Dying Fall: A Ruth Galloway Investigation

Ruth remains one of my favorite mystery characters. She is very real with believable strengths and weakness. Like all of us she is always second guessing herself. DCI Nelson and the Druid Cathbarth, other characters in these tales, are well developed with their own strengths and weakness. Ms. Griffiths' books, well plotted and riveting until the last paragraph, leave the reader wanting more.

Didn't read print version.

BRING BACK Jane McDowell! Clare Corbett is a terrible match for these characters! I'm going to finish the book, bit I'm dreading hearing the male characters talk. I can't comment on their accents, but she sounds as if she's doing parodies of male voices.

The narrator attempted to do several accents. If I were from Yorkshire, I would have been offended. Just because someone has an accent is no reason to make them sound stupid. The regular narration was so soft, I had to turn the volume way up. Even then, I could hardly hear it. But the "accents" were so loud and horrible that the dialogue seemed as if it were being yelled. Even the poor two year old screamed every single word of her dialogue. All in all, a ridiculous circus that really detracted from the book.

The Ruth Galloway series is well-written and interesting, with good continuing character development throughout. Ruth is an archeologist who tends to always become involved in forensic activities, so has developed a strong relationship with some of the local police, as well as her friends from the university where she teaches.

In this book, Ruth receives a letter from a friend from an earlier time in her life, just after he has been killed in a fire, hinting at a stupendous archeological discovery. Ruth feels she must travel to Pendle University where he taught to investigate. So she sets out with her young daughter. Her friend Cathbad the druid is there, and so, conveniently, is Nelson, the policeman who is also father to her child.

As she looks into the discovery, dark and strange events begin to occur. Someone does not want her there, and will go to great lengths to get her to leave.This is a very good series. But it is always frustrating that Ruth manages to put herself into otherwise avoidable danger. In this book, it is her daughter who is at risk.

If the reader simply accepts that an intelligent woman with a young child seems to take chances that always lead to danger, this, like all the others, is a good book. It has good interaction among the characters beyond the mystery itself. I had read all the previous books, and this was the first with a narrator I have listened to. I was unimpressed with Clare Corbett's interpretation of male voices, but when she was simply reading the story itself, she was quite good.

This 5th volume is my favorite of the series. I appreciated the different setting: Blackpool sees Ruth consulting on recent find by her old college chum (now dead in a mysterious fire.) Druid friend Cathbarth and Kate are in tow.

DCI Nelson and wife are vacationing in Blackpool, visiting his mother. Naturally, the 3 become entangled in solving the mystery behind archaeologist Goldingls fiery death.

I like the introduction to Nelson' family (his mum is a hoot and bonds quickly with Cathbarth) as well as his old "stomping" ground and colleagues. I look forward to seeing more of Sgt Tim (hoping he will follow Nelson back south, as he is an intriguing character.)

The mystery holds together fairly well and Kate isn't too much an intrusive part of the story (I typically prefer the surly loners). I actually find myself looking forward to seeing how Griffiths handles Kate's aging.

Some of the transitions between scenes are a bit choppy, but I suspect this is due to the format (probably wouldn't be as harsh in text.)

Narrator handles the different accents and characters with aplomb.

Highly recommend to any mystery lover.

Action, suspense, great characters and a well-written story. I am getting used to the narrator/voices in my head disconnect (you know, when what you're hearing isn't how you thought the characters should sound ); Ms Corbett is absolutely capable-her men sound like men, her accents are amazing, and I like her voice.

If you're up for a decent forensic series without a lot of gore and isn't going to leave you unable to sleep at night, allow me to suggest this entire series. And I do suggest you start at the beginning to get the full flavor of how things are put together and who these people are.

And I'm delighted to say that while this series is beginning to flag a bit, it is still a solid 4 stars.

I must remember that Elly Griffiths likes to write in the present tense and I dont like listening to stories written in the present tense. Whilst the story was interesting enough I found that the tense grated on me and I spent more time listening for that than I did for the plotlines. Shame, the premise is good, the locations mean something to me but I wont be getting any more.

I wont critique this book....I leave that to others who are more erudite than I. But do snuggle down with an Elly Griffiths mystery and prepare to be awake all night, wanting to listen all the way to the end. The Crossing Places is the first book of the Ruth Galloway series... listen to them in order.
I do want to recommend "cruising" around the Audible website. Elly Griffiths was a happy discovery for me, along with Kate Atkinson, Louise Penny and Deborah Crombie, authors I hadn't previously read but who are now numbered among my favorite contemporary mystery writers.
Oh, good grief, I almost forgot Peter May...The Black House and The Lewis Man were just outstanding and I'm so disappointed that Audible doesn't have the US publishing rights for the third book, The Chessmen. Nevertheless, whether you listen or read, this is such a good trilogy... a cut above his other books, which are lighter in tone.

The story is ok. I am tempted to read the earlier books just to find out how Nelson and Ruth ended up having a child together when he appears to love his wife so much. But, I doubt if I will. The story was just not that compelling.

What I will do is look for other books narrated by CC. She does amazing things with her voices. At one point I thought perhaps it was a real child doing the voice of Kate, Ruth's 2 y.o. daughter. She gives a different voice to each character, so much so that I imagine I can see them in my head.

Go back to Jane McDowell as your narrator. Clare Corbett is irritating right from the beginning but when she starts to do the "voices" of the various characters she becomes unbearable. She is not able to keep the voices consistent with the associated characters and her idea of the local accents is just insulting. I could not finish listening to this book and will read it instead.

Change your narrator and a book should be read not performed!!!