The House at Sea's End - Hardcover

Elly Griffiths

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1849163677 ISBN 13: 9781849163675

Publisher: Quercus, 2011

Synopsis

Just back from maternity leave, forensic archeologist Ruth is finding it hard to juggle motherhood and work when she is called in to investigate human bones that have surfaced on a remote Norfolk beach. The presence of DCI Harry Nelson, the married father of her daughter, does not help. The bones, six men with their arms bound, turn out to date back to World War II, a desperate time on this stretch of coastland.

As Ruth and Nelson investigate, Home Guard veteran Archie Whitcliffe reveals the existence of a secret the old soldiers have vowed to protect with their lives. But then Archie is killed and a German journalist arrives, asking questions about Operation Lucifer, a plan to stop a German invasion, and a possible British war crime. What was Operation Lucifer? And who is prepared to kill to keep its secret?

About this title

From the Inside Flap

There is already a neat trench in the narrow gap between the tall cliffs. Nelson looks at it with pleasure . . . Then he looks closer. The trench appears to be full of bones.

Elly Griffiths’s Ruth Galloway novels have been praised as “highly atmospheric” (New York Times Book Review) and “remarkable” (Richmond Times-Dispatch). Now the beloved forensic archeologist returns, called in to investigate when human bones surface on a remote Norfolk beach.

Just back from maternity leave, Ruth is finding it difficult to juggle motherhood and work. The presence of DCI Harry Nelson—the married father of her daughter, Kate—does not help. The bones, skeletons of six men with their arms bound, turn out to be about seventy years old, which leads Nelson and Ruth to the war years, a desperate time on this stretch of coastland. Home Guard veteran Archie Whitcliffe reveals the existence of a secret the old soldiers have vowed to protect with their lives. But then Archie is killed and a German journalist arrives, asking questions about Operation Lucifer, a plan to stop a German invasion, and a possible British war crime. What was Operation Lucifer? And who is prepared to kill to keep its secret?

From the Back Cover

PRAISE FOR THE RUTH GALLOWAY MYSTERY SERIES
“Elly Griffiths draws us all the way back to prehistoric times . . . Highly atmospheric.”—New York Times Book Review

“Ruth Galloway is a remarkable, delightful character: brilliant, wry, determined, and independent, almost to a fault—readers are sure to clamor for the next book in the series.”—Associated Press

“Ruth is one of the more wonderful creations in recent crime fiction.”—Ann Arbor News

“Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway stirs up fears and passions among the living even as she unearths Iron Age remains. She’s an uncommon, down-to-earth heroine whose acute insight, wry humor, and depth of feeling make her a thoroughly engaging companion.”—Erin Hart, Agatha and Anthony Award–nominated author of Haunted Ground and Lake of Sorrows

“Elly Griffiths’s Ruth Galloway—a forensic archaeologist who is prickly, tough, awkward, and vulnerable—makes the perfect amateur sleuth, and jaded copper Harry Nelson is the perfect foil. These books are must-reads¬—I can’t wait for the next one.”—Deborah Crombie, author of the Duncan Kincaid\Gemma James series

Edition details

• Publisher: Quercus
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1849163677
• ISBN 13: 9781849163675
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352