A woman being driven out of her home due to attacks on her property. A relationship on the rocks after a child’s death. A change in career direction for two retired police officers.
This is the first of Joy Ellis’ Matt Ballard series that I have read. I was expecting a police thriller but The Dying Light has multiple layers and is more of a psychological thriller due to its focus on the mental health and relationship breakdown of Matt’s friends Will and Kate.
Matt has retired along with his partner Liz and they are starting out on a private detective venture. They offer to help their neighbour Emilia whose garden has been trashed and offensive graffiti painted on her walls. Meanwhile, they also try to help Will deal with a difficult emotional period and the book has further grief in store for him.
The mental breakdown of Kate is uncomfortable to read yet feels very realistic. I wasn’t sure if the creepy and sinister events and setting were hinting at a supernatural element to the plot. The criminal element to the plot was quite subtle and the investigation took second place to the tense relationships and emotional concerns of the main characters. This made the tone of the narrative very different to the other books that I have read by Joy Ellis (highlighted in list below).
Wow, what an ending! The final pages had my heart breaking and my jaw dropping: completely unexpected but no spoilers from me!
The Dying Light is the third in the Matt Ballard series and I would like to catch up with the previous books to see him in action as a police officer.
THE DYING LIGHT a totally enthralling psychological thriller with a stunning ending (Detective Matt Ballard Book 3)
From multiple #1 best-selling author Joy Ellis, comes a psychological thriller that will have you glued from first page to last.
WHISPER FEN HOLDS DARK SECRETS
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.
And why is Kate suddenly friends with a loner who haunts the fens?
Has the dreadful past come back to haunt the present owners?
Former detectives Matt and Liz want to help their friends and neighbours. But how can you help people who don’t want to be helped?
DISCOVER A TOTALLY ENTHRALLING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER FROM JOY ELLIS
What readers are saying about JOY ELLIS
“The suspense starts on Page 1 and continues through the twists and turns until the very surprising ending.” Linda Strong
“OMG, this book was fantastic I absolutely loved it. I was gripped from the first page but as the tension and suspense mounted throughout the book it just got better and better and that ending, well just WOW!” Dawn Jones
“I absolutely loved it.” Viv
“Will keep you guessing until the end of the book.” Barbara
“What a book!!!” Sian
“I was so engrossed I sat up way too late to finish it in one sitting.” Elaine
The Setting
England’s rural fenland is a strange place, with its never-ending fields, winding tracks, and long straight droves (the old livestock routes) that lead to nowhere. The lonely lanes are flanked either side by deep drainage ditches and are, for a good part of the year, filled with tall, whispering reeds. Closer to the Wash, high seabanks form a barrier between river and marsh, and the richly fertile soil of the drained land. But when the mists come down, as they so often do, perspective is destroyed and all sense of direction lost, and then the fens become a rather frightening place of mystery and danger. Somewhere that you do not want to be at night.
ALSO BY JOY ELLIS
THE BEST-SELLING NIKKI GALENA SERIES
Book 1: CRIME ON THE FENS
Book 2: SHADOW OVER THE FENS
Book 3: HUNTED ON THE FENS
Book 4: KILLER ON THE FENS
Book 5: STALKER ON THE FENS
Book 6: CAPTIVE ON THE FENS
Book 7: BURIED ON THE FENS
Book 8: THIEVES ON THE FENS
Book 9: FIRE ON THE FENS
Book 10: DARKNESS ON THE FENS
DETECTIVE MATT BALLARD
Book 1: BEWARE THE PAST
Book 2: FIVE BLOODY HEARTS
Book 3: THE DYING LIGHT
JOY ELLIS
UK #1 BEST SELLER WITH THEIR LOST DAUGHTERS, DARKNESS ON THE FENS, THE FOURTH FRIEND, BEWARE THE PAST, FIRE ON THE FENS, AND THE GUILTY ONES
OVER 2 MILLION BOOKS SOLD!
“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, a highly decorated retired police officer, and our four barking mad Springer spaniels. If I do get any spare time, which is rare these days, my one relaxation is painting, especially using soft pastels. We have been here for twenty years now and although I’ll never be a true ‘Yeller Belly’, a native born to this county, I have adopted it as my own. I love the mists, the big skies and the endless waterways. All my books are set here on the Fens, and why not? The location is perfect for murder!”
