Elly Griffiths

Elly Griffiths: Biography

Elly Griffiths (Domenica De Rosa) was born on August 17th, 1963 and is currently 60 years old. Elly Griffiths was born in London, England.

Elly Griffiths is the author of the Ruth Galloway series which currently consists of 17 novels. The Ruth Galloway series started in 2009 with the novel The Crossing Places. The most recently released novel in the Ruth Galloway series was The Last Remains which was released in 2023. There are no upcoming novels for the Ruth Galloway series.

Elly Griffiths (Domenica De Rosa) has also written the Brighton Mysteries series which has 7 books including The Zig Zag Girl and Smoke and Mirrors.

Elly Griffiths was shortlisted for the 2016 Dead Good Reader Award in The Tess Gerritsen Award for Best Series category for the Ruth Galloway series.

Elly was shortlisted for the 2017 Dead Good Reader Award in The Kathy Reichs Award for Fearless Female Character category for her character Ruth Galloway.

Elly won the 2018 Dead Good Reader Award in The Holmes and Watson Award for Best Detective Duo category for her characters Ruth Galloway and Harry Nelson.

Elly was shortlisted for the 2018 Dead Good Reader Award in The Wringer Award for the Character Who’s Been Put Through It All category for her character Ruth Galloway.

Elly Griffiths: Awards & Accolades

Elly Griffiths won the Crime Writer's Association Award, Dagger in the Library Award, in 2016. Elly Griffiths was also nominated for multiple awards including: The Crime Writer's Association Award, Dagger in the Library Award, in 2014, and the Crime Writer's Association Award, Dagger in the Library Award, in 2015.

Griffiths' books have also won multiple awards, The Crossing Places won the Edgar Award, Mary Higgins Clark Award, in 2011. The Chalk Pit won The Dead Good Reader Award, The Dead Good Recommends Award for Most Recommended Book, in 2017. The Dark Angel won The Dead Good Reader Award, The Dead Good Recommends Award for Most Recommended Book, in 2018. The Stone Circle won The Dead Good Reader Award, The Dead Good Recommends Award for Most Recommended Book, in 2019. The Stranger Diaries won the Edgar Award, Best Mystery Novel, in 2020. The Locked Room won The Dead Good Reader Award, The Dead Good Recommends Award for Most Recommended Book, in 2022.

The following novels by Elly Griffiths were also nominated for these awards:

• The Crossing Places: Theakston's Old Peculier, Crime Novel of the Year (2010).
• The House at Sea's End: Barry Award, Best British Crime Novel (2012).
• A Dying Fall / Tomb of the Raven King: Theakston's Old Peculier, Crime Novel of the Year (2014).
• The Outcast Dead: Theakston's Old Peculier, Crime Novel of the Year (2015).
• The Ghost Fields: The Dead Good Reader Award, The Val McDermid Award for Fiendish Forensics (2015).
• The Stone Circle: The Dead Good Reader Award, The Nosy Parker Award for Best Amateur Detective (2019).
• The Lantern Men: Theakston's Old Peculier, Crime Novel of the Year (2021).
• The Postscript Murders: Crime Writer's Association Award, Gold Dagger Award (2021).
• The Night Hawks: Theakston's Old Peculier, Crime Novel of the Year (2022).
• The Locked Room: Theakston's Old Peculier, Crime Novel of the Year (2023).

Related Authors

The most common authors followed by users who also follow Elly Griffiths are:

1. Louise Penny, author of the Inspector Gamache Series.
2. Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland Island Series.
3. Robert Galbraith, author of the Cormoran Strike Series.
4. Richard Osman, author of the Thursday Murder Club Series.
5. Michael Connelly, author of the Harry Bosch Series.

Elly Griffiths: F.A.Q

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Austin D.

2 years ago

The Night Hawks was an enthralling read with all of its twists and turns over the salt marshes. While reading her story, my heart began aching for her, particularly when Kate runs into the arms of Nelson. The suspense is fantastic, making this a terrific page turner, and Elly makes it easy to invest in these characters that she has brought to life. It’s such a fantastic read and I never wanted it to end.

Elly is a fantastic author and I have enjoyed every one of her books, especially the way she describes the environments, the subjects, and the characters themselves.

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Edgar A.

2 years ago

I have been reading several mysteries over the past few months and either abandoned them after reading the first or did not even get to finish it.

Since I had read several positive reviews about Elly Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway series, I thought why not read it and I did.

I have got to give it to Griffiths in how she provides a very good feel for the lead character right off the bat in the first novel that happens to be my best so far.

She is also just as good in describing the landscape in which the series is set. The salt flats are just as interesting and important a character as the people. Add to this a compelling mystery and you have the recipe for a blockbuster series.

But where Griffiths really shines is in the characterizations and especially that of the lead character Ruth Galloway.

Ruth is forensic archeologist that teaches at the University of Norfolk and makes her home in a remote seaside cottage in England from where she resolves several interesting mysteries.

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Andrew M.

2 years ago

My friends have been recommending about Elly Griffiths for so long. It’s just last year I decided to try her work thanks to this list of books.
I decided to start with the debut novel in the Ruth Galloway series, and I’m happy that it didn’t disappoint.
The novel features Ruth Galloway, an almost 40 years old archaeologist and bones expert, living with her two cats in Norfolk.
She likes to be alone and sees herself as overweight and unattractive, yet she has many friends, and some men are interested in her.
I enjoyed the atmosphere in the book, the writing, and the fascinating characters. The twists and turns kept me guessing from the initial pages to the end.

