The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths

Series Name: Ruth Galloway Mystery #14
Genre: Traditional
Release: June 28, 2022

Pandemic lockdowns have Ruth Galloway feeling isolated from everyone but a new neighbor—until Nelson comes calling, investigating a decades-long string of murder-suicides that’s looming ever closer.

Three years after her late mother’s death, Ruth is finally sorting through her things when she finds a curious relic: a decades-old photograph of Jean’s Norfolk cottage with a peculiar inscription. Ruth returns to the cottage to uncover its meaning as Norfolk’s first cases of COVID-19 make headlines, leaving her and Kate to shelter in place there. They struggle to stave off isolation by clapping for frontline workers each evening and befriending a kind neighbor, Zoe, from a distance. But when Nelson breaks quarantine to rush to Ruth’s cottage and enlist her help in investigating a series of murder-suicides he has connected to an archeological discovery, he finds Zoe is hardly who she says she is. The further Nelson investigates these deaths, the closer they lead him to Ruth’s friendly neighbor—until Ruth, Zoe, and Kate all go missing, and Nelson is left scrambling to find them before it’s too late.

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Dru’s Short Musing:
Elly Griffiths knows how to keep this series fresh with a solid plot using the lockdown and introducing a bevy of characters that had a pivotal role in Ruth’s latest adventure.

This is a well-written and executed drama that had me immersed in all aspects from beginning to end. Lockdown means not seeing anyone, yet Ruth gets involved in another mystery involving deaths that may be connected to her new neighbor. The author tells a story full of suspense and intrigued that I could not put this book down. There were a few tense moments that I hoped would not be what it looked like it would be. Does the author deliver a knock-out tale that will have you drawn into Ruth’s circle? Yes, she does and I’m it gets even better. The ending – I can’t wait for the next book in the series. As with other books in the series, this latest is the best one yet.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.