The Locked Room

Ruth Galloway’s 14th outing (after The Night Hawks) is set in the early days of the COVID pandemic and finds Ruth once more assisting Harry Nelson with an investigation, this time into a series of murder-suicides that have an archaeological connection. But Ruth is working on a more personal investigation at the same time: attempting to figure out the meaning of a photograph with a mysterious inscription found in her late mother’s belongings. Then Harry learns that Ruth’s friendly new neighbor, Zoe, has a sinister past just before Ruth, Zoe, and Ruth’s daughter, Kate, go missing. Not everyone will be ready to revisit that stretch of 2019 when people struggled to figure out how to stay safe in the face of a deadly pandemic—How and when to mask? Do we need to disinfect our groceries?—adjusting to the new reality of virtual meetings and applauding frontline workers, but Griffiths does an excellent job capturing the widespread fear and uncertainty. Jane McDowell continues her series narration, providing familiar voices for the beloved characters and introducing the new ones.