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.

Reading 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. Read the whole series. Now reading through for the fourth time! I just love the characters. Theyre like old friends. I feel I know them all. Ruth is amazing – so capable yet so vulnerable. Please write another one in thie series before too long!

  2. I was so glad I discovered Elly Griffith’s Ruth Galloway series. Not only are the stories in each great but also well written. I loved too, that I am familiar with with the English East coast, although it is a long time, since I lived in England.
    Ruth is such a likable, ordinary person; in the physical sense ; but intelligent, still having frailties and weaknesses, as we all do. The other main characters likable and not, are also quite real. Above all, she is a darned god read.
    My other most liked Female Authors, Barbara Erskine, Debra Crombie and Kate Morton.
    Thank you too, for listing them in order, so important, I now know, I have missed one, so will look for it. !

  3. I have read and re-read all of the Ruth Galloway mysteries and I am now waiting eagerly for the next book; the one after “Woman in Blue”. I also like the Elly Griffiths has built up the relationship between Ruth and Nelson and intrigued as to whether they do get together.

    Brilliant books.

  4. Thank you for outlining the books in order. I tried to figure this out from the author’s website, but it was confusing.

  5. I’ve read all the Ruth Galloway books and I want to know when the next one is coming out. They are interesting books Really like all of the characters!

  6. Have just finished ‘The Ghostfields’ very good. Do we know when Ellue is producing the next Ruth Galloway story please?

  8. suggest fans of elly read zig zag girl 50,s noir in brighton good read

  9. I love the way Elly writes and there is no bad language

  10. Definitely read in order. I love this series-the recurring characters, locales, new characters, history snd all else.

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