The Woman In Blue

The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries 8

By: Elly Griffiths

Narrated by: Jane McDowell

The murder of women priests in the shrine town of Walsingham sucks Dr Ruth Galloway into an unholy investigation.

Ruth's friend Cathbad is house-sitting in Walsingham, a Norfolk village famous as a centre for pilgrimages to the Virgin Mary. One night, Cathbad sees a strange vision in the graveyard beside the cottage: a young woman dressed in blue. Cathbad thinks that he may have seen the Madonna herself but, the next morning, the woman's body, dressed in white nightdress and blue dressing-gown, is found in a ditch outside Walsingham. DCI Nelson and his team are called in and establish that the dead woman was a recovering addict being treated at a nearby private hospital.

Ruth, a devout atheist, has managed to avoid Walsingham during her seventeen years in Norfolk. But then an old university friend, Hilary Smithson, asks to meet her in the village,ad Ruth is amazed to discover that her friend is now a priest. Hilary has been receiving vitriolic anonymous letters targeting women priests - letters containing references to local archaeology and a striking phrase about a woman 'clad in blue, weeping for the world.'

Then another woman is murdered - a priest.

As Walsingham prepares for its annual Easter re-enactment of the Crucifixion, the race is on to unmask the killer before they strike again...
(P)2016 Quercus Publishing Plc©2016 Elly Griffiths

Critic reviews

One of my current favourite crime series . . . a pleasure from start to finish (Val McDermid)

Griffiths has become a dab hand at plotting and cranking up the tension. The murders, and the muddled humanity of the characters, keep us turning the pages

Crime that doesn't sacrifice good writing and clever characterisation for the sake of the plot (Sarra Manning)

Elly Griffiths writes ever-more ingenious detective stories with a powerful sense of place and a varied cast of sympathetic and unusual characters. Her heroine is a winner.

Griffiths weaves superstition and myth into her crime novels, skilfully treading a line between credulity and modern methods of detection

Another great addition to the series!

Great mystery, interesting twists and turns in the lives of Ruth and her circle, and an excellent reader! Looking forward to the next one!

The mouth noises….

The narrator is just so annoying with the mouth noises. I’ve heard other narrators speaking about hydration, food to avoid and other professional tips. This narrator should learn these things. I will never listen to her again. Her voice is ok- it’s just those irritating noises.

Excellent continuation of the series

I really like Griffith's Ruth Galloway series. They are very well written with interesting, unusual characters. This one has the side light of a conference of female priests from the Anglican Church.

Too many characters.

I got confused by the many secondary characters. I listen to the books while walking, so can’t easily flip back to find info I missed. Anyway, I love the series and look forward to the next installment.

Narrator issues

The previous narrator was what I was used to. This one didn’t have the voices right and hearing her breathing as she read got to be annoying. As for the story -enjoyable.

Great atmosphere of ecclesiastical odd stuff

I most enjoyed in this book all the Catholic and Anglican atmosphere and information about the pilgrimage town. One scene of Ruth's research into the Madonna Lactans had me hooting with laughter. That churchy theme was so well done it made up for a pretty unconvincing motive for the murderer and an excess of titillation, I felt, around the progress, or otherwise, of Ruth and Nelson's relationship. I enjoyed the narration.

Like a marshmallow Peep

The first few sugary bites are delicious but ultimately you are left wanting more than empty calories. Recycled material, religion, and no real movement of long term plots.

Good series

After listening to all the Ann Cleeves books, I doubted I would ever find a series I liked as well but I am hooked on Elly Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway series. The archaeology theme is invariably interesting, the characters are complex, and the plots are intricate. The added theme of religion from a somewhat academic point of view added to the complexity. Jane McDowell is a wonderful reader.

another great Ally Griffiths novel!

I absolutely love these characters, they dont get old.
I'll be reading more for sure.

Not the best in the series but still enjoyable

This book is best listened to by those who have followed Ruth from the beginning. I also missed Claire Corbett as narrator

Still, I enjoyed this book. It was like checking in on old friends