I absolutely adore books by Joy Ellis. These were some of the ones that i started listening to when i first got really back into reading a few years ago and now she is one of my favourite authors. I adore this series, i love how the character lives are strong throughout and the crime side of it too. They are cosy little books. They are set where i am originally from and i love reading about the different places and how familiar they are to me. It does also cross over to her other series books which i love. The first half of this book sets the scene and then the second is really quite fast paced and i just couldn't put it down. It had two different cases and i loved how these just flowed through the book. A great read in a great series.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Joffe Books for the electronic copy.

I really enjoyed this book: I've read a lot of Joy Ellis' books, all set in the Fens, but not this particular series with DI Rowan Jackman and DS Marie Evans. The story is reasonably fast-paced, and the plot is multi-layered and well-structured with all the major strands coming together in a tense conclusion.

Annie Carson wakes in the night to glimpse a man's figure running from her bedroom; both she and 12-yr old Callum have no idea how he got in but one thing was missing - a photograph of Callum when he was about 10yrs-old.
Sylvia Wilson wakes up to find a muddy footprint on her duvet and her back door open and a photograph of her two young grandsons is missing.
The team have a culprit in mind - Ratty is a prolific offender, content to gain entry to houses just to prove he can - but he's never taken anything before. When another intrusion results in a woman's death their thoughts turn to murder and the fact that there's another intruder out there.
As the investigation continues to try and find a connection between all the victims and the reason why their photographs should be taken, Annie Carson and son Callum decide to act as amateur sleuths, bringing all the victims together to find their own connection.
Meanwhile Laura, Jackman's partner, has a very difficult patient who's taken sleepwalking to a whole new level - but she's very worried and uncomfortable about him. Jackman thinks she may be in danger and encourages her to speak with Sam, her mentor, about it.
Then - one of the children in a stolen photo goes missing from his school, apparently taken by a teacher - has this man been looking for one particular child all along - taking and comparing their photos? If so - Why?

This is a complex and completely absorbing story.

This was a very solid and fun thriller. I definitely would recommend this read if you’re looking for a creepy and scary bool.

Number eight in the Jackman and Evans series and another good read. Someone is breaking into houses and taking pictures of young boys, but what do all the victims have in common?
Meanwhile Laura has a patient she’s very unsure about presenting with very unusual symptoms
Another great addition to this series

I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley for review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Wow! What a thrilling journey in the Fens. In this eighth installment in the Evans and Jackman series, a threat has local mothers living in fear as someone enters their homes secretly and photos of their sons go missing. Therapist Laura has her own case to deal with, one giving her anxiety of her own. Each threat becomes terrifyingly real as the cases collide in spectacular fashion. Great, cinematic writing as the landscape plays a role in the style of this thriller. Film series please, oh please!

When everyone is sleeping, he comes into their houses.
He takes one thing. A photo of their child.
A thief on a power trip or something even darker and more sinister?
Detectives Jackman and Evans find themselves on the hunt for a highly unusual burglar who seemingly only steals photographs. But then, late one night, an elderly woman falls to her death after seeing someone in her home.
Did she really fall, or was she murdered?
And just how many mysterious intruders are there on the Fens?
With the body count rising, Jackman and Evans have their work cut out for them to track down the night thief — before it’s too late.

Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

When everyone is asleep, he comes into their homes and takes only one thing-  a photo of a child. Is it a case of a thief on a power trip or something even more dark and sinister?

It begins with someone breaking into women's homes and stealing a single photo of their sons; but it all kicks off when an elderly woman is murdered. These are just a few things under investigation by Detectives Jackman and Evans; while psychologist Laura works with a patient that claims to suffer from somnambulism. The stories, while are weaved together, at times felt a bit out of place. The story starts out incredibly slow, and a little over halfway through the story the action begins. 

During the beginning of the story I started to wonder if this was going to be a paranormal story with how much the author pushed the idea of an almost unnatural way the thief accessed the homes. I found it a bit difficult to follow the immense amount of characters walking in and out of the story- using first names, last, and pet names making it hard to follow who the individual is. The twists and turns were well done!

I was given an ARC of this story to read; but thoughts and opinions are all my own. Thank you to Netgalley and Joffee Books for the chance to read this title.

