Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jan 2012
384 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
Elly Griffiths's Ruth Galloway novels have been praised as "highly atmospheric" (New York Times Book Review), "remarkable" (Richmond Times-Dispatch), and "gripping" (Louise Penny). Now the beloved forensic archeologist returns, called in to investigate when human bones surface on a remote Norfolk beach.
Just back from maternity leave, Ruth is finding it hard to juggle motherhood and work. The presence of DCI Harry Nelson - the married father of her daughter, Kate - does not help. The bones turn out to be about seventy years old, which leads Nelson and Ruth to the war years, a desperate time on this stretch of coastland. Home Guard veteran Archie Whitcliffe reveals the existence of a secret that the old soldiers have vowed to protect with their lives. But then Archie is killed and a German journalist arrives, asking questions about Operation Lucifer, a plan to stop a German invasion, and a possible British war crime. What was Operation Lucifer? And who is prepared to kill to keep its secret?
"Starred Review. Griffiths's third offers not only an excellent mystery but a continuing exploration of the lives of complex, sometimes unlovable characters." - Kirkus Reviews
"Gripping... [Ruth Galloway] is solitary plump and smart and self-assured, and very, very likeable." - Globe and Mail (UK)
"After just two books in this gripping series the central characters, forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway and DCI Harry Nelson, have the allure of old friends, and it's great to find that the third title is just as enthralling as its predecessors." - The Guardian (UK)
"This is the third in the quirky, compelling series starring British forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway..." - Booklist
This information about The House at Sea's End was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Elly Griffiths is the author of the Ruth Galloway and Brighton mystery series, as well as the standalone novels The Stranger Diaries, winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel, and The Postscript Murders. She is the recipient of the CWA Dagger in the Library Award and the Mary Higgins Clark Award. She lives in Brighton, England.
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