A Shaky Series Installment

Not sure what to think about this third book in Elly Griffiths' spooky mystery series set in wild coastal Norfolk. I loved the first two books and I save these titles in my library as treats to be enjoyed and looked forward to. I should have known something was up when several other reviewers queried--and I quote here--if Griffiths wasn't going barmy? I confess I had to look up the exact meaning of the term barmy. It may be apt.

The book was convoluted and rambling and at times beyond comprehension as it was so outside of what I would consider normal personal and even police behavior. In a way it was like listening to a family member--still half asleep retelling a long mixed up dream they had just had and wanted you to sort out for them. Some things just don't make any sense.

In addition, there are four or maybe even five major errors in the storyline. I can't elaborate here as I hate plot spoilers--but someone--author or an editor should have picked up these problems. I have read other reviews that found errors that I missed and I am not counting those in my list. This gives me further pause.

In the end the story works itself to a neat close but these characters are becoming not just flawed but frankly unlikable. On the whole the book was just too sloppy and careless for my taste. Proceed with caution is my best advice on this one.

40 people found this helpful

4 Star Narration, Story Not Up to Par

Jane McDowell who did the excellent narration of the two prior books in this series again does a great job with this third in the series. No complaints about the production.

Ruth's determination to raise her daughter without assistance from the father however is daft. Ruth discovers the problems with dealing with the practicality of child rearing as a single mother while the father clearly wishes to be involved both personally and financially with his daughter. Due to the determination that the relationship must be kept secret things get more and more confused.

Meanwhile in addition to the usual cast of characters, a friend of Ruth's from a prior stint in Bosnia shows up. A woman whose son, husband and parents were killed in the conflict there. Then there are people whose parents and grandparents were involved with WWII and a secret that it seems someone is willing to go to extremes to protect.

Ruth really doesn't have any serious problems with being a single mother as her friends rally around to provide assistance and support. Meanwhile bodies pile up but Ruth doesn't have that much detecting to do. I'm not sure where the author is going with this series, but I am not looking forward to forensic anthropology with a toddler. Unfortunately, at the end of the book I felt that things in the personal story arc were unresolved and I'm not sure I'm really interested in the resolution. Let's have some more archaeology please..

16 people found this helpful

I love this series!

Would you consider the audio edition of The House at Sea's End to be better than the print version?

I don't understand the reasoning behind the several negative reviews of this book - I'm typically swayed in my purchase choices by user reviews but having enjoyed the other installments of this series so much, decided to ignore them and go for it anyway....I'm so glad I did! I enjoyed this book just as much as the others! It's a great listen!

10 people found this helpful

Just Okay -- Not Much More

In addition to some serious plot issues, another major criticism of this book is the narration. While some sections were narrated excellently and eloquently, it seemed to me that way too much emphasis was put on the first word(s) (usually a name) in every succeeding paragraph. These words/names were simply shouted and as such, broke into the pace and flow of the story. As for the story itself, there were just too many gaps for my liking -- I don't want to list them because it might spoil the story for others -- but things just didn't hang together and needed a good bit of backgrounding by the author. As a result, it was difficult to develop any empathy for the characters and in the end, it just didn't matter who survived and who didn't. Story 3 stars; narration 2!

8 people found this helpful

Don't know if I care what happens next

The character development that made me want to continue the series was a real turn off in this book. I don't believe we all have to fatally flawed to be interesting. Every character doesn't have to be a caricature.

Harry and Ruth are turning into a regular little soap opera. I don't know if I'll read the last installment. Lord knows I'm not a writer so take my criticisms as what they are, an average reader with little tase for melodrama.

6 people found this helpful

Accuracy

Would you consider the audio edition of The House at Sea's End to be better than the print version?

In the books the detectives are reviewing a list of books in chapter 16. the hounds of the Baskerville (sp) as written by " Sherlock Holmes" It was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

What did you like best about this story?

The story and English characters.

What does Jane McDowell bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The dialogue and English characters. It is like listening to the radio of my youth.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not extreme just comfortable.

