A truly gripping thriller, lots of good twists & turns in the Plot to hold you gripped from the first page until the last.. I could write lots more , but would end up giving away spoilers so I will keep it to the above & hope many others will pick the Book up to read & I shall be recommending it to both Family members & to Friends all around the Globe.#GoodReads, #NetGalley, #FB, # Instagram, #Amazon.co.uk, # 25 Book Reviews, #Reviews Published, #Professional Reader.

I made a first attempt to get into this book and ended up reading another before coming back to this one. I simply could not get into it and it was a struggle to finish. Maybe if I had read the previous books I would have enjoyed it more, but this is number 7 in a series and I felt like I missed out on the majority of the story.
A group of highly trained professionals go after a killer who is targeting urban explorers, while their own IT guru Orac goes on a personal journey of her own to get answers about her past. I felt like all of the characters were likeable enough and their personalities really shined throughout the entire book.
Where there was plenty of gore and scary moments, it was not what I consider nail biting suspsense throughout the entire book. In fact, it really didn't get all that suspenseful until the end of the book where the killer had a live victim. Will they get there on time? I am not one to ruin endings, so if you are curious, please read this book, but like I said above, it might help to read some of the prior books in this series before starting this one. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for an honest review.

There was an issue with that book. Not with the book itself, but rather with my reading. When I read this book, I had just finished another thriller who was more intriguing. Maybe I should have waited before reading this thriller, then, but what's done is done.
I couldn't connect with the story or the characters and the writing wasn't for me. I was bored while reading and the book didn't particularly read like a thriller. I think it was too much telling instead of showing and it kept repeating over and over again. I presume I wasn't really ready to give up on my previously read thriller, so this one faded to the background.

I received a free ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Urban explorers, also known as urbexers, have been disappearing whilst out exploring abandoned buildings. No noise, no sign of a struggle, they just disappear. Jackman and Evans begin the investigation into the missing men but then gruesomely displayed bodies are discovered and a murder case ensues. Meanwhile in the police headquarters, the head of IT, Orac disappears. Is this linked to her mysterious past and secret identity?
They Disappeared is the 7th book in Joy Ellis' Jackman and Evans series. It would work as a stand alone novel but the relationships between the officers, their personal histories and the cases they have previously worked on are included.
There is a lot of build up to the crimes. We are introduced to the hobby of urban exploring as well as finding out more about Orac's past. Bodies are not found until half way through the book and I did find the pace a little slow in the first half of the book. The descriptions are vivid and creates a fanstastic atmosphere of suspense. The abandoned sites build anticipation and dread, and the mystery of an old airfield is intriguing.
There is a naturalness to the characters which draws in the reader as we feel an affinity with them. I was a little disappointed that pathologist Rory didn't shine as prominently as previous books. This time it was Orac who held centre stage as we discover more about her astonishing past, both personal and professional.
Overall, They Disappeared was an enjoyable police thriller, and it was good to catch up with Jackman and Evans and their team.

Joy Ellis gets better with every book. Twists and turns to the last page I just couldn’t work out who the killer was. The tension cranks up with two stories running parallel. If you haven’t discovered Joy Ellis yet you are in for a treat with two great series to read.

As much as i love Joy Ellis Jackman and Evans series i just could not get into this one, normally once i start the first page the story grips me and i cant put the book down until i have finished , however this one did not have the same grip on me at all

This is my opinion and i am sure others will enjoy

4.5 Stars

Joy Ellis is back with an exhilarating crime thriller readers will devour in a single sitting: They Disappeared.

Orla Cracken is late for work. Had it been anybody else at the police station nobody would have batted an eyelid. But Orla – known as Orac – is never late. She lives and breathes her job, spends hours upon hours on end chained to her desk and the secretive IT head is so dedicated to her profession, rumour has it that she sleeps at the police station. Nobody at the station can shake off this gut-wrenching feeling that something awful has happened to Orac and Detectives Rowan Jackman and Marie Evans are determined to find her – before it’s too late. Can Jackman and Evans find her in time? Or has Orac fallen foul of dangerous enemies determined to make her pay the ultimate price?

It’s certainly not a dull day at the station. As Jackman and Evans are working every single possible hour to find Orac, PC Robbie Melton, discovers two people, both urban explorers, who have seemingly vanished off the face of the earth in mysterious circumstances. The only thing that connects them is the perplexing nature behind their disappearance. One went missing at a disused airfield. But was it a military base or civilian one?

