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THE DYING LIGHT a totally enthralling psychological thriller with a stunning ending (Detective Matt Ballard Mystery Book 3) by [JOY ELLIS]

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Joy Ellis

THE DYING LIGHT a totally enthralling psychological thriller with a stunning ending (Detective Matt Ballard Mystery Book 3) Kindle Edition

by JOY ELLIS (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

6,245 ratings

Book 3 of 5: Detective Matt Ballard Mystery

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From multiple #1 bestselling author Joy Ellis, comes a psychological thriller that will have you glued from first page to last.

WHISPER FEN HOLDS DARK SECRETS.

As the mists roll over the fens and enigmatic lights twinkle in the distance, only the locals know their way along the hidden paths through the mysterious watery terrain of one of England’s most beautiful and sometimes dangerous places.

Detective Matt Ballard may have retired but there’s still plenty going on the fens to keep him busy.

Someone trashes an old lady’s garden and daubs her isolated cottage with hateful graffiti. Emilia Swain seems to be totally harmless, so why is she being targeted?

Matt’s best friend Will and his wife Kate moved to Holland House to put their past behind them. But Kate’s mental state is deteriorating and she’s obsessed with the tragic history of the house and an old doll she finds in the garden.

And why is Kate suddenly friends with a loner who haunts the fens?

Has the dreadful past come back to haunt the present owners?

Former detectives Matt and Liz want to help their friends and neighbours. But how can you help people who don’t want to be helped?

DISCOVER A TOTALLY ENTHRALLING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER FROM JOY ELLIS.

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT JOY ELLIS:

“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

“I absolutely loved it.” Viv

“Will keep you guessing until the end of the book.” Barbara

“What a book!!!” Sian

“I was so engrossed I sat up way too late to finish it in one sitting.” Elaine

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

310 pages
Language

English
Publication date

23 July 2020
File size

1336 KB
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Product description

About the Author

Joy Ellis is the bestselling author of the DI Nikki Galena series, Jackman & Evans series, and Detective Matt Ballard series.

Matthew Lloyd Davies is a veteran actor, audiobook narrator, and director. Throughout his acting career, he has made regular appearances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal National Theatre, in the West End, on international tours, and in award-winning television shows and films. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08CRJBNS2
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Joffe Books crime thriller and mystery (23 July 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1336 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 310 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1789314755

Best Sellers Rank: 1,385 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 19 in Private Investigator Mysteries (Kindle Store)
- 29 in Private Investigator Mysteries (Books)
- 34 in Heist Thrillers

Customer Reviews:
6,245 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

5 star		49%
4 star		31%
3 star		14%
2 star		4%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from Australia

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Marking time

Reviewed in Australia on 5 August 2022

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I read an average of 1 novel per week over the past 20 years of various genres, so a lot of novels. In all that time it is rare that I stop reading a novel part way through. Perhaps 4 times. This novel makes that list 5. Although I have enjoyed novels by Joy Ellis on a number of other occasions, this one just didn't do it for me. I had to give up one quarter of the way through. In the quarter that I did read I found the whole plot line rather stagnant. It had no movement and went nowhere, just marked time up and down on the spot. Unfortunately, the characters were similarly unengaging so it ended up as a bit of an effort to turn the next page. Having said that, it's just my opinion on this particular novel. I still intend to read Joy Ellis novels in the future.

Reviewed in Australia on 23 May 2022

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Now Matt and Liz are retired from the police force, these stories take a different tack, away from hunting serial killers and gruesome murder. I am enjoying the different story lines and getting to know the characters more. A house with dark secrets, a grieving mother and an elderly neighbor who is the victim of vandalism set the stage for a good read.

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Kim Sinclair

Not a murder but a psychological thriller that keeps the reader rivetted.

Reviewed in Australia on 13 August 2020

Verified Purchase

I approached this offering from Joy Ellis with a sense of curiosity since I was keen to know how Matt Ballard and Liz Haynes were going and how this novel differed from Joy's usual captivating murder mysteries.
I was not disappointed. I enjoyed revisiting the familiar characters and The Fens once again and was drawn in by the unexplained goings-on and complex nature of the character suffering psychological damage and her relationship with her partner.
This is an emotional book that will touch many due to how it explores mental illness and its effect on, not only the sufferer but their partners, family, and friends which many of us have first-hand experience with these days. This is a well-written story that certainly stirred my emotions and showed me that Joy Ellis does not need a murder to write a good book.
I can thoroughly recommend The Dying Light to all who are Ellis fans and anyone else who values good writing and stories with depth and emotion.

One person found this helpful

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Enjoyed this

Reviewed in Australia on 16 January 2021

Verified Purchase

Enjoyed this. Matt Ballard has retired from the police and he and Liz are now enjoying retirement on the Fens. They have set up a business as private detectives. They investigate a few cases, one of which involves Kate, the wife of a friend and neighbour of theirs, who becomes very ill with a mental illness.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Judith Byrne

The dying light

Reviewed in Australia on 31 July 2022

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I found this book to be intriguing and a little sad,although the end was unexpected there could be no other answer,life had changed too much.
Will be reading the next book in this series.

