to any of Jane McDowell’s other performances? How does this one compare?
Her narration is generally excellent, but in the first two books in the series, her voicing of Nelson was pretty bad - far to high in tone and a bit manic, not to mention a terrible attempt at the Lancashire accent. Due to this, I couldn't give her narration more than 4* for those books. Here, she has dramatically improved this. The Lancashire accent remains a bit dodgy, but her voicing of Nelson is now really good.
Any additional comments?
Looking forward to the next in the series. I'm off now to buy it!
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
This is the third novel I’ve listened to in the series featuring forensic archeologist Ruth Galloway. I definitely benefitted from listening in chronological order as the relationships among the characters develop with time. As in earlier books the formula is a find of the bones of a body (or bodies in this case) from the past that then gets linked to a contemporary crime. The bones in this story are mid 20th Century. I enjoyed meeting familiar characters and hear what was happening in their lives coupled with an interesting historical story. The archeological parts are informative, however I was disappointed that yet another book in the series ends with Ruth’s life being in jeopardy. I appreciate that this is fiction but it has to be reasonably credible and so I find it ridiculous that a university lecturer consulted about the age of bones would invariably end up in fear of her life. The stories are good enough without the frantic endings. However, rather like The Archers the lives of the characters becomes addictive and I will continue with the series even though I suspect I’d be annoyed by the ending.
The narrator is excellent and can turn her voice to many accents.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
Loved this book as it reminded me of the Norfolk coast and it seemed to have a lot of the locale where we lived in the book. Very good story and well read. I became immersed so deeply it was difficult to take breaks as I just wanted to continue on and on.
If you love a good murder mystery and are in or have lived/holidayed in Norfolk I'm sure you will love this book!
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes absolutely, I would advise read the series from the beginning it adds a richness to the characters.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Loving this series can't enough - on to the next one hope it's as good as the rest
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Really enjoying this series of book great characters well written and believable storylines love the historical descriptions
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
This book is the third in the series. They need to be read in order. A brilliant book, fantastically researched and gripping stories. The narrator is excellent and I am definitely looking for the rest of the series. Skilful story with just enough characters, brought in well and plenty of suspense. Definitely did not guess the outcome. But DO read the books in series order to get the full story.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
I enjoyed this story very much , and can't wait to see how the relationship between Ruth and Nelson pans out .
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Several books into the serious I realise the stories are becoming rather similar and highly unlikely ; but this doesn't seem to matter...they're not that relevant they are just hooks on which to hang the ever evolving characters and their relationships. :-)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Not sure what to think about this third book in Elly Griffiths' spooky mystery series set in wild coastal Norfolk. I loved the first two books and I save these titles in my library as treats to be enjoyed and looked forward to. I should have known something was up when several other reviewers queried--and I quote here--if Griffiths wasn't going barmy? I confess I had to look up the exact meaning of the term barmy. It may be apt.
The book was convoluted and rambling and at times beyond comprehension as it was so outside of what I would consider normal personal and even police behavior. In a way it was like listening to a family member--still half asleep retelling a long mixed up dream they had just had and wanted you to sort out for them. Some things just don't make any sense.
In addition, there are four or maybe even five major errors in the storyline. I can't elaborate here as I hate plot spoilers--but someone--author or an editor should have picked up these problems. I have read other reviews that found errors that I missed and I am not counting those in my list. This gives me further pause.
In the end the story works itself to a neat close but these characters are becoming not just flawed but frankly unlikable. On the whole the book was just too sloppy and careless for my taste. Proceed with caution is my best advice on this one.
30 of 32 people found this review helpful
Would you consider the audio edition of The House at Sea's End to be better than the print version?
I don't understand the reasoning behind the several negative reviews of this book - I'm typically swayed in my purchase choices by user reviews but having enjoyed the other installments of this series so much, decided to ignore them and go for it anyway....I'm so glad I did! I enjoyed this book just as much as the others! It's a great listen!
6 of 7 people found this review helpful
In addition to some serious plot issues, another major criticism of this book is the narration. While some sections were narrated excellently and eloquently, it seemed to me that way too much emphasis was put on the first word(s) (usually a name) in every succeeding paragraph. These words/names were simply shouted and as such, broke into the pace and flow of the story. As for the story itself, there were just too many gaps for my liking -- I don't want to list them because it might spoil the story for others -- but things just didn't hang together and needed a good bit of backgrounding by the author. As a result, it was difficult to develop any empathy for the characters and in the end, it just didn't matter who survived and who didn't. Story 3 stars; narration 2!
5 of 6 people found this review helpful
Would you consider the audio edition of The House at Sea's End to be better than the print version?
In the books the detectives are reviewing a list of books in chapter 16. the hounds of the Baskerville (sp) as written by " Sherlock Holmes" It was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
What did you like best about this story?
The story and English characters.
What does Jane McDowell bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
The dialogue and English characters. It is like listening to the radio of my youth.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Not extreme just comfortable.
Any additional comments?
I write this review to note the accuracy of that one instance and wonder if it was an author's mistake or the narrator's mistake.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful
I really enjoyed this book. Great storyline and lots of action. I am looking forward to reading the remainder of the books in this series.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Jane McDowell who did the excellent narration of the two prior books in this series again does a great job with this third in the series. No complaints about the production.
Ruth's determination to raise her daughter without assistance from the father however is daft. Ruth discovers the problems with dealing with the practicality of child rearing as a single mother while the father clearly wishes to be involved both personally and financially with his daughter. Due to the determination that the relationship must be kept secret things get more and more confused.
Meanwhile in addition to the usual cast of characters, a friend of Ruth's from a prior stint in Bosnia shows up. A woman whose son, husband and parents were killed in the conflict there. Then there are people whose parents and grandparents were involved with WWII and a secret that it seems someone is willing to go to extremes to protect.
Ruth really doesn't have any serious problems with being a single mother as her friends rally around to provide assistance and support. Meanwhile bodies pile up but Ruth doesn't have that much detecting to do. I'm not sure where the author is going with this series, but I am not looking forward to forensic anthropology with a toddler. Unfortunately, at the end of the book I felt that things in the personal story arc were unresolved and I'm not sure I'm really interested in the resolution. Let's have some more archaeology please..
12 of 19 people found this review helpful
Griffiths flawed characters are interesting and ring true. The stories are engaging - enough mystery to satisfy - but the best part is the story of the ongoing characters.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
Would you listen to The House at Sea's End again? Why?
I would happily listen to another story by the same author.
Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?
It had enough twists and turns to keep me interested
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
Narrator did a good job with the array of accents and otherwise did not outshine the story - which is the point.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No
Any additional comments?
This was a comfort book. Nice every day tale of small British towns and the mud found underneath the surface.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful
England fears a Nazi invasion during the war. Did it actually happen, or are the stories of an invasion merely myths? The folks on the northern coast were fully prepared.
Where did six bodies found in the sand 70 years later come from.?
Well written, familiar investigative characters, Ruth and Inspector Nelson and all the minor characters are there. Worth a second listen.
I’ve really enjoyed the first two Ruth Galloway books. This one, less. The wheels fell off the bus about 3/4 way in, when it seemed like a game of Russian roulette- ‘anyone and everyone might be the criminal!!’ And our constantly sensible Dr. Galloway lost her mind in unbelievable emotion which wasn’t assisted by the narration - squealing through an anxious bit - to the point of distraction. I had to turn it off until I found my courage back (and wanted to continue the story). Really disappointing. I’ll stop with the series now.