‘The Night Hawks’ by Elly Griffiths is the 13th story in a mystery series set in Norfolk, featuring forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway. It’s the first I’ve read and I loved it so much, I’m going to go back to the start and read them all. I had no problem jumping in at this point though, as the author made so much of the backstory clear, with little pieces of information here and there.

Ruth is Head of Archaeology at the University and dealing with her new responsibilities and her life as a single parent is hard enough, but again she finds herself called upon to help out Nelson and the local police force. When a body is washed up on the beach, suspicion that Bronze Age artefacts may be found there too means her expertise is required. The discovery of two bodies in a remote farm, and a local legend of the Black Shuck complicates her work further. As the clues mount, and suspects multiply, can Ruth and Nelson solve the case before more tragedy ensues.

‘The Night Hawks’ is an excellent mystery, full of surprises and intrigue. I loved the Norfolk setting and the local myths and legends becoming a part of the story. The archaeological details made it all the more fascinating and kept me hooked. Ruth Galloway is a fascinating character, with insecurities and repressed passions. Her relationship with Nelson is, on the surface, professional and their personal interaction seems limited to discussions about their daughter, Kate. But we all know they want more. The ensemble cast works so well and this series could make a fantastic TV series. I look forward to many more stories.

I was given this ARC to review.

In this the thirteenth book in the Ruth Galloway series we find that Ruth has returned to Norfolk and her cottage on the fens along with her daughter Kate having decided that marriage to Frank Barker was not what she wanted.
She has taken over as Head of Archeology, at the University of North Norfolk, from her old boss Phil Trent who has retired.
One of her first decisions as the new head of department is to hire a new lecturer David Brown.. On a personal level Ruth finds him rather irritating and pushy, he seems to want to be involved in everything.
A local group of metal detectorists, known as the Night Hawks, out searching for buried treasure, discover a body on the beach.
DCI Harry Nelson is called in. At first he thinks the dead man might be an asylum seeker.
Further inquiries show he`s actually a local lad Jem Taylor. Jem`s not long out of prison, was his drowning accidental or could there be more to it?
The Night Hawks have unearthed some coins and weapons nearby along with skeletal remains, Nelson uses the find to call in Ruth.
David Brown is excited by the find and manages to get himself invited alongside Ruth. IT seems he knows some of the Night Hawks.
The next night a couple of the Hawks are out again and hear shots at Black Dog Farm. An isolated farmhouse owned by Cambridge researcher Dr Douglas Noakes and his wife Linda.
It looks like a murder-suicide and the discovery of a note seems to confirm this but the mention of a body in the garden has Nelson once again calling in Ruth and her team to dig up the garden. David Brown somehow manages to tag along again.
As the case progresses Nelson is having doubts, he begins to feel that the whole scene has been staged. He starts to look more closely at the Noakes family, their associates and the Night Hawks who always seem to be around.
This is a cleverly plotted storyline with lots of red herrings that kept me guessing.
Murders, shootings, hostage taking and of course the characters I have come to love hearing about Cathbad, Clough, Ruth and Nelson.
I highly recommend this series, Dr Ruth Galloway fans will not be disappointed!
Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus books for the chance to read this as an ARC in return for my honest review.

This is the latest outing for Ruth Galloway, and her team.
Ruth is now back at her old university, and is head of department, after the departure of Phil. She also has a very keen new lecturer, David Brown, who has his own secrets.
The Night Hawks are a group of detectorists who find a body on a beach, and also an ancient burial site.
As Ruth investigates the burial and Nelson investigates the body their paths intersect again.
Add in a mythical large black dog (The Black Shuck), that foretells death, a scientist with secrets, and a murder/suicide, not to mention the usual cast of characters, including a guest appearance by Cloughie, and the scene is set for an engaging read. There is even a mention of The Archers!
The book does not disappoint, and the climax is dramatic, moving on the story of Ruth, Nelson and Michele.
I look forward to the next chapter.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books for the opportunity to read this book.

It was with utter delight that I read the email granting me access to the 13th (yes, 13th!) Dr Ruth Galloway novel. I've been an avid fan since book 1 and often wonder what they're all up to whilst waiting for the next instalment. Although you could jump in to the series here (Elly Griffiths is careful to employ adequate explanatory back story) I'd heartily recommend you enjoy the lot in order instead. I really love how there's a carefully crafted murder mystery, a contemporary feel to the world she creates (you'd hazard a guess it was written in lockdown, without lockdown or Covid-19 featuring at all) and a soap-like catch up with the regular characters, all in one book. Add in a bit of supernatural folklore and landscape-led drama and what more could you want? Dr Ruth fans will be delighted with the latest.

