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The Crossing Places
- Narrated by: Jane McDowell
- Series: Ruth Galloway, Book 1
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
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The bones turn out to be two thousand years old, and DCI Harry Nelson, who called on Ruth for help, is disappointed. He'd hoped they would be the bones of a child called Lucy who's been missing for ten years; he's been getting letters about her ever since. Then a second girl goes missing and Nelson receives more letters.
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What listeners say about The Crossing Places
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Joanna
- 31-03-19
I had to stop
I gave up. The book is depressing. The main female character is obsessed with being 12 1/2 stone... it is brought up CONSTANTLY. Getting into a car, going to a meeting, getting dressed... etc.... ends with something to do with being 12 1/2 stone. It’s like an suicidal version of Bridget Jones diary but with a woman 20 years older. I had to stop.
67 people found this helpful
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- Heli
- 12-11-11
Gripping
I found the main character very easy to identify with, and was immersed in the story right from the beginning. All the other characters were colourful and interesting as well, and the unraveling of the mystery was paced so that I didn't have a chance to get bored along the way. The skillful narration brought all the places, characters and events very vividly before my mind's eye, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.
44 people found this helpful
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- Simon
- 16-05-14
Interesting story!
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I would recommend this to a friend, because it's a refreshing change from your standard 'detective inspector' or 'PI' angle.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Crossing Places?
I don't do spoilers...silly question!
What about Jane McDowell’s performance did you like?
She's not top league, but is a good steady female reader, without any annoying flaws or impediments. She's even a dab hand at dry wit!
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Actually, there were some emotional moments...but, again, no spoilers!
Any additional comments?
I wish Audible would dispense with this silly question and answers process for writing reviews. Make it an option, so that if we want to write freely, we can.
29 people found this helpful
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- Adrian
- 05-06-11
Crime and archaeology - what's not to like?!
This is the first of Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway novels I've read, and I'm very, very impressed! As a fan of Phil Rickman, and other pagan/paranormal storytellers, I loved the unusual location of the events - which is beautifully evoked. The plot is complex, but makes sense, and Ruth is a fully rounded, 'real' character - as is DCI Nelson. Although you might guess what happened, and who did it about half way through (the sudden arrival of chapters told from a different point of view is a sort of clue!), it's well worth sticking with the journey. There are already two more Ruth books (The Janus Stone - available from Audible - and The House at Sea's End - hopefully soon available!), and I look forward to reading/listening to both of them - and the others which I'm sure will come in the future!
The reading is well done - some good use of regional accents to deliniate the characters, and perfectly paced- recommended!
50 people found this helpful
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- Linda
- 14-09-14
Archeological based who dun it
I can't quite make up my mind whether I have read this book a while ago (perhaps from the library as it's certainly not on my bookshelves) - the story did just seem a tad familiar. That would certainly explain why I spotted the bad guy quite early on. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed this listen, it was exceptionally well read and I very much liked the Nelson and Ruth characters and relationship - something just a little bit different. Indeed I would agree with other reviewers that all of the characters were sound - as an aging hippy myself (albeit not an academically knowledgeable one) Eric and the guy with the purple cape were spot on. I believe this is the first in a series and I'm just going to look for the next one.
27 people found this helpful
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- Gaynor
- 31-01-16
Story good .....
The story was good but I found the narrative very flat and slow. On numerous occasions I had to jump back a good 15 minutes or more because my mind had drifted off and I'd realised the story was at a part that i had no recollection of the the journey getting there. You know when you drive to a place so often that once you're there you think....wow I just don't recall any of that journey! Well that's what happened on many an occasion to me during this book. I really don't think it's the authors fault though.
I shall give the author another go though but with a different narrator. The narrator does have a nice voice but just not for story telling.
I did persevere to the end but it was a hard slog and I couldn't wait for it to finish.
12 people found this helpful
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- Mr Chops
- 03-10-15
easy listen
This is a well balanced book. Unlike the standard, hysterical central character battling relationship breakdown and drink issues which supposedly make them interesting whilst they also have to solve the case, Ruth is believable, realistic and likeable. She does still drink too much and have relationship issues but it is not overdone.
The plot and atmosphere move along nicely. If you read a lot of crime fiction you may guess the murderer which is a shame but it is still far better than the vast majority of the books available in this genre. Just the right number of characters and plot twists to make it interesting without it becoming a headache to follow. Cant stand other books where the author makes whole village potential suspects to keep you guessing, that is just lazy. So in summary - recommended.
