am just totally enjoying the Ruth Galloway series. I dread the idea that I’m getting caught up with them and will soon be left waiting to see how fast Ms. Griffiths can write. Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for providing a digital ARC of The Woman in Blue by Elly Griffiths in exchange for an honest review. Tory MP Penny Mordaunt arrived early at the coronation this morning in a striking outfit and carrying a very large sword. When Ruth’s friend Cathbad sees a vision of the Virgin Mary—in a white gown and blue cloak—in the graveyard next to the cottage he is house-sitting, he takes it in his stride. Walsingham has strong connections to Mary, and Cathbad is a druid after all; visions come with the job. But when the body of a woman in a blue dressing-gown is found dead the next day in a nearby ditch, it is clear Cathbad’s vision was all too human—and that a horrible crime has been committed. DCI Nelson and his team are called in for the murder investigation and soon establish that the dead woman was a recovering addict being treated at a nearby private hospital.

I really, really enjoyed this. It’s probably not the best book but I loved it. Cathbad is house and cat sitting for a friend in Little Walsingham. As he’s calling the cat in one night he sees a young woman in the graveyard in a white robe and a blue cloak. He thinks he has had a vision of the Virgin Mary - the area is a famous pilgrim destination. But the truth is more prosaic. The young woman, a model currently in rehab at The Sanctuary, is found dead the next morning. No one knows what she was doing wandering around in her nightwear in the middle of the night however. A woman’s body has been found strangled outside the village of Walsingham. DCI Harry Nelson’s friend Cathbad, a druid and mystic catsitting at a nearby cottage, saw the woman, dressed in blue and white and reminiscent of the Virgin Mary, standing in the cemetery earlier that night. It turns out that Chloe Jenkins, a resident of The Sanctuary, where she was being treated for drug addiction, had been scrubbing clean the grave of a woman who had once been her minder and foster mother to a large number of children. Nelson’s fling with archaeologist Ruth Galloway, a police consultant, produced a child he spends time with despite remaining married to his stunning wife, Michelle. Ruth becomes involved in the current case when a university friend, Hilary Smithson, asks to meet her at Walsingham, where she’ll be attending a conference. Hilary, a priest, has been getting letters railing against women in the clergy, the last with a distinctly sinister tone. As Nelson searches for clues to the murder, he learns that Michelle’s been seeing one of his sergeants. He himself is still a little in love with Ruth, who tries not to admit to herself that she loves him. When Michelle barely escapes death at the hands of the strangler and one of the other female priests is strangled, it’s hard not to notice that all the victims were attractive blue-eyed blondes. Since religion seems to play a role in the murders, Ruth wonders if a part of a missing, broken vial that supposedly contained breast milk from the Virgin Mary is the key to the case.

Mordaunt also received attention for her outfit. She wore a turquoise dress with matching cape and hat, embossed with golden leaves on the shoulders and hat. Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) was born and spent his comparatively brief career in Delft. A meticulous and careful painter whose innovations were not well-known outside his native city, he may have produced about fifty paintings in just over twenty years, of which about thirty-five survive. Despite extensive archival research that has revealed much about the difficult financial circumstances of the artist's life, familial relationships and avid support by a local patron, many questions about his life and artistic practice remain.

The story is set in a medieval town known as England's Nazareth, a place known for religious phenomena. Cathbad, a druid friend of Ruth Galloway (the "star" of the series), notices a woman in a blue cloak in a cemetery at night and believes her to be the Virgin Mary. But when a woman wearing a blue cloak is found murdered the next day, there doesn't appear to be any connection to religion. Then, one of Ruth's friends who's an Anglican priest starts getting threatening letters - women simply shouldn't be priests, the writer asserts - and not long thereafter, another female priest is murdered. Potions are generally useful, and this event costs less money compared to the Merchant to obtain the same number of potions. The only risks are its random nature and the posibillity of taking damage at Ascension 15 and higher. The dress was specially designed - Mordaunt had revealed before the ceremony that she'd declined wearing traditional court dress worn by the men before her. She told the Times earlier in the week: "What my predecessor would have worn is the old court dress, which the whole front of the tunic is embroidered with heavy gold.As always, the characters are more important than the murder mystery itself. We get a few revelations in this story, both happy and sad. This is my favorite mystery series right now. The protagonist is Ruth Galloway, a professor of archaeology, in Norfolk England. She gets involved in police investigations when bones are found and need to be dated. Are they from the 1300's or 2016? This is not a problem in CA, so I find it completely fascinating. She has a young daughter, Kate, and a good friend, Cathbad, who is a druid.

