So farewell then, Dr Ruth Galloway - archeologist, teacher, single mother, investigator and much admired companion through 16 novels.
When I picked the first of these 16 books up in the summer of 2019, I'm not sure I'd have been prepared to bet much on Elly Griffiths being able to sustain the adventures of a North Norfolk archeology lecturer through another 15 titles. Not only has she done this, but she has retired Ruth Galloway at a time when much of her audience would surely have continued to want more. And surely it's best to bow out on top with the audience wanting more, rather than allow the series to go stale.
Much of the charm of these books is tied up in Ruth's everywoman character. She comes with the same hopes, fears, problems and triumphs as the rest of us - bar the frequent run ins with corpses - and confronts most of it with resolution, cheerful good humour, and a glass of wine. It's impossible not to like and root for her. I wrote previously about what I love about the series in this review of the 12th novel, The Lantern Men.
In The Last Remains, Ruth's corpse is the body of a young Cambridge student found behind a false wall in an abandoned building having been missing for more than two decades. She, Emily Pickering, disappearing following an archeology trip in Norfolk.
The search for the truth of Emily Pickering's disappearance brings Ruth into contact with all the characters who have enriched these books including curmoudgeonly cop Nelson, his former sidekick Clough, Cathbad the druid and his wife DI Judy Johnson. That the book never feels like a farewell tour is testament to Griffiths' skill as a writer. She draws together the strands of the investigation with all the loose ends of the 14-year-old series without being sentimental or heavy handed. It is a satisfying and credible ending, if a little sad of course, because I will miss Dr Ruth and her friends and colleagues.
The good news for the legion of fans of Griffiths is that there is plenty more from this most prolific of writers. There are the Brighton mysteries and a promising newcomer in DS Harbinber Kaur.