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Michael K.

2 years ago

By the time I discovered Elly Griffiths, I was done with crime fiction. After consuming one too many stories about haunted alcoholics fighting to apprehend demented killers, I wanted something new.

‘The Crossing Places’ looked like another generic crime fiction novel until Ruth Galloway entered the equation and a detective tasked her with solving the mystery of a set of bones from the iron age.

This is the kind of mystery I want to read: simple, engaging, and free of the tortured personalities you find in most crime fiction novels. I finished ‘The Crossing Places’ and enjoyed it, which is why I’m here, looking for more. ‘The Janus Stone’ should be my next read, but I’m tempted to buy ‘A Girl Called Justice’ from the Justice Jones series.

I think I’ll sample the first books of each series. Then I will choose a series to follow.

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Chris Martinez

1 year ago

I have really enjoyed the Elly Griffiths series, especially the one featuring Ruth Galloway. I like following the characters and find I can identify with Ruth in many ways.

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Gabbiadini

1 year ago

The Ruth Galloway series is my all time favourite and needs to be read in order to truly appreciate the growth of thecharacters and their relationships. It is such a rewarding experience

Last edited 1 year ago by Gabbiadini

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Jerry Fishkin

9 months ago

Re: Ruth Galloway series
Dr. Galloway is head of the department of forensic archeology at the fictional University of North Norfolk.  She is regularly consulted by the local police department when the identity of human remains is unknown.  Dr. Galloway is a middle aged, single woman who lives by herself in a small house on the desolate waterfront.  She is independent, a loner, and a devout atheist. She has a contentious relationship with her born again Christian parents.  Her work brings here into contact with local Druids and Catholics, who have some similarities that Galloway finds amusing.  

Her primary police contact is Chief Detective Inspector Harry Nelson. He is impatient and abrasive but of course he solves crimes.  Harry has more or less adapted to the modern era of female equality and gay rights.  He has grudgingly adapted to computers and the internet as absolutely required.  He is a lapsed Catholic, who nevertheless has values similar to the devout Catholics.  Nelson is manic about protecting his family, his detective team, and now Dr.  Galloway.

Galloway is skilled at looking at human remains and their surroundings.  Nelson is a veteran homicide cop, familiar with interviewing people and studying evidence.  Together they make a formidable team.

The third main character is Cathbad, a practicing Druid.  That means belief in the divinity of nature, and also being in touch with the spirit world.  Norfolk is located on the northeast coast of Britain, just across the North Sea from Norway. Cathbad has a strong sense of Norse and Viking present and past. Galloway is more likely to pay attention to Cathblad, while Nelson always tries to explain away anything that Cathblad gets right.

Ruth and Harry have an obvious attraction for one another, but he is married and she is a single mother whose efforts to conceal the identity of the father are a total failure.  Sparks fly.  Cathbad is sleeping with the wife of a local police officer.  Ruth’s friend Shona is sleeping with Ruth’s married boss.  More sparks fly.  

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Ruth Richman

4 months ago

I was introduced to Ruth Galloway by Graeme in an orderofbooks.com newsletter and did not come up for air until I had read all of the 17 books Elly Griffiths in the series. Mostly, I read them digitally from the two libraries I have access to and they arrived in whatever order they became available. Some I read twice as each library was actively searching for all titles. In a word….EXCELLENT! The character development, story line entwining, descriptions of the natural world, archeological and forensic formation engaged me instantly. I enjoy series where time passes and characters get older; Griffith ages her characters well, they shift jobs, locations, and change their minds. I like them.

I also listened to as many audio titles as my libraries have. The Last Remains, published in 2023, was the last one read and I sure hope it is not the end of the series. Even though many loose needs and teasers were tied up in it, doors were opened for future “Ruth” books.

I have also enjoyed the Harbinger Kaur series and hope that continues also. Not as entranced with the other series but I may try them again.

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Tom

1 month ago

The Ruth Galloway series seems interesting. I have enough authors and books on my list to get me through the rest of 2024. Finding one good book often leads to finding another and another.

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Brenna

1 month ago

I loved this series, except for the last book. It was written in a different style than the others, and I didn’t care for how it jumps from character to character with no warning.
Dr. Ruth Galloway is an eminent British forensic archaeologist, who is called upon by the police whenever they find bones they need help identifying or dating them. There is an archaeological discovery featured in each of the books, along with at least one murder to be solved.
The plot of each novel is unique, but the cast of characters, is pretty consistent. There is a lot of character development, especially in the later books. The books don’t quite qualify as cozies, yet compared to other crime novels, they are pretty tame. I appreciate that Griffiths is able to tell a story without a lot of sex and violence. The 14th book does deal with Covid-19 and some of it hit pretty close to home, especially the fear and isolation the characters go through. This series would make for great television and I hope to see a screen adaptation at some point! I liked this series so much, I was basically in mourning after I finished the final book.
I listened to each of the books in this series. The narrator for the audio version is Jane McDowell and she does a superb job. She is Dr. Ruth Galloway! I highly recommend them!

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