| Title | : | Their Lost Daughters (Jackman Evans #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 331 |
| Publication | : | First published March 26, 2017 |
Toni, the surviving teenager, is found deliriously wandering the muddy fields of the fens. 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.
FOUR GIRLS. FOUR DAUGHTERS. FOUR FAMILIES WHO NEED 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. A sinister man works on the property alone, but the owner appears to be the perfect gentleman.
THE DETECTIVES
DS Marie Evans lost her husband in a motorbike accident and has personal connections to the case. DI Jackman leads the team. He is extremely smart and has a knack for bringing out the best in his diverse team.
THIS BOOK IS NOT PART OF THE NIKKI GALENA SERIES BUT TAKES PLACE IN THE SAME STUNNING AREA
Their Lost Daughters (Jackman Evans #2) Reviews
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This is an amazing thriller narrated by an amazing narrator, Richard Armitage. “Their Lost Daughters” by Joy Ellis introduces DI Rowan Jackman and DS Marie Evans. This is the first Joy Ellis audio book I’ve had. She’s one that I’m going to follow.
A delirious teen girl, Toni was found on an isolated beach. Her friend Emily went with her but was abducted at a “drinking club” party. A different teenage girl disappeared 10 years prior, and this girl’s mother is sparked to pressure the police again in finding her daughter.
Jackman and Evans encounter trouble in identifying Emily. No one has reported a missing daughter/girl. Eventually the duo has 4 missing girls from 4 different families.
The plot is full of crazy twists and turns. Ellis does a fine job of weaving her complicated plot with insane surprises. There are many characters, but they are easy to follow. I also appreciated Ellis’s wit. Clever one-liners keep the story from becoming disturbingly dark. Although what happened to the girls is grisly, Ellis allows the reader to imagine it rather than describe in gory detail. I appreciated that detail. Her writing is clear, and the reader gets lost in her story.
The best part of the novel is the final reveal!
This is a great story. Richard Armitage adds to the perfect story. He’s a trained actor, and his voice made it a joy to listen to.
5 glowing stars for this gripping thriller! -
If you follow my reviews, you know I’m a huge fan of Joy Ellis’ Nikki Galena series. I liked the first book in this series, but didn’t love it. Ellis does a good job of creating believable characters, and I like what she’s done with Jackman and Evans. I also like how her plots are realistic, with overworked detectives juggling multiple cases.
It took me a while to get into the plot of this book. But once I was hooked, I wanted to listen nonstop. Ellis threw in several plot twists I didn’t see coming. The major twist I wouldn’t have seen coming in a thousand years.
I enjoyed this enough to go for book three in the series.
Richard Armitrage does a good job narrating this book, but not as good as Henrietta Miere does with the NG series.
Miscellaneous thoughts - Here’s when I know I've been spending too much time on the Fens. When Rory Wilkerson says he needs a forensic anthropologist, my first thought was why didn’t they contact Ruth Galloway…
And having listened to both the Nikki Galena series and this one, it threw me off when Rory’s voice was very different. -
Two girls go to a party but only one returns alive. Toni is found wandering in muddy fields. She's been drugged and says her friend Emily had been dragged away from the party. No one who Emily is or if she is still alive.
The drowned body of another girl has been washed up on an isolated beach. How does this relate to the disappearance of a little girl over ren years ago.
DI Rowan Jackman and DS Marie Evansof of the Fenland Police search for justice for the families.
This book had me hooked from the first few pages. I liked the characters, plot lines, the twist and turns. A great read.
I would like to thank Joffe Books and the author Joy Ellis for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. -
Audio 5 Stars
Story 4.5 Stars -
Jackman and Evans are back for another adventure. They receive an early morning call to investigate the death of a young girl found on an isolated beach. Then there is another young girl found wandering through the fields, having been drugged. She wants to know where they took Emily. But who is Emily?
And is there a connection to a missing girl from years ago? Her mother insists she is still alive, yet no one has ever been able to find her or find what happened to her.
Four girls ... four missing or dead ... and the families want answers.
Is there a connection to the illegal rave parties that law enforcement would dearly love to shut down?
