Another cracking read. There is little else to say... I am just waiting to start the next one! ( )

The Armada Boy is my first Kate Ellis. I liked the family-oriented characters and the village setting. Ellis did a good job of endowing the scene with realities (homeless begging, drugs, petty thieving) so that the story didn't drown in bucolic sweetness.

I liked Ellis' writing but I dithered between 3½ stars and 4 because near the end, the plot became too drawn out and somewhat lost my interest. I also didn't care for the Neil Watson character. At all. The intrusion of this side character into the story to such a degree was irrelevant and his asinine comments, repeated on several occasions, classed him as a smirking jerk. I didn't see this as moving the story forward, although the dig in the chantry ruins was of some relevance. While it may be interesting that Wesley, the main protagonist, originally had a connection to archaeology, I'm not sure why this needed to get such a lot of play in the story.

Four stars won out because my answer to would I re-read this book again? was "Yes". The murder was very adroitly introduced in the first few pages, and I loved the final twists in the plot. Besides which, I really liked the police characterizations. These people were individuals, moderately idiosyncratic and moved the story along with a good pacing. ( )

I feel guilty only awarding this one 3 stars. This is one of my favorite authors. I love her other series and was really liking this series after reading the first book. This one, while having an interesting topic...just didn't have the punch of the first book. The character of Wesley Peterson that drives the series was almost absent from participation in the 50 year old murder...the Armada Boy really didn't seem to have much to do with the crime at all in spite of the title...It just didn't grab me the way the first one did. Wesley is going to be a father any day now so maybe his mind wasn't in the game. I'll give him a pass on this one if he promises to be more present in the next one. Is it a deal, Wesley? ( )

When a group of GI veterans comes to visit where they served for a commemorative service, one of them is stabbed to death. A local psychic insists the murder is connected with someone she refers to as "The Armada Boy". DS Wesley Peterson investigates while his archaeologist friends are excavating a wreck from the Spanish Armada and the ruined chapel where the GI's body was found.

Again a good modern day mystery with interesting characters, and this time for the most part without the author's attempt to write in Elizabethan/Jacobean English. I was surprised [spoiler] the right to sanctuary still existed after the Reformation but apparently it was restricted by Henry VIII but not finally abolished until the time of James I/VI. ( )

So I see that Neil is (sadly) going to be a recurring character in these novels, despite having no real personality. Pam continues to have far too much (unpleasant) personality, and there is a little stereotyping of American here - apparently they all wear gaudy clothes...

Wesley and Co are investigating the death of an American veteran on the site of a chantry. Neil is excavating the chantry where the bodies of Spanish sailors from an Armada ship were buried. Since the two strands must once again be found to run in parallel, the plot is somewhat convoluted. However this novel was worth it for the retelling of Exercise Tiger, of which I had never heard, despite having grown up in Devon. It was fascinating - I had no idea. ( )