DI Nikki Galena has a series of thefts happening to homes where the thief only takes a particular item and leaves everything else. Now she is getting calls from a man about what he is going to do to the thieves. Also her mother's friends are dying and made to look like natural causes. This story has her going in many directions with Joseph at her side. When they find a dead thief they have to find the murderer before he does it again. Her mother disappears while trying to find out what happened to her friends. Nikki is feeling the pressure to get to the bottom of all of this before it is too late. She has lots of great help solve some of the twists and turns that get in her way. Well worth the read!

Great storyline and kept my interest right to the end. Definitely recommended.

Thieves on the Fens by Joy Ellis.

Someone is targeting thieves and calling DI Nikki Galena giving details that might help her prevent a murder. Not that Mad Tom always plays the rules; he certainly cheats on the first play in his game. Nikki and her team scramble to interpret the messages and protect the intended victims.

In the meantime, a dear friend of Nikki's mother Eve dies of a sudden heart attack. Eve, who has a background with the RAF and the MOD is devastated, but also uneasy. This is the second death among a circle of close friends, and Eve fears an unseen and powerful hand at work.

If Eve is right, both she and her remaining friends are in danger. And Eve is right--but the reason the women have been targeted is the question. What did Ann and Jenny know that led to their deaths?

Joy Ellis' Nikki Galena/Joseph Easter books are always a pleasure, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of genuinely knowing the characters she has created. The Lincolnshire Fens add a sense of remoteness to many of the locations and frequently add to the suspense.

Joy Ellis is one of my favorite authors of crime/detective fiction, and I highly recommend the series--but start at the beginning and enjoy the way the characters develop.

(Her DI Jackman/DS Evans series is equally good.)

NetGalley/Joffe Books

Detective/Crime. Nov. 28, 2017. Print length: 309 pages.

DI Nikki Galena is back and I couldn’t be happier as she is one of my favourite female detectives and the “on the Fens” series, one of my favourites too.
There are some many things to love, including that they all start with a bang, something to make you want to keep reading on.  Here, it’s a call to Nikki from a mysterious man speaking in thieves’ cant, an old fashioned secret code (think cockney rhyming slang).  People, he says are going to die – and he is going to be the one doing the killing.
It all seems linked to a series of burglaries that the team are already working on, though it’s not clear how or what this mysterious man’ (who they nickname Mad Tom) ultimate aim is, other than teach Nikki a lesson.  
Nikki is the next thing to love about this series.  She is kind, caring, good to her team but tough as nails.  I have really warmed to her over the four books in this series I have read (I still have the first four to go but I’ll get there).  She isn’t damaged in the way some other female detectives I read are, though she has some baggage I’m not 100% on from the first few books, and she isn’t such a wildcard.
Again, this is something I like because I am really enjoying getting to know her team, who are becoming fully fledged characters in their own right.  Over the last few books, each has had a turn being front and centre and a main player in the plot.  Last time it was Cat.  This time, it’s actually Nikki’s mom, Eve, that has a big role to play.
Eve is an incredible woman.  A former RAF officer who has also worked for some secret service or other, she is as tough as Nikki and clever and determined.  Here, she starts looking into the sudden death of a friend that becomes police business.  I feel like that this could have been a story in its own right if I’m honest, I was that engrossed.
Other than this maybe having been two books instead of one (which I think I thought for the last book as well, so there is a theme developing here), there is nothing that I didn’t like about this book.  The writing is great, the characters compelling and the story full of twists and turns, making it a real page turner.  It really is a great book and I loved it

My review as posted on Goodreads:

Having read and liked all of the earlier DI Nikki Galena books, I expected to enjoy this novel too. Indeed I found it to be an enjoyable story to read.

The detectives seem like old friends now. Joy Ellis is still managing to find new story lines to pursue in this series of police procedural books.

This time, she deviates from the norm slightly with an exciting story line where Nikki Galena finds herself working on a case which coincides with events in the life of Eve, her recently re-discovered Mother.

I won't say too much for fear of spoiling what is a plot- driven novel. Suffice to say that this fast paced thriller becomes a police-meets John Le Carré novel extravaganza!

