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A review by confessions_of_a_bookaholic
Solace House by Joy Ellis
5.0
When Detective Jackman meets Holly Stewart, the new resident of Solace House, he is moved to help her and her family. The Stewarts have had a tough time since moving in, and now it seems that someone is trying to force them out of their home. At the same time Jackman and his team are investigating a cold case, a twenty year old murder. Days after the investigation is re-opened another body is found. As the murder investigation ramps up, so do the threats against the Stewarts, forcing Jackman's team to perform a tricky balancing act with the two.
And just like that I'm up to date with this series. It's a bitter sweet feeling - I've loved listening to them and have got a lot of enjoyment out of them, but am a little sad knowing that now I have to wait and see whether more books are written!
One of my favourite things about this series is that with each book Ellis tackles a different sub topic that provides the back story of the criminals or victims, and always explores it well. This time it's cults which is something I have forever been fascinated with. Ellis spends more time focussing on the brainwashing side of things rather than how they operate, and that was something I haven't read much of before so it made for interesting reading.
As always the character development is on point. I feel like I know this team as old friends now, and definitely have an attachment to them. I do question why certain developments had to happen, but I trust in Ellis and her writing so will wait and see what happens next. I think one of the things that really stands out with this set of characters though is how well they all get on, and the strong friendships between them all. It's unusual in a crime novel, where we often see some strife between characters.
The mystery is incredibly well planned out, and had me totally sucked in. I started to realise towards the end how things were likely to unfold, but that certainly didn't diminish my enjoyment of listening. On top of that, possibly my highlight of the book, is that it ends with a definite hint of more to come which is exactly what I wanted to hear.
I 100% recommend this series, and if you are going to pick them up then the audiobooks are an excellent choice. Narrated by Richard Armitage who is probably my top rated narrator to listen to, and he does an amazing job of bringing the characters to life.
And just like that I'm up to date with this series. It's a bitter sweet feeling - I've loved listening to them and have got a lot of enjoyment out of them, but am a little sad knowing that now I have to wait and see whether more books are written!
One of my favourite things about this series is that with each book Ellis tackles a different sub topic that provides the back story of the criminals or victims, and always explores it well. This time it's cults which is something I have forever been fascinated with. Ellis spends more time focussing on the brainwashing side of things rather than how they operate, and that was something I haven't read much of before so it made for interesting reading.
As always the character development is on point. I feel like I know this team as old friends now, and definitely have an attachment to them. I do question why certain developments had to happen, but I trust in Ellis and her writing so will wait and see what happens next. I think one of the things that really stands out with this set of characters though is how well they all get on, and the strong friendships between them all. It's unusual in a crime novel, where we often see some strife between characters.
The mystery is incredibly well planned out, and had me totally sucked in. I started to realise towards the end how things were likely to unfold, but that certainly didn't diminish my enjoyment of listening. On top of that, possibly my highlight of the book, is that it ends with a definite hint of more to come which is exactly what I wanted to hear.
I 100% recommend this series, and if you are going to pick them up then the audiobooks are an excellent choice. Narrated by Richard Armitage who is probably my top rated narrator to listen to, and he does an amazing job of bringing the characters to life.