Joy Ellis Books In Order
Book links take you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.Publication Order of Detective Matt Ballard Books
| Beware the Past | (2017) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Five Bloody Hearts | (2019) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| The Dying Light | (2020) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Marshlight | (2021) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Trick of the Night | (2022) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| The Bag of Secrets | (2023) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Publication Order of DI Nikki Galena & DS Joe Easter Books
| Mask Wars / Crime on the Fens | (2010) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Shadowbreaker / Shadow Over the Fens | (2011) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Hunted on the Fens | (2014) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Killer on the Fens | (2016) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Stalker on the Fens | (2016) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Captive on the Fens | (2017) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Buried on the Fens | (2017) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Thieves On The Fens | (2017) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Fire on the Fens | (2018) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Darkness on the Fens | (2019) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Hidden on the Fens | (2020) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Secrets on the Fens | (2021) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Fear on the Fens | (2021) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Graves on the Fens | (2022) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Publication Order of DI Rowan Jackman & DS Maria Evans Books
| The Murderer's Son | (2014) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Their Lost Daughters | (2017) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| The Fourth Friend | (2017) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| The Guilty Ones | (2018) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| The Stolen Boys | (2018) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| The Patient Man | (2019) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| They Disappeared | (2020) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| The Night Thief | (2021) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Solace House | (2022) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| The River's Edge | (2023) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Publication Order of Ellie McEwan Books
| An Aura of Mystery | (2024) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| The Colour of Mystery | (2024) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
| Guide Star | (2017) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas
| Guard Her With Your Life | (2024) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Publication Order of Anthologies
| Joffe Books Murder Mystery & Suspense Short Story Collection | (2021) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Written in the Stars | (2022) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Afterward, it contributed to lead Ms. Ellis in her desire to fulfill her dreams by opening a floral shop of her own in the English area of Weybridge. It was years after she worked as a floral shop owner that she developed M.E., myalgic encephalomyelitis, or more commonly known as chronic fatigue syndrome. That diagnosis of M.E. was the beginning of her health decline. That medical situation was just a part of the decision to close her florist business.
In addition to her faltering health, there was a downward spiral of the economic recession in the 1980’s that forced her to close her floral shop and that chapter of her life. But it was just a new door for Ms. Ellis to open as she moved toward a future with an active literary career in the crime thriller genre. After her health had got worse and her shop was closed, Ms. Ellis journeyed to Greece with the help and support of her friends. In Greece, she participated in a writer’s workshop with English writer and humorist, Sue Townsend.
It was during that workshop under the tutelage of Townsend that Ellis’ passion for literature turned from reading to writing. The encouragement of Townsend, her writing workshop tutor Ms. Ellis drove to became serious about making writing a serious career. Returning to her home in England she gained many different employment choices but soon turned to working in the retail book trade where she remained for four years.
During that time in Surrey, she met her future partner, Jacqueline and the pair moved to the beautiful area of Lincolnshire Fens. They reside in the Fens today with the companionship of their beloved Springer Spaniels, Alfie, and Woody. Her health eventually improved as she turned that passion for books into writing.
Ms. Ellis can use the aid of Jacqueline, a decorated former police officer, to make sure all of the police or justice moments in her novels remain as true to form as possible. The author has been noted to say that Jacqueline is her most trenchant critic. The dark area of Fens is the setting for her mystery crime thrillers aided by the remote, airy nature of the marshes. It helps the tales greatly that the field of the Fens is heavily shrouded in dark mystery and superstition.
Joy Ellis seems to have fine-tuned not only her love of the area but the intrigue that lies within the marshlands. An impressive list of books available authored by Joy Ellis including her series of the Detective Inspector Nikki Galena. This character is described by the many fanatics of the set as being healthy, powerful full of attitude that leads the detective on a journey to avenge her daughter. Nikki Galena is forced to witness her daughter enter the hospital with the knowledge she will never take the girl home again.
The first of the DI Nikki Galena series has been retitled Mask Wars previously named Crime on the Fens. That raw, gut-wrenching emotion brings the hard-edged Detective to a brink of possibly being too hard on the criminal world that she holds responsible. Now, she must partner with her straight by the book new sergeant or she is out of a job. Detective Sergeant Joseph Easter becomes the partner that will help either fix the problem of Nikki Galena or maybe he is just what she needs.
