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BEWARE THE PAST a gripping crime thriller with a huge twist (Detective Matt Ballard Mystery Book 1) by [JOY ELLIS]

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Joy Ellis

BEWARE THE PAST a gripping crime thriller with a huge twist (Detective Matt Ballard Mystery Book 1) Kindle Edition

by JOY ELLIS (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

8,358 ratings

Book 1 of 5: Detective Matt Ballard Mystery

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A stunning new crime thriller from #1 best-selling author Joy Ellis with a totally shocking conclusion. Discover the author everyone’s talking about.

ONE TERRIBLE CASE ALWAYS HAUNTED DETECTIVE MATT BALLARD. NOW MANY YEARS LATER, THE KILLER SEEMS TO BE BACK. AND THIS TIME HE’S AFTER MATT.

When Matt Ballard was starting out his career, three boys were murdered in the same area, the remote and bleak Gibbet Fen. When the main suspect was killed in a hit-and-run, the killings stopped. But Matt was not satisfied that the real murderer had been caught.

Over 25 years later, Matt gets a photo in an unmarked envelope. It’s of the Gibbet Fen crime scene. And the picture was taken before the murder took place.

More photos arrive, relating to the historic murders, as well as intimate pictures of Matt’s very secret private life.

A KILLER WHO WILL STOP AT NOTHING TO DESTROY A DETECTIVE.

Then another murder happens, with some of the hallmarks of the old case. Has the killer returned or is this just a sick copycat determined to ruin Matt’s life and reputation? Everyone around Matt is in danger as the killer plays mind games with the detective.

In an absolutely breathtaking conclusion, Matt and his team race against time to stop a vicious killer who knows no limits.

Perfect for fans of Rachel Abbott, Robert Bryndza, Mel Sherratt, Angela Marsons, Colin Dexter, or Ruth Rendell.

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BEWARE THE PAST:

“I think I forgot to breathe every now and then while I was reading and really begrudged having to put the book down.” Barbara “A simply brilliant book, so many twists and turns, I had no idea what to expect at any time.” Janet

“The suspense starts on Page 1 and continues through the twists and turns until the very surprising ending.” Linda Strong

“OMG, this book was fantastic I absolutely loved it. I was gripped from the first page but as the tension and suspense mounted throughout the book it just got better and better and that ending, well just WOW!” Dawn Jones

“Gripping from beginning to end.” Olga

“Without doubt Joy Ellis' best yet, this from someone who has read all of the Ellis novels.” Ron

THE SETTING
England's rural fenland is a strange place, with its never-ending fields, winding tracks, and long straight droves (the old livestock routes) that lead to nowhere. The lonely lanes are flanked either side by deep drainage ditches and are, for a good part of the year, filled with tall, whispering reeds. Closer to the Wash, high seabanks form a barrier between river and marsh, and the richly fertile soil of the drained land. But when the mists come down, as they so often do, perspective is destroyed and all sense of direction lost, and then the fens become a rather frightening place of mystery and danger. Somewhere that you do not want to be at night.

ALSO BY JOY ELLIS
THE BESTSELLING NIKKI GALENA SERIES
Book 1: CRIME ON THE FENS
Book 2: SHADOW OVER THE FENS
Book 3: HUNTED ON THE FENS
Book 4: KILLER ON THE FENS
Book 5: STALKER ON THE FENS
Book 6: CAPTIVE ON THE FENS
Book 7: BURIED ON THE FENS
Book 8: THIEVES ON THE FENS
Book 9: FIRE ON THE FENS
Book 10: DARKNESS ON THE FENS
Book 11: HIDDEN ON THE FENS
Book 12: SECRETS ON THE FENS
Book 13: FEAR ON THE FENS

JACKMAN & EVANS
Book 1: THE MURDERER’S SON
Book 2: THEIR LOST DAUGHTERS
Book 3: THE FOURTH FRIEND
Book 4: THE GUILTY ONES
Book 5: THE STOLEN BOYS
Book 6: THE PATIENT MAN
Book 7: THEY DISAPPEARED
Book 8: THE NIGHT THIEF

DETECTIVE MATT BALLARD
Book 1: BEWARE THE PAST
Book 2: FIVE BLOODY HEARTS
Book 3: THE DYING LIGHT
Book 4: MARSHLIGHT
Book 5: TRICK OF THE NIGHT

STANDALONES
GUIDE STAR

Print length

369 pages
Language

English
Publication date

17 December 2017
File size

3481 KB
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Product description

About the Author

Joy Ellis is the author of three series of mystery and detective novels.