A new Elly Griffiths is always cause for celebration (and thank goodness she's such a prolific writer that we receive one twice yearly). The Night Hawks is a classic Ruth Galloway book: niche local interest in which Cathbad is, inevitably, already involved (seriously, he seems to know everyone in North Norfolk!), troubled family at the centre of the mystery, more of the endless will-they won't-they from Nelson and Ruth; dramatic denouement putting Ruth in danger. The niche interest here is metal detecting which, when the detectorists turn up both a dead body and a Bronze Age horde on a night time hunt, provides the excuse for Ruth to become involved in both the archaeological dig and the murder investigation. As always the characters are well realised and the mystery gripping, and there was something deeply comforting about returning to the characters and landscape I know so well. Perfect lockdown reading.

I haven't read any Ellie Griffiths books for several years but remember her first 'Ruth Galloway', so had a background for the main characters. This latest one has made me want to go back and read the rest. Thinking of retiring to this part of the world so may give me some tips, although it may be like moving to 'Midsomer'! Nelson seems to have a relatively normal home life for a fictional detective, apart from the almost ménage à trois set-up between him, Ruth and Michelle. A pleasant change from the usual dysfunctional protagonist. Looking forward to starting her Brighton series too. Thanks to Netgalley for the read.

Thanks to NetGalley & Quercus for an advance copy of this book to review.

I've been a fan of Elly Griffith's Dr Ruth Galloway series for a few years and this book didn't disappoint. This is the 13th book in the series. It was nice to be back in the familiar Norfolk setting.

The Night Hawks (a group of metal detectorists) discover a body, then one member alerts the police to what appears to be a murder suicide. But all isn't quite what it seems at first glance. I enjoyed trying to work out the links and follow the investigations.

I liked the supernatural atmosphere created with the Black Shuck legend.

I have to admit I have mixed feelings about the Ruth/Nelson storyline. Based on the ending of this book, I wonder how it will develop in the next book.

Overall this was one of my favourites in the series and I'm already looking forward to the 14th book. I would recommend reading the books in order to fully understand the background and characters.

September 2019

The night hawks are metal detectorists and they're out on Blakeney Point where they suspect that there's treasure to be found. Unfortunately, the youngest of the group, twenty-one-year-old Troy Evans, finds the body of a man floating on the incoming tide. After pulling it ashore, they call the police. DCI Nelson thinks that it's probably the body of an asylum seeker but there's no evidence of any activity to be had from the coastguard. The dead man turns out to be Jem Taylor, a North Norfolk man recently released from prison.

The detectorists did stumble on some treasure and it looks as though it's going to be exciting, particularly for David Brown the new lecturer in the archaeology department at the University of North Norfolk. He's taken Ruth Galloway's place as she's now head of department in place of Phil Trent who's recently taken early retirement. Ruth's beginning to realise that Phil was right when he complained about all the paperwork he had to get through. She's also finding that although she was the person who recruited David Brown, he's deeply annoying. Whatever she's doing, he seems to be there.

And then there's a double death near Sherringham. It appears that Dr Douglas Noakes killed his wife, Linda, and then turned the gun on himself. David Clough, who's now a DI and who's moved away from North Norfolk, would have described it as a DODI - the dead one did it - but something just doesn't seem quite right to Nelson. It's about to get worse, though: one of the metal detectorists, fifty-eight-year-old Alan White, is found murdered in the excavation trench at Blakeney Point.

Nelson has a nagging problem: Superintendent Jo Archer (super Jo around the office) is trying to persuade him to retire. It's not that he can't do the job, it's that she's counting the number of staff she could employ if she didn't have to pay an expensive DCI. Nelson's determined that he's not going to retire, so he's having to go out of his way to avoid super Jo, fearful that there'll be yet another discussion to be got through.

This is the thirteenth Dr Ruth Galloway book and I only realised how long this series has been running when I noticed that Ruth's daughter, Kate, whose birth we saw early in the series is now ten-years-old. It's still remarkably fresh. In The Night Hawks we see illicit drug trials, bronze-age buried treasure and the effects of an abusive childhood and it's all expertly knitted together in a brilliantly-written story. At one point, Nelson muses about his frustration at a certain point in an investigation: he's wondering if the perpetrator is going to get away with it. I know exactly how he felt! I usually have someone pencilled in as the wrong 'un but this time I had no idea whatsoever and I was shocked when I realised who it was, despite the fact that the clues had all been there. It was an excellent read.

For a long time now the Ruth Galloway series has been one of my favourite police procedurals and I'd like to thank the publishers for making a copy available to the Bookbag.

Excellent return to Norfolk for Ruth and another case for her to get stuck in to. Elly Griffiths never disappoints

I have nothing but continual love for this cast of characters.
Every single one of them.
This time it was so good to be back home,in the usual settings.
It's amazing this series has been going so long,I imagine Kate to be a toddler still ,not someone about to start secondary school.

