The Dark Angel - Elly Griffiths

The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths

First Paragraph(s): 

'This grave has lain undisturbed for over two thousand years.'  Professor Angelo Morelli speaks directly to the camera.  'This countryside has been the scene of invasion and battle from the Neolithic times until the Second World War, when the German troops fought Italian partisans in the Liri Valley.  In all that time, this body has lain under the earth.  Now, we are going to exhume it.'

My Thoughts:

Elly Griffiths writes the Ruth Galloway mystery series and it is definitely one of my favorites right now.  The Dark Angel is the 10th book and, though I know it's not yet published here in the US (coming in May), it's been out in the UK since early February.  Which in my mind makes it fair game for reading and sharing.  Ruth has been asked to consult in Italy by a colleague she met quite a while back, Angelo Morelli.  Since she's been a little down emotionally because of various events, a trip is quickly planned that will include Ruth, her daughter, Kate; Ruth's friend, Shona, and her young son.  Parts of the trip go well.  And parts definitely do not.  There is an earthquake, someone is killed, and secrets that go back to World War II are revealed.

Meanwhile, we are also keeping up with what's going on in Norfolk and DCI Nelson's life.  A man that Nelson helped put in prison over a decade ago for murder has been released.  Nelson is warned about it because that individual threatened to get even with Nelson and others on the arresting team.  As the story shifts back and forth between settings, this reader was glued to the pages.  I know that some feel like there is a little too much personal life in many of these books, but I like revisiting all the characters we've come to know.  And this book contains a lot of that side of things.  I also enjoyed the World War II info and trivia and the bright, sunny Italian location.  I often feel that taking the characters out of their 'hometown' gives a series a boost and allows an author to bring in new challenges.  I was very pleased with The Dark Angel and will once again be eagerly anticipating the next Ruth Galloway mystery.   

Blurb:

It’s not every day that you’re summoned to the Italian countryside on business, so when archaeologist Angelo Morelli asks for Ruth Galloway’s help identifying bones found in the tiny hilltop town of Fontana Liri, she jumps at the chance to go, bringing her daughter along with her for a working vacation. Upon arriving, she begins to hear murmurs of Fontana Liri’s strong resistance movement during World War II and senses the townspeople are dancing around a deeply buried secret. But how could that be connected to the ancient remains she’s been studying?

Ruth is just beginning to get her footing in the dig when she’s thrown off-guard by the appearance of DCI Nelson. And when Ruth’s findings lead them to a modern-day murder, their holidays are both turned upside down, and they race to find out what darkness is lurking in this seemingly picturesque town.