I finished Hidden on the Fens by Joy Ellis yesterday, and it made the list of January favorites. Ellis is one of my very favorites in the police procedural genre, and her latest Nikki Galena/Joseph Easter is one of her best.

A copse of trees, so dense and entangled that getting in is almost impossible, hides a derelict cottage from the early 1900's. Richard Howard wants to clear the copse and plant local trees--leading to the discovery of the ramshackle cottage and evidence that someone has been squatting there. They find a tent and a satchel with photos of a girl who went missing 15 years ago. And eventually, a body.

At the same time, Richard's mother has been receiving some disturbing messages, including an athame, a witch's knife.

Nikki's team is working two cases and there is a staff shortage that is keeping everyone busy. Ellis always writes excellent police procedurals, and this time, she had a number of surprises to keep me off balance as to the identity of the villain.

I love the characters and the complex, skillfully woven narratives in this series. I was also intrigued by a couple of mentions of Nikki's mother and friend Wendy undertaking some historical research in Scotland in an attempt to find out more about an artist mentioned in the last book. The references to this research indicate more of Eve and Wendy in the next book. :)

NetGalley/Joffe Books
Police Procedural. Feb. 14, 2020. Print length: 302 pages.

This is one of my favourite series of crime books. It's like meeting up with old friends and hearing about their lives. In this book. Joe Easter's daughter, Tamsin, finds a derelict, hidden cottage near to her home. When the remains of a body are found, Nikki and the team are called to investigate. Good character development with a quirky plot makes this another winner for Joy Ellis. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

When strange things start happening with ties to witchcraft to Aurelia Howard at Sedgebrook House her son Richard reported the worrying incidents to Sergeant Niall Farrow who also lived close to Sedgebrook House at Jacob's Fen. But when a body of a missing woman is found in an overgrown cottage in Hobs End Copse on land belonging to the Sedgemoor Estate DI Nikki Galena and her team are called in to investigate.
This is one of the best books by Joy Ellis with many twists and turns to keep you reading with an ending that you won't expect.

My thanks to Joffe Books, Netgalley, and Joy Ellis.
I've been waiting for ever.. "Or maybe, just a few months," for the newest Ellis book. FInally, .it's here! And, yep! I loved it! I had a feeling something good was coming, mostly because I disliked her last book or 2. I also know that whereas we readers lag and get burn out, so do authors. This book hit all my mystery spots! Also, Hob' end? Perfect. Soon as I saw 👀 that and the description, I was running on all cylinders! This was one of those books that you figure out fairly early, but then realize there's still 70% of the book left! So, I knew I was right, but also not completely right at all. Twists and turns!😳 Damn, I do enjoy that! Most excellent job, Ms. Ellis.

4 stars

An elderly couple who are both professors are receiving threatening messages. Laundry is stolen, flowerpots are moved, but also a athame knife associated with the Wicca religion is found on their doorstep. DS Niall Farrow and his father-in-law DS Joseph Easter speak to the couple about the incidents.

Meanwhile, Niall's wife Tamsin (and Joseph's daughter), and land manager for the elderly couple and their son discover an old cottage in the woods on the property. There is a tent and some food in it. Someone has been using it. Also discovered are some photographs of a missing girl. Jennifer Cowley has been missing for some fifteen years. Where did the pictures come from? Could the person who is squatting also be threatening the old couple?

DI Nikki Galena joins the case. When another young woman's picture is included in the cache found in the cabin, tension in the case ratchets up. Nikki turns to her experienced beat cops to ascertain where the pictures of the new girl were taken and at the same time DC's Cat Cullen and Dave Harris find a witness to the actions of a very bad man named Vernon Deacon they are trying to catch. He preys on elderly women.

The answer to the cases will both chill the reader and leave them shaking their head. It will leave you wondering if houses can really be evil.

What follows is a very good police procedural written in Joy Ellis' usual flair and style. The police team is very cohesive and pulls together well. This is a convoluted story complete with surprises and twists. The ending had me raising my eyebrows. Very well done, Ms. Ellis. Another winner!

I want to thank NetGalley and Joffe Books for forwarding to me a copy of this very good book for me to read, enjoy and review.

Another great addition to the Nikki Galena series! This time around, something seriously spooky is going on in the Fens. Strange Wiccan artifacts are being left on a families' doorstep and only the mother has the slightest idea what they could be about. But are they harmless jokes or part of a more sinister plan by a very dangerous person? Elsewhere on the same property the body of a girl who went missing 15 years ago has been located, in a hidden cottage whose name (of course) translates to the Devil's Cottage. Is this why the artifacts are being left? But how, when that girl's killer has been imprisoned for the crime? Although he did just get out...

