FEATURE FRIDAY #3 – Joy Ellis #TeamJoffeBooks #crimefiction #ThomasBladen #detectivebook #thriller #featurefriday @joffebooks

Today on Friday Features the star is Joy Ellis.  Joy has sold over 1 million books published by the great Joffe Books and she is one of my favourite authors.  Today we find out 10 things you may not know,  her thoughts on her publisher and then all about her books.  Enjoy!

 

10 things I want my readers to know about me: JOY ELLIS

Just because I write crime thrillers, I am not a wannabe serial killer!
In my experience, crime writers are well-balanced, good-natured and friendly. So why do people raise their eyebrows and say, “I read your last book, and I’m really worried about you!”?

My partner Jacqueline and I were the first couple in Boston to have their civil partnership converted to a marriage.  Romantic? Not exactly. As we were the first to register, no-one knew how to operate the new software system! Two registrars battled with a computer that totally refused to co-operate, and it took a very long time and lot of colourful language before it finally coughed up our certificate.

In my thirties I was diagnosed with ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis).
But . . . when allopathic medicine couldn’t help and life in a wheelchair seemed inevitable, I found support through friends and therapists and defied the odds by making a full recovery after fifteen years of misery. Now I can walk, swim, play table tennis, and can tackle long walks in the Yorkshire Moors.

I love painting.
Stuck for something to suggest for a birthday present, I said, ‘Art Classes!’ And it was something of a shock when I discovered that I had a real talent for pastel painting. I have had many commissions since, mainly for pet portraits, and that taught me that it’s never too late to discover a new passion.

I still have a full motorcycle licence!
I love motorbikes! If I didn’t have dodgy knees I’d get one tomorrow. I rode a gorgeous Suzuki GT bike for years, but on a windy night and crossing a motorway bridge, I got blown off! That was bad enough but after I managed to haul the heavy bike off the road, the wind was too strong to get back on!

Our Springer spaniels are our number one priority.
Jacquie and I have no close relations, so our dogs are our ‘family’. Our present boys, litter brothers Woody and Alfie, are working Springers, but when asked if they are trained to the gun, our reply is always, “No, just trained to the sofa!”

Life is never dull living with an accident-prone retired copper!
Yes, Jacquie has fallen off ladders, walls, out of trees, been bowled over by the dog, gone top to bottom of a fire-escape, and in a deep gorge in Yorkshire, fell down a rocky incline and into a fast-flowing beck! No chance of an air ambulance there!

My writing inspiration?
I have written stories since childhood, but the determination to become a published author came from the wonderful late Sue Townsend and a writer’s course on the remote Greek island of Skyros. A magical fortnight, and the magic still lives on.

My love of flowers.
I was an apprentice to the legendary Constance Spry Flower shop in Mayfair in the swinging 60s, and what a time that was! I went from apprentice to running my own shop in Weybridge, then lost everything in the recession. Hey-ho, said Pooh, that’s life!


 

What does Joy think of her publisher?

It’s quite hard for me to sum up exactly how I feel about Joffe Books in just a few lines. How would you feel about some one who changed your life for the better? I do wonder how many authors working for other publishing houses, feel truly appreciated and worthwhile?

I feel supported along every step of the process, I’m encouraged if I feel a bit undecided or unsure about something, and I know that I have a team of professionals there to help if I need it. And Jasper always says the right thing! He never pressurises you, just urges you to write what you are passionate about. I always know, by the time we are ready to publish, that my book will have a fantastic cover design, a great title, and be as good as it can be. And he doesn’t leave it there, his marketing and advertising is remarkable and he constantly seeks to take you further, with both Audio and translation rights. Knowing how some of the bigger trad publishers work, we really are privileged and blessed!

I think one of the most surprising things about being a Joffe Books author, is the camaraderie amongst the other authors and all the wonderful bloggers and reviewers that help us along our way, guided by our extraordinary Launch Team! This has to be unique, and it wouldn’t have occurred if we didn’t all feel part of something special.

Jasper Joffe’s enthusiasm for making Joffe Books the best it can possibly be, is nothing short of awe inspiring. Isn’t it a joy to hear someone express the wish to keep learning about the business he loves, and not profess to know it all? Whatever he is doing, he is doing it very well, and I’m both thrilled and humbled to be a part of it.

