Cyndi J. (cyndij) reviewed on 6/29/2018 + 1032 more book reviews

Second in the series with forensic anthropologist Ruth Galloway. I've been trying to read this series in order, but it's been a few years since I started and I missed this one. Developers knocking down an old house uncover the skeleton of a child buried under a doorway - minus its head - and Ruth is called out to take a look. It could be an old Roman practice, but the grave is too new, and the analysis confirms the remains are fairly recent. The house used to be a Catholic children's home, so the inquiries begin with the priest who used to run the home. I really liked the bits of Roman and Catholic mythology, and the characters are all very well done. It's a slower paced story than most, with a lot of the storyline taken up by Ruth's pregnancy and what will happen. I felt it all worked within the context though, since the mystery is about what happened to a child. In the later books I've been reading, Ruth doesn't get much chance to exercise her job, it was nice to see her working.

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