The fourteenth instalment in Griffiths’ bestselling series sees Dr Ruth Galloway on the trail of a mystery very close to home, when an enigmatic photograph sends her to her mother’s Norfolk cottage for a visit that is unexpectedly prolonged by a lockdown.
Shortlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2023
Ruth Galloway and DCI Nelson are on the hunt for a murderer when Covid rears its ugly head. But can they find the killer despite lockdown?
Ruth is in London clearing out her mother's belongings when she makes a surprising discovery: a photograph of her Norfolk cottage taken before Ruth lived there. Her mother always hated the cottage, so why does she have a picture of the place? The only clue is written on the back of the photo: Dawn, 1963.
Ruth returns to Norfolk determined to solve the mystery, but then Covid rears its ugly head. Ruth and her daughter are locked down in their cottage, attempting to continue with work and home-schooling. Happily, the house next door is rented by a nice woman called Zoe, who they become friendly with while standing on their doorsteps clapping for carers.
Nelson, meanwhile, is investigating a series of deaths of women that may or may not be suicide. When he links the deaths to an archaeological discovery, he breaks curfew to visit the cottage where he finds Ruth chatting to her neighbour whom he remembers as a carer who was once tried for murdering her employer.
Only then her name wasn't Zoe. It was Dawn.
Publisher: Quercus Publishing
ISBN: 9781529409673
Number of pages: 368
Weight: 290 g
Dimensions: 196 x 128 x 26 mm
Lockdown provides a brilliant opportunity for Griffiths, bringing fresh drama into her characters' lives and she makes the most of it - Sunday Times
Where other Covid-themed mysteries have felt uninspired, this entry in Elly Griffiths' brilliant Ruth Galloway series is an intelligent and gripping recreation of those first weeks of lockdown in 2020 - Daily Express
A terrific story that allows Galloway and Nelson to get closer than they have been for years - The Times, Best New Crime Fiction
Griffiths' Ruth Galloway series combines imaginative plotting, cleverly located in deepest Norfolk, with the everyday dramas of her cast of regular characters . . . This is Griffiths on top form - Mail on Sunday
A classic English mystery from one of the leading authors in the field, charming from start to finish - Irish Independent
Fans of gripping, clever thrillers will love this book - Candis
Brilliantly plotted with complex mysteries to keep you turning the pages, there is also an intriguing cliff-hanger - Promoting Crime Fiction
A mystery treat - Peterborough Telegraph
A sheer reading pleasure - Crime Fiction Lover
Brilliant, as ever - Best
Another fantastic read from Elly Griffiths! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all the books in the Ruth/Nelson series. Receiving The Locked Room in the mail this week was like running into an old friend after... More
I couldn’t wait to read this although I was planning to start it on a trip to Norfolk. Unfortunately it kept calling out to me and in the end I whizzed through it in a day well before the said trip!
I’m a big fan of...
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Honestly, this book is brilliant. Dr Ruth and Nelson are both on top form, it's wonderful to read a book set in lockdown and see what others went through.
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