18 people found this helpful
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- Matt
- 10-01-12
I Dig This Book
This was a real punt: an author I had not heard of, and a review which put me off a little. It was certainly a worthwhile gamble in the end. Griffiths paints a vivid picture of the Norfolk coast and populates it with likeable andinteresting characters.
I am looking forward to the next to books, both already on my wishlist. If you like your crime thrillers with well-written and well-researched settings then give this a whirl.
17 people found this helpful
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- K. Gibson
- 13-01-11
enjoyable crime hokum.
I personally enjoy history/religious/pagan based books I am a great fan of Phil Rickman's Merrily books. Being a science teacher I enjoyed the forensic bits. The forensic archeologist Ruth is a well rounded character who you quickly get to like. The story moves quickly along and although you guess whodonit about half way along it is enjoyable to see how it pans out and who becomes a suspect and the various twists and turns.
31 people found this helpful
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- Kirstine
- 03-04-17
Interesting and gripping story
Elly Griffiths is a new author for me and on the strength of this novel will listen to more of her series featuring archeologist, Ruth Galloway. The characters are well-drawn, the East Anglian setting evocative and, though a detective novel, it is much more interesting as one learns a lot about archeology and the dating of bones.
The narrator is very good
14 people found this helpful
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- Sara
- 19-05-14
An atmospheric creepy mystery set in Saltmarsh
This engaging story is well written and totally captures the hauntingly lonely sea side life the main character has chosen for herself. She is a forensic archeologist working in the field, lecture hall and with the police as a solver of crime. Her work focuses on working out mysteries from the past and present. The story is heavy on nature, mythology, archeology and spookiness in general. I really enjoyed the narration and way the book unfolded. It held my interest-- as any good page turner should. As the first book in a series it bodes well for readers who enjoy crime stories with a dash of odd characters and brooding nature thrown in. But be aware--it is creepy!
107 people found this helpful
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- Lia
- 07-09-20
Entertaining
You might call this book a whodunit, a species of fiction that I tend to shun because I find the circumstances that cast doubt on the innocence of several characters to be contrived and ultimately boring. However, author Elly Griffiths managed to keep me interested to the end despite the contrivances. Her protagonist, Ruth Galloway, is not a detective but a forensic anthropologist who teaches at a provincial university in Norfolk on England’s east coast. Galloway and the other characters in the novel are well developed, the author makes artful use of the myths and legends of the locale, and the story is suspenseful. She writes well, too.
An eccentric investigator
Ruth Galloway is an eccentric woman nearing the age of forty. She lives alone in a cottage on the edge of a coastal marsh with two cats for which she has an unnatural attachment. Her claim to fame in professional circles was the discovery a decade previously of an Iron Age “henge” (think Stonehenge) on the border of the marsh.
When the local police come across the bones of a young child buried near the marsh, Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson turns to Galloway in hopes she can determine whether the bones are old or those of the missing girl in a current high-profile case. She confirms that the bones are indeed of ancient origin, and the police continue to involve her in their ongoing investigation after more bones are found. It soon develops that Galloway’s own professional colleagues are among the suspects in the girl’s disappearance. Naturally, Galloway and Nelson team up to identify the culprit, but there are many twists and turns along the way.
About Elly Griffiths
The Crossing Places, published in 2009, was the first in Elly Griffiths‘ series of Ruth Galloway Mysteries. The character was inspired by the author’s husband, who left a job in the city to study archaeology. Griffiths is clearly prolific, as there are now eight books in the series. She has also written two detective novels in a second series — all in the past six years.
Jane McDowell was excellent with the delivery of the story
10 people found this helpful
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- Melinda
- 30-10-11
Loved this book!
I've never been a fan of mysteries, but I loves the author's use of details to provide me with a great picture of the characters and places. LOVED IT. Am now reading the Janus Stone and enjoying it just as much.
48 people found this helpful
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- Amanda H.
- 22-01-18
Can’t stand it
I LOVE a good mystery but when it starts with fat shaming a size 16 UK (size 12 US) woman I can’t continue. She even said she was worried the seatbelt wouldn’t close over her. I’m a plus sized lady and I don’t even have these fears. I can’t stand someone of average size shaming themselves like that. I couldn’t even get into the story after trying to get over the fat shaming.
6 people found this helpful
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- Karen S. Garvin
- 01-03-15
Not creepy, but maudlin
Would you try another book from Elly Griffiths and/or Jane McDowell?
