Audiobook Review: The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths

The Last Remains
Author: Elly Griffiths
Narrator: Jane McDowell
Series: Ruth Galloway Mystery (Book 15)
Publication: HarperAudio (April 25, 2023)
Length: 9 hours and 41 minutes

Description: The discovery of a missing woman’s bones force Ruth and Nelson to finally confront their feelings for each other as they desperately work to exonerate one of their own in this not-to-be-missed Ruth Galloway mystery from USA Today bestselling author Elly Griffiths.

When builders discover a human skeleton during a renovation of a café, they call in archeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway, who is preoccupied with the threatened closure of her department and by her ever-complicated relationship with DCI Nelson. The bones turn out to be modern—the remains of Emily Pickering, a young archaeology student who went missing in 2002. Suspicion soon falls on Emily’s Cambridge tutor and also on another archeology enthusiast who was part of the group gathered the weekend before she disappeared—Ruth’s friend Cathbad.

As they investigate, Nelson and his team uncover a tangled web of relationships within the archeology group and look for a link between them and the café where Emily’s bones were found. Then, just when the team seem to be making progress, Cathbad disappears. The trail leads Ruth a to the Neolithic flint mines in Grimes Graves. The race is on, first to find Cathbad and then to exonerate him, but will Ruth and Nelson uncover the truth in time to save their friend?

My Thoughts: Modern bones in a wall start this case. Ruth is called in to excavate and she alerts Nelson that the bones are modern. A metal plate in an ankle help identify the young woman who has a connection to Cathbad.

Ruth is preoccupied with the potential closure of her department at the University of North Norfolk. Her colleague David is busy planning rallies and Twitter campaigns and getting letters of support from prominent archaeologists. 

Ruth is also concerned about her relationship with Nelson especially since Michelle has come back to help him celebrate Fathers' Day and it looks to Ruth like they are beginning their relationship again. Leaving her beloved marsh is also on her mind since her daughter's growing social life and educational needs are more difficult with them living so far out in the country. 

When Cathbad who is still suffering from long Covid disappears, all of the characters try to retrace his steps and in doing so both Ruth and Nelson are reminded of all the cases they have solved in the fourteen years since they first met. 

This was an excellent conclusion to a long-running and very engaging series. 

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.