The Locked Room cover art

The Locked Room

The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries, Book 14

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The Locked Room

By: Elly Griffiths
Narrated by: Jane McDowell
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About this listen

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.

©2022 Elly Griffiths (P)2022 Quercus Editions Limited Detective Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Suspense Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths Women's Fiction

Critic Reviews

"Galloway now seems as real as Marple and Morse." (The Times)

"Set in divine North Norfolk. Intensely atmospheric and great." (India Knight)
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Perhaps the best Ruth Galloway yet. A believable tale told with compassion and intertwining so many subjects. Sad, yet joyous - the human state maybe?

Topical and poignant

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loved it once again, Elly has portrayed her characters in such a believable way, that before you know it its tomorrow and you've finished the latest instalment.

favourite of the series

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I love everything about this book. The characters. A great summary of 2020. More please.

Like catching up with an old friend

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Once again Elly Griffiths has crafted an excellent story bringing her characters to life and leaving you wanting more.

Not Disappointed

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Fabulous characters and storyline. I look forward to every book and I will be sad when the series finishes.

Another wonderful Ruth Galloway book! 👏👏

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I love the whole Ruth Galloway series. The characters, the setting and storyline are like no other. This book is extra special. There's a page turning mystery and a surprise ending. However the characters backstories added extra tension. Elly Griffiths is a brilliant writer. I feel like these characters are old friends. Narration is perfect too.

One of the best Ruth Galloway books

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A contemporary novel incorporating the Covid lockdown with a fascinating mystery this is as beautifully written as all the past Ruth Galloway series. Definitely 5 stars from me. Narration fantastic as usual.

An Emotional Roller Coaster

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i love these stories- i love the narrator- wonderful to hear another addition to all of their lives and have to admit to, a few tears of joy at the end !

another great story

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The locked room is enjoyable as all the others in the series, the writing is vivid and beautiful, I love Ruth and Nelson, the story is interesting and engaging and Elly Griffiths' marshlands speak to the heart.
I didn't enjoy the Covid part though, the writer is too good, we are too close, the trauma is too recent, I had to skip a bit the dramas because they are so present in real life, I can't stomach them in fiction too. I enjoy books to be in some other reality. I did enjoy seeing how Covid was experienced in England, at the start of the crisis, opposed to my own experience in Australia, now two years within the pandemic.
Not saying the author could eliminate the covid presence out of the stories, but possibly consider dialling it down a bit and focusing on the parts we really want to read? I would like to have read more about the archeological discovery, which was almost a sideline in this case, and make the connections of the internal world of the characters with the story.

Great book, but covid part is too soon too real

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Have loved this series but not this book so much.. took way too long to get To the mystery/intrigue part of the story. way too much Covid stuff early on.. who wants to hear more of what we are still inundated With daily! The archeological research seems minimal this time. Not Ellys best but I'm hoping there's one more book in this series to see a final resolution to the Ruth and Harry relationship

Bit disappointed this time...

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