'...I got the idea from the Lantern Men. We were a light in the darkness, guiding women onto the right path. Sometimes the kindest thing is to save the women from the world.’ [p. 335]
Set two years after The Stone Circle: Dr Ruth Galloway is now living in Cambridge with Frank the American, plus Katie and Flint. She's teaching at a Cambridge college and has just finished her latest book at Grey Walls, a writers' retreat, where she found a friend in serene Crissy, who runs the place. Meanwhile, back in Norfolk, DCI Harry Nelson is sulking about Ruth's departure, and vexed by a murderer -- Ivor March -- who has never confessed to his crimes, and who will only disclose the location of more bodies if Ruth is in charge of the excavation ...
This was an enjoyable read, and my vague notions of whodunnit and what they actually did all turned out wrong, which is always refreshing. As usual with this series, the focus is as much on the recurring characters as on the crime and archaeology: Nelson, Ruth, Michelle, Phil, Shona, and Katie have all changed over the years (Katie is turning into an interesting young woman) and there's more, in this novel, of Nelson's daughters, and his domestic life.
The murder mystery is well-plotted and features some intriguing characters and some uncannily accurate intuitions: there is also a strong sub-plot concerning Grey Walls and the artistic commune at its core. I found The Lantern Men very readable, with an ending that had me immediately starting to read the next in the series.
One minor gripe: bisexual erasure. "Why would an older, gay man socialise with a young woman? ... Ailsa married Leonard, even though she must have known that he was gay. ..."
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