Preview
  • The Dying Light

  • Detective Matt Ballard Series, Book 3
  • By: Joy Ellis
  • Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
  • Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (655 ratings)

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The Dying Light

By: Joy Ellis
Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
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Publisher's summary

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
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What listeners say about The Dying Light

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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not one of Joy Ellis’ best stories.

I normally enjoy all of Joy’s different series but this storyline was too drawn out and not her usual style of course detective mystery . I persisted cause I wanted to see how it ended but it was not as interesting as her previous books.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Intense

Another excellent thriller by Joy Ellis. The intensity packed into this story makes it hard to put down! You won’t want to stop listening!!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Exciting Twists and amazing characters

I love the storyline, as always! The performance is top notch. The author has such a command of emotions, and the performance is executed superbly.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A good book but not as good as the previous books.

Joy Ellis is one of my favorite writers! I've read all her books about Jackman Evans and Nikki & Joseph.

This book is different from her other books. I don't really think I believe the bad guy's reason for wanting the old lady's house.

What was the reason behind Kate's behavior!? Was it just her bipolar disorder and the loss of her daughter or was there something else as well!? Maybe it will be solved in the following book.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Too Long, Too Many Triggers

My opinion:
I was disappointed in this Book 3 of the Detective Matt Ballard Series. It went on and on for much too long. The narrator did a fairly good job but sometimes sounded muffled. The voices weren't always distinctive from one another or from male character or female character.
This book is depressing, and I don't recommend it to anyone who suffers from mental health issues. It's what I would call "heavy."
There are other triggers such as the plot involving loss of loved ones, insanity, deaths of children.
I was very disappointed in the way the author concluded the book.
If profanity is an issue for you, as it is for me, I just had to overlook the occasional F-bombs and the British use of taking the Lord's name in vain.
As it was, I would not have missed anything if I did not read this book.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointed

I was really disappointed in this second book. It really wasn't much of a detective story. Hopefully the series gets back to its original good old British detective drama.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Least favorite of all her books

After listening to all the Nikki Galena series and now making my way through this series, this is my least favorite of all of them. The plot was very bizarre and the characters frequently did things that were “out of character” and inconsistent with the personalities developed throughout the series. After a very long and slightly irritating buildup that focused on the paranormal and this woman’s poorly justified deteriorating mental health, the ending was very abrupt and left many things unanswered. The main character spent the entire book sacrificing his own mental health to accommodate his wife and then did a complete 180 at the end. Just an unsatisfying read all around that to me made zero sense.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

They just get better and better!

My attention was gripped from the first chapter. And as always is the case, I was unable to figure out what the outcome would be. The ending was satisfying but sadly so. I’ve run out of descriptives for Joy Ellis books. The narration was superb. Highly recommend this title’

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not the usual for Joy Ellis

This was not a bad story, it was just so outside of what Joy Ellis typically writes it almost should have been a stand alone. The only way it fit in to the Matt Ballard series was that it happened to have Matt and Liz in it. But it felt forced and didn’t really contribute to their story. This story was much more of a haunted house thriller than a police procedural. It had very strong American Horror Story vibes. The narration was incredibly dry but not awful.

I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I wasn’t expecting it to fit into the Joy Ellis/Matt Ballard series. All in all a 3 out of 5.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

All over the place...

Sometimes I really liked this book, and other times I hated it. Will was such a sap, but in the end he surprised me. Kate was easily hated, but also deeply troubled. Sophie's powers were never really explored...just left to the imagination. Narration was just wack..Hopefully the next book will be better.

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