Any additional comments?

I write this review to note the accuracy of that one instance and wonder if it was an author's mistake or the narrator's mistake.

5 people found this helpful

British style of modern mystery story

Would you listen to The House at Sea's End again? Why?

I would happily listen to another story by the same author.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

It had enough twists and turns to keep me interested

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Narrator did a good job with the array of accents and otherwise did not outshine the story - which is the point.

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

No

Any additional comments?

This was a comfort book. Nice every day tale of small British towns and the mud found underneath the surface.

4 people found this helpful

Third Good Mystery In This Series

The House at Sea’s End is the third book in the Ruth Galloway series. Ruth has given birth to her daughter and is returning to work, with all the challenges involved with being a single parent added to one who lives in a remote location. In her role as an advisor to the police on bones, she is asked to investigate a set of human remains found in the inlet of a beach. There turns out to be more than one set of bones, bound together. The evidence points to these being WWII era. In an uneasy investigation with Harry Nelson. During the war, there were rumors of invasion by the Germans and the Home Guard units actively patrolled the coastline. In contacting the former members, a series of suspicious circumstances arise, and when a journalist from Germany arrives claiming knowledge of the men and a secret operation by the British, things begin to get complex. On a personal note, Ruth is managing the visit of an old friend, and trying to manage her feelings for Harry and his feelings for her daughter. The mystery leads them on a chase to find murderers both in the past and the present.

Jane McDowell was excellent with the delivery of the story

3 people found this helpful

What the heck happened?

The first two entries into Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway series are above average, fun mystery stories with interesting characters and a hint of drama. The House at Sea's End, the third entry, is an exercise is melodrama and tedium that drops off incredibly hard from the previous two books and both frustrates and disappoints.

The mystery presented within the story itself is fascinating, with Ruth needing to assist the police after a collection of bodies are found in a hillside, This could have been the best mystery yet in the Galloway series and involves a lot of really unusual elements like war crimes, coverups, and the faults of patriotism. But none of that matters, unfortunately, because the mystery is presented in the most unfitting and by the numbers way imaginable and in the end comes to almost nothing and has no real consequence for anyone involved.. It's basically a clone of the last two books but done without any sort of energy, and the way these books hit the same beats over and over again is almost hilarious. And I guarantee you will not guess who the villain is, because by the time they showed up I forgot they were even a character in the story.

But what REALLY kills this book is the insane pacing where the brunt of it is dedicated to character drama. The mystery is set in the backseat as really contrived soap opera stuff happens to all of the familiar characters. No one quite seems to be their normal selves, particularly Ruth, who is absolutely insufferable in this book and has somehow transformed from a headstrong woman who has a problem with being self critical into a crying, selfish idiot who has a habit of being just terrible to people around her for no reason. Nelson is acting completely illogical and expects the impossible to work out fine, and at one point in the book two characters who have barely even interacted throughout the series are abruptly paired together in the most contrived, lifetime movie-esque way possible. This would all be fine in other circumstances; it's not like characters have to be perfect or likable. But as portrayed in this story, almost everyone might as well just be a different person.

Jane Mcdowell does her best with the material in this story, but even she sounds unconvincing portraying Ruth's histrionics in this. Still, she's by far the best part of this audiobook. This one is a great big "avoid". It made me think less of the characters and really discouraged as far as continuing the series went. If you really must, skip it and move onto the next book which is a bit better.

3 people found this helpful

Third one’s unlucky

I’ve really enjoyed the first two Ruth Galloway books. This one, less. The wheels fell off the bus about 3/4 way in, when it seemed like a game of Russian roulette- ‘anyone and everyone might be the criminal!!’ And our constantly sensible Dr. Galloway lost her mind in unbelievable emotion which wasn’t assisted by the narration - squealing through an anxious bit - to the point of distraction. I had to turn it off until I found my courage back (and wanted to continue the story). Really disappointing. I’ll stop with the series now.

3 people found this helpful