The Dying Light

Detective Matt Ballard Series, Book 3

By: Joy Ellis

Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies

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 in 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?

©2020 Joy Ellis (P)2020 Tantor

A dismal story 

I love this author, and the narrator and all of the wonderful characters from the Fenn. But this book drones on with sadness and despair from almost beginning to the end. The sun never shines, and there is little to no hope. People suffering from mental illness should avoid this book. the ending, like the beginning, was dreary and sad. I think I would have more fun getting a root canal.

A twist you never expected

I really enjoyed the cadence of this book, I love all of Joys books that I have listened to thus far but this one definitely had a different cadence and there is such a plot twist at the end

Dissatisfied

Not as good as his other books.
I got bored with the story. The ending was not satisfying at all.

Kept my interest

Not my favorite by Ms Ellis, but is a good listen. I always love the setting she writes about. The Fen is like one of the characters.

Covid Literature

In a clear departure from her usual police procedural format, Joy Ellis explored the effects of long-term isolation on a couple whose focus was narrowed to just each other, to renovating a house and to sinking into mutually declining mental health. The word "Covid" never appears, but the 2020 publication date sets the story in a particular period. I felt the narrative was highly redundant and the plot was less interesting than most of Ellis' other stories. Still, the ending surprised me.

Good storyline good twists.

I liked the characters, great narration. Author has good ideas for story. Very descriptive could visualize the setting.

Least favorite of all her books

After listening to all the Nikki Galena series and now making my way through this series, this is my least favorite of all of them. The plot was very bizarre and the characters frequently did things that were “out of character” and inconsistent with the personalities developed throughout the series. After a very long and slightly irritating buildup that focused on the paranormal and this woman’s poorly justified deteriorating mental health, the ending was very abrupt and left many things unanswered. The main character spent the entire book sacrificing his own mental health to accommodate his wife and then did a complete 180 at the end. Just an unsatisfying read all around that to me made zero sense.

Not the usual for Joy Ellis

This was not a bad story, it was just so outside of what Joy Ellis typically writes it almost should have been a stand alone. The only way it fit in to the Matt Ballard series was that it happened to have Matt and Liz in it. But it felt forced and didn’t really contribute to their story. This story was much more of a haunted house thriller than a police procedural. It had very strong American Horror Story vibes. The narration was incredibly dry but not awful.

I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I wasn’t expecting it to fit into the Joy Ellis/Matt Ballard series. All in all a 3 out of 5.

They just get better and better!

My attention was gripped from the first chapter. And as always is the case, I was unable to figure out what the outcome would be. The ending was satisfying but sadly so. I’ve run out of descriptives for Joy Ellis books. The narration was superb. Highly recommend this title’

Lots of exciting twists and turns

Another engaging read set on the wonderful Fens. Great storyline, one book you can’t put down.