The Dying Light cover art

The Dying Light

Detective Matt Ballard Series, Book 3

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The Dying Light

By: Joy Ellis
Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
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About this listen

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 Crime Thrillers Detective Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Private Investigators Psychological Thriller Thriller & Suspense Crime Scary
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Quite a dark story. I found it inconclusive. I think I had written a different ending in my head which would have explained things in a much more convincing way.

A little disturbing

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This did not finish like I thought it would ..

Very intriguing 🤔 and sad 😔

Not what you expect

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The good: The narrator for this and the 2nd books is WAY better than the first. Although DS(?) Jason was a bit hard to listen to at times :)
The bad: overall, I really struggled to finish this one, and don't think I'll tackle anymore of the Ballard books - mainly because this one was so dark and depressing, and I miss 'the team'. I dislike books that bring me this far down - it was awful.
The ugly: mental illness or not, reality or not - the abuse the MC put up with from his wife was/is not acceptable, and made me want to slap her myself - and him, for not getting help a lot sooner than he did.
Emotional reaction to the book - yes. Did it leave me feeling satisfied, upbeat and wanting to read more? No. I read for entertainment, not to feel disturbed and sad. (really enjoyed the other two series, despite them dealing with murder and mayhem though)

Very dark and depressing story - not for me

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good story. started of slow but soon developed into an interesting plot. first story of Matt Ballard that I have read.

dying light

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I didn't mind this one, had heard the first two, but the narrator still grates on me; bad accents and vocal changes at the wrong times; it's the only way to describe how I perceived it. Though there was lots of just talking and surmising, there could've been more depth to the storyline, particularly around the wife with the mental condition. The last minutes were a surprise... It feels like there could be a fourth book and despite my comments I'd definitely listen to it 🙂

More of a mystery story than a crime...

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What a winding, twisting, exciting and painful journey the story took you on.
I find the narrator is better to listen to with earphones as it’s grating listening through my phone.

Surprise ending

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An excellent story well put together and keeps the reader guessing. Love this author and will be ordering her next books. Love the descriptions if the Fens makes you think you are there.

Characters and twists and turns

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My confidence in this new series has increased with each volume, and I enjoyed this one more without reservation compared with the first two, and I hope that there are plenty more to come in this series.

Best yet in this series

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As much as I enjoyed this story, I found it a little bit predictable and not as thrilling as her books usually are. Joy Ellis has set the bar high for herself, and I'm not sure this quite made it... I would still recommend it as part of the Matt Ballard series though.

A good story, but not one of her best

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Another terrific story from Joy Ellis. Loved the twists and believable characters. The narration was good.

Great story line and characters.

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