This book was gripping and hard to put down. It didn't feel like everything else you see out there, it felt very fresh. I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book! This book drew me in from the very beginning. I liked how the story didn’t drag on and it wrapped up very nicely. The writing style impressed me and I can’t wait to continue reading the series!

The Pig Pen" by Emmy Ellis offers a chilling premise with its gruesome murders and a detective on the case. The discovery of a head in Carys Brignell’s garden sets up a dark and intriguing mystery, enhanced by the grim detail of victims being fed to pigs.

Ellis creates a vivid setting and complex characters, particularly the detective, Anna James. However, some parts of the book drag and feel boring, with the subplot of Anna’s romantic interest in a shady gang member feeling forced.

While the novel has a strong premise and atmosphere, its pacing issues and occasional dull stretches may leave some readers less engaged.

The Pig Pen by Emmy Ellis is a brand new series featuring Detective Anna James and just like the great Columbo, the reader knows from the start exactly who does the murder, its just about getting to the why and how Anna and her team work with the clues they find, also there could be a mole in the team and she has an undeniable attraction to a bad boy. Anna comes across as a fair & dedicated officer and all the characters are well written. It is a promising start to a new crime novel & I look forward to reading more from Ms Ellis.

DI Anna James and her team of DS Lenny Baldwin and DCs Peter Dove, Sally Wiggins and Warren Yates have a new case. A woman has woken to find a wooden stake in her front garden with her boyfriend’s severed head upon it. The rest of Nigel’s body is missing. Soon the detectives learn that the woman, Carys, is a compulsive liar and fantasist. Her husband Matthew left her two years ago after she cheated on him with his best friend Nigel. But then they discover Nigel has only been using Carys and has a steady girlfriend, whilst Carys has been fooling around with other men. When the finger of suspicion is pointed at Matthew, everyone believes he is a quiet gentle soul who couldn’t possibly have been involved. Of course, the reader knows better, learning how his mother died and what he does at his father’s farm with the hungry pigs. Then another head turns up on a fence post and the victim is someone of interest to the detectives. With more lives seemingly in danger, how many more heads will appear before Anna and the team work out the truth?
This is a brand-new series and the main characters are well introduced. We even get a glimpse into their personal lives and histories. I particularly liked Anna’s little thoughts to herself as she went about her grisly investigation. The killer, his motive and his methods are spelt out early on in the book so the suspense lies mainly in watching the detectives piece together the evidence to catch the killer. Personally I prefer not knowing everything and trying to guess whodunit for myself but the story works well enough and there are plenty of other side plots, such as a gang member plant in the police and a nasty sexual predator to be rooted out of the service. This dark and gripping story with a nice easy to read writing style is a good start to the series and I’m keen to press onto book 2, The Lion’s Den, to see more of this detective team at work.

I liked the writing style and for that alone, I may read more from this author, but sadly the story had no point and the character development was weak.

From the start of the book we know who the killer is and their reasoning. As the story progresses, we can work out who their likely next victims are, so there’s not much point waiting for Detective Anna James to bumble around, trying to work it out, when we already have all the answers! I was hoping for a huge twist, but literally, it ended as soon as she knew what we knew, and all that’s left is for her to admit that she fancies one of the dodgy local gang members.

Sadly not for me as I like suspense and intrigue and o love a good twist, none of which was in this book.

2 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This was my first dive into UK-based police procedurals, and also my first book from this author, so I went in completely blind. After checking out her back catalogue, it looks like I've got plenty more to explore!

One thing that really bugs me in crime books or thrillers is when the perpetrator is revealed within the first chapter. I love trying to solve the mystery alongside the police, and knowing too early just ruins the fun for me. The ending also didn't sit well with me; it felt abrupt and rushed.

On the bright side, I really enjoyed the author's writing style, which kept me hooked throughout. The characters were likeable, especially Anna, and I appreciated how the team worked together. The dual perspectives from the police and the killer, along with the flashbacks, added depth and reasoning to the story, which helped balance out the negatives.

I didn’t absolutely love it, but I enjoyed it enough to finish and am interested in continuing the series.

Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I loved this book, the first in a new series, which had me hooked.

The story was fast paced, and you just kept reading to know what happened next.

I can’t wait to read the next book.

I highly recommend this book.

Detective Anna James #1

A killer who feeds his victims to the pigs. A woman who finds her boyfriends head in the front garden. A straight-laced Detective who's attracted to a shady gang member.

Carys Brignell is a young, divorced woman in her thirties. She owns a lovely home in Bishop's Lock - a perk from her divorce settlement - and has a vibrant social life. One morning, Carys opens her bedroom curtains and sees a head on a spike in the front garden. It's Nigel, her new boyfriend. Detective Inspector Anna James is assigned to the case. She quickly learns that fun-loving Carys is a habitual liar and serial bed-hopper. She spends most of her evenings in her local pub, flirting with young men, including Joshua "Parole" Cribbins, a member of crime syndicate the Northern Kings. Then another head is found on a spike at the edge of a field. And this time, Anna knows the victim. Someone is targeting male associates of Carys - and "Parole" could be next.

