The Stone Circle

Dr Ruth Galloway, Book 11

By: Elly Griffiths

Narrated by: Jane McDowell

Length: 10 hrs

Publisher's Summary

DCI Nelson has been receiving threatening letters telling him to 'go to the stone circle and rescue the innocent who is buried there'. He is shaken, not only because children are very much on his mind, with Michelle's baby due to be born, but because although the letters are anonymous, they are somehow familiar. They read like the letters that first drew him into the case of The Crossing Places, and to Ruth. But the author of those letters is dead. Or are they?

Meanwhile, Ruth is working on a dig in the Saltmarsh - another henge, known by the archaeologists as the stone circle - trying not to think about the baby. Then bones are found on the site and identified as those of Margaret Lacey, a 12-year-old girl who disappeared 30 years ago.

As the Margaret Lacey case progresses, more and more aspects of it begin to hark back to that first case of The Crossing Places, and to Scarlett Henderson, the girl Nelson couldn't save. The past is reaching out for Ruth and Nelson, and its grip is deadly.

©2019 Elly Griffiths (P)2019 Quercus Editions Limited

Critic Reviews

"My favourite series." (Val McDermid)

NARRATION

This is not a critique of the narrator who is very good. I wear earphones to listen and therefore prefer a straightforward reading of the book, not a performance. When there is altered acoustics, for example the tinny narration of a telephone conversation, it can become irritating and inaudible. I have enjoyed the series so far and hope for another one, what is to become of Michelle, Nelson and Ruth?

Difficult to hear at times

Unlike many of the Elly Griffiths audible books, the narrators Lancashire accent doesn’t make Nelson sound stupid- but the irritating use of a voice on the end of the phone sounding distant and too low is the thing that spoilt it for me.
I often listen in the kitchen, doing housework or in the car and the telephone conversations spoilt it for me . I’d miss the information and clues.
Also the mouth noises of the reader seemed more obvious in this novel. This also irritated me. (Makes me sound as though I’m permanently irritated. But I did feel it marred my enjoyment. The plot was good. I didn’t for-see the culprit.

Confusing at times

I found this story confusing at times. Too many characters and the narrator did not leave enough time between paragraphs so I was left wondering what was going on as it skipped to a different character who sounded much the same as previous one! Except when she tried to change accents and they all sounded Irish! Must be lots Irish people living in Norfolk!! She also kept making strange sounds as she read, like she had a cold or sore throat? Not the best of Elly's stories for me.

Fantastic as usual

I’m now so sad that I’ve finished this book and will have to wait for the next. It’s rare to find so many fully rounded characters to care about and plots that weave around them and into the past of the series too which makes it all that more satisfying for fans of these books. Thank you Elly Griffiths and thank you to the superb story telling too Jane McDowell!

Ruth... My Favourite Heroine

Set in the beautiful eerie Salt Marsh in Norfolk, we catch up with the complicated life of Ruth, her policeman lover Nelson, his wife Michelle and their respective family and friends with whom, by book ten, we are now comfortably familiar.

An ancient burial along with a more modern crime keep the mystery moving along as we follow the investigation alongside the lives of the characters.

This is my favourite series ever and this latest Ruth book is fantastic. Ruth as a heroine is perfect; independent, thoughtful and flawed but by now very real to me.

Jane is a fabulous narrator too and makes the story so enjoyable to listen to.

Thank you Elly... please don’t stop 😊😊😊

The Stone Circle

I have rather committed myself to reading all of these books recently, but am finding them really repetitive. This is novel #11, but harks back to novel #1 for so many reasons. It was very 'meh'

DULL SOAP OPERA WITH DEAD BODY IN THE BACKGROUND

That's pretty well it. A convoluted, boring soap opera with the body of a long dead missing girl that the author sometimes remembers to meantion as she is supposedly the reason for a book that is essentially cover to cover relationship drivel.
I won't bore myself with Elly Griffiths again.
Don't bother.

Narrated beautifully by Jane McDowell.

Enjoyed all the twists and turns. Good characters, old and new. Highly recommend the series.

Best

I think this is the best Ruth Galloway book. The story twists and turns and and leads you up and down different paths.

Sadly Not For Me

Whilst I have no doubt it will be widely enjoyed, I found it overly complicated by an enormous cast of characters with inadequate definition which got in the way of a multi levelled storyline. I also found it difficult to decide whether this was a romantic novel with criminal leanings or the reverse. I'm probably being overly picky, but, unusually, I had no difficulty in putting my tablet to one side rather than reading chapters back to back. ie, for me, not a "page turner" as I believe the expression is!!