The Night Hawks is the 13th Dr. Ruth Galloway archaeology murder mystery by Elly Griffiths. Released 29th June 2021 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, it's 368 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.
This is one of my "must read" series, so much so that although I am often allowed to access and review pre-release copies, I always buy my own physical copies to keep and revisit. There are only a couple other mystery series in that category for me. I like that Ruth is unapologetically intellectual, resourceful, and realistic. She's also loyal and fairly brave. She is a realist and competent and broad minded, but also vulnerable where her emotions are concerned. I adore slightly goofy but pure Cathbad and his family as well as the interrelations and families which have developed over the course of the books.
The ensemble cast of returning characters are so well rounded and clearly written at this point that they seem to have internal lives of their own and are utterly believable. They speak, behave, and react in character and the dialogue and actions are believable and realistic. The writing and plotting are seamless and develop at a good pace. I never felt that the book was dragging or slow. The climax and denouement were mostly expected, but there were a few subtle twists which I definitely didn't see coming.
This is not really a standalone book. I adore the series and would
recommend reading them more or less in order, especially since the books reference things which have happened in the previous books. It is
possible to understand the plot with this book as an entry point, but be
warned there are spoilers aplenty if you read them out of order.
Wonderful book, wonderfully well written and engaging series.
Five stars
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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