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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Book #76 The Janus Stone

The Janus Stone: The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries 2 by Elly Griffiths
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is fast becoming one of my favourite series. OK, I've only read two so far! Which leaves six to go...

Clever and intelligent murder stories with likeable characters. Dr. Ruth Galloway is vulnerable and engaging. As a forensic archaeologist she finds herself embroiled in police investigations almost by accident. At the request of DCI Harry Nelson. As in #1, bones have been found, on this occasion at a Victorian house in Norwich, which is being demolished by builders to make way for a luxury apartment development. The skeleton appears to be that of a young child - minus the skull. How long has it been there? Could it be hundreds of years old or much more recent? The house was once a children's home and Nelson learns from the priest who used to run it that two children did go missing forty years ago - a boy and girl who have never been found.

As the investigation gathers pace sinister events occur; someone wants to put Ruth and Nelson off the scent, the scent of a long forgotten crime, events that put Ruth's life in danger.

Superstition and myth, Druid worship, Roman gods, forensic archaeology woven into a superb crime story set in the wild and bleak area of North Norfolk and another breathless and gripping climax that had my pulse racing once again. And that signature Elly Griffiths' cliffhanger of an ending. I am well and truly hooked. Number 3 it is then....

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Mass Raptor Poisoning

Allen Lambert worked as a gamekeeper on the Stody estate in north Norfolk. On 1 October 2014, he appeared at Norwich Magistrates' Court and was found guilty of two charges relating to the killing of 10 Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk on the estate and possession of pesticides and other items capable of being used to prepare poison baits.

A key part of the case for the defence was the idea that the number of dead Buzzards found was too high to have been achieved through illegal poisoning in one area and that the carcasses must therefore have been ‘planted’ on Mr Lambert. When the experts were consulted, however, BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) quickly provided the robust evidence that refutes this claim.

Counts of Buzzards in north Norfolk from the same time period as the crimes took place (March–April) were extracted from BirdTrack and mapped.

On the map orange dots represent counts of 10–14, red dots 15–20. These counts were logged by birdwatchers (I submit sightings to Birdtrack) during their day-to-day birding. Who could have foreseen that the simple action of recording sightings in BirdTrack would realise the immense value of such ‘normal’ observations in this way?

As well as proving beyond doubt that double-figure counts of Buzzards are a regular occurrence in Norfolk these days, data collected by BTO volunteers was used in court to highlight the recent population increase and range expansion of Buzzard. Data from Bird Atlas 2007–11 and the Norfolk Bird Atlas were used to show the eastward spread and increasing population density since the previous breeding atlas in 1988–91, while CBC/BBS data spanning 5 decades helped emphasise the recent, dramatic population increase.

It's not unusual for birdwatchers' records, provided impartially, to find valuable applications like this, though it's the first time that BirdTrack data have been utilised in such a case. Fantastic!