Fire on the Fens - Joy Ellis

Fire on the Fens by Joy Ellis

First Paragraph(s):

'Not much left of that lot, is there?' Denny said.  The young firefighter stood with one of the big hoses draped over his shoulder to clear the water remaining inside it.
     Josh, one of his crewmates, nodded at the massive piles of smouldering charred wood.  'Farmer reckons that's a couple of thousand pounds worth of pallets there, nothing but ash now.'  He looked at a car standing just beyond the fire appliances.  'He's here again.  Third time this week.'
     Denny glanced across to the tall man staring at the scene of the fire.  'Is this what happens when you retire from the fire service?  You spend your days chasing blue lights?'
     'He's one of the best fire investigators you'll ever meet, I'll have you know.  In his day, John Carson solved some of the country's most complex arson cases.  Why he's trailing us around these bored yobs' attempts at arson beats me.'

My Thoughts:

Fire on the Fens is the 9th and latest book in this great series.  Did I love it?  Yes, indeed I did.  In between reading this one and my previous review here, I read Captive on the Fens,  Buried on the Fens, and Thieves on the Fens.  I'm not going to write individual reviews for those 3 books, but know that they are worth your time as well.  DI Nikki Galena, DS Joseph Easter, and other members of the team have lots happening in their lives, both personal and professional.  There are losses.  There are additions to the team.  Happy times and sad times.  Each book updates us in that regard, gives an interesting crime to solve, and also imparts some interesting angle of research that Joy Ellis shares.  She has another series that begins with The Murderer's Son and features another crime-solving team.  I'm planning on trying it soon in order to meet DI Rowan Jackman and DS Marie Evans.  Perhaps that will keep me content until we next get to see Nikki and Joseph.  This series is very much recommended.   

Blurb:

The fens are burning and Detective Nikki Galena faces a cat-and-mouse battle with a killer.

Someone is lighting fires. First they target homes and businesses, but then a body is found at one of the crime scenes.

More fires are lit. And at each one a single person dies. But the victims have led spotless lives and apparently there’s no connection between them.

Meanwhile, the town is facing a very peculiar threat from a group of sinister Satanists led by a charismatic businessman.

Who is burning with anger, and can Nikki stop them before anyone else dies?