The Janus Stone: The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries 2

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Starred Review. Fans of Erin Hart and Aaron Elkins will be delighted by this series. With just the right balance of suspense, tight plotting, and wonderful British seaside scenery, this is sure to be hugely popular." - Library Journal Hogain, Dáithí. "Patronage & Devotion in Ancient Irish Religion". History Ireland, volume 8, no. 4, winter 2000. JSTOR 27724824 FermanaghLakelands.com. "Find Fermanagh" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011 . Retrieved 24 November 2007.

The Nobel Prize winning poet Seamus Heaney celebrated the enigmatic Boa Island bilateral figure's similarity to the Roman deity Janus in his poem "January God". [7] [10] The Enniskillen-born poet Francis Harvey published a collection of poems called The Boa Island Janus in 1996. [11] Boa Island is believed to be named after Badhbh, Caillech Bhéarra the Celtic goddess of war. Badhbh was known to shapeshift and take the form of a crow, who was seen upon the shoulder of, Cúchulainn after he died in battle. At other times she is pictured as a wolf. Indentation carved into the top of the bilateral figure, often used as a location for small mementos such as coins

Ruth Galloway is called in to investigate when builders, demolishing a large old house in Norwich to make way for a housing development, uncover the bones of a child beneath a doorway - minus the skull. Is it some ritual sacrifice or just plain straightforward murder? DCI Harry Nelson would like to find out - and fast. It turns out the house was once a children's home. Nelson traces the Catholic priest who used to run the home. Father Hennessey tells him that two children did go missing from the home forty years before - a boy and a girl. They were never found. When carbon dating proves that the child's bones predate the home and relate to a time when the house was privately owned, Ruth is drawn ever more deeply into the case. But as spring turns into summer it becomes clear that someone is trying very hard to put her off the scent by frightening her half to death... Stone figures [ edit ] The bilateral Boa Island figure and, in the foreground, the similar Lustymore Island figure ( which was moved to Boa in 1939) The Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney celebrated the Boa Island figure’s similarity to the Roman deity Janus in his poem “January God” which gave it the name the Janus Stone. January God by Seamus Heaney Dr Ruth Galloway's forensic skills are called upon when builders, demolishing an old house in Norwich, uncover the bones of a child - minus the skull - beneath a doorway. Is it some ritual sacrifice or just plain straightforward murder? Ruth links up with DCI Harry Nelson to investigate.

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( October 2015) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) The smaller figure is known as “the Lustyman” because it was found on the nearby island Lusty More was moved to the cemetery in 1939, but it may well be a female figure. It is this smaller figure that appears to have only one eye fully carved that has allowed historians to develop the theory that it represents the “divine hag” or Boa and like the sky-god Odin of the Norse was blind in the left eye. In Caldragh Cemetery on Boa Island, Lower lough Erne stand two unique stone carvings.They have been placed beside each other on unrelated pillars in the graveyard which is the original location of the Boa figure. The larger of the figures is the Boa Island bilateral figure. It is regarded as one of the most enigmatic and remarkable stone figures in Ireland. [4] It is called a Janus-figure because it has two faces, reminding some of the Roman two-headed deity Janus, however, it is not a representation of Janus. It is thought to represent a Celtic deity and could represent a Celtic goddess as readily as a god, especially given the name of the island. In Celtic culture, heads were very important because they were thought to contain a person's spirit after their death. Severed heads were taken in triumph after battles. [3] The former bases of the figures include further details, including their hands I always forget Ruth is a fictional character. I think it’s the first time (and I am quite “old”) that I experience this… Can’t wait for the next one !Scheduled Historic Monuments (to 15 October 2012)" (PDF). NI Environment Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2013 . Retrieved 29 November 2012. The setting is enticingly atmospheric. I closed the book wanting to know more . . . as well as feeling the satisfaction that a really intelligent murder story can give ( Independent) A gruesome discovery at an old children’s home lays bare terrible secret’s from Norwich’s past in the second gripping mystery for Dr Ruth Galloway.

Boa is a long and narrow island, which is now connected to the mainland by a road bridge at each end and located in the northern part of Lower Lough Erne. The Janus Stone Boa Island Can there be a solution to the sad problem of Nelson and Ruth? a promising one for them and their daughter? absolutely love your excellent facts and story line, certainly has kept me hooked for all these years. thank you Elly. Book one in the series starts as it means to go on, with bones unearthed at the edge of a North Norfolk salt marsh. Are they recent or ancient? DCI Harry Nelson is desperate to know if they belong to a young girl who went missing 10 years ago, and he calls upon the expertise of Dr Ruth Galloway, an academic whose speciality is forensic archeology. Thus begins the relationship between the pair. It is a faltering start, with Ruth and Nelson coming at life from two very different angles – he a bluff northern family man, she a solitary and bookish type who lives in a tiny cottage out on the marshes. But their work is about to draw them inextricably closer. He tells him that two children did go missing forty years before - a boy and a girl. They were never found.From Fermanagh Town take the A32 North, then the B82 for about 10 kilometres then drive onto Boa Island (sign-posted). Is it some ritual sacrifice or just plain straightforward murder? Ruth links up with DCI Harry Nelson to investigate. Out on 25 April in the USA, The Last Remains launched in the UK at the end of January – and had the series faithful laughing and crying in equal measure. If you’re new to the Ruth Galloway series, this is not the book for you, but if you’re a regular you’ll delight in the subtle little reminders of previous novels and the characters they contained. The discovery of a body hidden behind the wall of a Kings Lynn coffee shop is the starting point for a story that has repercussions for many of the regular characters, with Cathbad in particular acting even more oddly than usual. A book to relish and a fitting finale. Read our review here.

Crimes old and new come together in explosive fashion in The Outcast Dead ( reviewed here) – named after an annual service held in Norwich to commemorate those laid to rest in paupers’ graves. Ruth uncovers bones believed to belong to a notorious Victorian child murderess known as Mother Hook, hanged in 1867 at Norwich Castle for killing multiple children. Meanwhile, in modern day Norfolk a baby snatcher known as The Childminder is abducting young victims – and and after a child close to everyone involved disappears, the stakes couldn’t be higher. The east side of the statue faces the sunrise and some have said that it appears to be speaking. It has arms crossed over his chest in an almost Egyptian pose. WINNER OF THE 2016 CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY. The discovery of a child's skeleton lays bare terrible secret's from Norwich's past in the second gripping mystery for Dr Ruth Galloway. A must-read for fans of Val McDermid and Ann Cleeves.The Boa Island bilateral figure is 73cm (29in) high, 45cm (18in) wide on its two broader surfaces, and 30cm (12in) wide on its two narrow surfaces. [9] Each side of the figure has a face and torso. On the sides of the stone where the two carved figures are joined, is an interlace design that may represent hair. The faces are large and ovals, with big eyes, straight noses, and half open mouths with protruding tongues above pointed chins. [ citation needed] It's been only a few months since archaeologist Ruth Galloway found herself entangled in a missing persons case, barely escaping with her life. But when construction workers demolishing a large old house in Norwich uncover the bones of a child beneath a doorway - minus its skull - Ruth is once again called upon to investigate. Is it a Roman-era ritual sacrifice, or is the killer closer at hand? Halloween is perfect time to set a crime novel, and as A Room Full of Bones opens we find Ruth attending a rather offbeat event at a museum in Kings Lynn. She’s there to supervise the opening of a coffin containing the bones of a medieval bishop. However, things take a sinister turn with the discovery of the museum curator’s body beside the casket. A second death with connections to the museum has both Ruth and Nelson on high alert, and as the investigation progresses, Ruth is about to find herself severely tested, in more ways than one…