Joy Ellis April 2018


Winter sunrise over stream on the Lincolnshire Wolds

BEWARE THE PAST by Joy Ellis

Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada

A stunning new standalone crime thriller from #1 best-selling author Joy Ellis.

Detective Matt Ballard is haunted by one traumatic case he never solved. In the 1990s three boys were murdered in the same area, the remote and bleak Gibbet Fen. When the main suspect was killed in a hit-and-run, the killings stopped. But Matt was never satisfied that the real murderer had been caught.

25 years later, Matt gets a photo in an unmarked envelope. It’s of the Gibbet Fen crime scene. Taken before the murder.

More photos arrive, relating to the historic murders, and intimate pictures of Matt’s secret relationship.

Another killing takes place, with some of the hallmarks of the old case. Has the killer returned or is this just a sick copycat determined to ruin Matt’s life and reputation?

In an absolutely breathtaking conclusion, Matt and his colleagues, race against time to stop a vicious killer who knows no limits.


Jackman & Evans series

The Detectives: DS Marie Evans lost her husband in a motorbike accident and has personal connections to the case. DI Rowan Jackman leads the investigation. He is extremely smart and has a knack for bringing out the best in his diverse team, which includes the mysterious computer specialist Orac.

The Murderer's Son (DI Jackman & DS Evans, #1)THE MURDERER’S SON (DI Jackman & DS Evans #1)

Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada

“What if your mother was a serial killer?”

A BLOODY KILLER SEEMS TO HAVE RETURNED TO THE LINCOLNSHIRE FENS

A gripping standalone crime thriller by the best-selling author of the Nikki Galena series.

Twenty years ago: a farmer and his wife are cut to pieces by a ruthless serial killer.

Now: a woman is viciously stabbed to death in the upmarket kitchen of her beautiful house on the edge of the marshes.

Then a man called Daniel Kinder walks into Saltern police station and confesses to the murder.

But DI Rowan Jackman and DS Marie Evans of the Fenland Constabulary soon discover that there is a lot more to Daniel than meets the eye. He has no memory of the first five years of his life and is obsessed with who his real mother is.

With no evidence to hold him, Jackman and Evans are forced to let him go, and in a matter of days the lonely Lincolnshire Fens become the stage for more killings and Daniel has disappeared.

In a breathtaking finale, the truth about Daniel’s mother comes to light and DI Jackman and DS Evans race against time to stop more lives being destroyed.

Their Lost Daughters (DI Jackman & DS Evans, #2)THEIR LOST DAUGHTERS (DI Jackman & DS Evans #2)

Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada

TWO GIRLS GO TO A PARTY, ONLY ONE RETURNS ALIVE

Toni, the surviving teenager, is found delirious, wandering the muddy fields. She has been drugged and it’s uncertain whether she’ll survive. She says she saw her friend Emily being dragged away from the party. But no one knows who Emily is or even if she’s still alive. . .
Meanwhile the drowned body of another girl has been found on an isolated beach.

And how does this all relate to the shocking disappearance of a little girl nearly a decade ago, a crime which was never solved? The girl’s mother is putting immense pressure on the police to re-open the high-profile case.

EACH ONE OF THEM IS SOMEONE’S DAUGHTER AND THE POLICE MUST GIVE THEIR FAMILIES JUSTICE AND CLOSURE

DI Rowan Jackman and DS Marie Evans of the Fenland police are stretched to the limit as they try to bring the perpetrators of these shocking crimes to justice.

There is evidence of an illegal drinking club run by a shadowy group of men, who are grooming teenagers. And the team come across a sinister former hospital called Windrush which seems to house many dark secrets.

Full of twists and turns, this is a crime thriller that will keep you turning the pages until the shocking ending.

The Fourth Friend (DI Jackman & DS Evans, #3)THE FOURTH FRIEND (DI Jackman & DS Evans #3)

Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada

FOUR LOST FRIENDS. FOUR TASKS TO COMPLETE. ONE BIG MYSTERY LEFT.

Police detective Carter McLean is the only survivor of a plane crash that kills his four best friends. He returns to work but he is left full of guilt and terrible flashbacks. So for each of his four friends he decides to complete something that they left unfinished.

