Hunted on the Fens (DI Nikki Galena, #3) by Joy Ellis
Mystery
2017 Tantor Audio
Read by Henrietta Meire
Finished on June 8, 2019
Rating: 3/5 (Good)
Publisher's Blurb:
A vicious criminal is targeting DI Nikki Galena and her team. One by one he will hunt them down and destroy their lives, unless she can stop him first.
DI Nikki Galena faces her toughest challenge yet. Can she save her team and herself from a cruel and determined adversary who will stop at nothing to harm Nikki and her colleagues? First she must work out who wants revenge against her or one of her detectives. Full of twists and turns, this is a crime novel that will have you turning the pages until the stunning ending.
And what is the connection between the series of attacks on the police and the mystery of woman found dead in a seemingly impregnable locked room? Find out in this tense and exciting detective thriller.
THE DETECTIVE DI Nikki Galena: A police detective with nothing left to lose, she’s seen a girl die in her arms, and her daughter will never leave the hospital again. She’s got tough on the criminals she believes did this to her.
HER PARTNER DS Joseph Easter is the squeaky-clean new member of the team. But his nickname “Holy Joe” belies his former life as a soldier. He has an estranged daughter who blames him for everything that went wrong with their family.
THE SETTING The Lincolnshire Fens: great open skies brood over marshes, farmland, and nature reserves. It is not easy terrain for the Fenland Constabulary to police, due to the distances between some of the remote Fen villages, the dangerous and often misty lanes, and the poor telephone coverage. There are still villages where the oldest residents have never set foot outside their own farmland and a visit to the nearest town is a major event. But it has a strange airy beauty to it, and above it all are the biggest skies you’ve ever seen.
I enjoyed listening to the previous two books in Joy Ellis' Nikki Galena series, but this installment took me over a month to finish and while I enjoyed it, I didn't think it was great. That may have something to do with the fact that I was also reading a Louise Penny mystery, which held my interest much better than this book. Also, the reader for this series has begun to sound flat and monotone when she read the men's dialogue, which I found very annoying. If I continue with the series, I will switch to the printed books rather than listen to the audios.
Shadow Over the Fens (DI Nikki Galena, #2) by Joy Ellis
Mystery
2016 Tantor Audio
Read by Henrietta Meire
Finished on November 18, 2018
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)
Publisher's Blurb:
Someone terrible from DS Joseph Easter’s past is back . . .
DI Nikki Galena’s friend and neighbour meets a tragic end but there’s more to his death than meets the eye . . .
A man is found executed on a piece of wasteland in Greenborough town. The cold-blooded murder triggers terrible memories for DS Joseph Easter. Just when things seemed to be going well for DS Easter, he realises that the nightmare is coming back, threatening his career, his sanity, and maybe his life.
In a breath-taking conclusion even DI Galena begins to doubt him [DS Easter] as he faces a race against time to save someone very close to him.
Set in the Lincolnshire Fens: great open skies brood over marshes, farmland, and nature reserves. It is not easy terrain for the Fenland Constabulary to police, due to the distances between some of the remote Fen villages, the dangerous and often misty lanes, and the poor telephone coverage. There are still villages where the oldest residents have never set foot outside their own farmland and a visit to the nearest town is a major event. But it has a strange airy beauty to it, and above it all are the biggest skies you’ve ever seen.
Shadow Over the Fens is another entertaining installment to the Nikki Galena series. I figured out whodunit early on, but that didn't spoil the book and I'm eager to start listening to Hunted on the Fens. I'm enjoying the series and the audio reader (Henrietta Meire) is very good. This book held my interest quite a bit more than those in Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway series (another mystery series I've been listening to) and I was inspired to go on longer walks just so I could continue listening.
Crime on the Fens (DI Nikki Galena, #1) by Joy Ellis
Mystery
2016 Tantor Audio
Read by Henrietta Meire
Finished on August 29, 2018
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)
Publisher's Blurb:
THE DETECTIVE DI Nikki Galena: A police detective with nothing left to lose, she’s seen a girl die in her arms, and her daughter will never leave the hospital again. She’s got tough on the criminals she believes did this to her. Too tough. And now she’s been given one final warning: make it work with her new sergeant, DS Joseph Easter, or she’s out.
HER PARTNER DS Joseph Easter is the handsome squeaky-clean new member of the team. But his nickname “Holy Joe” belies his former life as a soldier. He has an estranged daughter who blames him for everything that went wrong with their family.
THEIR ADVERSARY is a ruthless man who holds DI Galena responsible for his terrible disfigurement.
The town is being terrorised by gangs of violent thugs, all wearing identical hideous masks. Then a talented young female student goes missing on the marsh and Nikki and Joseph find themselves joining forces with a master criminal in their efforts to save her. They need to look behind the masks, but when they do, they find something more sinister and deadly than they ever expected . . .
THE SETTING
The Lincolnshire Fens: great open skies brood over marshes, farmland, and nature reserves. It is not easy terrain for the Fenland Constabulary to police, due to the distances between some of the remote Fen villages, the dangerous and often misty lanes, and the poor telephone coverage. There are still villages where the oldest residents have never set foot outside their own farmland and a visit to the nearest town is a major event. But it has a strange airy beauty to it, and above it all are the biggest skies you’ve ever seen.
I had never heard of Joy Ellis (or this series) until I read about her books on Kay's blog last January. Kay reads A LOT of mysteries and has written reviews for several of the books in this series. Since I love listening to this genre on audio, I decided to give Crime on the Fens a try. Henrietta Meire turned out to be a great reader for this book! I enjoyed this first installment so much that I went on and listened to the second one right away. As with most of the mystery series I read (as opposed to thrillers), it's less about the actual mystery and more about the main cast of characters. Nikki and Joe are becoming two of my favorite duos. Thanks, Kay!
