The Woman in Blue cover art

The Woman in Blue

The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries, Book 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 housesitting 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 a 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 17 years in Norfolk. But then an old university friend, Hilary Smithson, asks to meet her in the village, and 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 reenactment of the Crucifixion, the race is on to unmask the killer before he strikes again....

©2016 Elly Griffiths (P)2016 Quercus Publishing Plc Amateur Sleuths Cosy Detective Fiction Mystery Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Scary Village
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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Again, enjoyable! Characters are interesting, storyline’s are entertaining
Loving how the character lives are progressing but each instalment always leave you wanting more!

Love this series

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This book seemed a bit rushed to me. Definitely not up to her usual standard.

Not up to her usual standard

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For her (and my) eighth Ruth Galloway book, Griffiths sticks with a familiar formula which has served her well up to now and at this stage, I’m hardly going to say I hate it.

The mystery plot line of The Woman in Blue surrounds Nelson and Ruth needing to solve the strangulation murder of a young girl. Ruth is linked this time when an old friend contacts her after receiving a series of threatening letters. It’s assumed that the letter writer and the murderer are the same person.

There isn’t as much archaeology in this installment. Ruth doesn’t dig up any bones but she does do some research into the findings of a past dig. History plays its part still in the shape of religious persecution, customs and ceremonies.

I love the way Griffiths handled the religious aspect of the plot and how she juggled various characters’ beliefs tactfully. Some of the stupidity of religion is pointed out (as any fan of this series knows, Ruth is an atheist) but she balances it nicely with some positive aspects of those who choose to worship God (it’s pretty much just Christianity that’s covered).

There’s also a solid vein of feminism running throughout the book. Griffiths nicely highlights that women often need to be stronger than men and often they prove to be just that in The Woman in Blue.

Although there was one heart in my throat moment, there was nothing really groundbreaking about the mystery. In fact, the guilty party's motives were weak at best. Of course, I’m not still reading just for the mystery plot.

I adore Ruth and Nelson. I love the way he is always putting his foot in it where she is concerned.

With the exception of Tim, I’m also a fan of all the other supporting characters (even Phil!). I was a little disappointed by their lack of involvement this time. Particularly Judy, Cathbad and Cloughy didn’t feature quite as much as they have in the past. Ruth’s daughter, Kate, too has limited scenes compared to some of the other books in the series. (Although, Cathbad does get some hilarious scenes with a cat in the beginning.)

I often liken these books to a soap opera and it’s a label that’s fitting because I could read an entire book focused exclusively on the characters’ private lives quite easily. I just can’t wait to find out how Griffiths is going to make them behave next. As usual, she resolved nothing with Ruth and Nelson and left me on a cliffhanger. *sigh*

I still say the books in this series shouldn’t be read as standalones but if I had to choose one that could perhaps fall into that category, it would be this one. Maybe it’s the aforementioned lack of scenes with the regular supporting characters but it does feel like a reader could appreciate this one without reading its predecessors more than the last couple I read.

5 out of 5 for the diehard fans as myself

Could be read as stand alone

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I like this authors whole series since l know nothing about archaeology. The author sometimes makes you think a little bit more - and this book for me, was about woman in the church and the church as a whole.

Made me think about how it is a unfair world.Then l thought about how different it would be if women where genuinely treated and respected as equals in humanity - of course by the time l got to work (one hour drive) l had solved the worlds problems, but realized l had drifted away from the listening of the story. Still had the drive back and paid attention then:)

I think most people would like the series, not too heavy and dotted with nice sub subjects. Different.

Makes you think abut different things

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