One of my pet peeves about reading a crime book/thriller is when you know who the perpetrator is. I like to read the story and try to work out at the same time as the police to see if I'm correct or even close. But taking that choice away spoils the story for me. I don't mind if we get an anonymous perspective, that just adds to the mix. I still enjoyed this story. I liked Anna, and her team worked well together as they tried to solve this case. There seemed to be only one connection to the heads on spikes, Carys Brignall, divorcee and serial bed-hopper. We get flashbacks telling us what has occurred before the first severed head appeared. This is a well-written story.

Published 12th August 2024

I would like to thank #NetGalley JoffeBooks and the author #EmmyEllis for my ARC of #ThePigPen in exchange for an honest review.

A quick and easy read, this is set in Yorkshire. I liked the main narrator, Anna, the investigating policewoman, some chapters are told from the point of view of the murderer. The crimes too are interesting, well thought out and the perpetrators thinking is believable, if mixed up. When the police are starting to realise who he is, the logic seemed to go out of the window a little so although the crime was wrapped up fairly soon after, I was a little diappointed about the way it was done.
There are several police officers, members of a gang and other locals who will no doubt make an appearance in future books in the series. Beyond the main investigators eating in pubs quite a bit and Anna stating that she likes a quiet night in with a book, I do think there is lots of room to develop the characters further. I would have preferred to know them a little better, but that will come (hopefully) in future episodes.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is my first time reading anything from Emmy Ellis and I enjoyed it so much that I now want to seek out, and start reading, her other books. This gruesome police procedural tale very both horrifying and very interesting. I'm not British, so I'm not sure if this is how their police actually operate but everything seemed quite authentic to me, which I appreciated. I enjoyed that the story was told from the point of view of the police and also the killer but I usually don't like to find out the killer's identity so quickly. Even if the story is in their point of view, I prefer them to be shrouded in mystery for a big reveal later in the story. That's just a minor complaint though. I had a good time with this book!
Thanks, NetGalley, for allowing me to read this ARC.

4* intro to this author, DI Anna and her crew.

I've read a ton of UK-based police procedurals recently, mostly from Joffe Books. The Britishness of the tales make them refreshing and believable, although some take liberties with real-life policing, like this one, which supposedly has a former gang member as a DC. He's suspicious and under observation, but lo and behold, there well may be another, whose identity isn't known in books 1 or 2. But, at the heart of the books, there's a proper tale, investigations, good cops for the most, and a strong female lead. In fact, make that strong females, full stop.

There's a decent but gruesome and rather horrifying tale here, that'll make me never look at pigs the same way again. These aren't of the pink, cute, furry variety, rather literal cannibals and omnivores.

We do get introduced to the bad guy straight away, a la new-MO of JD Robb style, and I felt that his 'revenge is a dish best served cold' attitude was believable, calculated and cold, so I'm not quite sure what clued the DI in immediately, other, perhaps, than her instincts. It was a pretty well orchestrated revenge, but it'll turn your stomach in parts and make you wonder how well you really know people. The reveals for how he ended up what and who he was, were evil and stomach turning.

There's an interesting arc that'll continue over several books to come, with the DI's mutual attraction to a younger, supposedly former gang member, which is being built up nicely into book 2, which I've just finished. It is going where things are being hinted at, but it'll need nerves of steel on her part. The bad guys aren't mafia types, but they've got their eyes and ears around and have brutal ways. I'm hoping the bad cop gets his comeuppance but I'm torn between rooting for Anna and Joshua aka Parole, or maybe not, as there's something potentially real there, as well as deception on both their parts. Well, at least on hers, which is a table nicely turned for once.

There's a nicely done bit of dealing with sexual harassment, featuring a young Asian cop as the victim. She's got balls, she's got the courage to go against her upbringing for what's right but there could be a cost to her. What nearly happens is about right in how it's portrayed but, ugh, why don't authors do their research better? Parvati is a Hindu, so guys from her religion don't go to the mosque, but a temple. That's a big faux pas, that I'm feeding back, as I'm from a similar background and got an ARC of the book. But, other than that, things felt pretty realistic.

I really enjoyed this book, as I did book 2. Without the Parvati mess-up, this would've been a 5* read. Book 2 segues nicely with this, although it doesn't have the same feeling of danger/pace/horror. But, still, small towns and theie secrets, eh?

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Joffe Books for my reading pleasure.

The Pig Pen is an unusual police procedural as the reader knows pretty much from the outset who the murderer is and therefore more than the investigating detectives. My preference would have been not to have known the identity of the murder to keep some mystery - very difficult to build in some twists and turns in a novel like this. That said, I did enjoy this book and still found it a page turner - mainly to see for how long the killer could go under the radar for.