Lots of twists and turns .... a crooked cop who has forgotten what side of the law he is on .... an abandoned former hospital that holds dark, dark secrets. And the children's ward .. the stuff nightmares are made of. A terrifying twist at the end.
This is not the first I've read by this author .. and it certainly won't be the last. This is a well-written crime thriller with unforgettable characters.
Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Negalley for the proof addition of this book. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own. -
Tragic crime, interesting suspense, likable characters.
I love how the detective's team respect and support each other.
It pissed me off, that one of the villains escaped the justice, but I assume they'd nail the fucker in one of the following books. -
I listened to this one on Audible, and it was an excellent, original story that grabs you from the first chapter. No mind-wandering when listening to this one! Lots of gritty little twists and turns and nifty surprises, great characters, and wonderful narration by the lovely Richard Armitage 😉
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All my reviews can be found at
http://thebookreviecafe.com
Don’t you just love it when you pick up a book by an author you’ve never read before, with no expectations and it’s just so darn good you’re left wondering why and how you’ve never read this authors books before. That’s exactly how I’m feeling after picking up The Lost Daughters by Joy Ellis, my god it’s good, in fact it was that good it made for an outstanding and engrossing read and definitely one that I was reluctant to put down.
This is the second book in Jackman and Evans crime series but it can be easily read as a standalone. From the opening chapter when a young girls body is found on the beach I just knew this one was going to grip me and it certainly did not disappoint. As the plot evolves the reader is presented with many threads a missing girl, a cold case and illegal drinks club. The author expertly links them together and slowly but deftly reveals horrors that are unimaginable.
Jackman, Evans and the rest of the team are an interesting bunch, they are very much a team which is pretty unusual in a crime thriller as most police teams have some animosity between them, that’s not a criticism in fact I found it refreshing. The back drop of the Fens give this book an atmospheric feel, and running throughout is a sense of evil that I found at times overwhelming. As the plot becomes more complex Joy Ellis throws in some deliciously twisted turns that I never seen coming. I loved the way the author expertly drew all the threads together in a way that left me open mouthed with its very imaginative conclusion.
Despite the subject matter the author doesn’t go into the finer detail, so this book never made for an uncomfortable read, but it certainly made for a suspense filled one. Although the plot line may not be the the most credible at times, this in no way spoilt my enjoyment of The Lost Daughters. Dark and menacing, this book was one I found hard to put down and I really am kicking myself for not reading this authors books before. -
I had a rather mixed experience with this book.
First of all, Richard Armitage's narration was excellent. That was easily a five star experience.
The story itself definitely had plenty of strengths, particularly the mystery/investigation aspects, and some of the reveals and connections were handled wonderfully - I want to stress how much the author impressed me with this, as it is the main reason I will continue with the series despite it ultimately being a three star read.
The things I struggled with were:
- A complete lack of connection to any of the people working on the case (hopefully this will improve as I progress, as surely I will learn more about them) and;
- The way I got a bit twitchy every time a character spoke in clichés, which happened frequently. I know well worn expressions have their place, but I was often able to predict where the conversations were heading, and what they would say and how they would say it, because it was all so familiar. At times they didn't feel like real people, just characters I have encountered many times before, in books and films and indistinguishable television shows.
But with the undeniably interesting plot, I am curious to see how this series builds upon previous books. Perhaps the police team will grow on me! -
Ok,firstly I will start with a admission....I was wrong when I decided not to request the first book in this series The Murderers Son.I was going through a phase where I was getting fed up with books about troubled detectives or detectives that spend most of the book butting heads with arrogant colleagues/superior officers so I decided not to bother.After reading this gripping,twisty thriller I honesty regret that decision.
A teenage girl is found wandering the muddy fens,she has been drugged and is delirious.She says that she witnessed her friend Emily being dragged away from the party that they both attended that night.But no one knows who Emily is or even if she is still alive.
Meanwhile the drowned body of another girl is found on a isolated beach.
And how does this all relate to the shocking disappearance of a little girl nearly a decade has,a crime which was never solved.
DI Rowan Jackman and DS Maria Evens are stretched to the limit as they try to solve these terrible crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice.
