Buying Options

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle Cloud Reader.
Using your mobile phone camera, scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
TRICK OF THE NIGHT a gripping crime thriller with a huge twist (Detective Matt Ballard Mystery Book 5) Kindle Edition
Amazon Price | New from | Used from |
- Kindle
$0.00 This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited $4.99 to buy - Paperback
$19.79
From two-million-selling author Joy Ellis comes one of the most highly anticipated mysteries this year.
Matt and Liz may have retired from the police, but that doesn’t guarantee a quiet life.
A deserted building. A face in the window. A face that shouldn’t be there.
Photography student Toby Unsworth has found the perfect location for a night-time shoot. A cobbled street in the old part of Fenfleet. Later, when he looks at the images on his laptop, he thinks he sees a woman’s face in the window of an old, disused building. He asks his housemate Alex to come and take a look . . .
Two days later, Toby and Alex are dead. Carbon monoxide poisoning. An unfortunate accident. But Alex’s mother doesn’t believe it. She hires Matt and Liz to find out the truth.
Meanwhile, nine-year-old Simon is missing. He was staying with his Aunt Jessie in a cottage on the edge of the marsh. And his older sister Kellie is increasingly worried.
Matt and Liz’s investigations reveal that something very big and very dangerous has descended on the small market town of Fenfleet. And if they don’t get to the bottom of it, more deaths will follow.
DISCOVER A TOTALLY ENTHRALLING CRIME THRILLER.
This utterly gripping crime thriller is perfect for fans of L.J. Ross, Peter May, J.D. Kirk, Angela Marsons, J.M. Dalgliesh, Elly Griffiths or Ann Cleeves.
READERS LOVE TRICK OF THE NIGHT:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “A great read.” Terri H.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Simply the best.” Booklover Bev
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Wow! Joy Ellis supreme storyteller at her best!” Carol S.
“A strong mystery.” Louise G.
“Suspense, intrigue, action, and great detective work!” Debbie B.
“A nail-biting and exciting novel.” Paromjit
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Highly addictive and couldn’t wait to finish it” Jane
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 AND 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
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication date16 June 2022
- File size3352 KB
Product details
- ASIN : B09Z36FMCY
- Publisher : Joffe Books Mystery, Crime Thriller, Suspense Fiction (16 June 2022)
- Language : English
- File size : 3352 KB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 338 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: 34 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

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.
Customers who bought this item also bought
Customer reviews
Top reviews from Australia
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Top reviews from other countries

This book was fabulous - a gripping read and I didn't want it to end.
There were several plotlines running through it, but as always, Joy crafts these so expertly that all the interweaving was perfectly clear.
A great book - completely recommended! I've just bought another copy for my Mum!

It didn’t take me long at all to get into ‘Trick Of The Night’. In fact seeing Joy’s name on the cover of a book that I hadn’t read yet was enough to grab my attention and the story within the covers of the book sealed the deal as it were. To say that reading ‘Trick Of The Night’ became addictive is a bit like saying that I like cake- in other words a huge understatement. I had picked the book up only intending to read a chapter or two but as with all of Joy’s books the intention flew out of the window and I was still sat there reading over a dozen chapters and an hour or two later. I found that I just couldn’t put the book down for any length of time. I mean the book wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I couldn’t bear to miss a single second of the story. I had my own theory as to what was going to happen so I had to keep reading to see if I was anywhere near the truth. All too quickly I reached the end of ‘Trick Of The Night’. I found ‘Trick Of The Night’ to be the true definition of an unputdownable, page turner of story. This story was gritty, gripping tense and dramatic.
‘Trick Of The Night’ is superbly written but then that’s true of all of Joy’s books that I have had the pleasure of reading and reviewing. What I love about Joy’s books is the fact that you are immediately drawn into the story as soon as you start reading. Once the story has you in its grip then it doesn’t release you until the moment you read the very last word on the last page. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fast pace throughout. Reading ‘Trick Of The Night’ felt like being on a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with more twists and turns to the story than you would find on a ‘Snakes & Ladders’ board. Just when you thought that you could take a minute to catch your breath and gather your thoughts then off the action would go again. The series featuring ex- Detective Matt Ballard goes from strength to strength and just gets better and better.
In short I thoroughly enjoyed every single minute of ‘Trick Of The Night’ and I would wholeheartedly recommend the book to other readers. I will definitely be reading more of Joy’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.


