It is a beautifully constructed story and well worth a read. The Locked Room received five stars in our review earlier this year – proof, if proof were needed, that Elly Griffiths fully deserved the plaudits in Crime Fiction Lover’s inaugural awards. Meanwhile, as people are out on their doorsteps clapping for the NHS heroes, a well-loved character desperately needs medical help… Instead, expect the unexpected as Ruth Galloway and DCI Harry Nelson get embroiled in deaths both ancient and modern – and there are strange goings on in the appropriately named Tombland area of Norwich, too. Yes, there are dead women, who apparently committed suicide inside rooms that were apparently locked from the inside, but fans of Elly Griffiths know that this is not an author who treads familiar paths. If the title has lured you into expecting a run of the mill locked-room mystery, then you’ll be disappointed because the trope is not played out in the traditional way. But don’t let that put you off, because although COVID-19 does feel like an extra character, it is never allowed to dominate proceedings – instead, it lurks in the shadows like some unwanted guest. This is Griffiths’ lockdown novel, the one she wrote when the pandemic was at its height and in which the virus has a vital role to play. We’re up to book 14, and while some writers might be flagging by this point The Locked Room reveals an author right on the top of her game. Double CFL Award winner Elly Griffiths has been writing about forensic archeologist Dr Ruth Galloway since 2009.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |