THE JANUS STONE
Ruth Galloway Mysteries #2
It’s been only a few months since archaeologist Ruth Galloway found herself entangled in a missing persons case, barely escaping with her life. But when construction workers demolishing a large old house in Norwich uncover the bones of a child beneath a doorway—minus its skull—Ruth is once again called upon to investigate. Is it a Roman-era ritual sacrifice, or is the killer closer at hand?
Ruth and Detective Harry Nelson would like to find out—and fast. When they realize the house was once a children’s home, they track down the Catholic priest who served as its operator. Father Hennessey reports that two children did go missing from the home forty years before—a boy and a girl.
It’s been only a few months since archaeologist Ruth Galloway found herself entangled in a missing persons case, barely escaping with her life. But when construction workers demolishing a large old house in Norwich uncover the bones of a child beneath a doorway—minus its skull—Ruth is once again called upon to investigate. Is it a Roman-era ritual sacrifice, or is the killer closer at hand?
Ruth and Detective Harry Nelson would like to find out—and fast. When they realize the house was once a children’s home, they track down the Catholic priest who served as its operator. Father Hennessey reports that two children did go missing from the home forty years before—a boy and a girl. They were never found. When carbon dating proves that the child’s bones predate the home and relate to a time when the house was privately owned, Ruth is drawn ever more deeply into the case. But as spring turns into summer it becomes clear that someone is trying very hard to put her off the trail by frightening her, and her unborn child, half to death.
- Mariner Books
- Paperback
- January 2012
- 352 Pages
- 9780547577401
Buy the Book
$14.95
About Elly Griffiths
Elly Griffiths is a writer and former publisher of children’s books. Her Ruth Galloway novels are inspired by her husband, who gave up a banking job to train as an archaeologist, and her eccentric aunt, a sea captain on the Norfolk coast who filled her niece’s head with the myths and legends of that area. She lives near Brighton, on the English coast.
Griffith’s Ruth Galloway novels have been praised as “gripping” (Louise Penny), “highly atmospheric” (New York Times Book Review), and “must-reads for fans of crime fiction” (Associated Press). She received a nomination for a 2012 Barry award for Best British Fiction for The House at Sea’s End, and is the winner of the 2010 Mary Higgins Clark Award.
Praise
“Ruth Galloway is a remarkable, delightful character: brilliant, wry, determined, and independent almost to a fault — yet also a little nervous and awkward. The Janus Stone is a must-read for fans of crime and mystery fiction, and readers are sure to clamor for the next book in the series.”—The Associated Press
“It’s always a pleasure when an author’s second book lives up to the promise of the first… There’s a satisfyingly meaty plot — family secrets, insanity, and ancient mythology, both pagan and Roman — but it’s Griffiths’s dryly humorous writing and the appeal of her two main characters that make these books such a treat. Galloway, overweight, awkward, and fiercely independent… remains splendidly down to earth… and the cynical copper Nelson makes an excellent foil. More, please.”—The Guardian (UK)