The more the police investigate, the more they realise that a killer is on the loose targeting urban explorers. But what is driving this murderer? Why target these innocent explorers? And what is the reason behind the torture the victims are subjected to before they meet their untimely end? Could there be a link between these murders and Orac’s disappearance? Nobody knows anything about Orac and her past is shrouded in mystery. Was there something far more sinister going in Orac’s life? And can Jackman, Evans and the entire team untangle the twisted strands of this mind-boggling case before more lives are claimed?

Cancel your plans and bolt your doors because Joy Ellis’ They Disappeared is a spine-chilling and heart-pounding thriller that is absolutely impossible to put down. Dark, tense and twisted, this terrifying page-turner continues to cement Joy Ellis’ standing as one of crime fiction’s most talented and most ingenious writers who keeps her readers on the edge of their seats and turning the pages late into the night way past their bedtime.

Jackman and Evans are on top form as ever. Not only are they brilliant police officers, but their banter and their working relationship only serves to add to the reader’s enjoyment of Joy Ellis’ They Disappeared.

A white-knuckle crime thriller not to be missed, They Disappeared is another must-read novel by Joy Ellis.

My pulse started racing when I realized there was a new Joy Ellis book coming out. A bright light in an otherwise rotten 2020.

I have read all her books and have loved them all. This new book, They Disappeared, is part of the Jackman & Evans series. I enjoy these books because I love catching up with the characters I've known over the series. As with any series, it's easy to jump right in and already know the people's personalities and characteristics.

This case is about Urban Explorers (urbexers) who seek out unknown or well-hidden structures to explore. Their motto is to "take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints." There is an inherent danger in this sport due to structural decline and others' reluctance to want random explorers on their property – but these extreme experience seekers live for the thrill.

There are two storylines – the first is that Orac (Orla Cracken), the mysterious and genius IT director for the CID (Criminal Investigation Department), hasn't shown up for work. With a meeting scheduled and her obsessive, workaholic, and punctual nature, this causes concern with the rest of the staff. The second is that several urbexers are missing with no trace.

Joy Ellis is exquisite in her ability to weave together multiple storylines – all the while keeping you biting your nails, waiting to find out the next clue. Her characters are well-developed, and after you meet them, they soon become old friends.

I was so lucky to receive an advanced reader's copy of this book from Net Galley and am enthusiastically providing my review of this book as an avid fan of Joy Ellis!

I didn’t enjoy this as much as I hoped I would, however; it was still a worthwhile read. There were many twists and turns, and it kept me guessing until the very end. There were parts that left me feeling bored, but it always dragged me back in. 

I loved the Orac storyline, and it was interesting trying to fit everything together. It had a brilliantly creepy atmosphere that kept me on the edge of my seat. I would definitely check out more by this author.

Totally gripping crime thriller. An English thriller with great characters that have been well developed over the years. The IT boss disappeared and the case begins. Hold on for dear life because the ride is gonna get wild!!

Great book! I was hooked from the start, thank you so much for providing me a copy of this book to read. This is something I would love to purchase.

An edge of your seat gripping thriller which I really enjoyed, the storyline was different from the norm. I thought it was one of the best in the series especially as there was a desperate search going on for Orac who is head of the IT department and of the most respected and essential parts of the team. She never takes her holidays or rings in sick so to just disappear out of the blue is very worrying especially when there is a brutal murderer on the loose. Once I started on the book I didn't want to put it down, I highly recommend it.

Joy Ellis never lets readers down. With the reappearance of some beloved characters and a stellar mystery. This books takes us into a new and unlikely context - urban exploring. I knew nothing about this and admire Ellis for her research skills and ability to make any context suit her story. I found the Orac storyline a bit odd and disconnected as a I was reading it but, as always, Ellis ties everything up neatly at the end.

Never having read this author before I had no idea what to expect. I think it might have been helpful if I had read some of her other books before this one because some backstory was missing and it started to get a bit confusing since it included characters from many of her other series. But having said this, the story itself was quite a thrill ride and had me hooked until the very end. It entertained me enough that I am now motivated enough to go back and start her other series. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

I loved it. The enigmatic Orac’s past is revealed - well, a part of it. The crimes were horrific but new and its motivation heartbreaking. This story is compelling and exciting, without the fear that I felt in the last two books. I enjoyed it. I knew the two main stories would somehow meet, at some point, but I couldn’t for the life of me work out how. This book adds so much to the character’s personal stories and the hope of future happiness.

