THIEVES ON THE FENS a gripping crime thriller full of twists (DI Nikki Galena Series Book 8)

...is that this is the last book in the series! I prefer always to start with the 1st book, because that's the best way to get to know the protagonists, and read them in order. Maybe I'm just an idiot, I don't quite understand why Amazon can't make it more clear which book is #1, #2, etc, etc. Very anoying. Otherwise, I loved this ook. It had everything one could want from a police procedural--two nasty villians, a competent team peopled by interesting characters, almost no gadding about with descriptions that, in my opinion anyway, do absolutely nothing to move the story forward. I also learned something about the history and origina of the can't housebreakers, etc, used to keep the average citizen from knowing what they were talking about. I learned that there's even a special dictionary with all these terms, and that many of them have become part of our every day language. Fascinating. So now I have to decide whether to go back and start with book 1 or go on to Ellis' next series. I do know,, however, that she is definitely an author who writes books that appeal to me.

I have read all of the Galena books and loved them. My one criticism is that the author should explore other storylines other than the ones that endanger the lives of the central characters. There have been so many of these instances in the Galena stories that is a little wearing. Surely the author can come up with some plot lines that don't involve some Criminal wanting to get even with Nikki or her team or her family. That storyline doesn't really ring true anyway because most criminals want to avoid the police not call attention to themselves by going after them.

Perhaps I am biased as have read all of Joy Ellis's books and really enjoyed them whereas I thought this book was extremely poor. The whole plot was completely unrealistic the characters were portrayed in a very immature manner which was so unlike her. In fact it came to the point where I ound them extremely irritating and the Mother/Daughter relationship was overdone.

I follow several authors who move the reader along with the characters background. This author is definitely one of my favorites, and I have read all of the DI Galena and associates, and would highly recommend new readers to follow suit. This author lets the reader enjoy and understand the story, leaving you wanting more.

This is a good novel by Joy Ellis that has a quite complex plot full of disturbing implications for politics in Britain. Nikki, the heroine detective, is placed in awkward situations several times trying to save her mother and to save individuals on her police team. Some of the dialogue in the novel seems a bit stilted and perhaps some of the situations are a little over the top. Overall it was a nice read and I recommend the novel.

A strong plot, fairly believable characters, a clear engaging storyline but with enough twists. 4 stars partly because the writing style seemed a little mannered in places, with different characters' dialogues sometimes too similar. And maybe the deus ex machina denouement, plausible though it is, doesn't quite do justice to the care with which the situation and its entwined strands are established.I haven't yet read the perfect detective novel, but this would be well up on my list of memorables. Easy to read, hard to put down because I really did want to know what happened next all the way through. I'm certainly expecting to read more from Joy Ellis.Recommended

I love Nikkei Galena and her crew! I was pleased to see more of Eve's story and meet her friends. I was sad that we lost a member of the team during this book, but there were also some wonderful developments in the book. I will wait patiently for the next book in the series to see what criminal elements the team will thwart next time.

Ah...once again Joy Ellis has held us in thrall with her exciting down to the last page, Police Mystery. I hope we can look forward to a next one. It looks like Nikki and Joseph may have a happily ever after but we’ll just have to wait and see.