(AUDIO) BOOK REVIEW
Bodies In The Fens And The Thrill Of An Investigation
Review of the DI Rowan Jackman & DS Maria Evens series by Joy Ellis
When I like the first book in a series, I like to listen to others in the series too, as I have done with three books by Ross Greenwood. However, since I have only one credit a month with Audible, I can ‘buy’ only one book. Yes, I can add more credits, but at 10 GBP a credit, and listening to an average of five books a month — well, you get it… it’s expensive!
My joy was immense when, at the time, I found all the books by Joy Ellis included in my Audible subscription, meaning I could listen to them all without paying extra. A bonus!
I apologize in advance for the long article, including all the Jackman and Evans series by this wonderful author!
About Joy Ellis, the author
She grew up in Kent, South East England, before she moved to London after winning an apprenticeship with a prestigious florist during the 1960s. Eventually, Joy Ellis pursued her dream of owning her own flower shop in Weybridge. Diagnosed with M.E. — chronic fatigue syndrome — and the economic recession in the 1980s prompted her to close her floral shop and to concentrate on an active literary career in the thriller genre.
During a trip to the Greek island of Skyros, Ellis attended a writer’s workshop with Sue Townsend, who encouraged her to write her own books. Returning to England, she worked in the retail book trade for four years.
After moving to the Lincolnshire Fens with her partner, Jacqueline, and their springer spaniels, Jasper Joffe of Joffe Books discovered Joy’s work and offered to become her new publisher. This introduced her to the fascinating world of eBooks and audio books. Since her partnership with Joffe Books, Joy’s success grew even further.
When Joy Ellis turned her passion for books into writing, her health eventually improved.
Jacqueline, Joy’s partner, and a decorated former police officer, is the author’s most trenchant critic. The Fens, where the author lives, is shrouded in dark mystery and superstition and the perfect backdrop for Joy’s books.
It’s estimated that Joy Ellis has sold a staggering estimated total of over 3.4 million books worldwide.
She had written books in several series, but here I will concentrate only on the DI Rowan Jackman & DS Maria Evens books: * The Murderer’s Son (2014) * Their Lost Daughters (2017) * The Fourth Friend (2017) * The Guilty Ones (2018) * The Stolen Boys (2018) * The Patient Man (2019) * They Disappeared (2020) * The Night Thief (2021) * Solace House (2022)
The Murderer’s Son
Twenty years ago a farmer and his wife were brutally killed by a serial killer. Now a woman is stabbed to death in her beautiful house, and DI Rowan Jackman and DS Marie Evans get to investigate the case, and we as a reader get to know more about these two remarkable people.
Rowan is single, extremely smart, and brings out the best in his team, while Marie has lost her husband in a motorbike accident. There’s no romance between the two, but a deep friendship which allows them to finish each other’s thoughts.
They get their eyes on a suspect, Daniel, who believes his mother was the serial killer of years ago, but he doesn’t know if he’s the one committing all those killings, as he blacks out frequently.
Then they decide to call in the service of a retired psychotherapist to work with Daniel, which adds more twists and turns to this chilling story.
Once I had listened to this book, I was hooked on the series, on Marie and Rowan.
Their Lost Daughters
When I started listening to this book, it sounded familiar, and it was only in chapter three that I realized this was a book I had listened to before I started my Audible subscription.
Almost a decade ago, a little girl disappeared, and the crime was never solved. Now two girls go to a party and only one — Toni — comes back alive, but because someone had drugged her, she cannot tell where she has been or what happened to her friend, Emily. Then another girl is found on an isolated beach, drowned.
Jackman’s team discovers a drinking club and the men running it, grooming girls. They also come across a sinister former hospital where a scary man works the property alone, but the owner is the perfect gentleman.
Another great book to listen to, and where you learn more about the team, not only Jackman and Evans, but also the other members.
The Fourth Friend
This book really gripped me because of the personal hurt in it, where one of Jackman’s team — Carter McLean — is the sole survivor of a plane crash in which he loses three of his friends.
Eighteen months before the crash, the wife of one of Carter’s friends disappeared without trace or lead.
Carter’s three friends visit him in visions, each of them telling him what to do to help the people they have left behind. Carter succeeds with the first two, but with the third it turns darker, and Carter seems to be caught up in something dark.
Carter confides only in Marie, but she doubts his sanity.
