One More to Die

by Joy Ellis, Hayley Atwell (Narrator)

Detective Kate Carter is called out to a fatal car accident on a remote fen lane.

At first glance it looks like a drunk driver simply lost control and crashed headlong into a ditch. But nothing about the scene adds up. The number plate is fake. The driver’s licence doesn’t belong to the dead man in the car. One tyre doesn’t match the other three. And what is a vinyl 1960s pop record doing in the glove box?

A neat puncture wound to the driver’s neck reveals this was no accident.

The following day, the body of a young woman is found in an old barn out on the fens. She’s been dead at least two years. Placed on the body is another vintage pop record.

And then the nightmare becomes personal. A mysterious package arrives at the station addressed to Kate: a 45-rpm record, and a chilling note scrawled in block capitals: ONE MORE TO GO.

It’s just the start. Sinister phone calls, creepy notes left on her car, unwanted gifts on her doorstep: Kate can no longer deny that she’s being pursued by an obsessive stalker . . .

Is she next in the killer’s sights?

A gripping stand-alone thriller

Genres: Audiobook, Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Detective, Suspense

5 pages, Audiobook

First published August 8, 2024

About the author

Joy Ellis grew up in Kent but moved to London when she won an apprenticeship with the prestigious Mayfair florist, Constance Spry Ltd. Having run her own flower shop in Weybridge for many years, Ellis then worked as a bookseller until a trip to the Greek island of Skyros, where she took part in a writer's workshop with Sue Townsend, encouraged her to write her own books. Joy soon after moved to the Lincolnshire Fens, where she has spent many of years living among the countryside accompanied by her partner, Jacqueline, and her variety of springer spaniels. After many years of writing, Jasper Joffe, from Joffe Books, discovered Joy's work and approached her with the offer of becoming her new publisher. This new relationship introduced Joy's work to the fascinating world of ebooks and audible listening. Since their partnership, Joy's success has grown further than she could have ever imagined. She has recently celebrated her 10th UK No.1 book on the Amazon 'Best Sellers' chart, with her 9th instalment in the Jackman & Evans series, Solace House. Joy boasts a staggering estimated total over 3.4 million copies sold worldwide, and became a short-listed nominee at the British Book Awards, 2021.

Reviews

[Jo Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another little optimistic jaunt into the world of audible originals.

I found this one to actually be pretty good in that it was a fairly short listen, the storyline was pretty good, the plot was ok if a bit predictable. The characters were pretty well played out for such a short title.

I enjoyed the memory of the records with the centre cut out, as a pub kid the majority of my record collection once dwelled in the jukebox. Did it need to take up story space though? I’m not sure, is this only obvious to me?

Who knows 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’m conflicted on the rating as I went in with no expectations yet was pleasantly surprised, let’s stick with a 3 🌟 for this reason.

Currently included with audible 🎧

[Starwyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

What an utterly boring, unrealistic, unimaginative, predictable piece of rubbish. “And they all lived happily ever after”. Just stupid.
I thoroughly enjoyed Joy’s previous novels on the Fens so I don’t know what happened here. I can only assume she was attempting to make this one sound more up to date sociologically by throwing in some of today’s uses of technology but bypassed any real story to do so. It was like listening to a mundane person tell a mundane story about a neighbour. Actually, it was like listening to someone read the first story they ever wrote before learning the tricks of the trade. What was she thinking? Did she need to push a novel out by a certain deadline and didn’t have time to create her characters and plot properly? I’m perplexed and disappointed. Definitely not a page turner, doesn’t seem like much thought went into this at all. Can’t believe I even finished it.
Narrator has an easy to listen to voice however unfortunately she used the same one for every character. Appalling.

[Starling Wilkie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m torn now with Joy Ellis books, and I have read quite a lot of them. The stories, if implausible, somehow keep you hooked and this was no exception. But do the leading characters have to be so perfect? The author spends so much time fawning over their beauty/handsome features that becomes an irritation and detracts from the story. It looks like this series, featuring the beautiful, universally adored Kate isn’t going to be any different

[Jennifer (Jaye) · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are introduced to Detective Kate Carter, a woman with a very understanding husband and young children. Kate and her husband work well as a team, but little does she know that as she approaches the scene of a car crash, she will need to rely on their relationship to protect her entire family, including herself.