Reviewed in Australia on 28 December 2020

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Grief, madness, obsession. I was unsure what to expect now that Matt and Liz had moved to private investigations. This twisted and complicated story was everything I’d come to expect from Joy Ellis. Relationships between characters that seem real and criminals that are as slippery as they can be.

Reviewed in Australia on 16 September 2020

Verified Purchase

I've read all of Joy Ellis's detective novels and have stayed up all night sometimes to finish them off, and to buy the next one before breakfast.
This one is so full of dialogue and lacking in detective work that I stopped reading it 70% of the way through. I really don't care for an emotional monologue in a single novel. Her development of Galena and Easter over several novels worked well with me but this one is, as I said, hard work. I simply cannot understand why she would sit and write pages of dialogue without a twist or turn.
Mind you, I'm just a reader, not an acclaimed author.

Reviewed in Australia on 24 November 2020

Verified Purchase

Joy Ellis is Top Murder Novelist Sees Matt Ballard Series. This Novelist has other DI Police. See DI Nikki Galena Series.
Both series are addictive!

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

shopaholicmumof3

Uninteresting & Disappointing!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 July 2020

Verified Purchase

Let me start by saying that I have recently read all of the Author’s books one by one - DI Jackman, Nikki Galena & had started on Matt Ballard. I enjoyed them all & was therefore looking forward to this one, however it is dreadful.
The plotline is far fetched & full of unlikeable people. I had no interest in the outcome of any of them, including unfortunately the precocious Sophie. The main character was incredibly selfish, putting his own needs above that of a child. The ‘twist’ at the end was seen coming a mile off & quite frankly the ending itself a huge disappointment.
I will not bother with any more Matt Ballard books - he and his partner are just not interesting enough, without the remainder of the police force to back them up.

25 people found this helpful

Book Worm

Dark, depressing and just not for me. Stick with the tried and tested that we all know and love.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 July 2020

Verified Purchase

I love all Joy Ellis's books, except two - and this is one of them. The first one I disliked was the one with Nicky Galena's mother and friends, which was like trying to digest 4 very annoying Miss Marple Clones. I've been really looking forward to a new Matt Ballard story and pre-ordered, expecting to read one of Joy's usual thrilling, suspense-filled investigative page-turners. In fact, he and Liz hardly feature in it as investigators, other than as moral support to Will. There was very little detective work going on, either police or private, and instead, the reader was drawn into the depressing mental health issues of one of the main characters. The one thing I'm thankful for are the two references to Matt being welcome back at the station if he wished to return. Please Joy, ensure Matt takes them up on the offer. This was way too dark and depressing. Not for me at all, I'm afraid. I almost gave up on this.The two stars are for the good style of writing.

15 people found this helpful

Mrs. J

Brilliant, but depressing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 August 2020

Verified Purchase

I've loved all Joy's books; she is an accomplished author and I love her writing style. It's so easy to read and become involved. As always, I became quickly involved with the characters and the story - what was happening at the old lady's cottage and why? One becomes deeply involved with Will and the situation he's in with his beloved Kate, who is turning into someone he doesn't know. As for the scary doll, well, a touch of Hitchcock there. At times I found the story somewhat slow; it didn't appear to be going anywhere really, and, try as I would, I couldn't see there was going to be a happy ending to it, although of course I hoped there would be, somehow. Yes, it was great writing, yes, it became very intense and dramatic towards the end, but, I'm sorry, Joy, I didn't like it. It left me feeling depressed and upset, so, of all the books of Joy's I've loved, I really didn't enjoy this one.

10 people found this helpful

ACM

Mediocre story with a disappointing ending.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 August 2020

Verified Purchase

Having never read anything from this author before, I was initially attracted by its hyped up recommendation as a psychological thriller. Sadly and having finished this story, I now feel it to be unlikely that I will try any of her other books. I found the plotline quite weak in content, with just 4 main characters, who seemed to spend a lot of time making mugs of tea and coffee! One or two grammatical errors, where the author has written "try and, instead of try to" And as the story progressed, I found the plot quite disturbing and depressingly dark and as others have said here, more than a little predictable. (Slight spoiler - the character of Kate should have been sectioned long before it eventually happened). But, I had hoped right until the very last few paragraphs that there would be a happy ending to the story, particularly for Kate and Will. Unfortunately this was not to be, as the finale of the plot was hugely disappointing.

8 people found this helpful

Mrs. S. A.

thriller

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 July 2020

Verified Purchase

absolutely compelling read. couldn't put the book down. kept feeling for Kate and Will. physological thriller really says it all.

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THE DYING LIGHT a totally enthralling psychological thriller with a stunning ending (Detective Matt Ballard Mystery Book 3) Kindle Edition

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