Now as “Holy Joe” uses his former soldier experience Easter works beside the hard-core Detective Inspector Nikki Galena. His clean reputation hides the fact he has skeletons of his lying just beneath the surface. This series of novels begins with the adversary that blames Galena for his disfigurement, making him a perfect opponent for the pair of detectives. As with the rest of Joy Ellis stories, the setting for the thriller is Lincolnshire Fens a brooding marshland full of mystery and suspense.
The Nikki Galena series continues with more tales of murder, mystery, and suspense. This hard-edged strong woman leads the search for killers that seem to haunt the Fens themselves. It is a novel that showcases a woman in all her strength and power as a competent detective in what feels like a man’s world. Joy Ellis uses all of the inner thoughts of her partner’s experience in law enforcement to deliver stories engulfed with details that allow her readers to emerging deep within the tale.
It could very well be the vivid storytelling of this modern author that draws the reader, but the beautiful of the Fens also provides a unique atmosphere that holds its very own intrigue. Readers are given full insight into the difficulty of policing the Fens as DI Nikki Galena must deal with the remote areas around the marsh.
It is a task to communicate with the limited phone connections in the area, but Ms. Ellis provides the reader with a woman that is not only capable but active in her abilities to handle everything that is sent her way by the criminal elements. Compelling story lines fill the days of Nikki Galena as an honest, straightforward detective that shows she has all the skills as any man.
Every story takes the detective and her partner on the journey down the dangerous lanes between the Fen villages in the quest to rid this beautiful area of the criminals that haunt the mist. Joy Ellis is a crime author that delivers in characters and stories.
Book Series In Order » Authors »
Any issues with the book list you are seeing? Or is there an author or series we don’t have? Let me know!
I have listened to all of the books for each series. I can’t wait for the next books to come out in each series.
I have started my mom on the books. She is reading the Jackman and evans series and she really enjoying them. She is almost done the series. I will be buying her the next series, Nikki Galena and DS Joe Easter.
I absolutely love theses books. Wrapped to just downloaded the latest “ the rivers edge” .It’s like returning to old friends
I have just finished all the books and have found them wonderful, compelling and cannot fault any of the vocabulary used as it depicts the way the story is being told, I am now at a loss at what I am to read now??? Thank you Joy for these fabulous books!
I read all of the Jackman and Evans books An loved them I am also into book 10 of the DI Helen’s books Thouroughly enjoy them Can you tell me if there will be any more Jackma books
I am an avid reader of Joy Ellis’s books.
I do not think that I would refer to use of language in some parts of the books as ‘americanisms’. I have found over the last few years the sentence structure and words used have evolved in UK and actually ( example) ‘talking with’ and ‘talking to’ have subtle differences, but an enormous contribution to the characters sense of self and balance. Meaning there is no power dynamic at play and being accepted as ‘equal’
In my opinion Joy’s use of language ( again my opinion) is relevant for each character/chapter and situation.
I am also a fan of no repetition of phrases or descriptions as I often find in ‘series’of other authors.
One book in particular, was a massive best seller, ( not Joy Ellis) was so badly written that I couldn’t get past page 60, as it irritated me.
In comparison, I have completed most of Joy Ellis’s now!!
We all have different opinions and the beauty of literature it’s always subjective and promotes discussions.
I love the Nikki Galena series and the one that stayed with me was No.4 all the bodies in the tunnels. I heard Marsh lights and that was excellent
I just love Joy’s novels having listen to Nikki Galena and and Di Rowan series. I have just finished the first Matt Ballard and loved it and excited to commence the second book in the series five bloody hearts. Fantastic listening on audio thanks for providing such suspense and fantastic novels
I have now read all the Nikki Galena and Jackman and Evans books and enjoyed every one. Shame about the “americanisms”, but never mind. I am just about to start the Matt Ballard series.
What do you mean by the comment about Americanisms? As an American reader of all three of Ms. Ellis’s series, your comment sounds a bit offensive. I hope I have misconstrued that comment.
If you had a character from the Deep South of America who talked using English idioms, without any “in book” reason, the you might find it distracting.
I read a book featuring an aristocratic well-educated man in 1930s England who habitually said that he was going “to meet with his mother”. That irritated me. It’s an Americanism. In England at that time almost anyone would have said, “I going to meet my mother.” (No “with”) It immediately jerks a reader out of the time and place and destroys the authenticity of the character. Ditto (for that time and place) “I’ll see my attorney February 10,” rather than “I’ll see my lawyer on February the tenth.”
