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The Woman In Blue

The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries 8

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The Woman In Blue

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

 The murder of women priests in the shrine town of Walsingham sucks Dr Ruth Galloway into an unholy investigation.

Ruth's friend Cathbad is house-sitting in Walsingham, a Norfolk village famous as a centre for pilgrimages to the Virgin Mary. One night, Cathbad sees a strange vision in the graveyard beside the cottage: a young woman dressed in blue. Cathbad thinks that he may have seen the Madonna herself but, the next morning, the woman's body, dressed in white nightdress and blue dressing-gown, is found in a ditch outside Walsingham. DCI Nelson and his team are called in and establish that the dead woman was a recovering addict being treated at a nearby private hospital.

Ruth, a devout atheist, has managed to avoid Walsingham during her seventeen years in Norfolk. But then an old university friend, Hilary Smithson, asks to meet her in the village,ad Ruth is amazed to discover that her friend is now a priest. Hilary has been receiving vitriolic anonymous letters targeting women priests - letters containing references to local archaeology and a striking phrase about a woman 'clad in blue, weeping for the world.'

Then another woman is murdered - a priest.

As Walsingham prepares for its annual Easter re-enactment of the Crucifixion, the race is on to unmask the killer before they strike again...
(P)2016 Quercus Publishing Plc©2016 Elly Griffiths Amateur Sleuths Archaeology Cosy Detective Fiction Mystery Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Scary Village

Critic Reviews

One of my current favourite crime series . . . a pleasure from start to finish (Val McDermid)
Griffiths has become a dab hand at plotting and cranking up the tension. The murders, and the muddled humanity of the characters, keep us turning the pages
Crime that doesn't sacrifice good writing and clever characterisation for the sake of the plot (Sarra Manning)
Elly Griffiths writes ever-more ingenious detective stories with a powerful sense of place and a varied cast of sympathetic and unusual characters. Her heroine is a winner.
Griffiths weaves superstition and myth into her crime novels, skilfully treading a line between credulity and modern methods of detection
All stars
Most relevant
This was a compelling read. I find the story extensions fascinating and topical. Enjoy.

This is a must read.

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It is difficult to sustain freshness of character and plot in a book series. Unfortunately there is little in "The Woman in Blue" to lift it beyond the ordinary. The development of the main characters is steady but not scintillating but I suspect I will read the next book in the series if one is written, just to stay with the characters a bit longer. The plot has the requisite number of twists and red herrings but never truly surprises.

Standard fare with no surprises

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Elly Griffiths is a great writer. Jane McDowell is a great narrator. It makes for one great audio book, which is compelling and entertaining.

What did you like best about this story?

This is the 8th book with Ruth and the gang and it's definitely on par with the rest of the series.

Which character – as performed by Jane McDowell – was your favourite?

Jane McDowell does a fantastic job with voices for both men and woman. I often find that a narrator doing voices for the opposite sex can be jarring and off-putting and take me out of the story. I never feel that way with Jane.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This book (this series) is so engaging, I find I'm annoyed when I have to stop listening and go about every day life.

Doesn't disappoint!

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After listening to the other preceding books in this series I was a bit disappointed with this one. The storyline wasn't as strong and I struggled to keep up with what was a significantly weak plot. I had to go back and listen from chapter 27 a couple of times to see if I had missed something. Also about half way through the narrator began making lots of what only can be described as swallowing noises. It may have been a bad recording. Not impressed.

The Woman in Blue

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Agree with a few other reviews that this book is not quite as interesting as others in the series... rushed through it just to see character progression. Felt that Ruth's role could have been integrated a bit more creatively... Nice to hear Jane's narration agaIn.

Less engaging than other books in the series

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