The Fourth Friend by Joy EllisMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Blog Tour review
The Blurb
Police Detective Carter Mclean has just returned to work after being on sick leave for eighteen months.He has been recovering from the injuries he sustained in a plane crash which resulted in the death of his four best friends.He is full of guilt because he was the sole survivor and has decided to complete a task that they left unfinished.
Eighteen months before the crash Suzanne Holland,who was the wife of one of Carter`s four best friends disappeared leaving a room with traces of blood but no other traces.
Adding to the team`s pressure,the Boss`s daughter has a stalker.Due to the sensitivity of the Holland case,Carter is put on the stalker investigation.
DS Marie Evens 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.
Jackman and Evens face a battle to untangle three mysteries,and can they really trust their friend and colleague Carter.
My Review
I think I might have a bit of a crush on Rowan Jackman,he's not your typical Boss,he's friends with all of his team,joins in with their banter and respects their opinion when they are working on a investigation,he's just so NICE.I love Jackman`s team,they are a mixed bag of realistic,likeable individuals,I love the banter and camaraderie that the team share throughout the book.Marie is under a lot of pressure because of Carter and it was really refreshing that the doubts about Carter didn't affect Marie and Jackman`s friendship.
Opening with a exhilarating,breath taking epilogue and having a sad,heart breaking ending this is a well written police procedural that has a hint of the supernatural to it.Although I enjoyed this book I didn't think it was as gripping as Their Lost Daughters.I thought it was too obvious who was Behind both the stalking of Superintendent Ruth Crooke`s niece and the disappearance of Suzanne Holland.Nothing unexpected happened,there where no jaw dropping twists or revelations.I think that the Cannon family angle could have been incorporated into the story more and used to add more intregue and threat to the story. I did however learn some interesting facts about blood splatter and brain injuries.
Although I personally didn't enjoy this one as much as the previous title in this series,I did enjoy it enough to finish it and would gladly recommend this series to other readers.I am looking forward to reading more books from this series in the future.
AUTHOR BIO
"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 and 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!"
ALSO BY JOY ELLIS
THE NIKKI GALENA SERIES
Book 1: CRIME ON THE FENS
Book 2: SHADOW OVER THE FENS
Book 3: HUNTED ON THE FENS
Book 4: KILLER ON THE FENS
Book 5: STALKER ON THE FENS
Book 6: CAPTIVE ON THE FENS
Book 7: BURIED ON THE FENS
JACKMAN & EVANS
Book 1: THE MURDERER’S SON
Book 2: THEIR LOST DAUGHTERS
Book 3: THE FOURTH FRIEND
Hi Nicki,
ReplyDeleteNOooo! Not another new author for me to add to my list - will it take the strain? - Especially when I did a bit more research and realised what a prolific author Joy is and how much catching up I have to do!
If your great review wasn't enough (I have to read the book just to check out Jackman after your comments), I then went on to read Joy's biography. I too was an apprentice florist during the seventies, although not with such an illustrious player in the business as Constance Spry. I trained under 'Lorraine Florist' in Swindon and know of Constance through the Interflora network. Happy times which unfortunately had to end when I married, as my husband was in the RAF and we went to live in Oxfordshire near his base.
Thanks for a lovely stop on the Blog Tour Nicki and thanks for the memories Joy :)
Yvonne
Hi Yvonne
DeleteThanks for your lovely comment about my review.I totally sympathise with you about growing book lists,I'm always finding new ones that look so tempting but you know what they say,you can never have too many books.It's just finding the time to read them all....lol
I actually lived in Swindon in the late seventies,I loved the place.I got my first Nancy Drew book from Swindon Library when I was thirteen,it was Password To Larkspur Lane and that book started my Nancy Drew obsession.I'm 52 this month and still collect and read them.We used to live a Kings Hill and I used to cycle along the canal and sit and watch the cars go by or build our own go carts and race down the slopes in our street.Aaaahhh memories
Thanks again for your comment,have a wonderful week
Nicki