Recommended reading--

"What's the best book you've read this year?" asked the librarian patron.  He was a one-time regular book club attendee and I was glad to see him so I took a few moments to contemplate on the question.   

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 I was certain he was asking about mystery novels and this question came earlier this month, roughly midyear through the monthly sessions of book club mysteries for the year.  The last title read was Jo Nesbø's The Snowman which stuck with me but the part of the ending left me cold (pun intended).  I liked the somewhat offbeat Killed by the Whim of a Hat by Colin Cotterill but considered it might be closer to an acquired taste. 

I finally decided to suggest Elly Griffiths' The Janus Stone as a satisfying mystery and story to pass the mustard. And in part, the recommendation was for the reader's taste too--a nice English mystery with a likable amateur sleuth.  This situation also repeated itself so later with a former co-worker who likes mysteries and I suggested this same title to her.  Again, a good read but also likely to fit her reading tastes.

 

Book club discusses "The Janus Stone"

In April, the book club selection was the second of the "Ruth Galloway" British mystery series The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths.  Ruth is a forensic archaeologist and college educator.  She is called upon to assist the police when a child's headless skeleton is unearthed while an old mansion is razed.  Located beneath a doorway, the skeleton rested in a building that served as a Catholic orphanage years ago.  

Elly Griffiths
(googled photo)

The detective in charge of the investigation is a gruff Harry Nelson working with the horizontally challenged Ruth again for a second time.  Despite his demeanor, the two develop a bond of respect and even friendship

This case may have several possibilities as the body might be very old from the Roman-era times--related to a nearby archaeological dig--or much more recent with a story of two missing children 40 years ago.

Ruth pursues the matter with a firm determination but is hampered along the way: she is encountering credible threats to her life and she is mum about her being newly-pregnant.

Comments from the book club members included:

• bones in good preservation can offer many layers of investigation in the field of archaeology 
• the novel covers periods of British history with its archaeological digs
• although the second in the series, a recap would be helpful (and in general for series) 
• Ruth is a non-traditional lead character of a series being an over-weight person
• has the writer decided and planned well ahead for the series how to handle the implications of Ruth's unplanned pregnancy (?)
• a few read the first book of the series The Crossing Places and one read the third book of the series The House at Seas End
• good mystery book.