England, procedural, law-enforcement, murder-investigation, family-dynamics, friendship, cold-case, suspense

New to me author/series! This riveting mystery is fast paced with plenty of twists with lots of misdirection and red herrings. It starts out as a cold case interwoven with similar new investigation.
No problem with the engaging and interesting characters and past histories despite this being of a series. I loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Joffe Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

With lots of odd messages being left behind what will this deer
Couple do??? Another great book in this wonderful series.

From the first page a reader knows “revenge for a life wasted” is coming. Ah, but whose life and whose revenge will take some time to reveal, in “Hidden on the Fens,” the 11th book in the English police procedural series by Joy Ellis. Revenge is never a good thing in a murder mystery, well, in anything, really, and in not too many pages the foreboding proves correct.

The series is obviously well established, but the author does a good job of “filling in the blanks” as to who’s who, for a new reader who might somehow pick this book up without realizing there are many more preceding. A reader could start with this one, but you shouldn’t – this is a very entertaining group of fictional people, who have grown with each book. The setting is the coastal plains of eastern England, a character all by itself, one that draws you to it and infuses the book with life. The isolated spaces lend themselves to trouble.

The policemen of DI Nikki Galena’s station (Greenborough Police Station, to name it) soon find themselves investigating from the get-go. And it leads to a missing person case – a young girl that has been missing for a very long time. This revelation may mean that a man that is in prison may not be guilty.

There’s always a second case in these books, and this one involves someone assaulting widows, and getting away with it. A couple of Nikki’s detectives are determined to take down this scum bag.

That missing person case involves an eerie, hidden cottage, strange gifts being left around that have ties to pagan beliefs, and an all-around aura of something supernatural that may have you scratching your head. Along the way the author drops hints that all is not well in a certain family’s background – you can draw your own conclusions as you read along.

And as the investigation(s) progress, a connection is (conveniently) found. Could have done without that little plot device. Seems to me it just made everything way too complicated. Everything becomes rather unpleasant very quickly, and somewhat confusing. Plus, the book bogs down in the middle, an unfortunate happenstance of many a police procedural as the evidence is gone over time and again. True to life, I suppose, but it does tend to slow things down.

People that are presumed guilty have their stories told… and innocent ones, too. The book becomes thrilling and there’s quite a few surprises at the end. It is sort of a creepy story, and I confess I was glad to see it end. Not sure that that beginning actually fits the ending, come to think of it, though. Almost seems like a red herring.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for a copy of this book, in exchange for this review.

DI Nikki Galena and DS Joseph Easter are back in another fantastic piece of crime fiction by Joy Ellis.

Although this is number 11 in the Fens series, this could be read as a stand alone book, Joy does a good job of filling in the gaps for new readers without it being repetitive for people who have read the whole series. But I do think to really appreciate the characters and their individual stories I would recommend reading at least couple of the previous books.

The story is complex and keeps you on the edge of your seat, just as you think it’s all tied up and you know what’s going on, there’s another twist.
I really enjoyed the superstitious/Wicca side to the story, it really added an extra creepy element to the book.

I would have liked a bit more oomph to the ending but all of the loose ends were tied up and I was left satisfied with the overall outcome.

DI Nikki Galena #11

The remains of a young girl who disappeared several years ago, have been discovered. DI Nikki Galena and her team are investigating the case. DS Joseph Easter and Nikki discover a derelict cottage within a copse of trees. There had been someone living there, but who was it? Two of Nikki's detectives are also investigating attacks on elderly widows.

Set in the fictional Greenborough. These books are quick and easy to read. The pace is fast and the characters are true to life and believable. I was drawn into the story after the first couple of characters. This series just keeps getting better. There's plenty of twists but I did feel the ending was a bit rushed. These book can be read as a standalone but it's always best to read a series in the order they were written in.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Joffe Books and the author Joy Ellis for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So this is the eleventh in the Nikki Galena series, while it can be read as a standalone but I would recommend reading at least the previous book, Darkness on the Fens before starting this one.

A couple are being threatened with strange pagan artifacts. A derelict cottage is found on their land with the body of Jennifer Cowley who has been missing for fifteen years, along with photos of a new girl who looks exactly the same. Jennifer’s murderer was arrested but did they arrest the right man?

I don’t think I’ll ever tire of reading this series! Hidden on the Fens is an intriguing story with plenty of nail biting moments throughout.

I liked the nice bit of folklore and superstition woven into the story, which I found really fascinating and added that little bit of creepiness.

There are some quite sweet moments between Joseph Easter and his daughter Tasmin during the book. They’ve had quite a rocky relationship over the years and it’s nice to see them building bridges.

Truthfully I wish the ending would have been a little stronger, but of course that’s just a minor thing.