The Night Thief brings back the team of Jackman and Evans on a new case. The premise of the book just made me cringe! Someone is entering houses and not doing anything but stealing a picture of a male child. How creepy! This one will keep you reading to find out what exactly is going on!

Thank you to #Netgalley and the publisher for my advance copy of #TheNightThief by #JoyEllis
I can’t put my finger on why but I didn’t enjoy this book as much as all the previous books. I have read everyone of Joy Ellis books and loved them but this one just didn’t flow the same.
Jackman and Evans are two of my favourite characters but the story line concerning Jackmans wife overshadows what was happening in the police case.
Just not the usual standard we’ve all come to love.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The night thief by Joy Ellis.
DI Jackman & DS Evans Book 8.
Another brilliant read from this author. I love this series. Marie and Jack are my favourite characters. I do hope there is more to come. 5*.

He gets into their house somehow. He stands by the bed watching the woman sleep, but he doesn't wake her. He takes only one thing away when he leaves ... a photo of a child. Depending on the women ... and there are many ... these could be pictures of their son, grandson, or any other kind of relative. They are all boys around 10 years of age.

Besides scaring the women, it's a nuisance call for the police ... usually always in the dead of night. But that soon changes ....

An elderly woman is found at the foot of the stairs in her home. According to a neighbor, a man was seen wandering around her house. Did the night thief up his game ... or is there something else going on? Did she really fall, or was she murdered?

A second story line involves a strange man ... with a lesser known medical problem ... somnambulism. His odd behavior gives even his psychologist the willies

With the body count rising, Jackman and Evans have their work cut out for them to track down the night thief — before it’s too late.

As with all the books in this series, it is well-written with a fascinating plot and riveting story line. There is an interesting mix of characters that keep moving the story forward. Suspense starts at the very beginning and maintains a high level throughout. Although 3rd in the series, this is easily read as a stand alone.

Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Books n All Promotions / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have enjoyed all this authors books and this was no exception. Fast paced, great storyline and would recommend to other readers.

This is the 8th book in the DI Jackman and DS Evans series and before I read this book I’d never heard of the series and hadn’t read any of the other books however I read this as a stand alone and I really enjoyed it; so much so that in time I’m going to start from the beginning and read the rest of the series 🙂

There’s plenty of action in this fast paced crime thriller starting with burglar who likes to break into houses of women who live alone and steals only one thing. The photo of a child. He will watch over his victims why they sleep, then once he leaves he will never come back to that house again.

DI Jackman and DS Evans have the tough job of trying to work out what the culprit is up to and why he is breaking into houses to steal nothing more than a photo. Before DI Jackman and DS Evans can work out who the culprit is he ups his game and soon a body is found, it turns out that our photo thief is capable of a lot more than just breaking into a house and stealing a photo and it’s a race against time to find out exactly what his plan is and what he’s up to.

Mean wile DI Jackmans wife Laura is also having her own troubles with a difficult patient he is sleep walking and whilst he is doing this he’s taking his car out driving around, threatening people, killing people and doing all sorts of other strange things. Is he telling the truth or is it actually all happening whilst he’s asleep or is there more to him than meets the eye.

I love the way this book all came together at the end. I like how Jackmans case and Laura’s patient were sort of linked and brought everything together I think this book is really well written and as I said above I’m looking forward to starting this series from the beginning.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an open and honest review.

I started reading this at night, after ten or so pages, had to get up and check that my doors and windows were locked. So yes this book totally sucked me in, simply could not put it down until it was finished, I thoroughly enjoyed it, excellent writing, have read this author previously and she has never let me down. This series is brilliant, and will be watching out for the next one in the series.

Latest crime thriller by prolific author Joy Ellis is the seventh in the Jackman and Evans series and not one encountered previously. This time, the detectives are on the hunt for a burglar who only steals photographs. A classic police procedural albeit a cosy crime novel. As the investigation unfolds, the bodies begin to mount yet the clues seem to lead nowhere. Overall, a leisurely paced gentle crime venture with a three-star rating. Whilst the crime element deserved a higher rating, the seemingly unnecessary distraction of the mundane lives of the crime team lessened its appeal – swathes of them sleeping or gathering for meals added little gravitas to the mystery. However, fans of the series will enjoy this latest instalment. With thanks to Joffe Books and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and are made without fear or favour.

