The Janus Stone: The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries 2

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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. a b Vance, Rob (2003). Secret Sights: Unknown Celtic Ireland. Gill & Macmillan. pp.53–54. ISBN 0-7171-3664-7. 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

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. I discovered Ruth with the first French translation LES DISPARUES DU MARAIS (The Crossing Places) and then read, reread (& again) the whole series. It’s a perfect blend : beautiful writing, sense of place, touches of humour, and of course, the characters…

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) 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. The Caldragh graveyard on Boa Island contains two anthropomorphic carved stone statues known as the Boa Island figure and the Lustymore Island figure. [4] The graveyard dates from the Irish early Christian period (400–800 AD). [3] Both figures were badly damaged when they were first found. They have been placed beside each other on unrelated pillars in the graveyard which is the original location of the Boa figure. [9] A canopy was placed over them to protect them from the weather, however this has since been removed. Both of the stone figures are generally accepted to be the likeness of pagan deities. [3]

Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival. 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 Scheduled Historic Monuments (to 15 October 2012)" (PDF). NI Environment Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2013 . Retrieved 29 November 2012. 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? Set in the 1950 and 60s in (unsurprisingly) Brighton, this series begins with The Zig Zag Girl, published in 2014, with the most recent addition, The Midnight Hour, published in 2021. The books feature police officer Edgar Stephens and magician Max Mephisto and are high on period detail and humour as well as containing some masterful plot work.You will drive down what appears to be a farmer’s tractor lane with crops on either side, and follow the road to the end where you will see a small parking lot on the left-hand side and a cow gate. The cow gate has a small sign telling you that you are at Caldragh Cemetary. 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 desperate to put her off the scent by frightening her to death... 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 ! The house was once a children’s home. Nelson traces the Catholic priest who used to run the place. He tells him that two children did go missing forty years before – a boy and a girl. They were never found.