A strange mystery this time,featuring creepy houses,phantom dogs and dead body washing up on the beach.

Some of the reveals felt to me as if they came out of nowhere... but that's often a good thing.

As always,I finished the book,eager for more.

With the latest instalment in the Ruth Galloway series Elly Griffiths has excelled herself once more, however I do urge potential readers to start with the first book and read them all in order, better to get to know the characters which are at the heart of all the novels.

This book starts with the discovery of a body by a local group of metal detector enthusiasts - the night hawks of the title - and from there builds into a deftly plotted mystery with an ending I must admit I did not see coming.

All the main characters which bring these books to life are here, painted so visibly by Elly’s writing that they feel like old friends and the relationship between Ruth and Nelson which makes these books so compelling is left on a cliffhanger !!!!!

This is easily the best detective series currently being written and I hope these books continue

Thank you to NetGalley & Quercus for my copy of this book to review.

I have read all of the Ruth Galloway books now and I love them more with each one.

For me, these books are more about the characters than the actual story, they’re always so comforting and familiar.

Aside from that though, I did, as always, enjoy the whodunnit story. I like that there are a couple of interwoven plots and usually feature a supernatural element to them.

I was happy that it finished on a cliffhanger in the Nelson & Ruth saga as that implies that there will be a 14th book! Will they finally get together?

Elly Griffiths has you hooked from the start and I know I will love the book before I even begin the first page. I can’t recommend these books enough and I do so to anyone that will listen.

Now the countdown begins to the next one!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for an advance copy of The Night Hawks, the thirteenth novel to feature forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway, set in Norfolk.

A group of metal dectorists, known as the Night Hawks, discover a body on a local beach. DCI Harry Nelson initially thinks he may be an illegal immigrant but soon discovers he is a local man. There is no obvious cause of death but a second similar death makes him think murder, although he doesn’t have much time to mull it over as he is called out to an apparent murder/suicide at a remote farm. Ruth is more interested in the Bronze Age burial site the detectorists uncover before the body, but still finds time to uncover a buried dog at the farmhouse where the suicide note hinted at a buried body.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Night Hawks which has a good mystery and more on the ongoing saga of Ruth and Nelson’s relationship. I don’t know if it is familiarity with the characters after so many novels or the author’s writing style but I always feel wrapped in warmth when I read this series, like a cosy comfort blanket.

I must admit that the murder investigation is not the main appeal of the series for me. I like the ramifications and developments in the will they, won’t they relationship between Ruth and Nelson and the fall out on their friends and family. The whole thing is keenly observed and very natural - I could see myself reacting in the same way as many of the characters. There are more developments in this novel and it ends in another cliffhanger with Nelson, once again, reassessing his life choices. I get it that this is the way of the world, one man choosing between two women, but it would be nice if, at least once, the choice wasn’t his to make.

I didn’t find this plot and the perpetrator as easy to guess as some of the novels. There is a lot going on and plenty of people to suspect, chiefly because there is no immediate, clear cut motive and the steps to uncover it aren’t taken as a priority. As an avid fan of police procedurals I found this mildly annoying. Nevertheless the story held my attention from start to finish and was itching to get back to it whenever I had to put it down.

The Night Hawks is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

The Night Hawks is the thirteenth book in the Ruth Galloway series by award-winning British author, Elly Griffiths. Now Head of Department at the University of North Norfolk, Dr Ruth Galloway is dismayed to find herself spouting the phrases about funding she abhorred when they came from her former boss. Her new hire, archaeologist David Brown, arrogant, smug and irritating, is the target of several.

How he manages to ride along to Blakeney Point when DCI Harry Nelson request-demands her input at the scene of a body washed up (an illegal alien?), she can’t quite understand. The Night Hawks, a group of metal detectorists who hunt for buried historical artefacts at night (nuisances, in Ruth’s opinion), stumbled over the body near a find of coins and weapons.

David Brown is excited by the likelihood that it’s Bronze Age, and the skeletal remains could be one of the European Beaker People whose virus, he theorises, wiped out Neolithic Britons. He envisages facial reconstructions and museum displays; Ruth fears for her departmental budget.

The next night, one of the Night Hawks alerts Police to a shooting at Black Dog Farm that looks like a murder-suicide: Cambridge researcher Dr Douglas Noakes and his wife Linda. Mention of a body in the suicide note has Ruth and her team digging up the garden, at which David Brown once again appears.

Certain anomalies see Nelson unconvinced that the scene was not staged, and the team are soon looking deeper into the family and associates, as well as the metal detectorists who seem to be on the spot. Diligent investigation by the team gradually reveals noteworthy connections and pertinent facts, but the list of suspects and possible motives seems to expand. And all the while, to the annoyance of his Super, Nelson inserts himself in the action when she feels he should be seriously considering retirement.