--This text refers to the audioCD edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B078GWN38X
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Joffe Books Mystery, Crime Thriller, Suspense Fiction (17 December 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3481 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 369 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 618 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 17 in Heist Thrillers
- 34 in Serial Killer Thrillers
- 48 in Police Procedurals (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
8,358 ratings

About the author

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Joy Ellis

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I was born in Kent but spent most of my working life in London and Surrey. I was an apprentice florist to Constance Spry Ltd, a prestigious Mayfair shop that throughout the Sixties and Seventies teemed with both royalty and ‘real’ celebrities. What an eye-opener for a working-class kid from the Garden of England! I swore then, probably whilst I was scrubbing the floor or making the tea, that I would have a shop of my own one day. It took until the early Eighties, but I did it. Sadly the recession wiped us out, and I embarked on a series of weird and wonderful jobs; the last one being a bookshop manager. Surrounded by books all day, getting to order whatever you liked, and being paid for it! Oh bliss!

And now I live in a village in the Lincolnshire Fens with my partner, Jacqueline, and four Springer spaniels and one little rescue, Breton spaniel. I had been writing mysteries for years but never had the time to take it seriously. Now I write full-time, and as my partner is a highly decorated retired police officer; my choice of genre is a no-brainer! I have an on-tap police and judicial consultant, who makes exceedingly good tea!

I have set my crime thrillers here in the misty fens because I sincerely love the remoteness and airy beauty of the marshlands. This area is steeped in superstitions and lends itself so well to murder!

I am lucky enough to be one of the amazing Joffe Books team of authors and am really enjoying being able to spend time doing what I love... writing!

The series so far:-

DI Nikki Galena, the Fen Series

Book One: Crime on the Fens

Book Two: Shadow over the Fens

Book Three: Hunted on the Fens

Book Four: Killer on the Fens

Book Five: Stalker on the Fens

Book Six: Captive on the Fens

Book Seven: Buried on the Fens

Book Eight: Thieves on the Fens

Book Nine: Fire on the Fens

Book Ten: Darkness on the Fens

Book Eleven: Hidden on the Fens

Book Twelve: Secrets on the Fens

Book Thirteen: Fear on the Fens

Detective Nikki Galena Books 1-3 Boxset

Detective Nikki Galena Books 4-6 Boxset

Detective Nikki Galena Books 7-9 Boxset

Detective Nikki Galena Books 1-5 Boxset

DI Jackman and DS Marie Evans series so far:-

Book One: The Murderer's Son

Book Two: Their Lost Daughters

Book Three: The Fourth Friend

Book Four: The Guilty Ones

Book Five: The Stolen Boys

Book Six: The Patient Man

Book Seven: They Disappeared

Book Eight: The Night Thief

Guide Star. A stand alone novel about love, loss and overcoming adversity.

Beware the Past. Detective Matt Ballard Book 1 A stand alone thriller still set in the Fens, but with new characters and very different feel

Five Bloody Hearts. Detective Mat Ballard Book 2 After overwhelming requests, this is a sequel to Beware the Past, with DCI Matt Ballard.

The Dying Light. Detective Matt Ballard Book 3 Matt Ballard is now retired, but he and Liz still take on difficult cases, but as private detectives.

Marshlight. Matt Ballard Book 4. They might have retired, but things are far from quiet for Matt and Liz!

Trick of the Night. Matt Ballard Book 5.Matt and Liz find themselves needing to work with some of their old colleagues in the Force when they embark on a sinister case that is far more serious than first thought.

These are available in both Kindle and paperback and now practically all of my books are available as audio books.

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Customer reviews

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4 star		29%
3 star		7%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from Australia

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Disturbing, haunting brilliant crime thriller...

