Why did I wait this long?

A couple of nocturnal naturists (they study night animals) find a dead couple of teens that are posed as Romeo and Juliet. Although it may look like a double suicide, it’s foul play. The youngsters were first drugged and then smothered but they were killed in different locations and then transported to the woods. Strangely enough, nobody comes to the station to report a missing person. A goth friend of Cat can identify the boy as Wolf but she doesn’t know his real name. The girl with him is not his girlfriend Branwen (also only know by her assumed name) who’s also disappeared.

Then a few days later, another teenage couple is found in a boat inside a tunnel that leads to a drain by no-one else than Nikki’s mother and her army friend.



This is the s12th book in an ongoing series. I hadn’t read the previous ones but I could follow just fine. It actually felt as if I’d known the characters for much longer because there are multiple references to events that occurred years ago. I’m quite happy to have requested this book as I wanted to read something by Joy Ellis for a while and I’m not disappointed at all. This was an excellent gamble. I’m only regretting that it took me so long.

On the outside, DI Nikki Galena is a tough, no-nonsense, hard-nosed copper with a sharp tongue. She doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Beneath the hard exterior, she has a heart of gold and is capable of deep compassion. You only have to look at her rescue of troubled teen Mickey who’s also gone missing. She cares deeply about getting justice for the victims and will go through fire for her team. Nikki is in a very serious relationship with DS Joseph Easter, but they must keep it a secret. When it becomes public knowledge, one of them will be put in another station. They want to avoid that.

But if it would happen, Joseph will the one to move away. He still feels guilty for choosing the job over Nikki in the past and almost losing her. He’s ex-special forces, an amazing cook and an attentive charming man. A lottery ticket, as we say in Flanders.

Professor Rory Wilkinson, the pathologist is another favourite of mine. With his Shakespeare quotes and a habit of talking to the corpses, he reminds me a bit of Ducky from NCIS.

The investigation into the couple’s murders is interrupted by chapters about Nikki’s mum Eve and her army buddy Wendy. They’re restoring a Victorian artist’s studio and botanical garden and discover a secret journal and some letters that all point to the Lake District where the man disappeared in unclear circumstances more than a century ago. These parts have the feel of a cosy mystery albeit one not without danger as not everybody is happy with their digging into the past. It works well as contrasting with the grittier underbelly of Greenborough where the 2 big crime families both mourn one of their children.

It is a complex and complicated investigation. Is the ‘love theme' of both double homicides a message? If so, to whom? To the police, the families, the victim's friends or someone else? Or is it all misdirection? Is it gang-related with both warring crime families having victims? Is it a jilted lover? Or does it relate to the Goth community? Maybe it’s an overzealous religious fanatic with a hatred for those? Nikki simply doesn’t know. Bring in a corrupted copper and you don’t know where to look first.

The subculture of Goths played an important role in the dead teens lives and we learn more about their beliefs and habits. It is a far more diverse group than I thought. And I’d never heard of taphophiles, (studying tombstones and cemeteries) a strange but no-doubt interesting hobby.

Byron, a cat that’s been made homeless by the killer finds a new and loving home with Cat and Ben.

At the back of the book, there’s an extensive glossary for those who’re not all that familiar with UK expressions.

I thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for this free ARC and this is my honest and unbiased review of it.