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STALKER ON THE FENS a gripping crime thriller full of twists

Page 28

by Joy Ellis


  TWO BRUTAL KILLERS ARE LOOSE ON THE FENS BUT WHO CAN DI NIKKI GALENA TRUST?

  Detective Nikki Galena’s friend and neighbour meets a tragic end but there’s more to his death than meets the eye . . .

  And someone terrible from DS Joseph Easter’s past is back . . .

  NIKKI GALENA BOOK 3

  HUNTED ON THE FENS

  A vicious criminal is targeting DI Nikki Galena and her team. One by one he will hunt them down and destroy their lives, unless she can stop him first

  https://www.amazon.co.uk/HUNTED-gripping-crime-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B01IYIDWCM/

  https://www.amazon.com/HUNTED-gripping-crime-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B01IYIDWCM/

  DI GALENA BOOK 4

  KILLER ON THE FENS

  DETECTIVE NIKKI GALENA’S DYING FATHER HAS ONE FINAL REQUEST: “FIND EVE.”

  DI Nikki Galena faces a personal challenge which will stretch her to the limit. She must fulfil her father’s dying wish and discover who the mysterious Eve is. Meanwhile a dead drug dealer is found on an abandoned airfield that the locals say is haunted. The trail of both mysteries will lead to the most shocking discovery of Nikki’s career and put her whole team in mortal danger.

  https://www.amazon.co.uk/KILLER-gripping-crime-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B01JTYN9RS/

  https://www.amazon.com/KILLER-gripping-crime-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B01JTYN9RS/

  ALSO BY JOY ELLIS

  THE MURDERER’S SON

  https://www.amazon.co.uk/MURDERERS-gripping-crime-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B01LWY0PUJ/

  https://www.amazon.com/MURDERERS-gripping-crime-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B01LWY0PUJ/

  "What if your mother was a serial killer?"

  A BLOODY KILLER SEEMS TO HAVE RETURNED TO THE LINCOLNSHIRE FENS

  A gripping standalone crime thriller by the best-selling author of the Nikki Galena series.

  Twenty years ago: a farmer and his wife are cut to pieces by a ruthless serial killer.

  Now: a woman is viciously stabbed to death in the upmarket kitchen of her beautiful house on the edge of the marshes.

  Then a man called Daniel Kinder walks into Saltern police station and confesses to the murder.

  Character List

  Detective Inspector Nikki Galena

  Nikki is a brave, honest and dedicated police officer who started at the bottom and clawed her way up through the ranks. Although once a loner, hardened by personal tragedy and some of the terrible cases that she has dealt with, the formation of a new, close-knit team has given her drive and enthusiasm.

  She is based in the Lincolnshire Fens and her ‘patch’ includes miles of agricultural farmland, massive stretches of dangerous marshes and Greenborough, a big market town with as many criminals as some urban areas. Nikki is divorced and her only child Hannah, died tragically in her teens.

  Detective Sergeant Joseph Easter

  Joseph had a middle-class upbringing, good education, went to university then left to join the military. He keeps this fact a secret from his colleagues as he became bitterly disillusioned after an operation went wrong and innocent people died.

  He has a quiet way and a calm, reasonable attitude, and he is completely unaware that he a very attractive man. After a dramatic first case with Nikki Galena, he is asked to join her team permanently, and now he lives close to Nikki on Cloud Fen. He is divorced with one daughter Tamsin, a girl who hated the thought of her father being a soldier and killing people. Initially Tamsin lived with her mother and had nothing to do with Joseph, but slowly they are re-building their father/daughter relationship. Joseph hopes that one day she will see just how much he has changed.

  DC Caitlin ‘Cat’ Cullen

  Cat is tough and shrewd and the most streetwise copper on the team. Since joining Nikki’s team she had redeemed a failing career and is becoming an excellent detective. Cat is a chameleon and works brilliantly undercover. Nikki recognises her skills and knows that she can trust her. One of Cat’s strengths is that once she gets her teeth into a problem she never gives up. Another is her keen interest in technology. She is fiercely loyal to her team and works closely with her older working partner, Dave.

  DC Dave Harris

  Dave is good old cop and a proud man who chose to hide serious family problems in order to cope alone. Nikki found out about his background, and does her best to help and protect him. He repays her by committing wholeheartedly to her team and brings with him a wealth of local knowledge and old-style intuitive policing.

  Superintendent Greg Woodhall

  Greg became superintendent after the retirement of Rick Bainbridge. He is another officer who worked his way up through the ranks, and has a lot of time and respect for the men and women who work with him. He has known Nikki since she was a probationer, and he also knows that she and her team sometimes operate outside the box, but more often than not, he chooses to support her. Greg does not suffer fools gladly, and where Nikki is concerned, he appreciates both her dedication to the force and her high arrest rate.

