Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received these products, free of charge,from Joffee books, via #netgalley, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about them. All opinions are my own.
From multiple #1 best-selling author Joy Ellis, comes a psychological thriller that will have you glued from first page to last.
Synopsis:
As the mists roll over the fens and enigmatic lights twinkle in the distance, only the locals know their way along the hidden paths through the mysterious watery terrain of one of England’s most beautiful and sometimes dangerous places.
Detective Matt Ballard may have retired but there’s still plenty going on the fens to keep him busy.
Someone trashes an old lady’s garden and daubs her isolated cottage with hateful graffiti. Emilia Swain seems to be totally harmless, so why is she being targeted
Matt’s best friend Will and his wife Kate moved to Holland House to put their past behind them. But Kate’s mental state is deteriorating and she’s obsessed with the tragic history of the house and an old doll she finds in the garden.
Review:
This is the 3rd book in the Matt Ballard series, somehow I skipped book 2 (having read Book 1- Beware the past). This book is a bit different of a take from Ellis. Here you have 2 officers, no longer on the force. One puttering around with a new detective business, and the other dealing with the needs of his illustrator wife. Unfortunately, it's not the usual page turner we expect from Ellis- it's trying to be part Gothic mystery, but the characters just don't grab you like they should. By middle of the book I wanted to chuck Kate into the fens, tell Will to move on, and burn down Holland House. Honestly, no matter what happened in the previous books, there just wasn't the excuse for Kate to be like she was when they moved (ie before the house). Kudos to Will for wanting to stay with her, but they are written as being in 2 different worlds...
I knew Ellis wouldn't let the reader wander away, so she brings in Sophie, who wasn't wanted to begin with by Will or Kate (though how a man would NOT want his niece, when they can't HAVE kids, seemed just TOO far fethed.. It's like adding kerosene to a already fast burning fire. Once she's introduced back into the story, the reader can quickly surmise where the book is headed and whle you stay with the book out of knowing Ellis' style and wondering what twist she will pull, it does leave you wondering why you did....I'm hoping if there's a fourth book in the series that it will get some more procedural back to it, or I'll be walking from this series....
I knew Ellis wouldn't let the reader wander away, so she brings in Sophie, who wasn't wanted to begin with by Will or Kate (though how a man would NOT want his niece, when they can't HAVE kids, seemed just TOO far fethed.. It's like adding kerosene to a already fast burning fire. Once she's introduced back into the story, the reader can quickly surmise where the book is headed and whle you stay with the book out of knowing Ellis' style and wondering what twist she will pull, it does leave you wondering why you did....I'm hoping if there's a fourth book in the series that it will get some more procedural back to it, or I'll be walking from this series....
About the Author:
I was born in Kent but spent most of my working life in London and Surrey. I was an apprentice florist to Constance Spry Ltd, a prestigious Mayfair shop that throughout the Sixties and Seventies teemed with both royalty and ‘real’ celebrities. What an eye-opener for a working-class kid from the Garden of England! I swore then, probably whilst I was scrubbing the floor or making the tea, that I would have a shop of my own one day. It took until the early Eighties, but I did it. Sadly the recession wiped us out, and I embarked on a series of weird and wonderful jobs; the last one being a bookshop manager. Surrounded by books all day, getting to order whatever you liked, and being paid for it! Oh bliss!
And now I live in a village in the Lincolnshire Fens with my partner, Jacqueline, and our four Springer spaniels. I had been writing mysteries for years but never had the time to take it seriously. Now I write full-time, and as my partner is a highly decorated retired police officer; my choice of genre is a no-brainer! I have an on-tap police and judicial consultant, who makes exceedingly good tea!
I have set my crime thrillers here in the misty fens because I sincerely love the remoteness and airy beauty of the marshlands. This area is steeped in superstitions and lends itself so well to murder!
And now I live in a village in the Lincolnshire Fens with my partner, Jacqueline, and our four Springer spaniels. I had been writing mysteries for years but never had the time to take it seriously. Now I write full-time, and as my partner is a highly decorated retired police officer; my choice of genre is a no-brainer! I have an on-tap police and judicial consultant, who makes exceedingly good tea!
I have set my crime thrillers here in the misty fens because I sincerely love the remoteness and airy beauty of the marshlands. This area is steeped in superstitions and lends itself so well to murder!
Comments
Post a Comment