DCI Matt Ballard

Grace Repton, a beautiful older woman, walks into the police station to tell Detective Matt Ballard she has information that could stop a murder. Her fiancé, the infamous serial killer Jeremy Reader, has told her that he has a disciple who is going to kill using Reader's horrific methods. Reader murdered five women and was finally brought to justice by Detective Ballard. Reader is safely imprisoned in a high security prison, and claiming to be a reformed man who wants to help the police. But can Matt believe the serial killer or his peculiar wife to be? Can the love of a good woman really change a serial killer? And the Fenland police also have another investigation on their hands. A Lithuanian migrant worker is found dead on the fens. There is no ID on him, but he has a Tree of Life tattoo. This is the third body to be found with this distinctive tattoo. Is this gang war or something even more sinister? The police are stretched to the breaking point with multiple copycat murders. And Matt and his girlfriend Liz will fight for everything they care about in a heart-stopping conclusion that will have you on the edge of your seat.

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 neighbors. But how can you help people who don't want to be helped?

MATT AND LIZ MAY HAVE RETIRED FROM THE POLICE, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN A QUIET LIFE. An old friend's sister disappears without a trace. There's no sign of foul play, but she'd been acting very peculiarly... Meanwhile, Liz's cousin Christie comes to stay. She takes an immediate-and uncharacteristic-dislike to the local bookshop owner, Gina. Why does everyone put up with her awful behavior? HUNTING WILL-O'-THE-WISPS ON THE MARSHES CAN BE A VERY DANGEROUS HOBBY. Christie is convinced that Gina is manipulating everyone around her. Is she onto something dangerous or just pushing her new friends away? No one believes her suspicions until another friend goes missing late at night on the misty Fen marshes. Can Matt and Liz uncover the truth in time to save lives?

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 location for the perfect 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.

Joy Ellis presents Book 6 in the Detective Matt Ballard series.