I give thanks to the publisher, Joffe Books and to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for this review.

DI Nikki Galena and her team are back at work. There's a band of thieves preying on home owners but they only take certain items. The question is .. how do they know where and when those items are available?

Things take a surprising turn when Nikki receives a note informing her of an impending murder associated with the thieves. And the message is not a bluff .... a murder occurs but what's their connection to the thieves?

Nikki's attention is being split in two ... two of her mother's friends have suffered sudden fatal heart attacks ... somehow they were induced. And then Nikki's mom is targeted to be next.

I have really enjoyed this entire series. The author's plots are always exciting, full of twists and turns that keep the reader turning the pages. Nikki and her team are such memorable characters and all the secondary characters are well defined and come alive through the author's writings.

Although this is book 8, it does well as a stand alone. I highly recommend starting at book 1 for a marathon of reading.

Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

DI Nikki Galena gets a series of anonymous calls. She is told the place, time, and who will die.

But the messages are in a secret language used only by villains. Nikki and her team must decode the riddles and work out where the threats are coming from.

Meanwhile, the Fens have been hit by a series of “designer burglaries.” It appears that a new gang of thieves are stealing to order.

And things get very close to home when a friend of Nikki’s mother dies suddenly and perhaps suspiciously.

Are any of these events connected,and can Nikki and her team work out the identity of the mysterious caller before anyone else dies.

This gripping thriller starts with its foot firmly on the accelerator from the very first page and continues building up speed until the story crosses the finishing line and stamps on the brakes leaving the reader gasping for breath and very happy that they were safely strapped into their comfy reading chair.I liked Nikki Galena and her close knit team,I liked how the team worked well together and that other team members were able to contribute their own theories about the cases rather than Nikki always having all the answers.I really liked Nikki`s mother Eve and her ex intelligence friends Wendy,Lou and Rene,they were a wonderful group of diverse personalities.I would love to read a spin off series featuring them getting involved in their own adventures,maybe they could set up their own private investigator service and Nikki could make a guest appearance every now and again.This was a well plotted thriller,both the main cases where intreguing,packed with twists and turns,suspense,mystery and adventure.

Although this is the eighth book in the series,it can be read and enjoyed as a stand alone.I haven't read any of the previous books but that didn't spoil my enjoyment of this entertaining,riveting thriller.

I swear this series gets better with every book, this was fantastic! This book had me gripped from the first page and I literally couln't put it down.

I love where these books are set, it gives it a really atmospheric feel, sometimes even a bit creepy. Nikki has a close knit team who works well together, she is particularly close to her Sergeant Joseph. Will this be the book where they finally take the next step forward in their relationship? Read it and find out, you will get no spoilers here!

There are two stories running side by side which make it an interesting read full of twists and turns. It's really well written and the two stories meet with each other in a way you would never imagine.

I love this series and Joy Ellis is one of my favourite authors, this is a really good book that will thrill you and keep you on the edge of your seat. I feel it could be read as a stand alone novel but I recommend you read the books in order to get the background and history of the characters.
I highly recommend this book, it easily gets 5 stars from me.

Thank you Netgalley and Joffe Books for the eARC.
This is the 8th in the DI Nikki Galeno series and as usual, it's a good one. It can be read as a standalone, but I would suggest reading the whole series for the back stories, it's definitely worth it.
Nikki and Joseph are getting strange, ominous phonecalls. The caller uses thieves Latin (cant) to point them in the direction of murders he plans to commit. The history of this old language, used by thieves, was very interesting. It was amazing how many of the words we use in modern language.
Nikki's mother's best friend died just before they were meeting in London and she firmly believes it wasn't a natural death. These two investigations keep the team working all hours of the day and night, trying to prevent more deaths.
Nikki's mum is featured quite a bit in the story and I liked her a lot, she's a very feisty lady.
This fast-paced book was terrific, with lots of action, more insight into the characters and a satisfying ending. Can't wait for no. 9! I would almost classify it as a mystery/adventure, with a little bit of romance thrown in, just enough to keep you interested without spoiling the plot. This is an appealing series and Joy Ellis has kept it fresh, making you want more as quickly as possible. Highly recommended!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for the opportunity to read this novel by Joy Ellis in return for my honest review.