Reviewed in Australia on 7 January 2018

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Joy Ellis is talented writer and always delivers compelling police procedural drama. I have read several of her books and each one delivers time and time again.
In ‘Beware the Past’ DCI Matt Ballard is approaching retirement and is still haunted by one case 25 years ago where three boys were brutally murdered in the remote Gibbet Fen. The killings stopped when the suspect was killed in a hit and run however Ballard was never certain that the suspect was guilty and now the nightmare begins again...

Ballard receives a large brown envelope containing the picture of the very last victim ...at the time of his death. More photos are received ...some were sent to his team. All are photos are of the three boys murdered all those years ago.
And then another boy is taken and killed. Is the murderer the same from before ... or is this a copy cat killer? How did he get these photos? What does he want with Ballard?

The book is haunting and disturbing in places however as a well written fast-paced crime thriller it really jumps off the page. I definitely was not disappointed with this stand alone book...

6 people found this helpful

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Full on

Reviewed in Australia on 3 November 2020

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Joy Ellis lets rip with a full on psychological thriller as DCI Matt Ballard chases the murderer of a boy and kidnapping. The case is the same as a past horrific case that haunts him.

The writing draws you in so much that i was going to stop after a couple of chapters. But I continued and the investigation develops into a war of nerves. There are many reveals and twists and turns that will keep you enthralled.

There are a couple of frustrations and i do not like child abuse as a subject.

Reviewed in Australia on 9 January 2020

Verified Purchase

First of the Ellis series that has really grabbed me! Suspense, couldn't put it down type read that had me riverted. Characters, plot & as with all Ellis's endings..... didn't see that coming! Well done.
The only reason I didn't allocate a full 5 stars was the unfortunate use of language that crept in from time to time. Unnecessary. It jarred.

Reviewed in Australia on 6 January 2022

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This is my least favourite of Ms Ellis' books. While it's well-written, the plot is Implausible and becomes ridiculously more so towards the end, especially in psychological context. Couldn't happen.

Helpful

Best character is the Fens!

Reviewed in Australia on 25 December 2019

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The best thing about this crime/mystery novel is the setting - the Fens, coastal plains in Eastern England. The story itself was ok with enough complexity of characters and plot to keep me going until the end. I’ll see how the next one in the series goes before I decide whether I will commit to the whole series or not.

Reviewed in Australia on 2 June 2019

Verified Purchase

Another great mystery by Joy Ellis.i have been reading her books one after another and it looks like I've run out of stories. Disappointing for me but a high recommendation for this author. I hope you enjoy her books as much as I have.

2 people found this helpful

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🙂gg

Twisted Revenge

Reviewed in Australia on 25 June 2018

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A crime thriller focused on a retiring DCI and unsolved murders of the past. Loyalty, friendship, romance and intrigue all play a part in the unravelling of a mystery where DCI becomes a target for revenge. Twists in the storyline keep the reader guessing. A good read

One person found this helpful

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Gloria Gale

Joy Ellis is a stunner!

Reviewed in Australia on 20 June 2019

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I’m a real fan of Joy Ellis after reading 4 of her books, but in my opinion, this one is brilliant! A tad gory in parts, but the way she weaves the characters throughout the story makes it hard to put down. Lots of twists, turns and excitement as the detectives are stalked by a psychotic killer, and with a surprise ending. Awesome read.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Keeper of Pages

Beware the Past

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 July 2018

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More mystery than thriller, Beware the Past has an ‘old-school’ feel to it, which I loved. I even checked the publication date to see if it was an ‘oldie’ – it’s not, it was published in 2017. But if you love the simpler style of older crime fiction, then this novel may appeal to you. When I use the phrase ‘old-school’ – I mean it in the way that, for example, Law and Order: SVU is ‘old-school’, an older production, yet highly interesting, but noticeably different from new crime shows. Beware the Past is dark in nature, and dark in location – the setting of this novel really adds a sense of desolation and eeriness to the read.