Hidden on the Fens is a fantastic police procedural that kept me entertained and enthralled for hours.

Love a new Joy Ellis and this didn't disappoint.

There is a derelict cottage hidden in a copse which holds a secret - a secret which is soon to be discovered with far reaching consequences. Who knows about the secret and what else are they responsible for?

The mystery must be solved by DI Nikki Galena and Detective Joseph Easter. However, there are several cases they are working on and it seems they could be connected.

Not going to give to much away but this will keep you guessing to the end and then there is a final twist.

This is not the first Joy Ellis book I've read I'm a huge fan of the DI Jackman & DS Evans series but this is the first book in the Nikki Galena series I've actually read Starting on book 11 is not ideal but i found this could easily be be read as a stand alone and found the back story of the characters and their previous cases was explained well enough for it not to matter too much, although after enjoying this book i will be going back to the start of the series.

I found the story grabbed my attention really quickly and i was wanting to find out where it was all going to go, I liked the characters and they felt very real and very rural British to me from the start, they were believable which is one of the markers of quality for me, do there actions make sense? and can i understand their motivations? As always with one of Ellis' books the answer is yes.

The plot is full of twists and turns and the book well written, just when i thought i knew what was coming i was surprised yet again. Joy Ellis is really one of my favourite authors for British police procedurals and has a way of writing that i can picture so easily in my mind the scenes she sets .

I liked this book, but felt that it was rather longwinded in parts . This is the first book I have read by this author so I don't know the detectives. That was not a problem because there were short reminders of important events that happened before this book. Personally I found that the descriptions of the characters was a little one dimensional and although I know the Fenlands, I couldn't picture the landscape from the information in the book.
There seemed to be 2 or 3 totally different plotlines going on at the start of the book. As the story went on you come to realise that they are intertwined, which I liked very much . Some parts, however seemed to be dealt with too quickly (I won't say which because I don't want to spoil the suspense !) though all the loose ends were tied up by the end some of the reasoning stretched reality for me . I will look out from more from this author
Thankyou to Net Galley, the publishers and author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Many thanks to Netgalley and Joffre books for giving me opportunity to read this brilliant book. I have read all the books in this series and this one didn’t disappoint. So many different strands to the plot and I couldn’t see where it was going. Joy Ellis is a great crime writer and isn’t formulaic. The storylines are so different . I couldn’t stop reading it. Look forward to the next one.

Hidden on the Fens is the eleventh instalment in the DI Nikki Galena and DS Joseph Easter series, set in the fictional town of Greenborough, Lincolnshire, UK, however, each can be read as a standalone without any issues. The team are called to Sedgefield Farm to investigate when DS Easter’s daughter Tamsin Farrow, who had been employed by the farm’s owner Richard Howard to provide her advice on a particularly overgrown copse of trees on his land, makes a surprising discovery. They soon realise that there is a derelict cottage hidden in the undergrowth and even stranger is the fact that it appears to show signs of having recently been inhabited. When they venture inside they discover a collection of photographs of Jennifer Cowley, a girl who disappeared 15 years ago. These aren't the only weird happenings in the local area though as someone seems to be preoccupied with scaring the community with voodoo. Could these incidents be linked?

This is a complex, convoluted police procedural with numerous interlinking plotlines and a plethora of twists, red herrings and reveals. There is plenty of drama and action so it is incredibly easy to tear through this in an afternoon. The unfolding of the novel is full of exciting happenings and once I read the first few pages it had me hook, line and sinker. Joy Ellis is adept at driving your thoughts over what is going on in one direction before ripping the rug right from under you leaving you gobsmacked in the process. It's a compulsive, gripping and thoroughly engrossing read from beginning to end and the most enjoyable of the whole series so far in my opinion. The author truly creates a foreboding atmosphere and illustrates just how far-reaching the consequences of long-held secrets can be. Each new instalment feels somewhat like reuniting with old friends, and I love that; it's one of the reasons I keep coming back for more. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Joffe Books for an ARC.

While investigating a woman's claim that someone was leaving pagan artifacts at her house, DI Nikki Galena and DS Joseph Easter stumble across an old abandoned cottage. The biggest surprise comes when they find a body stuffed down the chimney ... a teenage girl that's been missing for 15 years.

The girl's boyfriend was charged and convicted of her death even though at the time there was no body. He has just recently been released from prison.

They also find more recent pictures of another teenage girl .. one who looks eerily like the girl they just found. They also discover the girl and a friend have gone missing.

Has the man struck again? Or was the actual killer never caught? Nikki and her team are going to dig deep into the past to find a killer who may still be active.

