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Order of Joy Ellis Books
When it comes to crafting suspense that feels both chillingly real and heartbreakingly human, few authors can hold a candle to Joy Ellis. Born in Kent, England, in 1947, Ellis didn’t set out immediately to become the literary voice of quiet English terror. Life took her down many winding country lanes first: she worked as a florist, ran a small business, and spent time coaching aspiring writers at an adult education college—honing a sense of people, community, and secrets that would one day pour so vividly into her novels.
And oh, what novels.
Although Joy Ellis didn’t publish her first book until later in life, she exploded onto the crime fiction scene with the kind of cozy-yet-unnerving mysteries that fans of Midsomer Murders and British detective dramas devour. It was a path not paved in traditional fashion—Ellis didn’t study literature at Oxford or take a fine arts degree. Instead, her real education came from living among the richly layered, sometimes shadowy communities of rural England, where every flower shop and parish church might hide a tragedy waiting to be uncovered. That authenticity drips from every page of her work.
Today, Joy lives in the Lincolnshire Fens—a wild, windswept landscape that many readers claim feels like a character itself in her books. Her long-term partner, Jacqueline, a retired police officer, has been a major inspiration for Ellis's gripping, procedurally rich storytelling. You can practically feel the police authenticity beating through her popular DI Nikki Galena series, Jackman and Evans series, and the newer Detective Matt Ballard series.
Joy Ellis’s novels are a masterclass in suspense where the villains aren’t always the monsters lurking in alleyways—they're often hiding in plain sight, in the village shop or on the narrow footpaths beside the marshes. Her career took off when Joffe Books, the indie publisher known for spotlighting hidden gems, signed her—proving once again that the crime genre is always ready for a sharp new voice willing to upend its traditions.
As for accolades? Ellis has been shortlisted for the Audible Sounds of Crime Award, and her audiobooks—narrated by the legendary Richard Armitage—have soared to the top of charts. Readers often find themselves trapped in “just one more chapter” spirals until 3 AM, only to emerge wondering how well they really know their neighbors.
No, Joy Ellis has not passed away—and thank goodness. She continues to write from her Fenland home, where the misty mornings and brooding skies offer the perfect backdrop for yet more mysteries to come. With no plans of slowing down, Ellis leaves readers constantly asking: What dark secret lies behind the next garden hedge?
So if you haven't yet stepped into her windswept, suspense-charged world, beware: Joy Ellis’s stories are deceptively cozy, relentlessly twisty, and they will haunt you long after you turn the last page.
Publication Order of Series Books
Publication Order of Detective Matt Ballard
| Title | Year | Amazon Links |
|---|---|---|
| Beware the Past | 2017 | Amazon |
| Five Bloody Hearts | 2019 | Amazon |
| The Dying Light | 2020 | Amazon |
| Marshlight | 2021 | Amazon |
| Trick of the Night | 2022 | Amazon |
| The Bag of Secrets | 2023 | Amazon |
Publication Order of DI Rowan Jackman & DS Marie Evans
| Title | Year | Amazon Links |
|---|---|---|
| The Murderer's Son | 2014 | Amazon |
| Their Lost Daughters | 2017 | Amazon |
| The Fourth Friend | 2017 | Amazon |
| The Guilty Ones | 2018 | Amazon |
| The Stolen Boys | 2018 | Amazon |
| The Patient Man | 2020 | Amazon |
| They Disappeared | 2020 | Amazon |
| The Night Thief | 2021 | Amazon |
| Solace House | 2022 | Amazon |
| The River's Edge | 2023 | Amazon |
| BLACK NOTICE | 2025 | Amazon |
Publication Order of Nikki Galena
| Title | Year | Amazon Links |
|---|---|---|
| Mask Wars / Crime on the Fens | 2010 | Amazon |
| Shadowbreaker / Shadow Over the Fens | 2011 | Amazon |
| Hunted on the Fens | 2014 | Amazon |
| Killer on the Fens | 2016 | Amazon |
| Stalker on the Fens | 2016 | Amazon |
| Captive on the Fens | 2017 | Amazon |
| Buried on the Fens | 2017 | Amazon |
| Thieves On The Fens | 2017 | Amazon |
| Fire on the Fens | 2018 | Amazon |
| Darkness on the Fens | 2019 | Amazon |
| Hidden on the Fens | 2020 | Amazon |
| Secrets on the Fens | 2021 | Amazon |
| Fear on the Fens | 2021 | Amazon |
| Graves on the Fens | 2022 | Amazon |
| Echoes on the Fens | 2024 | Amazon |