Ruth Galloway Books in Order

The Ruth Galloway series is a crime series written by Elly Griffiths, following forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway who helps police with their investigations in England.

For a complete list of books by Elly Griffiths, see Elly Griffiths Books in Order.

Latest Ruth Galloway Books

The Killing Time
The Killing Time (Ali Dawson #2), February 2026

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Ruth Galloway Series (Books in Order)

The list below shows the Ruth Galloway novels in publication order, which is also the recommended reading order for the series.

Publication Order

  1. The Crossing Places (#1), 2009
  2. The Janus Stone (#2), 2010
  3. The House at Sea’s End (#3), 2010
  4. A Room Full of Bones (#4), 2011
  5. Ruth’s First Christmas Tree (#4.5), 2012
  6. A Dying Fall (#5), 2012 (also titled The Tomb of the Raven King)
  7. The Outcast Dead (#6), 2014
  8. The Ghost Fields (#7), 2015
  9. The Woman In Blue (#8), 2016
  10. The Chalk Pit (#9), 2017
  11. The Dark Angel (#10), 2018
  12. The Stone Circle (#11), 2019
  13. The Lantern Men (#12), 2020
  14. The Night Hawks (#13), 2021
  15. The Locked Room (#14), 2022
  16. The Last Remains (#15), 2023

Who is Ruth Galloway?

Ruth Galloway is a forensic archaeologist who works with the police on cases that involve human remains and historically rooted crimes. She is based in Norfolk, England, and is often consulted by DCI Harry Nelson and the local authorities when archaeological expertise is required during criminal investigations.

In the Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths, her academic work regularly intersects with modern police work, as excavations, ancient sites and unresolved events from the past become central to contemporary criminal cases.

Where to Start with the Ruth Galloway Series

New to Ruth Galloway? Start here:

  • Best starting point: The Crossing Places – the first Ruth Galloway novel, introducing Ruth, DCI Harry Nelson, and the Norfolk setting. It’s the ideal place to begin if you want to follow the characters and their relationships from the beginning.
  • If you pick up a later book first: the mysteries in each novel are mostly self-contained, but character arcs and relationships develop over time, so you may want to return to The Crossing Places afterwards to see how it all began.

Related Elly Griffiths Series

Edited by

Marika

Founder of Mystery Sequels, a reference site focused on listing mystery and thriller books in the correct reading order. I maintain and update the site’s bibliographies as new titles are released, ensuring accuracy and consistency across author and series pages.
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55 Comments

  1. I have been hooked on Dr Ruth Galloway novels I can’t wait to read no 17 which I do hope is being written. I just love them 💕

  2. I , by chance picked up the first Dr.Ruth Galloway story and was and still am totally hooked but I am desperately trying to find a paperback copy of “Ruth’s First Christmas Tree “ it just seems to be impossible . Is there anybody out there with any suggestions ?
    I’ve tried the big stores and secondhand forums ,
    I’ve found a Kindle version ( I don’t have a Kindle ) but I really like to read the old fashioned way by turning the paper pages .Thank you Tracey

    1. I too enjoyed all the Ruth Galloway books.
      You don’t necessarily need a Kindle – you can download the Kindle app to your phone or tablet (or both).

    2. Ruth’s First Christmas Tree is one of the short stories in The Man in Black, a delightful set of short stories which also contains other Ruth Galloway stories.
      I’m a great fan too.

  3. Your books are so wonderful. I think I am like everyone else, I’m just so addicted to reading them. and I just love Dr. Ruth Galloway, her job, her life, her motherhood. She is so like real life problems and she is so funny. I’m trying to read them in order because I need to see her progression as mother and Nelson lover and Max lover. I don’t get anything done because I just can’t stop reading. Please keep on writing. Your books are the best mystery books that I have ever read and I have read a lot of mysteries. Thank you.

  4. My daughter and I have read and enjoyed every Ruth Galloway book. Its so interesting to have characters with whom you can associate in every book.

  5. I’ve only read Dying Fall which is a good mystery but not very well written and/or edited.
    Including the daughter is a bit frustrating and is not necessary to tell the story.

  6. I discovered the dr Ruth Galloway books as I was collecting all books by Rosa de Domenica, ( same author, different name)
    I liked her style of writing, how she brings every character out in the pages and so I thought I’d give the series under her Elly Griffiths name a try. Read book 1 in four days, now ordered bus 2;3 and 4, I see there are 15. That should get me through the winter. I’m now wondering what the other series is like any one? The Brighton series . Great stuff can’t put books down

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