A great series of stories from an author who's Ruth Galloway series has stuck with me for a long time. This collection was interested and a little bit eclectic, but overall I enjoyed reading it. 4.25/5

I am normally not a huge fan of short stories, but I loved this collection by Elly Griffiths. All her favorite characters were here, and often intertwined. But despite the familiarity with the characters, its obvious that Griffiths is experimenting with different genres. I loved “Flint’s Fireside Tale: A Christmas Story narrated by her cat Flint." 😻 A gothic horror story. There is also a final chapter to Ruth and Nelson's relationship story.

Thank you NetGalley for a chance to read and review this great collection.

The man in black by Elly Griffiths is a collection of short stories. Many characters from her books are featured.
The stories were varied and well-written.
I highly recommend this book to all fans of short stories.
Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

The Man in Black by Elly Griffiths is an engaging collection of short stories by this talented mystery writer. I enjoy short stories, but they are very different than full length novels, and I believe, can be more difficult to execute well. The writer has less time to set the stage, unveil the plot, get to the acme, and wrap up the story with a suitable conclusion.
This book includes an eclectic group of suspense stories and moral tales of varying length. For me, most were hits with the occasional less interesting entry. Some are very short and pithy, others unspool more languidly with a longer build up to the point of the tale. Some of the suspenseful stories feature familiar characters from Griffiths’ mystery novels, like Ruth Galloway and Harbinder Kaur. I particularly enjoy tales of touching, warm vignettes of humanity, such as The Red Handkerchief.
In all the stories, the writer exhibits amazing character development in just a few paragraphs or pages.
This is a lovely collection to savor by a very talented author.

Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Max Mephisto and Ruth Galloway in one book? Count me in. Elly Griffiths’ collection of short stories is the author at her very best, balancing wit and cleverness with suspense. Her familiar characters are all here but so are some new ones. I particularly enjoyed the historical and archaeological contexts of many stories, including an especially ominous and concise one at the beginning. A must for Griffiths’ readers. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. All opinions are entirely my own.

This collection is a feast for Elly Griffiths fans. I am one of them and was especially fond of spending more time in Ruth Galloway's world. That has always been my favorite series by the author.

In this collection there is a lot of Ruth and a bit of Max Mephisto(of the Magic Men) and Harbinder Kaur. Some even cross paths from time to time. As a long time reader of Griffiths I do think I am in the group of readers who will enjoy this bunch of stories the most. My friend Jayme also recommends this to readers who might be deciding which series to begin with and she has a wonderful point.

Since I was reading this on the road I will not be rating every single story, but I do have some favorites. My most favorite was "The Red Handkerchief" about a girl and her special Christmas gift for her father. "Justice Jones and the Etherphone" was an exciting post-WW II tale about a young female P.I. who finds herself tangling with a fortuneteller. "Ruth's First Christmas Tree" is one I have read before and has such a sweet ending. "What I Saw From the Sky" is a thrilling tale set in sunny Italy, "Flint's Fireside Tale" is a unique and chilling story from the perspective of Ruth Galloway's beloved cat, and "The Valley of the Queens: A Ruth and Nelson story" transports the duo to the setting of Agatha Christies "Death on the Nile."

What is also interesting about this collection is that it has some creepy stories and some festive ones. There are even a few that combine both. So if you are contemplating this title, you can pick it up now or during the Christmas season and find a story that fits the time of year.

Thank you to Quercus and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review. Happy Publication Week!

3 short story stars

Elly Griffiths is a popular and prolific writer with several series, including Ruth Galloway and Harbinder Kaur. I’ve only read the Harbinder Kaur series, but I was curious to read this collection of short stories.

The ones featuring Harbinder were probably the most interesting because I already knew the character. I did enjoy the ones featuring Ruth Galloway, and that series is also on my want-to-read list.

I also enjoyed meeting a new character, Justice Jones in one of the short stories, “Justice Jones and the Etherphone” and I would definitely consider sampling that series too.

There’s a little bit of everything in this collection, from holiday tales, magic, to ghosts and more mystical elements.

While I prefer novels to short stories, this was an interesting departure from my usual mode. I read a few in the airport and that was perfect because it made for short intervals of reading.

The Man in Black And Other Stories
by Elly Griffiths

I enjoy Ruth Galloway's Harbinder Kaur series and look forward to seeing more of her recurring characters with each book in the series. This book of short stories has given me a chance to sample some of her characters outside of the Harbinder Kaur series. I do think that, for me, short stories just aren't enough to allow me to get a feel for characters from long standing series that I've never tried yet. I think this book will be more enjoyable to me in the future, if I pick up Ruth's series other than the Harbinder Kaur series. I suspect others will enjoy this series if they enjoy short stories and if they already are fans of these characters.

Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for this ARC

The Man in Black and Other Stories by Elly Griffiths is a collection of her short stories featuring some of the characters you may know from her books. I really enjoyed this collection. Elly has written the Ruth Galloway series where Ruth is a forensic archeologist and she consults with the police. Ruth and Nelson are featured in a handful of these stories, but not all of them. I like Elly's characters because they are unique, they don't typically conform to expectations and things do not always go to plan. This collection features a short story from the perspective of Ruth Galloway's cat, Flint. It is suitably creepy and good. Two of my favorites include Max Mephisto and the Disappearing Act set in the 1920s and Justice Jones and the Etherphone - Justice is a girl detective, private investigator and she is looking into a man's mysterious death. There is also a story featuring another of her characters, Harbinder Kaur called Harbinger. I really enjoyed the collection of stories - it is a great way to sample an author's work if you've not read them before or to get more of the writing from an author you enjoy. 4 stars. Thank you to #netgalley and Mariner Books, this book is out today, October 15, 2024.