Maybe. I had high expectations for this story but the beginning put me off the main character until about halfway through the book. I am repulsed when a character starts out by whining and feeling self-pity before I've had a chance to decide whether I even care enough about this fictional person to keep reading or listening.However, I think Elly Griffiths did a good job of putting the mystery together and it wasn't obvious who the murderer was until very near the end, although he was one person I had suspected. (Makes you feel good when you guess right, doesn't it?)
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
The book opened with what I'd call an info dump as Ruth was feeling sorry for herself. I don't like whining; it might have been more acceptable if I'd met Ruth and knew a bit more about her before the info dump hit. As it was I just wanted to scream at my speaker, "Stop whining!"As for Harry Nelson, his character began as a trope -- the dumb cop. I actually felt more sympathy for this character because he was being stereotyped by the main character and the other characters in the book.
Which character – as performed by Jane McDowell – was your favorite?
I though Jane McDowell did a good job of handling all the characters, even the men. It's difficult for men to speak women's roles and women to speak men's roles without sounding slightly ridiculous, but I think she did very well and managed to convey different voices without overacting. She was also consistent with delivery of the different character's voices.My only complaint is that in some places the volume changed dramatically -- one scene were Nelson shouts jarred so much I had to quickly turn down the volume on my speaker. That is something that should have been smoothed out by the sound engineer, but otherwise the sound was good.
Could you see The Crossing Places being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
This could possibly be a movie, as it has all the ingredients for a good TV mystery. There are a lot of things in the book that would make wonderful visuals, such as the Druid and the henge and the saltmarsh landscape. I don't know who I'd suggest for the roles.
Any additional comments?
My pet peeve was that I felt the author was speaking down to the reader too much by overexplaining basic archaeological terms such as Iron Age. Nelson the cop is used as the dummy so Ruth can explain all about the archaeology, thus setting the stage for another info dump. Now, I wouldn't necessarily expect Nelson to know about some of the finer burial practices of Iron Age peoples, which is after all Ruth's purview, but I expect most readers will have heard about the Iron Age and Stone Age and have an idea of which came first. Nelson, sadly, didn't have a clue. It's not that these things shouldn't have been explained for readers who aren't into archaeology, but I think it could have been handled a little better without making the other characters into dummies. Another peeve: Late in the book Ruth in in a spot to wonder if water conducts electricity. For me this takes away from her scientific background and makes me wonder about the holes in her education. Now if she had wondered whether salt water was a better conductor than fresh water, I think that would have showed both her worry and her scientific thinking at work.Spoiler Alert: the ending wasn't exactly predictable, but it was somewhat maudlin. I am a woman, yes, but I don't connect with stories that just want me to know how wonderful motherhood is and paint childless women as weirdos until they discover the "religion" of mommyhood. This will probably keep me from buying the next book unless someone convinces me that the characters grow in complexity in the next volume. I want to see Ruth solve another mystery, not just hear about her female issues.
13 people found this helpful
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- Diana Denny
- 07-05-12
Interesting Protagonist
Would you consider the audio edition of The Crossing Places to be better than the print version?
Yes. Narrator Jane McDowell was pitch perfect in capturing Ruth's voice.
Any additional comments?
Story a bit slow paced at first, but was an interesting view into the life of independent archaeology prof, Ruth Galloway. Is she contented or lonely? I still can't decide. Different worlds to explore here: archaeology and the desolate salt marshs Ruth calls home.
27 people found this helpful
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- Gail N.
- 14-11-14
Entertaining but with some reservations
The book holds together pretty well and provides a few heart pounding moments. Suspects abound and the author keeps you somewhat guessing. But the heroine does whine a bit, especially about being fat. Some of the action seems very contrived and the hopeful ending is completely unbelievable. To be believable, the story should have taken place over a few months instead of over 10 years. The worst part is the narrator's attempt at a male Norwegian accent. Because of these problems, I hesitate to recommend the book.
59 people found this helpful
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- Donna
- 25-03-16
A good one
Archaeology and crime detection, this book tries to comnine the best of both and does the job well enough to please this reader. The main characters are fun, I would have liked to have more archaeology spelled but obe can't have everything.
5 people found this helpful
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- Diane Challenor
- 16-01-13
Excellent mystery
I really enjoyed the plot and found the characters believable. The backdrop of the Norfolk salt marshes created a wonderful damp wind blown atmosphere and in my mind's eye I could see it's beauty and feel it. The narration by Jane McDowell was just right for me. An excellent mystery.
35 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 21-09-12
A decent new series
The story was good, the narration fair, overall I enjoyed the listen.
Not action packed or full of witty dialog, just a decent story line with relatable characters and good imagary.
23 people found this helpful