I really enjoyed this Intreguing mystery,it was packed with twists one of which I certainly didn't see coming.I loved DI Jackman and his team,they worked well together,I loved the banter that the characters shared and the fact that there was no interdepartmental back stabbing.Jackman was a caring boss who listened to his colleagues opinions and was prepared to bring in outside help when it was needed to help solve the case.The cast of characters where realistic and believable,the plot was intreguing and engaging and some of the settings were really quite creepy.
I thought it was a very good book,I will definitely be reading the first one and look forward to reading more DI Jackman investigations in the future.
Many thanks to Joffe books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this Intreguing mystery -
I am shocked at the number of high ratings for this book! I can give some credit to the idea, there was definitely a good concept and I did find myself wanting to know what happens, eventually.
However, the characters could have been the same person talking the entire time, the plot convenience was off the charts and the amount of cliched lines made me actually moan out loud on occasion. I really had trouble with the way it was written, it was so dull and had no flair.
Then, considering this is a detective book, it's like the police never actually have any trouble doing anything, everything falls into their favour. No restrictions from their superiors or any operations being unduly scuppered. And can we please talk about how in every book everyone seems to have a token "screw the law" hacker to reeeeeaalllyyyy make everything so easy? I was bored until about halfway through, then my interest was piqued but the ending was so disappointing and predictable, and it didn't even make a lot of sense. I found it frustrating. I've not read any other books by this author and I'm not sure I will again.
Tldr; good concept, executed extremely poorly. -
I listened to the Audible Studios production which featured Richard Armitage as narrator. I've said it before about other audiobooks he's narrated, but he's an absolutely fantastic narrator. He has a wide variety of accents and voices and he lends the right amount of gravitas to the non-dialogue parts of the prose. I could honestly listen to him narrate the phone book.
As to the writing itself, it was excellent. This book read like a really good British tv crime drama. In fact, it would make a really good British tv crime drama.
A teenage girl is found wandering the fens, and another teenage girl is found murdered. DI Jackman, DS Evans, and their team begin to investigate, while also investigating a cold case from nearly a decade ago involving a missing little girl.
As Jackman, Evans, and team investigate they have to navigate through many twists and turns as the cases uncover secrets bigger than anyone could have possibly imagined.
The characters are compelling, well written, and likeable, and I loved the Fenlands as a setting.
I highly recommend this book if you like British Crime books. -
Ok, so the honest truth, I only picked this up because it's read by Richard Armitage. I hate flying, and had two five-hour flights ahead of me, and save pharmaceuticals there is very little that calms me down like that man's voice. So there.
I doubt I would have been able to finish this if I'd had to read it myself. The writing was pretty dull in my opinion (I lost track of the number of times something had to be "ascertained" for example. It was all the time.), and the plot (while it had potential) was so predictable I actually wanted to slap the supposedly best detectives in the county for not seing what was right in front of them...
All in all, it was great to listen to, but even the excellent narration couldn't save this for me.
5 stars for the narration
2 stars for the plot
3 in total -
Oh I love, love, love, luuuurrv Joy Ellis' work! Having read nearly all of her Nikki Galena novels and both of the Jackman & Marie books I can honestly say she just keeps getting better with every book.
Their Lost Daughters is the second of this newer series and hooked me from the very first line to the shocking, stunning & heartfelt conclusion. There is very rarely happy endings in crime mystery/police procedurals. Yes, you catch the perpetrator, and there is a sense of relief in that but never joy. That's what makes this novel a little special, I think, in having that wonderful final moment that uplifts you - a very happy ending.
The characters she has created are so life-like, every one of them different and with their own strengths, yet they form such a cohesive unit (hmmm .... a little too much with a certain couple?). We see a new character introduced into the team, PC Gary, and he melded so effortlessly with the rest of the team it was almost as if he were there from the very beginning. I see big things happening for him in upcoming books.
I don't rehash synopses (I must put that in my profile) because it's all there in the blurb, but I will say that the author has done an amazing job in writing a novel steeped in adrenaline with numerous twists and turns, seamlessly weaving the complex main plot with the other subplots to bring home an exciting, satisfying conclusion.
Highly, highly recommended for Joy Ellis fans and for those that love their police crime mysteries with believable characters and scenery as compelling as the plot. -
If you can't tell from the cover illustration, this book is not for the faint of heart. It's the story of horrible, unspeakable crimes and the pain that led to them.