I am a huge fan of Joy’s work and have been for a while now. I haven’t quite caught up everything that she has written but I am getting there. I especially love the series featuring Detective Inspector Rowan Jackman and Detective Sergeant Marie Evans. I have read and loved the other books in the series and so when I heard that Joy was due to release another book in the series I knew that I had to read the latest book as soon as I could. Well ladies and gents, the wait is over because the eight book in the series is called ‘The Night Thief’ and is due for release in e-book forma ton 18th November 2021 although it is already available in paperback. I absolutely loved ‘The Night Thief’ but more about that in a bit.
The fact that I saw Joy Ellis’s name on a new book cover was enough to attract my attention and the story within the covers of the book sealed the deal as it were. To say that reading ‘The Night Thief’ became addictive is a huge understatement. I made the fatal mistake of starting to read the book shortly before I went to bed. Let’s just say that bedtime was delayed and I had a distinct ‘lack of sleep’ hangover the following morning but it was so worth it! If I wasn’t reading the book, I was thinking about the book. If I had to put the book down then I would immediately look forward to being able to pick the book up again. The story stayed with me for a long time after I had finished reading it. I became so wrapped up in the story that I lost all track of time and just how quickly I was getting through the story. All too quickly I reached the end of ‘The Night Thief’ and I had say goodbye to Detectives Jackman and Evans.
‘The Night Thief’ is superbly written but then I have come to expect nothing less from Joy Ellis. Her books are always superbly written. She certainly knows how to grab the reader’s attention and draws them into what proves to be one hell of a story. For me, the story hit the ground and maintained a fairly fast and scary pace throughout. I love the way in which Joy describes her characters. She describes them so vividly and realistically that they seem just as real as you and I. Reading ‘The Night Thief’ felt like being on a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way. Just when you thought that you could take a minute to gather your thoughts then off the action would go again. I love the way in which Joy makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story and in the middle of all the action.
In short, I absolutely loved reading ‘The Night Thief’ 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 is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

Di Jackman & DS Evans #8

When everyone is sleeping, he comes into their houses. He takes one thing. A photo of their child. A sinister thief ,
on a power trip or something even darker and more sinister?

Someone is breaking into women's homes, taking pictures of their sons. Then an elderly woman is murdered and the hunt is on to find the person responsible. These are just a few things under investigation by Detectives Jackman and Evans. There's also a subplot where psychologist, Laura's patient claims to suffer from somnambulism, makes Laura on edge.

Both stories weave together seamlessly, but only briefly. The pace is slow to beginning. There's also quite a lot of characters to remember, There's a few twists along the way. The real action doesn't really start until around the 60% mark.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #JoffeBooks and the author #JoyEllis for my ARC of #TheNightThief in exchange for an honest review.

Waking with a start and finding someone standing at the foot of your bed is one of life’s ongoing terrors. Usually, it is just a voyeur getting his jollies off without doing any harm. The opening chapter of this book shatters that illusion. A lonesome widow loses her life thinking her long dead husband has come back to her.

A series of deaths of middle aged or senior ladies follows. There are no signs of entry into the houses. This author paints a graphic picture of a cat burglar who has left his usual non-violent mid-night wanderings to commit murders during his roaming.

Ms. Ellis has developed a very interesting psychological profile of a very disturbed younger individual. Her portrayal of the culprit is developed as a result of a very bad and tragic childhood. The youngster in this case is mentally abused to the point of a total non-traditional approach to reality.

Life is a series of hardships to be overcome by these victims. Striking out is a defense mechanism that helps to cope with reality. The story developed a very engaging psychological profile of the voyeur/killer. Add to that a moral compass that was totally destroyed in childhood and this tale becomes extremely scary.

I recommend this book to anyone who wishes to understand some of the deviants in society. The criminology methods followed to find the killer or killers is very thorough and at times aggravatingly slow. As I read the book I continually hoped for some kind of resolution to this person’s mental deficiencies. Read the book and see if you have the same reaction. 4 stars - CE Williams

Thank you for ad advanced copy of this book.
Another great read by Joy Ellis, one of my favourite crime author’s ! I have read and enjoyed all the books in the Jackman and Evans series. I love the characters and their relationships.
I find Joy’s books so easy to read, this flows really well and keeps you guessing who the culprit is all the way through.
Would definitely recommend!

A fabulous police procedural that had me reading until the early morning hours, wanting to finish the book. Great read. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of the book.