Forensic archeologist and academic Ruth Galloway is a captivating amateur sleuth-an inspired creation. I identified with her insecurities and struggles, and cheered her on. " -- Louise Penny, author of the bestselling Armand Gamache series 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, and 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’. Harry Nelson, who has a rather shaky history with Ruth, is in charge of the Serious Crimes Unit and takes charge of the case. He and his team set out to learn whether the murders are connected - and if so, how - and catch the killer before he (or she) kills again. But, still I'm going to look forward to reading the next book in this series. I love the mix of crime and archeology. And, now when I think about is it probably what made this book less interesting to read. Too little archeology involved in the story.Despite all the talk about religion (most of which either went over my head or I had to look up and that didn’t greatly interest me, except for the history aspect) I really liked this book. Fernand Léger, La Femme en Bleu (Woman in Blue), 1912, oil on canvas, 76 x 51 1/8 inches, 193 x 129.9 cm, Kunstmuseum, Basel.

Wanda de Guébriant, “Lydia Delectorskaya, biographie,” in Dominique Szymusiak et al., Lydia D.: Lydia Delectorskaya, muse et modèle de Matisse, exh.cat. (Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 2010), 204. The drawing is reproduced on p. 25. It would eventually be given to the Pushkin Museum, Moscow. Reading Elly Griffiths is like sitting down for a wine and chat with your best friend. She has a direct no nonsense style to her writing, but still manages to inject loads of atmosphere and detail. This is particularly interesting addition to the series. It centers around women Anglican priests who are trying to gain more acceptance in their careers. Even though American Episcopalians have woman as the national Bishop, the English women are not even allowed to be bishops. There is a seminar with women priests in Walsingham Norfolk to discuss the issue. One of them turns out to be an university friend of Ruth. Ruth has a strong anti-religious stance so she is horrified to find her friend is a priest. Add to this mix, women priests seeking more recognition; a rehab centre for drug and alcohol abuse and an isolated community once the tour buses leave, you have a wonderful setting. In the mind and writing skill of Elly Griffiths you ultimately have murder, and over the telling of the investigation more motives and persons of interest to the Police than the Stations of the Cross. I always like maps in books and liked the map in front, of Walsingham, partly as it is and partly made up for this story.

Rich in atmosphere and history and blessed by [Griffith's] continuing development of brilliant, feisty, independent Ruth...A Room Full of Bones, like its predecessors, works its magic on the reader's imagination." -- Richmond Times-Dispatch As a reader with an extremely basic understanding of the different factions within the Church of England I am continually impressed by how accessible Elly Griffith’s makes this minefield for those not indoctrinated. Whilst her narrative never reads as an information dump, Griffith’s feeds her readers the critical elements of religious, spiritual and archaeological detail and ensures her audience feel well-informed and up to speed. In this sense, as an atheist, Dr Ruth Galloway is a wonderfully impartial observer and as the lead character she projects both sides of an argument and manages to gets to the root of some of the most contentious arguments from an objective standpoint. I always enjoy this series, but the installments that have more of Cathbad the druid are the best! This book benefited from his frequent presence. I think that a religious theme here also gave this book extra oomph, since Nelson and Ruth are both wary of religion and Cathbad seems to love it in all its forms. Galloway is an everywoman, smart, successful and a little bit unsure of herself. Readers will look forward to learning more about her." -- USA Today It's also great to see members of the supporting cast getting on with life. Cathbad and Judy are living together and enjoying their two children (although Judy seems to be itching to return to the police station). Clough has settled down some, although his junk food consumption hasn't reduced at all. Tim is understandably moving on. Time will tell if Tanya and her girlfriend will feature more prominently.