I enjoyed the dual timelines, through flashbacks of memories of the killer to show why they were now seeking their revenge. Relatively short chapters makes ‘The Pig Pen’ a quick and easy read and I liked the rapport between DI Anna James and her DS, Lenny so I am likely to read the next in the series.

Did not enjoy this book. Found the writing to be choppy and lacking details. Felt like the book was written in blunt statements, rather than descriptive passages.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for this grim, dark crime story set in Yorkshire. The Pig Pen is my introduction to a promising thriller author, and I would probably read further books in the Detective Anna James series. The book will be published on August 6th.

This was a fast-paced, engaging read, except it contained some puzzling British words and phrases known in that location, and I had to guess their meaning from context. Since I read on my Kindle, I only discovered an extensive Glossary of British terms for Americans at the end of the book.

The story included a couple of gruesome murders, severed heads displayed on spikes, hungry pigs, suicide, addiction to casual sex, a crime syndicate, and involved police members with secrets. There is a likeable police team trying to solve a complex case while sorting through the truth behind many lies. A police officer is blamed for sexual harassment.

We know the killer's identity from the beginning, and flashbacks reveal what motivates his twisted crimes. We follow Detective Anna James and her partner as they slowly stumble towards a solution to the case. Their dialogue is entertaining, but as we already know the killer's identity before they do, suspense is diminished.

Carys is a woman addicted to casual sex with many and any. She hangs out at a local pub, picking up men whom she quickly discards after bedding them. She had been married to a quiet, introverted, easy-going, mild-mannered man. She married him, hoping they would inherit his father's property when he died. She found him dull and did not stop her flagrant outside sexual activity. Now, the ex-husband was beaten up in the dark but escaped.

Some unknown person is targeting men associated with Carys. Among those men were Nigel, a boyhood friend of her husband, a police officer who used a colleague's name for his sleazy activities, and Parole, a leading crime syndicate member. Parole is distinctive in appearance, heavily tattooed from face to feet. When Anna tries to warn him that he may be the next victim, she is strangely attracted to him. I was wrong in hoping this would lead to a fling for Anna and Parole.

( Some readers may be interested in the true, ghastly crimes of Canadian serial killer pig farmer Robert Pickton, who was proven to have murdered twenty-seven women and thrown their bodies to his pigs. He claimed he committed forty-nine murders. Sometimes, real life can be more gruesome and worse than fiction.)
It is recommended for readers who like a complicated, easy-to-read, unique crime story.

I'm not entirely sure where to start with this book. The title stood out for sure, and the blurb sounded promising. I mean... heads on spikes and human remains as pig feed? This could be wonderfully dark. Which is mostly isn't... although the dark moments are pretty grim, they're not that frequent. And that all makes for an enjoyable read, and an awkward book to try and describe after reading.

Now, I picked this up hoping for a mysterious thriller. That went out the window fairly early when we learnt the killer's name, address, motive, and almost everything else you need to know to solve the crime. Luckily I do also enjoy more police procedural type stories too because this fell far more squarely in that camp for the obvious aforementioned reason. If you need a good twist look elsewhere, but if you enjoy a twisted story that you can simply enjoy without many surprises (there are still a few about some details) this works. The Pig Pen is a nice easy read that is surprisingly fun.

My thanks go to Joffe Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Pig Pen’ written by Emmy Ellis in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Detective Inspector Anna James and Detective Sergeant Lenny Baldwin are sent to the home of Carys Brignell when a head is found on a spike in her front garden. The head is identified as Nigel, the boyfriend who was the cause of her ex-husband Matthew divorcing her, but as yet Nigel’s body hasn’t been discovered. When a second head is found on a spike at the edge of a field Anna believes that someone is targeting acquaintances of Carys and they need to act quickly before the person responsible chooses more victims.

‘The Pig Pen’ is the first in a new series set in Yorkshire and is a thriller with a difference as we’re told the identity of the killer from the beginning. Although I feel disappointed as I like to work out the identity of the killer from the clues given throughout the story, it’s definitely an interesting read and a real page-turner. I was also sorry that the ending was so rushed with no satisfactory conclusion but I liked the characters and it’ll be interesting to see how Anna’s persona develops in books two and three.

The premise to this one is why I requested it it sounded so interesting and intriguing. Unfortunately, right off the bat we know way too much and it just ruined the experience of the book for me. I just didn't like that format and the characters weren't likeable or believable and I found that hard to get past.

A fantastic book with a gripping storyline. I couldn't put it down. I look forward to reading more in this series

This was a good read, I did feel that there could have been more to make it less obvious to the police who the killer was. I enjoy reading the story from both perspectives though and would be keen to read the next in the series to see how the main characters develop!