To object to these, and many other Americanisms is not a way of insulting Americans, just saying that English people use the language slightly differently.
As an American fan of Joy Ellis I am confused as to just why you English folks are so distracted by “Americanism’s”. I’ve read many American novels that contain English characters and when I read an “Englishism” I simply find it quaint, even endearing. Inwardly, I smile. But I’m hearing a bit of a frown from you. So “get a grip” as we Americans say!
As a Canadian of English parents, (Devon,) living in America for decades, I enjoy the wonderful use of the English language that Joy Ellis employs. She has given me countless hours of great reading. In this age of international travel many words and manners of speech creep into the language we all use. I don’t find much Amerianism (I didn’t know that was a word until now) in these books and for the life of me can’t think of why that would be offensive. Sadly I am on the last of the Matt Ballard books, having read all of the three series.
Just finished #14 of the Fens books. There must be at least one more to tell the outcome of the Nikki-Joseph story. Did he move to another job to allow them to marry? Romantics want to.know!
Your observation is quite insightful. The use of Americanisms in literature, particularly in settings where they may not be historically or culturally accurate, can indeed disrupt the reader’s immersion. This is especially true for readers who are familiar with the specific linguistic nuances of the time and place being depicted.
The examples you provided, such as “meet with” instead of “meet”, or using the American date format, are subtle but significant indicators of American influence. Similarly, words like “gotten”, “drapes”, and “trunk” are more commonly used in American English than in British English, where “got”, “curtains”, and “boot” might be used instead.
It’s important to note that language is dynamic and constantly evolving, often influenced by cultural exchange and globalization. However, for historical accuracy in literature, it’s crucial to maintain the linguistic integrity of the time and place being portrayed. This isn’t about favoring one form of English over another, but rather about preserving authenticity in context.
In conclusion, while Americanisms have their place and are perfectly acceptable in the right context, their use should be carefully considered when writing literature set in different times and places. This helps to maintain the authenticity of the characters and the setting, providing a more immersive and believable experience for the reader.
I love Joy Ellis’s ability and skill at devising compelling, exciting plots and I have read many of her books. My father loved the fens.
Initially I felt she was a little banal in her choice of vocabulary but this has improved.(Sorry don’t wish to be patronising)
I find it irritating that her characters flop into chairs. Please Joy, choose some better words for this.
I look forward to Joy’s imminent new publication.
I have read several of Joy Ellis’s books and look forward to reading all of them 🙂 I have found them to be interesting and entertaining! Re vocabulary, I don’t have a problem with it, and personally, I love the word “flopped” .. I find it a fun, picturesque (pardon spelling if incorrect) descriptive word. Keep on writing Joy, I look forward to reading many more of your books far into the future!
Enjoyed all the books immensely. Have just finished the last Marie and Rowan book.I was brought up in Lincolnshire in a village called Heckington and we had a warehouse there thatsorted peas I knew people who worked there and locally it. was always called the pearoom not pea house as in the book.
I have read all the series now—just finished the Marshlight book, couldn’t put it down, the best yet. I love your thrilling books.
Marilyn Jones—from Norfolk.
Very interesting books, I am now on my fourth. Joy is a joy to read, I am a long standing fan. We had a mutual friend Doreen Wells, who sadly passed some years ago. Not sure if Joy would remember me, but she is someone once you meet her will never forget, a lovely lovely lady.
Must carry on reading.
Bye
having grown up in the very beautiful, but extremely isolated fens of Norfolk in the 50s’ & 60s’, The similarities between the counties, the description of the small towns, villages, & isolated hamlets in the DI Nikki Galena series, are very true to how it was, & still is. The waterways, the dykes & drains, The miles of single track, often private roads belonging to huge farming groups, with no houses for miles, apart from the pumping station [& the resident Superintendent] but also the potential for crime, cruelty, and savagery that the sheer, & absolute isolation can allow to happen – no one will find you, or what happens to you –
It was like a visit to my youth, and wonderfully enjoyable! [not that i was involved in any crimes you understand, i was the Superintendent’s daughter,]
The books are really enjoyable, and i intend to pick up some more!