  Professor Rory Wilkinson

  Rory is the area’s Home Office pathologist, and after being closely involved with Nikki Galena in some terrifying cases, he has become her friend. He lives with his partner, David, and is happy to share the fact that he is gay with anyone who will listen. He has a wicked, dark sense of humour, but is fiercely intelligent and treats all the souls that end up in his care, with the utmost respect and sensitivity.

  WPC Yvonne Collins

  Yvonne has spent almost two decades as a uniformed officer on the streets of Greenborough. Although a highly decorated police woman, she loves being a ‘beat bobby’ and knows more about the town and the surrounding Fens than anyone else on the force. She has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the law, but relies on her good instincts that come from experience. She lives alone with her old dog, Holmes.

  PC Niall Farrow

  Niall is Yvonne’s crew-mate. He is young and enthusiastic but has all the right values. He is something of ‘Boy’s Own’ hero; loves his equipment belt full of gizmos, and is happy to get stuck in when needed. In becoming a police officer he fulfilled his childhood dream, and he loves working with the street-wise Yvonne. He is very fond of Tamsin, Joseph’s daughter.

  Glossary of English Slang for US readers

  A & E: Accident and emergency department in a hospital

  Aggro: Violent behaviour, aggression

  Air raid: an attack in which bombs are dropped from aircraft on ground targets

  Anorak: nerd (it also means a waterproof jacket)

  Artex: textured plaster finish for walls and ceilings

  A Level: exams taken between 16 and 18

  Auld Reekie: Edinburgh

  Barm: bread roll

  Barney: argument

  Beaker: glass or cup for holding liquids

  Beemer: BMW car or motorcycle

  Benefits: social security

  Bent: corrupt

  Bin: wastebasket (noun), or throw in rubbish (verb)

  Biscuit: cookie

  Bloke: guy

  Blow: cocaine

  Blower: telephone

  Bob: money

  Bobby: policeman

  Brown bread: rhyming slang for dead

  Bun: small cake

  Bunk: do a bunk means escape

  Burger bar: hamburger fast-food restaurant

  Buy-to-let: Buying a house/apartment to rent it out for profit

  Charity Shop: thrift store

  Carrier bag: plastic bag from supermarket

  Care Home: an institution where old people are cared for

  Car park: parking lot

  Chat-up: flirt, trying to pick up someone with witty banter or compliments

  Chemist: pharmacy

  Chinwag: conversation

  Chippie: fast food place selling chips and other fried food

  Chips: French fries but thicker

  CID: Criminal Investigation Department

  Civvy Street: civilian life (as opposed to army)


  Cling film: plastic wrap for food

  Clock: punch

  Cock and bull: made up/ nonsense

  Cock up: mess up, make a mistake

  Common: an area of park land/ or lower class

  Comprehensive School (Comp.): High school

  Cop hold of: grab

  Copper: police officer

  Coverall: coveralls, or boiler suit

  CPS: Crown Prosecution Service, decide whether police cases go forward

  Childminder: someone who looks after children for money

  Council: local government

  Dan Dare: hero from Eagle comic

  Deck: one of the landings on a floor of a tower block

  Deck: hit (verb)

  Desperate Dan: very strong comic book character

  DI: detective inspector

  Digestive biscuit: plain cookie

  Do a runner: disappear

  Do one: go away

  Doc Martens: Heavy boots with an air-cushioned sole

  Donkey’s years: long time

  DS: detective sergeant

  ED: accident and emergency department of hospital

  Eagle: boys’ comic

  Early dart: to leave work early

  Eggy soldiers: strips of toast with a boiled egg

  Enforcer: police battering ram

  Estate: public/social housing estate (similar to housing projects)

  Estate agent: realtor (US)

  Falklands War: war between Britain and Argentina in 1982

  Fag: cigarette

  Filth: police (insulting)

  Forces: army, navy, and air force

  FMO: force medical officer

  Fried slice: fried bread

  Fuzz: police

  Garda: Irish police

  Geordie: from Newcastle

  Garden Centre: a business where plants and gardening equipment are sold

  Gob: mouth/ can also mean phlegm or spit

  GP: general practitioner, a doctor based in the community

  Graft: hard work

  Gran: grandmother

  Habdabs: extreme anxiety

  Hancock: Tony Hancock, English comedian popular in 1950s

  Hard nut: tough person

  HGV: heavy goods vehicle, truck

  HOLMES: UK police computer system used during investigation of major incidents

  Home: care home for elderly or sick people

  Inne: isn’t he

  Interpol: international police organisation

  Into care: a child taken away from their family by the social services

  Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, applied to any strong woman

  ITU: intensive therapy unit in hospital

  JCB: a mechanical excavator

  Jerry-built: badly made

  Lad: young man

  Lass: young woman

  Lift: elevator

  Lord Lucan: famous aristocrat who allegedly killed his children’s nanny and disappeared in 1974. Has never been found.

