View source for The Dark Angel (Dr Ruth Galloway) by Elly Griffiths

{{infobox1
|title=The Dark Angel (Dr Ruth Galloway)
|author=Elly Griffiths
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Crime
|summary=The tenth Dr Ruth Galloway mystery makes for a good read, although the crime element does play second fiddle to the complicated personal relationships.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=480
|publisher=Quercus
|date=February 2018
|isbn=978-1784296636
|website=https://ellygriffiths.co.uk/
|video=ZMwIl3T6tpI
|cover=Griffiths_Dark
|aznuk=1784296635
|aznus=1784296635
}}

Dr Ruth Galloway has got used to being a published author, to being on television, but she's still flattered when Italian archaeologist Dr Angelo Morelli asks for her help with some bones which he's discovered in a tiny hilltop village outside Rome, but doesn't know what to make of them.  Ruth succumbs to temptation: she and Angelo have some history (it was just the one night...) and it's years since she's had a holiday.  Even a working holiday has to be an improvement.  Castello degli Angeli isn't quite what she was expecting, but it will make a reasonable break for her, her daughter Kate, friend Shona and Shona's son Louis.

There's a strange atmosphere in Castello degli Angeli and it's not long before Ruth's involved in a baffling Roman mystery and some secrets which go back to World War II and the Resistance.  Her one-time lover (well, actually, it was twice...) Harry Nelson and her friend Cathbad (he's a Druid) arrive when there's an earthquake and Nelson can't be certain that Ruth and his daughter, Kate are safe.  His wife, Michelle, is pregnant, but Nelson doesn't stop to think that Michelle's first scan is only a matter of days away.  Michelle, on the other hand is doing her best not to keep wondering about who, exactly, fathered the baby she's carrying.

Does it sound complicated?  If it doesn't I really haven't explained it properly and quite honestly I wouldn't advise anyone to join the series at this stage: it would be like listening to an episode of ''The Archers'' and trying to understand why Jill Archer doesn't like Toby Fairbrother.  Start at {{amazonurl|isbn=1786481863|title=the beginning}} and you'll understand what's going on and each book builds on the personal stories which have gone before.  Be warned though - the series is addictive and ''The Dark Angel'' leaves fans with a massive question left unanswered.  No, I'm not going to tell you what it is.

The personal stories do rather overwhelm the crime element in this book, with the mysteries playing second fiddle.  I didn't object (but then I do listen to ''The Archers'') not least because I had someone else chalked in as the murderer.  I'll confess to some trepidation about reading this book as I've grown to love the setting in my beloved north Norfolk, but Elly Griffiths carries off the Italian setting well.  It was a good read and I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

I'm rather enjoying books where the police are assisted by experts from other fields.  One of the best which I've read recently was [[Insidious Intent: (Tony Hill and Carol Jordan, Book 10) by Val McDermid]].

[[Elly Griffiths' Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries in Chronological Order]]

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