Joy Ellis does it again another great read. I love the fact that there are ‘crossover’ characters from her different series. I still think the Fens series is my favourite but this the Jackman & Evans series is a definite close second. A very unusual plot and the subplots again develop nicely

At last, a detective novel that catches you from page 1 and holds you to the end. Well-written, a lovely set of characters and a very strong sense of place.. Jackman and Evans are still recovering from their previous traumatic encounters when a series of rather gruesome murders start. These are set amongst the urban explorers - urbexers - people who investigate, usually illegally, old derelict buildings. A second thread uses the very secretive, brilliant IT person of the police team, her disappearance and return when it becomes clear that the two threads link together and revenge is the motive. Keep it up Ms Ellis, you are heading for the Christie-James-Rendell tent. Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

They Disappeared’ is the seventh book in the bestselling series featuring Detective inspector Rowan Jackman and Detective Sergeant Marie Evans. I have read and loved each book in the series so far. I had high hopes for ‘They Disappeared’ and I wasn’t disappointed. ‘They Disappeared’ is another amazing addition to the series and I thoroughly enjoyed every single word of it, but more about that in a bit.
As soon as I started to read ‘They Disappeared’, I knew that I wasn’t going to doing anything else for the rest of the day other than read the book. To say that reading ‘They Disappeared’ became addictive is a massive understatement. I picked the book up only intending to dip a toe in the water and make a start on reading the book but I became that wrapped up in the story that I read more like half a dozen chapters. For me, ‘They Disappeared’ really was an unputdownable pageturner of a read. My Kindle 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 seemed to speed through the story at the pace of Usain Bolt. At one point the pages seemed to turn that quickly that the page numbers all blurred into one. I soon got to the end of the story and I had to bid farewell to Jackman and Evans.
‘They Disappeared’ is superbly written but then I think that to be true of Joy’s books in general. She certainly knows how to grab your attention from the start and draw you into the story. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fast pace throughout. In fact reading this book felt more like watching a Hollywood film with all the drama, intrigue, suspense and espionage. There were more twists and turns to this story than you would find on a ‘Snakes & Ladders’ board. Reading this book felt like being on one hell of a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with no idea in which direction the story is going to take you next. For me, ‘They Disappeared’ is a tightly plotted, superbly written page turner of a book that gripped me from start to finish and had me on the edge of my seat throughout.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘They Disappeared’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Joy’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board has to be 5* out of 5*.‘

I have to start by saying I am a huge fan of this authors work. I have read and loved all of Joy's books. I particularly have a soft spot for Nikki and Joseph in the NIKKI GALENA series.
​This book is book 7 in the JACKMAN & EVANS series. Other books in this series are
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

Based in Saltern-Le-Fen Di Rowan Jackman and Ds Marie Evans make a formidable team. Another fantastic police duo created by Joy Ellis, along with their team they are faced with a 'Disappearance' and it's one of their own. Orla Cracken has not turned up to work. This is very unusual Orla lives in her little cave in the basement of the police station. Marie is the only person that Orla has ever really spoken to and opened up to, so Marie has cause to worry around Orla's no show.
When Urban explorers start to go missing it soon becomes apparent that there could be a link to Orla' disappearance .

Marie feels she has to go to higher up bodies in the force to raise her concerns. Her concerns are right, Orla was once a government agent and her being missing could possible be due to this and very, very serious.

The more you get in to this story the more engaged you become, you realise this isn't a read you can put down and pick up at any time. this is a book you have to keep reading, and keep reading, the more you read the deeper in you go, this book was a first class engrossing. There is so much going on in this book that I feel to mention any of it would give away too much of the plot. I wouldn't like to spoil it for anyone. What I will say is, it gets all the stars and more and I can recommend this book to anyone who likes a gripping read. Personally for me I would say reading them in order is best, but if you don't bother about reading in order this could be read as a standalone.

This is an exciting addition to Joy Ellis's fenlands series featuring DI Rowan Jackman and DS Marie Evans and their police team at Saltern-le-Fen in Lincolnshire. In this, the seventh book, as the title suggests, disappearances are at the heart of storylines. First, IT expert Orla 'Orac' Cracken is found not to be at work, this is virtually unheard of, so it sets alarm bells ringing, an event that is set to reveal Orac's fascinating past history in intelligence that in turn has the government worried and the police fearful for her safety and life. DC Robbie Melton is contacted by ex-colleague, DS Stella North, drawing his attention to missing urbexers (Urban Explorers) who often roam at night looking at abandoned and old disused buildings, such as the airport buildings at Randleby, taking photographers. Helped by urbexers, the police find themselves on two cases, are there any connections between them? This is a great crime read, full of tension and suspense, that held my interest throughout. Many thanks to Joffe Books for an ARC.