Eighteen months before the crash, Suzanne Holland disappeared, leaving a room with traces of blood, but no other leads. Suzanne was the wife of one of Carter’s four best friends.

Adding to the pressure, the boss’s daughter has a stalker. Due to the sensitivity of the Holland case, Carter is put on this investigation.

DS Marie Evans is the only person Carter can confide in. But even she begins to doubt whether he can really cope and whether he is actually losing his mind.

DI Jackman and DS Evans of the Fenland police face a battle to untangle three mysteries, and can they really believe their friend and colleague Carter?

Full of twists and turns, this is a crime thriller that will keep you turning the pages until the shocking ending.

The Guilty Ones (DI Jackman & DS Evans, #4)THE GUILTY ONES (DI Jackman & DS Evans #4)

Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada

The most difficult case of Detective Jackman’s life. Who are the guilty ones and is anyone really innocent?

Jackman’s sister-in-law Sarah disappears to London and throws herself into the river. What drove her to this? She was a woman with a seemingly happy home life and two beloved sons.

DI Jackman and DI Evans dig into Sarah’s life. And Jackman realises he knew almost nothing about his sister-in-law’s past.

Then, they discover a woman in a neighbouring village died in similar circumstances.

What is the connection to a convicted murderer whose family are convinced he is innocent? Who is really pulling the strings?

DI Jackman and DS Evans of the Fenland police face a battle against their most dangerous and deadly adversary. And in a case so close to home can Jackman keep his feelings under control?

Full of twists and turns, this is a crime mystery that will keep you turning the pages until the thrilling ending. Set in the atmospheric Lincolnshire Fens, whose isolated villages hide many dark secrets.


DI Nikki Galena series

THE DETECTIVE
DI Nikki Galena: A police detective with nothing left to lose, she’s seen a girl die in her arms and her own family destroyed. She’s tough on criminals but fiercely loyal to her team.

HER PARTNER
DS Joseph Easter is the squeaky-clean member of the team. But his nickname “Holy Joe” belies his former life as a soldier. He has a daughter and an ex-wife who wants his attention.

THE SETTING
The Lincolnshire Fens: great open skies brood over marshes, farmland, and nature reserves. It is not easy terrain for the Fenland Constabulary to police, due to the distances between some of the remote Fen villages, the dangerous and often misty lanes, and the poor telephone coverage. There are still villages where the oldest residents have never set foot outside their own farmland and a visit to the nearest town is a major event. But it has a strange airy beauty to it, and above it all are the biggest skies you’ve ever seen.

Crime on the Fens (DI Nikki Galena, #1)Crime on the Fens (DI Nikki Galena #1)

Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada

The town is being terrorised by gangs of violent thugs, all wearing identical hideous masks. Then a talented young female student goes missing on the marsh and Nikki and Joseph find themselves joining forces with a master criminal in their efforts to save her. They need to look behind the masks, but when they do, they find something more sinister and deadly than they ever expected . . .

This is an exciting and absorbing crime thriller that you won’t be able to put down from start to thrilling finish

Shadow Over the Fens (DI Nikki Galena, #2)Shadow on the Fens (DI Nikki Galena #2)

Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada

WHO CAN NIKKI TRUST WITH TWO BRUTAL KILLERS LOOSE ON THE FENS?

Someone terrible from DS Joseph Easter’s past is back . . .

DI Nikki Galena’s friend and neighbour meets a tragic end but there’s more to his death than meets the eye . . .

A man is found executed on a piece of wasteland in Greenborough town. The cold-blooded murder triggers terrible memories for DS Joseph Easter. Just when things seemed to be going well for DS Easter, he realises that the nightmare is coming back, threatening his career, his sanity, and maybe his life.

In a breath-taking conclusion even DI Galena begins to doubt him as he faces a race against time to save someone very close to him.