And are these puzzles somehow connected to a third case of Nikki and her team - a disgusting predator of older women? And why does he keep getting away with it? This one gets personal for Cat, as she can't stand the depravity of this man who takes advantage of women at their most vulnerable. She also wants this conviction because it is her partner Dave's likely last case, and he deserves to go out on top. She's tough, but is this man tougher?

There is so much going on in this book that the action barely stops, but it's easy to follow along and start drawing your own conclusions about who the guilty parties could be. We see more of Tamsin, Joseph's daughter, in this installment as we learn about her environmental career and how it relates to the development in these cases. I especially enjoyed how her involvement brings about changes in her outlook toward the police and their families. She's always respected them, being a police wife herself, but now she sees firsthand what it likes when you get deeply involved in a situation that consumes so much of your time.

As usual, finishing this story makes me yearn for the next to come and I hope we readers don't have to wait too long!

The discovery of the remains of a young girl, missing for several years sees Nikki and the team digging into the past to find a murderer who may still be active.
I think this is probably the best book in the series so far. The narrative shifts between the cold case and that of a new missing girl and holds the reader's attention. I was absolutely hooked. I look forward to the next book.

i love joy ellis writing .a complex mystery set in a hidden house on a large estate in the fens .a mother trying to protect her youngest son .an ex convict who may not be guilty .a man preying on older women .its all here .a great read .

Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for the eARC.
The 11th book in the DI Nikki Galena series starts with objects left at the home of a couple that seem sinister enough for their son to stay with them. DS Joseph Easter and Nikki check it out and end up finding a derelict cottage in a copse of trees that are barely passable and it's obvious someone has been staying there, but who? The assumed murderer of a young girl years ago is out of prison now, still proclaiming his innocence. In the meantime two other detectives from the team are trying to bring the attacker of elderly widows to justice, not an easy task.
At the start I enjoyed being back with Nikki and the others, but I ran out of steam and started to get a bit bored...but can't put my finger on why. It was a pleasant enough read, but I wasn't as invested in it as some of the previous books.

Another brilliant instalment in this outstanding series. Fast paced and twisted with a clever plot and the return of several characters, Ellis never disappoints.

Sinister, dark and twisted! Absolutely gripping read of murders past and present. The foreboding setting was a character in itself, the evil secrets it had been hiding influencing many lives.
This is part of a series, my only criticism would be the complicated references to family links/ previous cases were unclear and unnecessary- detracting from the pace of events.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of Hidden on the Fens, the eleventh novel to feature DI Nikki Galena and DS Joseph Easter, set in the fictional Lincolnshire town of Greenborough.

In the course of her conservation work for a local farmer Joseph Easter’s daughter Tamsin finds a derelict cottage with signs of recent occupation. Further investigation finds a satchel full of pictures of Jennifer Cowley who disappeared 15 years previously. What is the link between the satchel and weird events at the farmer’s parents’ house and who is the other girl whose photos are mixed in with Jennifer’s?

I thoroughly enjoyed Hidden on the Fens which is an exciting read with plenty of twists and action. The novel is told from the investigative point of view through various voices with the exception of the prologue which hints at a homecoming but not much more. I like a novel that allows me to guess along with the investigation and this certainly provides much food for thought as Ms Ellis twists the reader this way and that. There is so much going on in the hunt for the intruder that you would think that would be enough but there is a subplot of the effort to nail a sexual predator. On reflection I’m not sure how believable I find the plot but there is no time to think about that as the reader rushes from one development to the next. It makes for compulsive reading.

With so many books in the series the characters are becoming like old friends. Nikki is the strong decisive leader while Joseph is the hand that steadies her. I was disappointed not to see more of Nikki’s mother, the delightfully subversive Eve, a woman of many talents.

Hidden on the Fens is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Another Detective Nikki Galena story which is an easy read. I have really enjoyed the whole series of this authors books

I do love DI Nikki Galena mysteries. She is so real. Not Statuesque, nobody tells you much about her looks, good, bad or indifferent. She's a workaholic, with a good team around her. She's knows what it is like to lose a child, she gets angry, waspish and knows what she should be doing. Her work and personal life seem to be one and the same.

Loved it - yet again.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read an advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.