  Lorry: a truck

  Luftwaffe: German air force

  Miss Marple: detective in a series of books by Agatha Christie

  MOD: ministry of defence

  Mobile phone: cell phone

  MP: Member of Parliament, politician representing an area

  Naff: lame, not good

  National Service: compulsory UK military service, ended in 60s

  Net curtains: a type of semi-transparent curtain

  NHS: National Health Service, public health service of UK

  Nick: police station (as verb: to arrest)

  Nowt: nothing

  Nutter: insane person

  Nursery: a place which grows plants, shrubs and trees for sale (often wholesale

  Old bag: old woman (insulting)

  Old Bill: police

  Owt: anything

  Pants: noun: underwear adjective: bad/rubbish/terrible

  Para: paratrooper

  Pay-as-you-go: a cell phone you pay for calls in advance

  PC: police constable

  Petrol: gasoline

  Pillbox: a concrete building, partly underground, used as an outpost defence

  Pillock: fool

  Piss off: as exclamation, go away (rude). Also can mean annoy.

  Pissing down: raining

  Playing field: sports field

  Pleb: ordinary person (often insulting)

  Portakabin: portable building used as temporary office etc.

  Post: mail

  Planning Department: the local authority department which issues licences to build and develop property

  PNC: police national computer

  PSNI: police service of Northern Ireland

  Prat: silly idiot

  Premier League: top English soccer division

  Public Analyst: scientists who perform chemical analysis for public protection purposes

  RAF: Royal Air Force

  Rag: newspaper

  Ram-raiding: robbery where a vehicle is rammed through a shop window

  Randy: horny

  Recce: reconnaissance

  Red Adair: famous oil well firefighter

  Resus: resuscitation room

  Right state: messy

  Ring: telephone (verb)

  Roadworks: repairs done to roads

  RSPB: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

  RTC: road traffic collision

  RV: rendezvous point

  Royal Engineers: British army corps dealing with military engineering etc.

  Rugger: rugby (posh American football)

  Sarge: sergeant

  SCO19: Specialist Crime and Operations Specialist Firearms Command

  Scrote: low life

  Semi: Semi-detached house, house with another house joined to it on one side only

  Shedload: a large amount

  Shout the odds: talk in a loud bossy way

  Sixth-form college: school for high school students in final two years.

  SIO: senior investigating officer

  Skip: a large open container used for building waste

  Slapper: slag

  Smackhead: heroin addict

  Snout: police informer

  SOCO: scene-of-crime officer

  Sod: an annoying person

  Sort: to do or make

  Solicitor: lawyer

  Sparky: electrician

  Spook: spy

  Squaddie: a soldier of low rank

  Stunner: beautiful woman

  Super: superintendent (police rank)

  Surveyor: someone who examines land and buildings professionally

  Sweeting: endearment, like sweetheart

  Tabloid: newspaper

  Tea: Dinner (Northern English)

  Tea towel: drying cloth

  Till: cash register

  Tip: a mess

  Tipsy: a bit drunk

  Top himself: commit suicide

  Torch: flashlight

  Totty: attractive woman

  Trumpton: derogatory name for the fire service, often used by police

  Tutor: university teacher

  Tower block: tall building containing apartments (usually social housing)

  Upmarket: affluent or fancy

  Wacky baccy: cannabis

  Wally: silly person

  War Cry: Salvation Army magazine

  Wash: the washing machine

  Water board: company supplying water to an area

  White van man: typical working-class man who drives a small truck

  Widow’s weeds: black clothes worn by a widow in mourning

  Wilco: will comply i.e. yes

  Wool-gathering: daydreaming

  Yellowbelly: native of Lincolnshire

  Yob: a rude or aggressive youth or person

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  First a shooting, then a grisly discovery on the common . . .

  Police partners, D.I. Calladine and D.S. Ruth Bayliss race against time to track down a killer before the whole area erupts in violence. Their boss thinks it’s all down to drug lord Ray Fallon, but Calladine’s instincts say something far nastier is happening on the Hobfield housing estate.

  Can this duo track down the murderer before anyone else dies and before the press publicize the gruesome crimes? Detectives Calladine and Bayliss are led on a trail which gets dangerously close to home. In a thrilling finale they race against time to rescue someone very close to Calladine’s heart.

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