The Fens are East England’s low-lying marshlands, where misty swirls envelop dark lanes, millionaires’ cottages and endless acres of farmland. Detective Inspector Nikki Galena lives and breathes the fertile territory and fortunately for her career, so do an assortment of murderers, arsonists, stalkers and other malefactors. One by one, she has to get to the bottom of their heinous actions and bring them to justice. The idyll of the Fens depends on her.
Mixing DI Galena’s investigations with her complex personal life, these crime stories dash along at a pace. With her ex-military partner, DS Joseph Easter, by her side, we meet the Fens’ most colourful characters and soon become immersed in the social fabric, closed ranks and murky secrets of the area.
Joy Ellis’s popular DI Nikki Galena titles are brought to life by the accomplished, knowing voice of Henrietta Meire, a TV actor who’s had roles on both sides of the Atlantic. She delivers the stories in a calm, measured tone that will nevertheless stop you in your tracks when the tales reach murderous moments. She’s fully absorbed in every character’s nuance – as will you be when you begin to listen in for clues.
Joy Ellis was Audible’s breakthrough crime writer of 2018 and released the 10 Galena titles between 2010 and 2019. She’s clearly mastered the modern detective niche of crime and thrillers: her Jackman & Evans and Ballard series were all written concurrently with the DI Galena novels.
We might have the late Sue Townsend of Adrian Mole fame to thank for Ellis’s career. She tutored Ellis on a writing workshop and encouraged her to throw herself into it. Crime fiction lovers around the world are eternally grateful that Joy listened.