Seemingly random women are abducted and murdered in lakemore. Detective Mackenzie Price needs to unearth the connection between the women, determine the motive and catch the killer. Can she find him before the next kidnapped woman is killed…?
The Dying Game is the fourth book to feature Mad Mack, a sparky detective with a traumatic past. I have reviewed the previous books in the series: Hidden Lake, Their Frozen Graves, and Little Boy Lost.
Mack’s personal life takes a back seat in this latest book, although she is suffering from flashbacks. The focus is therefore very much on the case which has so many twists and turns as multiple women are abducted and then found dead. The murders and body disposal are not straight forward and the evidence is confusing for the police team.
Power and money appear at the centre of the case and this leads to frustration and politics from both the police and suspects. I did manage to guess the culprit towards the end but this did not spoil my enjoyment of the book and I enjoyed watching the conclusion unnfold.
The banter and frisson between Mack and Nick continues to entertain. This adds a lightness amidst the grisly forensic detail and determined investigation. There is humour from Mack’s response to being in the media especially as she is teased by her colleagues. However, there is also some emotion as Mack realises her personal life is on hold and she is lonely.
The Dying Game is an entertaining police thriller with plenty of character development for the lead detective.
As the doors of the elevator were forced open, Mack’s worst fears were confirmed. A delicate hand dangled at the top, peeking out from above the elevator. From the shape and size and the green color on the nails, the hand belonged to a woman. Had they found Mia?
Lakemore, Washington. When Mia Gallagher is reported missing after an apparent abduction, Detective Mackenzie Price is immediately called in to investigate. But as she begins to scour CCTV footage of her last known movements, Mia’s body is discovered in an elevator shaft.
DNA evidence points to a troubled local man from the wrong side of town. But before he can be questioned, his body is found alongside a suicide note with the words: I killed her. I didn’t want to. But I had no choice.
The case appears closed until another woman goes missing and 48 hours later is found dead. The only link between the victims is a connection to Baron Wildman, one of the most powerful men in Lakemore but there is no hard evidence connecting him to their deaths.
When a local man confesses to the second killing, his M.O. is eerily similar to the first: kill or be killed. Then a third woman disappears and Mack knows she has just forty-eight hours to discover who lies at the heart of the blackmailing ring and find her victim alive.
Soon it becomes clear that this twisted killer will go to any lengths to protect a decades-old secret and wreak their revenge, even if that means hurting those closest to Mack. Can she unravel who lies at the heart of this deadly game before she loses another person she loves?
A pulse-pounding thriller packed with twists, The Dying Game will have you reading late into the night. Perfect for fans of Lisa Regan, Karin Slaughter and Robert Dugoni.
Author Bio
Ruhi Choudhary discovered her passion for writing when she was seven years old and wrote her first Star Trek episode. Being a fan of the dark and twisted, she found her calling in crime thriller.
She likes to write stories that make you a little uncomfortable and characters that you struggle to make up your mind about but stay with you.
She lives in Toronto and spends her days training to be a scientist and wishing it rained more often!
Margarete is a Jewish maid working for a high ranking Nazi. The house is bombed and her employers are killed. Margarete seizes the chance for a new life and swaps clothes with the dead daughter of the house, leaving her Jewish identification behind. She feels safe until Wilhelm Huber, her employers’ son arrives from Paris, searching for his sister to claim their inheritance…
A Light in the Window in an historical novel set in 1941 in Germany and France.
OK so this was a beautifully tragic book but does not offer a full conclusion: there will be a sequel! I loved the characters, the plot was wonderfully captivating although I doubted the realism. I thought the research into the lives and fears under Nazi rule was accurate. However, I did have to suspend my disbelief about the relationship between the main characters. The book overall was completely enthralling and the dramatic licence was creative, entertaining and emotive.
The whole of the book is delivered through the third person narrative perspectives of Margarete and Wilhelm. The mixed emotions from both characters are well written and fully explored to make both seem very human. Margarete shows amazing courage and daring as she adopts her new identity. Her determination to survive is inspiring. The nuances of Wilhelm’s realisation that the Nazi stance on Jews is not accurate is delicately handled.
