Elly Griffiths is the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of Domenica de Rosa (born 17 August 1963, in London), a British crime novelist. She has written three series as Griffiths, one featuring Ruth Galloway, one featuring Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens and Max Mephisto, and the Harbinder Kaur series.

Early life

After reading English at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, Griffiths worked in publishing for many years.

Writing career

Griffiths' first series features as a main character

forensic archaeologist Forensic anthropology is the application of the anatomical science of anthropology and its various subfields, including forensic archaeology and forensic taphonomy, in a legal setting. A forensic anthropologist can assist in the identificatio ...

Ruth Galloway, who lives in a remote seaside cottage near

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...

in Norfolk and teaches at the University of North Norfolk. This character was inspired by Griffiths' husband, who gave up a city job to train as an archaeologist, and her aunt, "who lives on the Norfolk coast and filled her niece's head with the myths and legends of that area". Griffiths released the first book in this series, ''The Crossing Places'' (Ruth Galloway, #1), in 2009. Griffiths' second series, set in 1950s

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, focuses on the duo of Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens and magician Max Mephisto. Griffiths released the first book in this series, ''The Zig Zag Girl'', in 2014. In 2017 Griffiths was the Programming Chair for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, part of the

Harrogate International Festivals Harrogate International Festivals (HIF) is a registered charity and one of the UK's longest running arts festivals, having been established in 1966. Based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. Festivals include the Harrogate Music Festival, Theakston Ol ...

portfolio. Griffiths won the 2020 Edgar Allan Poe Award for best novel for ''The Stranger Diaries.'' In 2021, ''The Postscript Murders'' was shortlisted in the Gold Dagger category at the Crime Writer's Association Awards, with the result to be announced in July 2021.

Personal life

Griffiths lives near

. She is married, and has two children and a cat.

Bibliography

As Elly Griffiths

Ruth Galloway series

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Stephens and Mephisto Mystery series

# ''The Zig Zag Girl'' (2014) # ''Smoke and Mirrors'' (2015) # ''The Blood Card'' (2016) # ''The Vanishing Box'' (2017) # ''Now You See Them'' (2019) # ''The Midnight Hour'' (2021)

''Harbinder Kaur'' series

* ''

The Stranger Diaries ''The Stranger Diaries'' is a 2018 murder mystery thriller by British crime novelist Domenica de Rosa, writing under the penname of Elly Griffiths. It was first published in the United Kingdom in 2018 through Quercus Publishing and was republishe ...

'' (2018) * ''The Postscript Murders'' (2020) * ''

Bleeding Heart Yard Bleeding Heart Yard is a cobbled courtyard off Greville Street in the Holborn area of the London Borough of Camden. The courtyard is probably named after a 16th-century inn sign dating back to the Reformation that was displayed on a pub called th ...

'' (2022)

For Children

*''A Girl Called Justice'' (2019) *''The Smugglers' Secret'' (2020) *''A Ghost in the Garden'' (2021)

As Domenica de Rosa

*''The Eternal City'' (2005) *''One Summer in Tuscany'' (2008) *''The Italian Quarter'' (2004) *''The Secret of Villa Serena'' (2007) *''Return to the Italian Quarter'' (2018)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Elly 1963 births Living people Alumni of King's College London 21st-century British novelists British women novelists 21st-century British women writers Women crime writers Writers from London 21st-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers British crime fiction writers