From the author who has brought the literary world characters such as Ruth Galloway, Justice Jones, Harbinder Kaur, and Max Mephisto, comes a selection of short stories, many of them featuring these beloved players.

I was recently introduced to Elly Griffiths and am familiar only with Ruth Galloway whose adventures as an archeologist I enjoy. The stories in The Man in Black include mysteries, suspense, folklore, different kinds of love, grief, loneliness.

Well written, some new characters are introduced. I particularly liked the Ruth Galloway tales, especially since the timelines went back and forth so that I learned some of her history as well as what happens in the future.

I am not a huge short story fan, but I couldn’t put this book down. My favorites in this collection were Ruth’s First Christmas Tree, What I saw from the Sky, and Flint’s Fireside Tale A Christmas Story, told from the perspective of Ruth’s cat, Flint. Regarding the second story, how can you go wrong with the Amalfi Coast, Capri and references to Aperol!?!

What a treat this is for fans of Griffiths' various series- and what a terrific introduction to her work for those who have not read her. This collection of stories give small insights into the various characters but I'm especially fond of those focusing on Ruth Galloway, her family, friends, and cat. Then there's Harbinder and Max Mephisto- so different from the rest. I admit to having broken my usual rule of reading a single short story a day and gulping this one down. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Wonderful collection.

I loved this collection of short stories. Quirky, spooky, funny, mysterious. New characters and old. We get to revisit Max Mephisto, Nelson and Ruth, Cathbad, Harbinder, and others. Such pleasure!

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins, for the ARC of this title.

I'm a big fan of Elly Griffiths series, especially the Ruth Galloway series. So this was a fun read that had some things old and some things new. It was great to dive back into the world of Ruth and Nelson and even see a bit of their lives past the last novel. Some of the other stories were familiar but I didn't remember all the details so they were enjoyable to read again.

I can see this book being great for fans of Elly Griffiths but also for people who like to read something a bit spooky during this time of year and around the holidays. Most of the stories in the collection are easily read in one sitting so they can be read one a night over the holidays or leading up to them, when most of us are a bit stressed and need to escape into another world to relax before bed.

Overall, this was just a lovely way to slip back into a favorite world with a favorite writer.

I have read the first three books in the Harbinder Kaur series as well as a couple novels featuring magician Max Mephisto, so I was eager to read this book of short stories. Max and Harbinder are each featured in a couple of stories and those are among my favorites in this collection. I also enjoyed the stories with archeologist Ruth Galloway as the main character. I have heard great things about the Ruth Galloway series, but I've never read any of those novels. After reading these stories, I definitely want to start that series! Another of my favorite stories features Justice Jones, a young woman who has her own detective agency in post-WWII England. The story was engaging and clever.

The other stories in this collection are a mixed bag and I was surprised that not all were mysteries. There are a couple of touching holiday stories that I enjoyed, but some of the others have vague endings and weren't my favorites. Overall, I enjoyed the collection and spending time with characters I already liked and meeting new ones.

I received an advance copy of this ebook courtesy of NetGalley and Mariner Books.

3.5 stars
this was an interesting compilation of short stories. this was my first elly griffiths book which i think left me a little confused at first but, overall it was a good read!

thank you netgalley for the copy. this is my first time reading anything from this author. this is a collection of story all kinda generes. i really liked the harbinger kaur story.and max mephisto and the dissappering act

Fans of Griffiths Ruth Galloway series will love the delve into Ruth and Nelsons new relationship in their short story, especially! And hearing from her cat Flint, is an interesting bit left out from previous books, that makes for a couple of ah-ha moments as well. All the short stories are like ideas that Elly though of adding to a book, but they just didn't quite form, or just were more of a short story idea. It's an interesting look at what might have been left out of a previous book, and what we might look forward to in another. Fans will adore the book, and newbies will relish dipping their toes into the Galloway series as well.

Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I have read precisely one other Elly Griffiths book before picking up this short story collection. I stumbled upon a book in her Ruth Galloway series, A Dying Fall and quickly fell in love with the distinct way that Griffiths writes and her characters. I started scooping up other books in the Ruth Galloway series and plan to read through her backlist. The stories in this collection were at times scary, gothic and spooky, while other times funny and heartwarming. I found with each one that I was fully invested and yet didn't always know where things were going to go. As a reader, I have not loved short stories in the past. However, I have read of a few of Alice Hoffman's including Blackbird House and found that even though short stories like this can be thought provoking and worthwhile. I felt the same way about this collection of stories. Highly suggest if you have at least read a bit of one of the series that Griffiths has written as making those connections might be more fun, but I will say that they made me interested in reading her other series as well. A great collection!

I'm a big fan of Elly Griffiths and was thrilled to have a chance to read this new book, featuring some of my all time favorite characters! My only gripe is that I want more!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. I don't normally pick up short story novels but it was Elly Griffith!! She nailed it! They're we even shorts about Ruth Galloway who is one of my favorite characters. Very well done and I highly recommend