A beautiful love story ensues. Both Wilhelm and Margarete struggle against the Nazi ideology which governs their lives. Both are in danger and risk death. I didn’t realise that there would be a sequel so the plot does not wrap up everything but does come to a major turning point following a dramatic and tragic twist.
A Light in the Window was a joy to read for an historical fiction fan. I have previously reviewed Not Without My Sister by Marion Kummerow.
A Light in the Window book description:
Margarete stumbles out of the bombed-out house, the dust settling around her like snow. Mistaking her for the dead officer’s daughter, a guard rushes over to gently ask her if she is all right and whether there’s anything he can do to help her. She glances down at where the hated yellow star had once been, and with barely a pause, she replies “Yes”.
Berlin, 1941: Margarete Rosenbaum is working as a housemaid for a senior Nazi officer when his house is bombed, leaving her the only survivor. But when she’s mistaken for his daughter in the aftermath of the blast, Margarete knows she can make a bid for freedom…
Issued with temporary papers—and with the freedom of not being seen as Jewish—a few hours are all she needs to escape to relative safety. That is, until her former employer’s son, SS officer Wilhelm Huber, tracks her down.
But strangely he doesn’t reveal her true identity right away. Instead he insists she comes and lives with him in Paris, and seems determined to keep her hidden. His only condition: she must continue to pretend to be his sister. Because whoever would suspect a Nazi girl of secretly being a Jew?
His plan seems impossible, and Margarete is terrified they might be found out, not to mention worried about what Wilhelm might want in return. But as the Nazis start rounding up Jews in Paris and the Résistance steps up its activities, putting everyone who opposes the regime in peril, she realizes staying hidden in plain sight may be her only chance of survival…
Can Margarete trust a Nazi officer with the only things she has left though… her safety, her life, even her heart?
A totally heartbreaking and unputdownable story about how far someone would go to save one life, that fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Nightingale and All the Light We Cannot See will adore.
Author Bio:
Marion Kummerow was born and raised in Germany, before she set out to “discover the world” and lived in various countries. In 1999 she returned to Germany and settled down in Munich where she’s now living with her family.
Inspired by the true story about her grandparents, who belonged to the German resistance and fought against the Nazi regime, she started writing historical fiction, set during World War II. Her books are filled with raw emotions, fierce loyalty and resilience. She loves to put her characters through the mangle, making them reach deep within to find the strength to face moral dilemma, take difficult decisions or fight for what is right. And she never forgets to include humor and undying love in her books, because ultimately love is what makes the world go round.
Christie visits the fens to conduct research for her employer’s book. She stays with her cousin Liz and partner Matt, retired cops now private investigators. The couple are investigating a woman’s disappearance and are then invited by the police to help with a murder enquiry. But Christie soon provides them with another case…
Marshlight is the fourth book in Joy Ellis’ Matt Ballard series but it can be easily read as a stand alone novel.
Matt and Liz have failed to locate their friend’s missing sister and now their latest case is a murder. However, this plot takes second place as the main plotline for this novel emerges: the majority of the first half of the book is dedicated to Christie and her developing friendships and antagonistic relationship with the locals. As a result of Christie’s interactions, she is involved when a woman goes missing.
Christie and the range of local characters provide a new dynamic as personal politics are established. Gina is a fabulous character that it perfect for us to love to hate and we share Christie’s suspicions about her behaviour. This is explored over the first half of the book to allow plot developments in the second half when the disappearance occurs and is investigated.
The setting of the Fens is vividly brought to life with Christie’s excursions to research the area for her employer’s book. The atmosphere created by the curious light phenomenon is unsettling and provides a great backdrop to the muliple plotlines.
Marshlight is an enjoyable mix of psychological and crime thriller. I have read and reviewed book 3 in this series, The Dying Light. Take a look at the blue links in the list at the end of this blog post for my reviews.
MARSHLIGHT (Matt Ballard #4)
A new psychological thriller from bestselling author and British Book Awards Crime & Thriller of the Year nominee Joy Ellis.
MATT AND LIZ MAY HAVE RETIRED FROM THE POLICE, BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN A QUIET LIFE.
An old friend’s sister disappears without a trace. There’s no sign of foul play, but she’d been acting very peculiarly . . .