However, the story is an amazing thriller which will keep readers on the edge of their seats. There's a lot of moving parts, but it all seems to come together in the end in the story of people that are dealing with their painful legacies.
The story begins when the body of a young girl washes up on a beach, badly beaten. She was a bit of a "wild child" who liked to party. Soon other girls begin turning up drugged or missing and Police Detectives Rowan Jackman and Marie Evans must figure out what's going on. Meanwhile, they're also asked to reopen the case of a young missing girl from seven years ago - a sort of JonBenet of rural England.
It seems so weird to say that I liked this book, because as I said earlier, the answers to the mystery are quite gruesome. It's not pleasant. But as a fictional story, it is enjoyable in that there is so much suspense and intrigue. I was so into this book, waiting to see how everything came together.
It's like a season of American Horror Story. How could we all like that stuff?! I don't know, but we do!
There were a lot of moving parts, which did make some of it confusing, but most issues were resolved the end. I do wish that some other things had been clearer (like the past events that led to the current ones). I don't even know how to describe things from 50 percent of the story onward without spoiling things.
But trust me, this book is worth it. It is a thrilling ride from start to finish. -
4 (and a pinch) Stars. The storyline is much better in book 2; I enjoyed this one. There are a lot of bad guys in this, along with a long list of minor characters and I found it hard to keep them straight. Book 2 made up for Book 1s lack of police procedure and got rid of a couple of other pet peeves I had with the first.
I was surprised when I saw Joy Ellis in an interview with Richard Armitage (the narrator) because she looks like most of my friends [sweet (or not) grandmothers]. How these dark subjects and gore come out of that white-haired head is a wonder.
Any fan of Louise Penny, who can take a darker gorier scene, would like this series. -
Perfect,
From the first to the last page, this book kept me wondering what's gonna happen next, the team is super realistic, their connection makes the storytelling more fluide and believable, the plot was great, the psychological and archeological aspect of the investigation were very well used, and how everything turned out to be linked in the end made this read more than enjoyable.
Will definitely keep reading this series! -
Notes:
Great Narration by Richard Armitage
If I'm in the mood for a character driven story, I'll come back to this series. The case & the way it all unfolds was not that interesting or mysterious. Good atmosphere & relatable characters/scenes. -
4.5 stars. Twisty and dark and very, very good.
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This is the second book in the DI Rowan Jackman & DS Maria Evans series.
This took me a while to read as at times I was finding it hard to read. But I kept dipping in and out of the storyline. I found it hard to read at times due to the nature of the story, but OH BOY am I glad I carried on. All the darkness made sense as it started coming together. I never saw the ending come together the way it did.
I will definitely be reading more of Joy Ellis books in the future. -
Lets leave aside the inability of this book to let the reader even come to simple conclusions on their own, the clunky exposition, the 'oh look, isn't it horrible' that seems to come directly from the author even when the characters are saying it. The problem that left a real bad taste in my mouth was this books misuse of psychology and misrepresentation of the mentally ill and victims of childhood abuse. It uses all the negative tropes and really comes across as quite insulting and harmful.
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The plot was interesting and beautifully paced, but I couldn't get over how badly the dialogue was written - incredibly stilted and formal, totally unbelievable for police officers in pursuit. This might seem like a minor qualm, but this book has so much dialogue that it really is important to get it right.
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So I came back for another outing with Jackman and Evans and the team, although we were missing Orac on this case! The case itself sent chills down my spine, underage drinking, young girls going missing and well pervy old men! Not going to lie, all made me a little bit nervy when reading this.
I mainly picked this audiobook because of the man narrating it, it is so easy to get lost in his voice and then realise you do not know what is going on as you were listening to his voice, not the words. I did this a lot so for me, I missed key bits in the story, but I think I have to say not even Mr Armitage’s voice could save me from this book.
I am not sure if I will carry on the series, I felt obligated to read/listen to this book because I had read and enjoyed the first. However, I found that the pacing of this story was a bit slow. For me, something did not click with the big reveal, I found I did not care who or why in the end, which to be honest does make me a bit sad. I found myself switched off at times, do not get me wrong I love slow-burners enough to keep you hooked and turning the page. However, I did not find anything to want me to keep turning that said page, there was no cliff hanger to carry me over to the next chapter. I think this is the first time I will ever complain about this as well but there were too many characters and I could not keep up with who was who and how they were linked so this might have been why at the end I was relieved more than anything.
