Book #19 The Outcast Dead

The Outcast Dead: The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries 6 by Elly Griffiths
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The best of six, so far. Well, that is my opinion! I love this series. I like the characters. The vulnerable Dr. Ruth Galloway and her daughter Kate, the old-fashioned copper DCI Harry Nelson, his bagman DS David Clough, a tough, dedicated officer and Cathbad (Michael Malone), raised a Catholic and now a druid and self-professed shaman. The series knits seamlessly together; elements of forensic archeology, myth, the supernatural and superstition. In The Outcast Dead child abduction is a major element in the plot, which adds to the tension and results in a breathless race against time.

Ruth has excavated a body from the grounds of Norwich Castle, thought to be that of Jemima Green, called Mother Hook for her claw-like hand. Jemima was hanged for the murders of five children. But, was she guilty? Frank, an American historian, thinks otherwise. Present as part of a US film crew, to create a documentary.

Harry Nelson is investigating the case of three infants found dead, one after the other and he is convinced that their mother is responsible. A clever interweaving of story-lines here.

And then a child goes missing.... Is there a possible link to the long-dead Mother Hook?

A rich, dark and fast-moving plot. Thank you Elly Griffiths for another cracking read!

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