I have read the previous seven books in the Nikki Galena series but this can be read as a stand alone. Sometimes when an author continues with the same character/series there is limited scope, however, Joy Ellis has managed to improve with each book, allowing the characters to develop and adapt.

The plot was clever and included two huge cases running side by side with a wealth of twists and turns all of which added to the suspense.

As usual a thoroughly enjoyable read and with a couple of things that happened towards the end the next one in the series is eagerly awaited.

Strongly recommended.

This is the eighth in the series featuring DI Nikki Galena set in the Lincolnshire Fens. You do not have to have read the others, as it works fine as a standalone. This is a tense crime thriller that easily hooked me in to the story. Nikki is getting strange anonymous calls giving precise details on deaths, but it is in the form of riddles which the police must solve. Nikki is a determined, focused woman who has gone a great deal, making her such an interesting protagonist. She is ably assisted by ex-soldier DS 'Holy Joe Easter. It turns out to be complex and challenging case. A great fast paced and well plotted book! Many thanks to Joffe Books for an ARC.

5 stars

I read the Kindle edition.

DI Nikki Galena and her team are looking into a series of burglaries in the area. Once mapped out, the thieves are hitting far and wide. They seem to be stealing to order. At the same time, Nikki and DS Joseph Easter are receiving strange phone calls. A sinister voice seems to be telling them that someone is about to be killed. One of the older detectives on the team identifies the “language” used in the phone calls as a dialect that used to be popular in the 1500’s. It is a thieves’ Latin or thieves’ cant.

A subplot in the book is that one of Nikki’s mother’s friends Jenny Foxwell has died on the eve of their trip abroad. Quite upset, Eve tells Nikki and Joseph about a death of another friend. All of these women were in covert operations when they were younger. Is that the connection? Nikki tells her mom to leave it alone; that she will have a friend look into it. Eve makes some phone calls. She figures that can’t hurt, can it?

After more scary phone calls, Joseph decides to stay at Niki’s house that night. In the middle of the night, the phone rings. It’s a call-out to a body in the Shrimp Boat, an abandoned pub that used to be frequented by thieves. The victim is Michael Roper. They suspect that he was a thief.

The investigation hardly begins when there is another death. And then Eve disappears. Both investigations step up, as does the tension in the story. Nikki receives a surprise phone call from her determined mother giving her some information about the thieves’ case and telling her not to look for her. Nikki is sent into a tailspin.

Meanwhile Nikki’s team is still searching for the killer of the thieves. They have a couple of viable suspects, but little evidence. Eve has a triumph and a potential loss. Nikki wonders if the two cases are related. Then the killer makes a threat toward the police.

This is a very well written and plotted novel. I like Nikki Galena, Joseph Easter, Cat and Ben and the rest of the team very much. Nikki treats her colleagues and the victims alike with compassion and respect. I appreciate the way Nikki runs her team and that they all get along so well. The suspense begins immediately in this book and continues at a high level throughout the book. It’s twisty and turn-y to the reader’s delight. This book can be read as a standalone, but you’re missing out on a lot of very good reading if you don’t read the whole series. There was sufficient information given about the main characters so as to flesh them out, but not so much that it intrudes on the story. Well done, Ms. Ellis! Keep writing!

I want to thank NetGalley and Joffe Books for forwarding to me a copy of this wonderful land exciting book to read and enjoy.

When an author reaches book 8 in a series there is a concern that previous storylines might be repeated: definitely not the case in this series.
Fast paced, gritty and twisted with a sprinkling of humour and attitude this is thoroughly decent read.

I haven't read anything by this author previously but will certainly be reading more. I was hooked from the start, well plotted and fabulous characterisation which is very important to me. The book is fast paced with plenty of twists and turns and keeps you guessing.
It's what I would call a good, cosy read. It draws you in and is difficult to put down. Part of a series but I had no problem with not having read any of the others, something I plan on remedying soon.