Hunted on the Fens (DI Nikki Galena, #3)Hunted on the Fens (DI Nikki Galena #3)

Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada

A VICIOUS CRIMINAL IS TARGETING DI NIKKI GALENA AND HER TEAM. ONE BY ONE HE WILL HUNT THEM DOWN AND DESTROY THEIR LIVES, UNLESS SHE CAN STOP HIM FIRST

DI Nikki Galena faces her toughest challenge yet. Can she save her team and herself from a cruel and determined adversary who will stop at nothing to harm Nikki and her colleagues? First she must work out who wants revenge against her or one of her detectives. Full of twists and turns, this is a crime novel that will have you turning the pages until the stunning ending.

And what is the connection between the series of attacks on the police and the mystery of woman found dead in a seemingly impregnable locked room? Find out in this tense and exciting detective thriller.

Killer on the Fens (DI Nikki Galena, #4)Killer on the Fens (DI Nikki Galena #4)

Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada

DETECTIVE NIKKI GALENA’S DYING FATHER HAS ONE FINAL REQUEST: “FIND EVE.”

DI Nikki Galena faces a personal challenge which will stretch her to the limit. She must fulfil her father’s dying wish and discover who the mysterious Eve is. Meanwhile a dead drug dealer is found on an abandoned airfield that the locals say is haunted. The trail of both mysteries will lead to the most shocking discovery of Nikki’s career and put her whole team in mortal danger.

Full of twists and turns, this is a crime thriller that will keep you turning the pages until the shocking ending.

Stalker on the Fens (DI Nikki Galena, #5)Stalker on the Fens (DI Nikki Galena #5)

Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada

DETECTIVE NIKKI GALENA’S FRIEND THINKS SHE HAS A DEADLY STALKER

DI Nikki Galena’s friend Helen Brook is involved in a serious accident where she is trapped in a collapsed cellar. After her hard-won recovery, Helen is still getting flashbacks to a man she says was down there with her and who confessed to a murder. But no trace of this man can be found.

Then Helen tells Nikki that someone is watching her. But is all this in her friend’s imagination and part of her post-traumatic stress?

And why is Stephen Cox back in town? He’s the villain who tore Nikki’s life apart and he seems to have returned for revenge.

Before long the whole town is on the verge of hysteria and her friend’s fear will lead Nikki and Joseph on a very dangerous trail.

Captive on the Fens (DI Nikki Galena, #6)

Captive on the Fens (DI Nikki Galena #6)

Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada
A young woman’s body is found in a remote barn on the Fens. Before she was killed, one of her fingers had been cut off. Who is inflicting this violence and why? And can DI Nikki Galena stop them before anyone else suffers?

The young woman in the barn had been kept captive for some time. And the case shows strong similarities to an unsolved murder in Derbyshire. When another woman is found alive with similar injuries the case grows even more complicated.

At the same time, the Fenland police have received intelligence that the ruthless criminal Freddy Carver plans to make Greenborough the hub for his new enterprise. DI Nikki Galena is desperate to track down Freddie Carver and make sure that he does not put down roots in the Fens, but finding him is not easy. And what’s his connection to the kidnapped girls?

And who is the woman being held captive in a remote location? DI Nikki Galena must rally her team of detectives, while facing a traitor on the inside, in this captivating mystery which will have you gripped as Nikki races against time to save more than one victim, including someone she care deeply about

Buried on the Fens (DI Nikki Galena, #7)Buried on the Fens (DI Nikki Galena #7)

Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada

A SKELETON IS FOUND IN A SHALLOW GRAVE IN THE CHURCHYARD. BUT THIS WAS NOT AN OFFICIAL BURIAL. THE VICTIM WAS MURDERED DECADES AGO.

At the same time, Detective Nikki Galena and her team are investigating the brutal slaying of local businesswoman Madeline Prospero. She was a member of an exclusive and secretive drinking club called The Briar Patch. But they’ve got no suspects and no one is telling them the truth.

Meanwhile, the buried skeleton leads them on a trail to the village of Quintin Eaudyke. This is a troubled place. In the late seventies and eighties a reign of terror and abuse was unleashed on the close-knit population.

When more women from the The Briar Patch come under threat, Nikki faces a race against time to stop more murders.

Thieves On The Fens (DI Nikki Galena, #8)Thieves on the Fens (DI Nikki Galena #8)

Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada

DI Nikki Galena gets a series of anonymous calls. She is told the place, time, and who will die.