For suspense/mystery, you just can't go wrong with a Joy Ellis book. The suspense maintains its intensity from the very first page to the very last unpredictable ending. The plot is tightly woven with characters that will not soon be forgotten.

Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this outstanding crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Another fantastic story from Joy Ellis with her long standing detective Nikki Galena and her team at their best. An unusual cold case which using their investigative talents to finally bring the culprit to justice and relief for the long suffering parents of the victim. A great read.

Bloody fantastic! This book was awesome I enjoyed every page. There was so much action and suspense it kept me riveted to the book unable to put it down. It was a really good story that was interesting and as usual the characters were like greeting old friends. This book totally deserves a big fat 5 stars, Joy Ellis has done it again, this book was excellent and I highly recommend it.

My thanks to Joy Ellis, Joffe books and Netgalley for the ARC , in exchange for an honest opinion.
The previous book was the first one I had read from the author, I loved it so much that I have read most of the series now. I eagerly anticipated this, the next in the series. It was well worth the wait.
This could be the best yet, of an already fantastic series. There has been so much development out on the Fens since the last book. I lost track of how many story lines there were in this book. Bur each one was written and developed so brilliantly that it all flows superbly.
Really cannot wait till the next one.

Hard to believe this is book 11 in this brilliant series. I have read them all and every one is a gripping read so I was expecting great things from this one and I wasn't disappointed.

Tamsin take a bigger role in this book as her environmental skills are utilised. Richard Howard is now running his parent's farm and is eager to do so in an environmentally friendly way so has asked Tamsin to advise on how to tackled a very overgrown copse. As they are looking and discussing the copse they notice a pathway has been made and further investigation reveals a hidden derelict cottage. What they don't know is that the cottage holds dark secrets that span years and continents.

This is a very complex story with many different things going on from an evil man preying on vulnerable women that seems to be so slippery that even Nikki's brilliant team seem unable to make charges stick. Then there are witchcraft items that are being left at Sedgebrook Farm causing a lot of worry for Auriella so when the cottage begins to give up its secrets nobody considered that the different cases could be linked.

I love how Joy Ellis always manages to come up with such unique stories and stretch the characters further you would think after 10 books we would know all there is to know about them but apparently not as their personalities develop ever further. I feel I have watched Nikki grow and loved how she showed both vulnerability and compassion for others in this book. The characters are sheer perfection the story is gripping and keeps the reader guessing all the way to the end. An awesome read.

I spend a lot of time walking around remote countryside and I will always wonder what secrets the hidden derelict buildings may be hiding.

Definitely 5 stars from me.

Oh I didn't mention Eve and the case of the missing artist. That would make a brilliant side story I do love the little bits that we learn each book but an opportunity to delve into the case with more focus would be amazing.

Past and Present Collide......
The eleventh book in the Nikki Galena series. DI Nikki Galena finds herself in the midst of a complex mystery in which past and present collide. Well written with an engrossing, twisting plot line and a solid cast. A worthy addition to this long running series.

This is the best Joy Ellis I've read so far. Gritty, full of suspense. A real roller-coaster of a read. Her books are always full of great characters and great storylines.

Big thank you to Netgalley and Joffe Books for the advanced read off the 11th novel featuring Di Nikki Galena and Ds Joseph Easter

As good as the previous 10 novel's and it draws you in from the beginning, you feel as though you are in the town of Greenborough and not many authors can do that

The plot of the story involves the characters and their family members as they investigate the harassment of 2 elderly professors and the disappearance of a young girl missing for 15 years

A must must read

In a cottage, on the land of Sedgefield Farm, a body of a girl is found by people working in the nearby copse on a woodland regeneration program. Tamsin Farrow finds the body and the team called in are led by DI Nicky Galena and Tamsin’s father, DS Joseph Easter. They think it’s the body of a girl called Jennifer Cowley, who has been missing for several years. There are photos of Jennifer in the cottage, as well as those of another woman. A young woman with blonde hair has been missing for a few days. The man who killed Jennifer has now come out of prison. Could he be killing again?
The Howard family, who own the cottage, have been sent strange Wiccan symbols as if they’re trying to intimidate her.

Meanwhile, Nicky and Joseph are also on the trail of a man who sexually assaults older women. They are struggling to make a case, because evidence is scared and witness testimony alone isn’t enough. They may have a breakthrough though. A woman has moved into the area and may be the key to this difficult case.

This is the 11th book in this series and as I’ve never read any of the others, I was a bit lost here and there. I liked the character of Nicky because she’s a competent detective who works hard, and the author doesn’t describe her looks. We just meet her through her intelligence and determination.
I thought I had it figured out early on, but there were enough further twists to keep me reading. It wasn’t up there with my favourite detective novels, but it was diverting enough for an enjoyable afternoon’s read.