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Publication Order of D.I. Bethany Smith Books
Publication Order of D.I. Helena Stratton Books
with M.A. ComleyPublication Order of D.I. Kane Barnett Books
Publication Order of D.I. Morgan Yeoman Books
Publication Order of D.I. Tracy Collier Books
Publication Order of Ex-Detective Books
Publication Order of London Lot Books
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Publication Order of Detective Anna James Books
Emmy Ellis is a mystery fiction and non-fiction book with over a dozen book titles under her name. She’s also a mother of five and a grandmother to one. She worked as an editor before dedicating her life to full-time writing. She is also the Head of Art at Total-E-Bound.
Cold is the Killer
Cold is the Killer is the first book in the DI Bethany Smith series by Emmy Ellis. It’s an exciting story with plenty of twists and turns that will leave you yearning for more.
At the core of this story is a graphic, deep-seated police procedural story with a fallible and intriguingly tenacious main character DI Bethany Smith. The author knows how to balance police investigative work precisely with psychology games and teamwork. So much of the time in police procedurals, you will find the protagonist seemingly known it all. While using such writing skills can make the character escape the moments they are imprisoned in physical or mental prisons, the story becomes a tad unreal.
Therefore it is pretty satisfying to read about a character that is both likable and clever; however, due to the nature of her demanding job, she often drops the ball most of the time. One such instance happens halfway through the story, we find Bethany suffering from information overload and gets in touch with a colleague, DI Tracy Collier.
Even though Tracy is acerbic and bitchy, she agrees to help Bethany, pointing out something straight in front of her eyes, which makes Bethany feel both stupid and inadequate. In a show of camaraderie, Tracy tells her it’s part of the job and that she should accept it and move on to get the results. It is a such motivation that Bethany requires to finalize the case.
Most of Emmy Ellis’s novels in this series are often narrated from Detective Bethany’s and the killer’s points of view. This makes the story exciting and feels like a dangerous cat-and-mouse chase. The readers are given a chance to get into the killer’s mind, something that our detective in the story doesn’t. So the reader is always one step ahead in solving the mystery than the detective. The killer’s point of view narration also gives us clues to possible logic for their behavior while at the same time showing their sanity from how they view the world around them. We get to interact with the killer’s thoughts, especially the perspective they hold for their victims. But any writer would tell you that getting into the killer’s mind and discerning their thoughts isn’t easy. Luckily Emmy Ellis manages to infiltrate their minds realistically and authentically with much ease.
The killers in Ellis’s stories are set pieces in themselves. They are sick, scary, gory, and well-woven, and one can imagine how the author sits in her home and comes up with ways that make the readers honestly shocked. She’s able to describe in words the work of a creep and highly twisted mind seeking vengeance against a sordid crime that was committed.
A core trait in this series is the strong family relationships and the damage that a family can cause to savage salvation, insanity, and death. Had the killer experienced a different upbringing, would they still have been killed? Was their path of insanity imprinted in their DNA? This raises the question of nature vs. nurture, something we’ve either experienced or maybe read in the news.
The author investigates to the core such profound questions, but she does it with a touch of humor and panache that makes this story engrossing as it is disturbing. The perfect balance between the main character and her team gives the narrative a ray of metaphorical sunshine, showcasing through utter determination and absolute conviction that an ordinary person can achieve the most amazing things as opposed to a superhuman.
The Man in the House
The Man in the House is the first novel in the DI Helena Stratton series by Emmy Ellis. We meet DI Helena Stratton, an experienced cop who’s been through the mill on several occasions, and this has left her beaten up and scared, but despite all this, she’s still determined. She collaborates with DS Andy Mald, a man who actually needs to look after himself much better but keeps their partnership professional.
The case they are summoned to investigate is of bizarre nature. A woman was killed, her body mutilated, and mysterious objects left behind for the cops to find. Helena and Andy question her siblings, but all claim to know nothing about the murder. Helen is confident that the siblings are hiding something but is powerless. As the body count rise, Helena finds herself in a race against time to help bring the serial killer to justice.
Detective Helena Stratton is one of the very few unique characters you’ll meet in detective books. She is still lurching from a close meeting with the serial killer. The recent cases, she’s been working on sending her memories back in time. To make matters even worse, she and her partner quarreled, and it was clear they didn’t like each other. It’s funny watching these two characters snipe at each other. We also get to learn that Helena has an ex-boyfriend stalking her.
This is an exciting and suspenseful thriller with fascinating characters and a plot you can visualize happening. There are many dark, gory moments as the blood keeps flowing and victims are discovered with different items on their bodies. Detective Helena and her partner Andy are forced to investigate the backgrounds. They scrutinize the private lives of serial killer victims in search of answers to questions of why and whom.
It is to be noted that The Man in the House is a collaboration between Emmy Ellis and M.A. Comely. This collaboration results in a thrilling plot, an intense action scene, and an array of casts that will grab your attention from the first page to the last. It’s an excellent story for anyone who enjoys suspense, mystery, and the spice of horror. The story is fast-paced, with plenty of descriptive writing that will keep you on your toes, allowing you to live the story.
Book Series In Order » Authors » Emmy Ellis
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