But the messages are in a secret language used only by villains. Nikki and her team must decode the riddles and work out where the threats are coming from.

Meanwhile, the Fens have been hit by a series of “designer burglaries.” It appears that a new gang of thieves are stealing to order.

And things get very close to home when a friend of Nikki’s mother dies suddenly and perhaps suspiciously.

Do any of these events relate, and can Nikki stop the thieves on the fens, before anyone else dies?

Full of twists and turns, this is a crime thriller that will keep you turning the pages until the heart-stopping ending.

The complex cases will come to a head in one of the most complex and absorbing books yet in the series. This is book 8 of the international best-selling books featuring Nikki Galena.

Boathouse

Fire on the Fens (DI Nikki Galena #8)

Available from Amazon

Do you love gripping detective mysteries? Then try this book by a #1 best-selling author now. You won’t be able to put it down. By an author everyone’s talking about.

Detective Nikki Galena faces a cat-and-mouse battle with a killer arsonist.

Someone is lighting fires on the fens. First they target property, but then a body is found at one of the crime scenes.

More fires are lit. And at each one a single person dies. But the victims have led spotless lives and apparently there’s no connection between them.

Meanwhile, the town is facing a very peculiar threat from a group of sinister Satanists led by a charismatic businessman.

Who is burning with anger, and can Nikki stop them before anyone else dies? 

Full of twists and turns, this is a crime thriller that will keep you turning the pages until the heart-stopping ending.


Guide StarGuide Star (a completely different stand alone women’s fiction novel)

Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada

Do you love emotional and gripping fiction full of twists about people fighting back against what life throws at them? Then try this book by a #1 best-selling author now. You won’t want to put it down.

WHO DO YOU TURN TO WHEN LIFE GOES WRONG? WHO IS YOUR GUIDE STAR?

Stella won’t give up, but she doesn’t know how to go on.

Stella North, a rising star in the police, has her life torn apart by a gunman’s bullets. She has often faced danger, but these injuries mean she must give up the job she loves. Her grandmother Beth is her rock. And Beth is no ordinary woman. At seventy, she runs marathons and has a past that Stella knows very little about.

Beth calls in her friend Michael to help with Stella’s recovery. But this man means a lot more to Beth than she reveals. And Stella’s ex-husband Edward and old police partner Robbie want to help, but Stella puts up emotional barriers, and they have problems of their own. Her old friends from her days of Urbex (exploring old abandoned buildings) offer a glimmer of hope for the future.

Will Stella find the strength to overcome the challenges of her new life, and will her grandmother at last resolve the deep emotional turmoil of her past?


Joy Ellis's profile photo, Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, mountain, outdoor and natureJOY ELLIS

UK #1 Best Seller

1 Million books sold and rising!

“I was born in Kent but spent most of my working life in London and Surrey. I was an apprentice florist to Constance Spry Ltd, a prestigious Mayfair shop that throughout the sixties andJOFFE BOOKS – What their authors think. Day 7 – Charlie Gallagher #TeamJoffeBooks seventies teemed with both royalty and ‘real’ celebrities. What an eye-opener for a working-class kid from the Garden of England! I swore then, probably whilst I was scrubbing the floor or making the tea, that I would have a shop of my own one day. It took until the early eighties, but I did it. Sadly the recession wiped us out, and I embarked on a series of weird and wonderful jobs; the last one being a bookshop manager. Surrounded by books all day, getting to order whatever you liked, and being paid for it! Oh bliss!

And now I live in a village in the Lincolnshire Fens with my partner, Jacqueline, and our two second generation Springer spaniels. I had been writing mysteries for years but never had the time to take it seriously. Now I can, and as my partner is a highly decorated retired police officer; my choice of genre was suddenly clear. I have set my crime thrillers here in the misty fens because I sincerely love the remoteness and airy beauty of the marshlands. This area is steeped in superstitions and lends itself so well to murder!”



JOFFE BOOKS – What their authors think. Day 1 – T J Brearton

JOFFE BOOKS: What Their Authors Think. Day 2 – Ken Ogilvie

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JOFFE BOOKS: What their authors think. Day 4 – Janice Frost

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JOFFE BOOKS – What their authors think. Day 7 – Charlie Gallagher

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