The House at Sea’s End (Ruth Galloway Mystery #3) by Elly Griffiths

Just back from maternity leave, Ruth is finding it hard to juggle motherhood and work. The presence of DCI Harry Nelson—the married father of her daughter, Kate—does not help. The bones turn out to be about seventy years old, which leads Nelson and Ruth to the war years, a desperate time on this stretch of coastland. Home Guard veteran Archie Whitcliffe reveals the existence of a secret that the old soldiers have vowed to protect with their lives. But then Archie is killed and a German journalist arrives, asking questions about Operation Lucifer, a plan to stop a German invasion, and a possible British war crime. What was Operation Lucifer? And who is prepared to kill to keep its secret?

 Series: Ruth Galloway Mystery #3 | Publisher: Mariner | Genre: Mystery | Source: Publisher | Rating: 3

This is the third installment in the Ruth Galloway Mysteries and, while it was a good read, it wasn’t one of my favorites in the series.

When bones are discovered in the side of a cliff on a Norfolk beach, Ruth is the first person that’s called in to excavate and examine the bones. While she’s struggling to balance work and motherhood, things are made complicated by how close she’ll be to DCI Nelson (the father of her daughter) as they work this case together. When it’s discovered that the bones date to WWII, they find themselves trying to unravel the secrets of the past from local lore. When a German journalist arrives in Norfolk asking questions about Operation Lucifer and a member of the Home Guard is found dead, they find themselves with more questions than answers.

The House at Sea’s End was a quick read, I had read over half the book before I realized it, but it didn’t captivate me.

Like the previous books, this one dives straight into the mystery as the bones are discovered within the first few pages. The mystery is layered and it takes a while to unravel as they sort between local lore, old newspaper clippings, and past recollections. There’s a lot of research that’s needed as there’s few locals who are still alive that had an affiliation with the Home Guard. They also need to sort out the death of Archie Whitcliffe, which is tricky as his grandson is Nelson’s boss.

While the mysteries were intriguing, they didn’t capture my attention as the previous books had and I think that’s to do with the fact this book deals with a more modern mystery. The previous books dealt with ancient discoveries mixed with modern mysteries and I think that’s more my cup of tea. I also wasn’t a fan of the addition of Tatjana (Ruth’s friend from her time spent working in Bosnia). While I do understand the way this storyline was used, I just felt it bogged down the plot rather than enhance the story.

What I did enjoy in this book were the characters. There’s a lot going in the personal lives of the characters and I’ve been enjoying watching the devolvement’s they’re making. Ruth’s learning the ropes of motherhood and she’s getting out of her comfort zone and making friends with some of the women in the police force. Nelson is bonding with Kate, which was nice to see. We’re also learning more about Shona, Judy, and Cathbad. There’s a lot of connections being made and that allows for so many layers to come into play within the plot.

The one thing that I’m not a fan of in this series is the amount of affairs that goes on in each book. While I don’t condone cheating, I could see how the events that occurred in the first book led to Ruth and Nelson sleeping together and the connection that they made. What I don’t understand is the random affairs that happen in every book. At this point, it’s starting to feel like a poorly done plot device used to make something seem more interesting or fill in a spot. While I’m not a fan of cheating in books, I can overlook it in this series.

Overall, I had a feeling going into this book that this one wasn’t going to be my favorite and I ended up being right. I found the conclusion to the mystery to be a little lacking and a bit farfetched. While I did have some problems with this one, I still found that I enjoyed the character development and think that it was a worthy addition to the series.