The House at Sea’s End book review

The House at Sea's End by Elly Griffiths
Series: Ruth Galloway #3
Published by Quercus Publishing on January 6, 2011
Pages: 352
Goodreads

Ruth Galloway has just returned from maternity leave and is struggling to juggle work and motherhood. When a team from the University of North Norfolk, investigating coastal erosion, finds six bodies at the foot of the cliff, she is immediately put on the case.

I picked up the Elly Griffiths books in 2020 and decided I loved the series. The characters were great and there was enough personal intrigue that went along with the murder mystery element. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I picked The House at Sea’s End, but this one blew me away. Before I go on a massive gush I do want to say that the ending threw me a little bit. Although I didn’t guess it, there just wasn’t an awful lot in the story to back them up which was a little annoying. However, on with the gush. I really enjoyed the setting of this one and the general storyline. This storyline dealt with a difficulty issue really well.

Characters in The House at Sea’s End

The characters are pretty much the same, there’s Nelson, Ruth, Julie, and Shona. We do get an addition of a couple more, this was more to add something new to the story. I will say that this is The House at Sea’s End is the first book I’ve read that didn’t feel like Ruth’s story. There was far more emphasis on Nelson and his team. Ruth just didn’t feel as involved as she usually did. However saying that I loved watching Ruth struggle to work and be a mother and the insecurities that surrounded that. It was a really great insight into usually and infallible character. I really appreciated seeing her honest thoughts about being a mother.

Tatiana deserves a special mention, at first, I felt as though her addition to the story felt a little jarring. As though it wasn’t a seamless transition into the lives of the others. However, as The House on Sea’s End progressed and her story came alive. I felt as though I was learning so much from her in terms of experience. The influence she had on Ruth’s life through her frank way with words and the grief she deals with. I really ended up loving her as a character.

Good and bad bits

The thing that really impressed me about The House at Sea’s End was the crime that was committed in WWII. With how it ended up relating to modern-day. I thought the fact that it was German soldiers that were found and how they had been murdered was particularly well handled. I felt sympathy for them regardless of their mission and being ‘the enemy’ so to speak. The way that Griffiths used the older generation to paint not only the scene but also the empathy needed was beautiful. One of my favourite things about this book.

The worst bit and I hate to say it was the reveal. I love not knowing who it was that committed the crime and I think a good reveal is what makes a crime/murder mystery novel great. However there was nothing about the reveal in The House at Sea’s End that made any sense, I feel as though it was all thrown together and there was just a lack of any foreshadowing or of any insight whatsoever. It was just a little frustrating because there were people in the story that would have been just as shocking but would have made more sense.

Recommendation

I would definitely recommend this one. I really love this series and even though the ending wasn’t my cup of tea, the rest of the story made up for it! If you’re looking for a crime series with high stakes and personal drama then this is definitely for you.

Have you read this series? What did you think? Let me know!