The Crossing Places

First of a series featuring Ruth Galloway, an archaeologist who is fat, single, has cats, lives alone in a desolate place. Enough said.

Some very strange sensibilities. Slow paced and sort of bleak, but it's very atmospheric. Definitely good fall book (maybe late fall heading into winter).

I enjoyed this much more than I hoped I would. On to the next.

Interesting start became a bit predictable and overwrought.

Loved the setting. The plot had a couple twists that I didn't see coming. The characters weren't my favorite, but most of them grew on me.

The writing is quite good, the characters are interesting, especially Ruth. The setting is mysterious and compelling. I read a fair number of mystery novels, but not a ton, and the plot here is somewhat unique, which I was enjoying. I almost never figure out the “whodunnit” in mystery novels (which is good... the surprise is the driver for me), but this one drops a monumental unmissable hint at the 68% mark. I kept hoping I was wrong about the murderer and that another twist was coming, but it didn't. I wanted this Ruth Galloway series to become my next favorite mystery series, but now I'm skeptical. Tell me they get better and I'll forge ahead.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I almost gave up after the first chapter, because it felt like the author was trying really hard to get the reader to engage, or like she was desperate to be edgy to get published, even though the chapter didn't align in style with the rest of the book. I kept reading, hoping it would get better. And it did. Then it got worse again.

Pros:

—Great setting. I definitely found it engaging and atmospheric.

—I found the archeological parts fascinating, and wish they tied into the mystery more.

—I was invested in solving the mystery. I cared about the girls and their families, as well as about the people trying to bring them justice.

—The ending action sequence worked well. I only wish it came sooner.

Cons:

—The characters were all emotionally immature... none of them had strong morals or the ability to make healthy choices, which I found disappointing.

—The main character, Ruth, was oblivious, naive, and unsuspecting, showing little to no growth throughout the entire book. One of her cats gets murdered and it doesn't occur to her to close her cat flap to keep in her other cat, or to lock her doors and windows to prevent break-ins (there are literally two break-ins after that). She doesn't keep her part in the investigation secret and instead tells her friends and colleagues (the only people who could have committed the murder) everything. The actual identity of the murderer doesn't occur to her until someone points at the person and screams. I mean, come on. We, as readers, are 50 steps ahead of her, and all she cares about are the good old days and who is sleeping with who.

—The mystery does not deliver clues throughout, so basically there are only a few suspects (none of whom ever occur to Ruth) and my guess was correct all along. I couldn't stand the lack of critical thinking on Ruth's part... wasn't she supposed to be an intelligent, independent professor?

Overall, I am thinking I won't read the second one any time soon. But I didn't hate it.

The first installment of the Ruth Galloway series was pretty enjoyable and I'll definitely check out the next one. The mystery was interesting, but what really struck me was the setting. Elly Griffith does a great job creating atmosphere and making the Saltmarsh its own character. Also, I could totally identify with Ruth and enjoyed several of the supporting characters.