Book Review: The Stone Circle

An anonymous letter to DCI Harry Nelson reopens a 35-year-old cold case in Elly Griffiths' character driven murder mystery The Stone Circle. A team of archaeologists excavating a prehistoric stone henge in North Norfolk uncover what appears to be bones of a young girl who vanished without a trace in July 1981 at a street party celebrating the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. Although the perpetrator behind the disappearance is never caught, a similar missing child's case some 20 years later (explored in The Crossing Places, the first book in the series) introduces Nelson to archaeologist Ruth Galloway, a working relationship that soon turns into a short-lived affair though he is already married to Michelle and has two grown daughters. Meanwhile Michelle is about to give birth to a baby of her own who may or may not be Nelson's. Torn between the love for his wife and Ruth, Nelson faces a crisis at both home and work, even as Griffiths paints a vividly realised police procedural that blends intrigue, mystery and relationship problems to superb effect. Best read as a series.