The characters were believable but I didn’t really care about them or their fate, beyond wanting the good guys to win and the bad guys to lose. Usually, I’m a fan of the detective tormented by their past, but here, I felt nothing towards Matt’s turmoil. The characters weren’t over-written, they just didn’t standout, thus the emphasis was the mystery. Ellis writes in a fluid way that means you can breeze through this novel despite the dark content; the chapters are short which allows you to sneak in another, and another, and another, till you decide you might as well go ahead and just finish the book.

The ending to Beware the Past was good, but predictable. It was due to the blurb – “an absolutely breathtaking conclusion” – and the tagline – “…with a huge twist” – that I figured out the ending, this isn’t a spoiler but those phrases made me think of the most outrageous, yet possible ending, and alas that was the ending. As you can see, the phrases give nothing away but I guess, once you read so many crime books, with some of the more straight-forward plots, you’re able to figure it out. There was some originality in the ending that I appreciated, and I think it would work well played out on the screen.

This was my first novel by Ellis and I would certainly read more from her in the future. Beware the Past is a good novel, well-written, but not one I would rush to recommend because I couldn’t connect with the characters and I guessed the ending. However, my favourite thing about this novel, it’s ‘old-school’ vibe.

43 people found this helpful

Susie S

Never saw that final twist coming!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 January 2018

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A real page turner! A detective on the verge of retirement, being played like a puppet by the villain. A maze of mind games makes the reader also struggle to understand who is behind this resurgence of a long cold murder case. A great story with everything accounted for in the end. I thought it would make great TV too, as long as no one gave the game away about the ending .......

26 people found this helpful

M. ANDREWS

Gripping, believable and twists at every turn

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 August 2018

Verified Purchase

I was engaged in the story from the first page and felt that the characters came to life so that you started to feel the emotions of all concerned. The lead character Matt and his team around him both junior and senior fitted in so well and the believable friendship between he and a female colleague brought an interesting twist to the story.
Matt had as a young officer, been traumatised by the sadistic death of an eleven year old boy and he seemed incapable of shaking it off. The discovery of the murder of another young boy brings it all back to him, and at the same time he and his colleagues receive envelopes with photos which reflect things only known to the killer or someone who knew so much about Matts personal life.
By now you are so drawn into the series of events that it hard to put the book down and you are kept engrossed until the final paragraphs. Would certainly recommend and now download more of Joy Ellis’ books on kindle.

15 people found this helpful

K J

laboured, clumsy, juvenile writing - zero stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 December 2018

Verified Purchase

I bought this because of the high number of good reviews. i wish i had taken a look inside first, I would have seen the simplistic, clunky style. I've wasted my money.

Have i been reading a different book to all those 5 star reviewers?

15 people found this helpful

Robert Crouch

Tautly written crime thriller with an intricate plot

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 March 2020

Verified Purchase

I like a story where it gets personal – and it doesn’t get more personal than someone threatening to destroy you and everything you believe in. The bleak fenland setting added to the atmosphere of fear and tension to create a well-written, intricately plotted revenge thriller that kept me turning the pages.

The killer seems to know everything about DCI Matt Ballard, whose life and grip on reality are brutally dismantled in a carefully orchestrated way, leading to an exciting climax with a neat twist. It all stems back to the murder of three boys early in the detective’s career. While the main suspect died, Ballard was never convinced of his guilt.

Is the real killer back to haunt Ballard?

The author’s direct style keeps the pace moving along as the suspense and tension are piled on with one setback after another until Ballard is left reeling and almost broken, outwitted at every turn by a clever and ruthless adversary.

Like many revenge thrillers, the villain seems to have endless time, resources and technological expertise. At times it seemed almost too easy for the killer to run rings around Ballard, which meant I had to suspend disbelief to some extent. It might also explain why I struggled to engage with the detective at times. He seemed to be pushed around too easily, often with little resistance.

Maybe there was just too much going on.

To be fair, the author explained every last detail and left no loose ends, including the identity of the original killer, revealing her mastery over the complex and intricate plot.

This is the first novel I’ve read by the author and it won’t be the last. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a tautly written thriller with an intricate plot.

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BEWARE THE PAST a gripping crime thriller with a huge twist (Detective Matt Ballard Mystery Book 1) Kindle Edition

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