Elly Griffiths is the pen name of Domenica de Rosa, a British crime novelist born in London in 1963. She studied English at King's College London, and worked in publishing for many years before writing full time.
Her first novels were published under her own name, Domenica de Rosa. She began writing as Elly Griffiths with The Crossing Places in 2009, which introduced forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway. She has said the character came partly from her husband, who left a city job to train as an archaeologist, and partly from an aunt on the Norfolk coast who told her the area's myths and legends. The series ran to fifteen novels, ending with The Last Remains in 2023.
Alongside Ruth Galloway she has written the Brighton Mysteries, set in the 1950s world of stage magicians, the Harbinder Kaur novels, the A Girl Called Justice books for younger readers, and the Ali Dawson series, which began with The Frozen People in 2025.
The Stranger Diaries, the first Harbinder Kaur book, won the 2020 Edgar Award for Best Novel. Her Norfolk settings, folklore and archaeology are a large part of why the Ruth Galloway books have such a loyal following.