The twists in this story are remarkable, and the way it unfolds is nothing you can imagine when you start reading. Joy Ellis sure knows how to weave a thrilling story.
The Guilty Ones
I can describe this fourth book in the series as a psychological thriller that touches Jackman’s life personally when his sister-in-law disappears and commits suicide.
When a woman in the next village dies in similar circumstances, Jackman’s team investigates. Because it’s personal, Jackman knows he has to find the truth soon, or the superintendent will remove him from the case.
Their inquiries lead them to a family who believes their son/brother is innocent, even though he’s a convicted murderer. There’s a connection there, which Jackman and his team have to find, but more murders follow in horrifying circumstances.
This one was a great listen and might have brought me even closer to Jackman’s team, and the way they operate and care for each other.
The Stolen Boys
The theme of this book intrigued me a lot.
Imagine a range of clothes so exclusive, and it being stolen right from your body in a matter of mere minutes? In this book, there’s a crime wave in town when a gang only targets youngsters who wear clothes of that specific brand.
Then a young man dies, all because the gang steals his shoes. We learn about this gang, but also about boys living in difficult circumstances, and being recruited to be part of the gang. Once in, there’s no way out. Once they’ve served their purpose, they disappear.
I liked the theme of the highly wanted clothing brand called Hybird-X and shivered when themes of smuggling and people trafficking came to light too. Definitely another enjoyable book by Joy Ellis!
The Patient Man
The murderer in The Guilty Ones — Alistair Ashcroft — returns, and his motivation for murdering has changed from before. Now he’s after Jackman and Marie, but he plays a cat-and-mouse game with them.
At the same time, Jackman’s team is looking for a sniper, who’s shooting seemingly random people, all of them while a soon-to-be detective, Kevin, is with them. Why is the killer so focused on this young police officer? And are there two killers, like the police think, or is this all the work of only one man?
I like how this book differs totally from the first one about Ashcroft, and the different plot twists, but also the personal feelings of the team, who still feel bruised after Ashcroft has escaped before. There are some really colorful characters in this book, making the story even more enjoyable.
They Disappeared
One thing that has always intrigued me is urban exploration — urbex for short — but I have never done it.
It’s not only that you can make amazing images, but there’s the thrill of being in a place where you should probably not be, and the sadness of the decaying of a place that was once alive with the voices of people.
In this story, three urban explorers disappeared on three different occasions. They were all in abandon buildings with urbex friends and were suddenly just gone. The friends heard nothing, and the police could find little evidence on the scene.
A previous police officer who worked in Jackman’s team used to be an urbexer, and she expressed her concerns. Then Jackman and his team found the three urbexers — all dead — and the investigation turned serious.
In the meantime, the IT specialist — Orac — disappeared too, but soon Marie heard from her. A close friend of Orac helped her to find her sister, who disappeared as a child. With Orac away, the urbex killer has free rein.
This story was good, but I found it less exciting than all the previous books. The one thing I really liked is that Marie, whom had been grieving her husband’s death for years, finally feels like she can move on, and allows the advances of a man to interest her.
The Night Thief
Imagine yourself waking up in the middle of the night and a man stands staring at you at the foot end of your bed. Or coming downstairs the next morning and discovering someone has been in your house? But not only that, he has stolen a photograph of a boy.
That happens in several houses and all the boys are about eleven years old. This only becomes a case of Jackman and his team when an elderly lady falls down the stairs, and it turns out to be murder. Also, a photo has disappeared from her house.
This is an intriguing story and way into the second half of the book does it become clear why the intruder steals those photos. And why he murders? But, is he really the murderer? After all, there’s also the man who drives in his sleep…
There’s a scene in this book that has made me cry. It’s where Marie finally lets go of her husband, where she embraces life and knows she can be happy again.
Solace House
Just like with all the other books, there’s a specific subject that’s addressed in the main thread of the story. This time it’s a cult, how people are indoctrinated and the horrible things they do because of what they believe.
A previously found body (in one of the earlier books) turns out to be a victim of this cult, and when more body parts turn up, it’s time for Jackman’s team to investigate.
Then, there’s the family living in Solace House. Someone in the neighborhood wants them gone, breaking into their home to paint on the walls. Is this connected to the cult, or a possible Victorian crime the which has apparently been committed in the house, involving infant deaths?
And then there’s a third storyline, which I am sure we will see back in the next book Jackman and Evans book, but for now, this gripping ninth one is the last in the series.
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