Yet, the plot in Their Lost Daughters is terrifying and it is one that I can imagine is happening right now, and like the book, is not spoken about at all. Girls going missing and illegal drinking, cover-ups and secrets…always secrets.
There are some intense and completely harrowing times in Their Lost Daughters, a discovery of a secret room, a secret child, secret and illegal parties, all were scary as hell and I had to stop what I was doing at one point because it shocked me to my core.
I did love the introduction of Gary, and if I do go back to the books I hope I see more of him and Orac! Gary fitted in straightaway as if he has always been in the team and it was nice to see that so seamless. I did miss Kevin Stoner though, I know he made a little cameo but I would have liked to know how he was getting on after the last book.
It was dark, menacing and twisty and surprising with the reveals, unfortunately, it was not for me. -
Girls are going missing in the Lincolnshire Fens. One is found and is calling out for a girl called Emily - who is she and what is going on.
This was really engaging and I enjoyed it. There were a lot of twists and turns, but it all came together in the end. -
British police procedural mystery read by Richard Armitage! Yeah, I’ll be listening to all of these on my way back & forth to school in 2019 :)
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Downloaded this bc it's narrated by Richard Armitage and he does an incredible job of accents, different voices for characters and just in general sounds great, haha. Very addictive and easy to listen to.
Turned out to be a creepy mystery, with many elements I won't be forgetting any time soon. I literally gasped around the halfway mark when a major crime scene (lair) was discovered - unexpectedly haunting and completely vivid in my mind's eye. For fans of crime in a UK setting, and for those who don't mind an author going a bit wild/ambitious in scope - lots of threads, spanning years, multiple crime scenes and, although not graphic in description, very chilling/disturbing events. -
"Their Lost Daughters" by Joy Ellis was quite a disappointment.
I was expecting more from such a highly praised novel.
The plot was interesting enough, although not a pageturner, but it felt like a purely cerebral exercise--it elicited no empathetic connection, neither with the victims nor with the investigators.
As the events unfolded, I found myself just not caring in the least about any of the characters: they felt mechanical and one-dimensional
Richard Armitage's narration, as always, was an added bonus, but the story per se didn't strike any chord within me. -
With a friend's daughter is listed as a runaway and a new body of a teen girl washed up on the beach, the detectives in one way are hoping it's not the same person - it however will be but this isn't the end of their story as more missing girls start to appear and it seems that they are all connected to a secret underground rave. When another colleague of theirs, the daughter tells her father about their friend and how she is now missing and then a girl wakes up half-dead in the hospital with a friend missing. It seems that the town has a killer on their hands and taking young females. We later learn that all these females that have been taken also have something in common - all of them were born on a Wednesday. As the story unfolds, we learn that the missing girls are connected to a case on the Moors that happened decades prior. I have to admit, the twists of the story when they discover what's underground in the tunnels surprised me and I was like WTF have they stumbled upon and how on earth did nobody find it earlier? If you are on the lookout for a new UK mystery author, then check out Joy Ellis and her book "Their Lost Daughters" in the series featuring DI Jackman and DS Evans.
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Their Lost Daughters by Joy Ellis (Fiction - Suspense -Audible) DI Rowan Jackman and DS Marie Evans of the Fenland police start out investigating two missing girls. One is found, but her friend isn't so lucky. The last time her friend saw her friend she was being dragged away. While investigating underage drinking clubs, the detectives find the girl dead on the beach. While putting together what happened to the girl, similarities to a cold case begin to appear, a young girl has been missing 10 years.
Joy Ellis takes the reader on many twists and turns as the detectives investigate the murder and missing girl. She's very good in handling the psychological aspects of the story. She gives the reader lots of surprises while she leads you the conclusion of the book.
If you are a fan of suspense, you will enjoy this book. I highly recommend it everyone. I chose to listen to this book. The narrator was Richard Armitage, who gives each character their own voice personality. This really adds to the book.
