The Man in Black: And Other Stories    by Elly Griffiths Order:  USA  Can Mariner, 2024 (2024) Hardcover, CD, e-Book      Reviewed by Rheta Van Winkle The Man in Black, by Elly Griffiths is a collection of short stories often featuring the same characters at different times in their lives. I haven't read anything by Griffiths before, so Ruth Gallaway and her family and friends were not familiar to me. She is a delightful character, as are the rest of them. I learned that there is a whole series of Ruth Gallaway mysteries, which are now on my to read list. Some of these short stories are mysteries, some are thrillers, and some are just interesting tales. The first story shares its name with the title of the collection: The Man in Black. We meet him dressed up as a scarecrow in a bookshop where Ruth is shopping for a book for her daughter Kate, who is ten years old at that time. He tells her that he's a friend of her Druid friend Cathbad. He suggests a book that she buys and that Kate loves, but his role in this transaction turns out to be less magical than one would suppose. What I Saw From the Sky is a thriller about a murder that is solved by Leanne, who sees the body from a chairlift and is dogged in her pursuit of an answer to what she saw. Flint's Fireside Tale: A Christmas Story is told by Flint, the family cat. It's a magical story told by Perdita, who is a Druid who looks both old and young to Flint. In Harbinger: A Harbinder Kaur Story we meet a CID in Shoreham, the fictional town where Ruth lives. Harbinder is proud of her Punjabi Sikh heritage but feels that she isn't always appreciated, partly because her partner tends to take credit for cases she solves, such as the one we learn about in this story. We meet a magician without much self-confidence who's just starting out in his career in Max Mephisto and the Disappearing Act. The year is 1928, he has employed a chorus girl as his assistant, and the two of them have practiced their routine many times. A problem occurs that causes him great anxiety. He is remembered in a later story, Ruth Gallaway and the Ghost of Max Mephisto, when Ruth goes to the theater where he performed to watch her daughter Kate in a school performance. I enjoyed the variety of stories as well as meeting Ruth at different times in her life. Most of the mysteries aren't grisly, but are told in a clever, humorous way, which caused me to laugh out loud at times. I was never sure when starting one of them what I'd find, though, and there was one story that was chilling. I'll leave readers the chore of finding the one that kept me awake, since we all react differently to mysteries. I can recommend this book wholeheartedly to others who haven't read any of the Ruth Gallaway books and even to those who have, who might enjoy a jog to their memories. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Mystery books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews