I had no idea THE LAST REMAINS was the last book in the Ruth Galloway series until I was near the end, so well did author Elly Griffiths continue her excellent series, with its various surprises.
As usual, we have a mystery involving bones, in this case the fully-articulated skeleton of a woman laid behind a wall. She is only found when someone knocks down a wall in the course of doing renovations.
Who is she? One clue is the metal plate in her ankle, showing that she broke her ankle. It also confirms the skeleton to be modern, as that type of operation was not performed until the 20th century.
And so we are off and running, following Ruth and Nelson through yet another investigation about missing identity, missing persons and murder.
As usual, things do not go smoothly. The investigation is nearly derailed when Cathbad disappears. At first, everyone believes he is being merely eccentric. But as time goes on, as he continues to not show up, everyone becomes worried.
And this is where this novel turns into a celebration of the whole series, where we meet some characters from the past, who help to solve the mystery. And in a very fitting way, the whole series ends with a wedding!
I love Elly Griffiths clever plots, so I will be embarking on her series set in Brighton in the not-too-distant future. Five Stars.