“Nelson thinks about retirement for about eight seconds and then dismisses the idea. The force needs his experience and know-how. There are some things you can only learn from years of actually doing the job.”

Meanwhile, the washed-up body is identified as a local; then a young policeman dies unexpectedly, and enquiries lead Nelson’s team to a Cambridge research lab: could there be something illegal going on? In the background to it all is the Norfolk legend of the Black Shuck, a harbinger of evil whose manifestation is making fleeting appearances, unnerving many.

Another murder, a shooting and a hostage taking are all part of the dramatic climax. Once again, Griffiths keeps the reader guessing right up to the final chapters with red herrings and misdirections, and, as always in these stories, she demonstrates how the solving of a crime depends very much on a team effort. In this instalment, the usually unspoken relationship between Ruth and Nelson gets more of an airing, and Cathbad plays a significant role. Clever, exciting and informative: more of Ruth, Nelson and co will be most welcome.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Quercus publishers

Love the Ruth / Nelson novels. Great writing and premise. Amazing characters. Page turner. Plenty of suspense to keep me guessing..Definitely looking forward to the next offering. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it s

An excellent read. One of my favourite of the series.
It’s eloquent, endearing and emotional
#13 in the Ruth Galloway series. I love this series. It’s very much my comfort read. The characters and their development and interaction work so well. A real hug in a book.
I love the inclusion of local legends.
There are quite a few characters and connections, but these are frequently revisited so it’s easier to keep track of who is who.
The book is character driven, the characters feel like old family friends.
I thought the end was emotional. I Can’t wait for the next one!
The inclusion of the who is who is a good idea.

Elly Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway series hits book number thirteen with The Night Hawks but is definitely not unlucky 13 as once again an excellent and enjoyable story is provided.

All the usual cast feature making reading the book like wearing a pair of comfortable slippers and all the more enjoyable.

The main underlying storyline is well paced and kept this reader hooked throughout whilst the other storylines also added to the book

Definitely recommended

Many thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books for letting me read this book. Yet another brilliant addition to Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway series, which in my opinion is the absolute best series ever. Elly is a genius writer in the way she cleverly combines a gripping edge of your seat plot with a character based narrative. I adore returning to Ruth, Nelson and the rest of them. Not only do these books never disappoint, they just get better and better. Wonderful.

The night hawks are a group of men who go out in the hours of darkness to do metal detecting, looking for treasure around Norfolk (a bit odd, really). On one of their forays they find a body on the beach, alongside various artefacts. It appears the body is newly deceased.

Dr Ruth Galloway is an archaeologist, who was invited to investigate the artefacts and date another, much older, body found with them.

The same detectorists then hear screams and gunshots at Black Dog Farm, and find two people dead. DI Nelson, married but father to Ruth's daughter, takes the case to find out what has happened - is it murder or suicide?

The plot is quite twisty, particularly if, like me, you haven't read any Ruth Galloway mysteries before. The author brings new readers up to speed, but it is hard to keep track of who is involved with whom.

Overall its a good read, with a clever plot. I wasn't too enamoured of the supernatural references, and am never convinced that civilians would be drawn so easily into investigating murders, other than as expert witnesses.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ruth Galloway is now back in Norfolk and heads up the archaeology department following Phil’s retirement from the job. She has appointed Daniel Brown to lecture in her former role but Ruth finds him a bit confronting and irritating. He seems to want to insert himself into everything. He also a member of the local night hawks a group of ‘detectorists’ that like to go out at night with their metal detectors looking for buried treasure and artefacts. One night, while investigating a beach, they find more than they bargained for. Along with what appears to be a Bronze Age burial site with grave goods they also stumble across the body of a young man who seems to have just washed up on the shore.

The next night two of the detctorists are passing Black Dog Farm when they hear gunshots and screams, police are called and it looks like a murder (the wife) and a suicide (the husband). But the two Night Hawks who called it in were also on the beach the night before and DCI Nelson doesn’t like coincidences. It all gets very murky as it seems the dead man, Douglas Noakes, while an esteemed scientist was also an abusive husband and father. More deaths follow but it all seems to revolve around Black Dog Farm and some illegal activities being conducted there. There are plenty of suspects.

This was another outstanding addition to this wonderful series. Things get very exciting towards the end when a bunch of people are lured to the farm for a showdown. Someone is shot and Ruth’s new recruit seems to redeem himself in her eyes. Ruth and Nelson’s non-relationship takes an interesting turn. Could they find happiness in the future? I don’t know but I will keep reading to find out. I enjoyed this book a lot and highly recommend it to those who enjoy character driven mysteries. Many thanks to Netgalley, Quercus Books and Elly Griffiths for providing me with a copy to review. My opinions are my own.

4.5 stars rounded down.