Meanwhile, Liz’s cousin Christie comes to stay. She takes an immediate — and uncharacteristic — dislike to the local bookshop owner, Gina. Why does everyone put up with her awful behaviour?
HUNTING WILL-O’-THE-WISPS ON THE MARSHES CAN BE A VERY DANGEROUS HOBBY.
Christie is convinced that Gina is manipulating everyone around her. Is she onto something dangerous or just pushing her new friends away?
No one believes her suspicions until another friend goes missing late at night on the misty Fen marshes.
Can Matt and Liz uncover the truth in time to save lives?
DISCOVER A TOTALLY ENTHRALLING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER
What readers are saying about JOY ELLIS:
“The suspense starts on page 1 and continues through the twists and turns until the very surprising ending.” Linda Strong
“OMG, this book was fantastic. I absolutely loved it. I was gripped from the first page, but as the tension and suspense mounted throughout the book it just got better and better. And that ending, well, just WOW!” Dawn
“I absolutely loved it.” Viv
“Will keep you guessing until the end of the book.” Barbara
“What a book!!!” Sian
“I was so engrossed I sat up way too late to finish it in one sitting.” Elaine
THE SETTING England’s rural fenland is a strange place, with its never-ending fields, winding tracks, and long straight droves (the old livestock routes) that lead to nowhere. The lonely lanes are flanked either side by deep drainage ditches and are, for a good part of the year, filled with tall, whispering reeds. Closer to the Wash, high seabanks form a barrier between river and marsh, and the richly fertile soil of the drained land. But when the mists come down, as they so often do, perspective is destroyed and all sense of direction lost, and then the fens become a rather frightening place of mystery and danger. Somewhere that you do not want to be at night.
JOY ELLIS
UK #1 BEST SELLER WITH THEIR LOST DAUGHTERS, DARKNESS ON THE FENS, THE FOURTH FRIEND, BEWARE THE PAST, FIRE ON THE FENS, AND THE GUILTY ONES
OVER 2 MILLION BOOKS SOLD!
“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, a highly decorated retired police officer, and our four barking mad Springer spaniels. If I do get any spare time, which is rare these days, my one relaxation is painting, especially using soft pastels. We have been here for twenty years now and although I’ll never be a true ‘Yeller Belly’, a native born to this county, I have adopted it as my own. I love the mists, the big skies and the endless waterways. All my books are set here on the Fens, and why not? The location is perfect for murder!”
ALSO BY JOY ELLIS THE BESTSELLING NIKKI GALENA SERIES Book 1: CRIME ON THE FENS 2: SHADOW OVER THE FENS
3: HUNTED ON THE FENS 4: KILLER ON THE FENS 5: STALKER ON THE FENS 6: CAPTIVE ON THE FENS 7: BURIED ON THE FENS 8: THIEVES ON THE FENS 9: FIRE ON THE FENS 10: DARKNESS ON THE FENS 11: HIDDEN ON THE FENS
Two students are found dead and retired police officers Matt and Liz are called upon by a bereaved mother to investigate. Both young men were photography students and someone will do anything to prevent their photos being sent to the police…
Trick of the Night is the fifth book to feature Matt and Liz as they investigate a case as private detectives using their former police knowledge.
The book opens with Alex and Toby realising they have photos that put their lives in danger. Soon afterwards they both die of carbon monoxide poisoning in a terrible accident at home. But Alex’s mum thinks the deaths are suspicious and the police aren’t interested so she begs Matt and Liz to investigate. Her grief is heartbreaking and authentically written.
In a separate plot strand, Kellie’s nine year old brother has gone to stay with their aunt but goes missing. This is hugely emotive due to his age and health. The two cases begin to link up and we see some chapters from other perspectives that show the danger lurking under the surface of the town. The missing child and suspicious behaviour build the tension and Matt and Liz soon require police assistance.
Trick of the Night has intricate and emotional plot strands with lots of twists.
TRICK OF THE NIGHT by Joy Ellis
A GRIPPING NEW CRIME THRILLER FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR AND BRITISH BOOK AWARDS CRIME & THRILLER OF THE YEAR NOMINEE JOY ELLIS.
From two-million-selling author Joy Ellis comes one of the most highly anticipated mysteries this year.
Matt and Liz may have retired from the police, but that doesn’t guarantee a quiet life.
A deserted building. A face in the window. A face that shouldn’t be there.
Photography student Toby Unsworth has found the location for the perfect night-time shoot. A cobbled street in the old part of Fenfleet. Later, when he looks at the images on his laptop, he thinks he sees a woman’s face in the window of an old, disused building. He asks his housemate Alex to come and take a look . . .
Two days later, Toby and Alex are dead. Carbon monoxide poisoning. An unfortunate accident. But Alex’s mother doesn’t believe it. She hires Matt and Liz to find out the truth.
Meanwhile, nine-year-old Simon is missing. He was staying with his Aunt Jessie in a cottage on the edge of the marsh. And his older sister Kellie is increasingly worried.
Matt and Liz’s investigations reveal that something very big and very dangerous has descended on the small market town of Fenfleet. And if they don’t get to the bottom of it, more deaths will follow.
DISCOVER A TOTALLY ENTHRALLING CRIME THRILLER.
This totally gripping crime thriller is perfect for fans of L.J. Ross, Peter May, J.D. Kirk, Angela Marsons, J.M. Dalgliesh, Elly Griffiths or Ann Cleeves.
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT JOY ELLIS:
“The suspense starts on page one and continues through the twists and turns until the very surprising ending.” Linda Strong
“OMG, this book was fantastic. I absolutely loved it. I was gripped from the first page, but as the tension and suspense mounted throughout the book it just got better and better. And that ending, well, just WOW!” Dawn
“I absolutely loved it.” Viv
“Will keep you guessing until the end of the book.” Barbara
“What a book!!!” Sian
“I was so engrossed I sat up way too late to finish it in one sitting.” Elaine
THE SETTING
England’s rural fenland is a strange place, with its never-ending fields, winding tracks, and long straight droves (the old livestock routes) that lead to nowhere. The lonely lanes are flanked either side by deep drainage ditches and are, for a good part of the year, filled with tall, whispering reeds. Closer to the Wash, high seabanks form a barrier between river and marsh, and the richly fertile soil of the drained land. But when the mists come down, as they so often do, perspective is destroyed and all sense of direction lost, and then the fens become a rather frightening place of mystery and danger. Somewhere that you do not want to be at night.
ALSO BY JOY ELLIS THE BESTSELLING NIKKI GALENA SERIES
1: CRIME ON THE FENS
2: SHADOW OVER THE FENS
3: HUNTED ON THE FENS
4: KILLER ON THE FENS
5: STALKER ON THE FENS
6: CAPTIVE ON THE FENS
7: BURIED ON THE FENS
8: THIEVES ON THE FENS
9: FIRE ON THE FENS
10: DARKNESS ON THE FENS
11: HIDDEN ON THE FENS
12: SECRETS ON THE FENS
13: FEAR ON THE FENS
DETECTIVE MATT BALLARD
1: BEWARE THE PAST
2: FIVE BLOODY HEARTS
3: THE DYING LIGHT
4: MARSHLIGHT
5: TRICK OF THE NIGHT
STANDALONES
GUIDE STAR
JOY ELLIS
UK #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE JACKMAN & EVANS AND DI NIKKI GALENA SERIES; SHORTLISTED FOR BOOK OF THE YEAR FICTION: CRIME & THRILLER AT THE BRITISH BOOK AWARS 2021
OVER 2 MILLION BOOKS SOLD!
Joy grew up and lived in Kent, trained in floristry in Mayfair and ran her own highly successful floristry business in Weybridge for many years. In the mid-1990s, she followed her lifelong love of books, first as the manager of an independent bookshop in Leatherhead, Surrey, then as a writer. When she retired, Joy and her partner Jacqueline and their two spaniels settled in a village just outside Boston, captivated by the Lincolnshire Fens.
Joy’s happy home life is far removed from her storylines, however, and while she loves living in the misty Fens, the area provides a remote and eerie backdrop to her novels. Joy is also able to add the authenticity vital to any crime thriller by drawing on Jacqueline’s inside knowledge, to confirm procedures and the reality of tackling brutal crime and criminals in a modern police force.