The car crash scene is puzzling, with nothing adding up. Interestingly, a 1960s vinyl record is left at the scene, raising questions about its significance.

As the investigation progresses, another body is discovered, and another vinyl record is found at the scene.

This growing mystery intensifies until Kate receives a parcel at work containing yet another 1960s vinyl record, accompanied by a chilling note stating, “ONE MORE TO DIE.”

To make matters worse, Kate begins receiving suspicious calls, unwanted gifts, and other unsettling occurrences, suggesting that she may be the next target.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and am curious to see if there will be series.

[Deb Quist · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not great. Characters were not that interesting. The plot was just too unbelievable. It just did not make any sense, the connection of the murders & the stalking.

[Jason McCracken · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can see why it was given away as a freebie on audible rather than being published. This was absolutely awful but I finished it so it gets a 2nd star.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5★

Ellis has a solid, reliable formula which is used to good effect here, along with a new ensemble of characters to get to know. A good, quick listen, currently only available on Audible (but free).

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent mystery

[Mary Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't love it. Didn't hate it. Mildly entertaining to listen to while I did other things.

[Brad Audiobibliophile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to Detective Kate Carter. Loved this book, the story and the narration. Hope there will be more to come.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Currently included on audiable 🎧

Quick listen, well narrated little predictable but still an ok placeholder as a little in between book.
2.5 rounded up to 3 for these reasons.

[Jurgita · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5🌟

[Ami Cormack · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up.
A great audiobook, a great performance!

One more to die is about Detective Kate Carter who is called out to a fatal car accident where not all is as it seems…

This was an enjoyable read - it won’t change your life but it’ll keep you entertained. Well written, pacey, and with good characters it is worth a read.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

One More To Die by Joy Ellis is a standalone and was released as an audiobook some years ago. It is released as an ebook on 24 July. Thank you to Joffe for the advanced reader copy to read and review. DI Kate Carter, Serious Crimes Unit, is having a rare day off when she is called out to a suspicious car accident. At the same time as Kate is investigating the accident, she has attracted the attention of a stalker. This turns into a dire situation. Some great characters, very likeable. Barney and his landlady Enid Houghton are two. Barney is off work for a week with a bad back. He decides he will delve into the history of the historic house where he lives, while he is off. This has unexpected results. There is tension aplenty throughout the story and I didn’t want to put the book down. I just wanted to keep reading, as I felt so involved. I liked the overlap of some of the characters from the author’s other series.

[Patricia Power · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual great book from joy

[Mark Winchester · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really thought it was terrible to be honest. Hayley Atwell, who is normally great, just didn’t seem to be the right person to narrate. Also the story was so dull with loads of cliches and no characters to genuinely care about. All the characters on the protagonist’s side are perfect in every way with no flaws whatsoever - so dull! When the twist as to who the stalker is is revealed, I had no reaction at all because it was so meaningless to me. Really disappointing and quite frankly I don’t know how I got to the end of it to be honest.

[Rachel Eells · Rating 5 out of 5]

New characters in the Joy Ellis World!!
I loved that this story is adjacent to her other stories- with mention of Rory Wilkerson and interactions with Julia Tennant. Our main character, Kate, is a detective with a husband and kids, so there is a different feel to the world.
I loved it!

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a lot of story packed in this relatively short book. It was originally an audible original but I read the kindle version.

I found the story interesting and it definitely had me wanting to keep reading. The stalker element was very well done and I felt the creepy factor and fear that the characters must have been going through.

The reveal for the murderer was unexpected and very interesting but I found who the stalker was to be a bit of a let down. The characters were all likeable so you wanted them to win.

This is my first book by this author but I will look for more of her work. She had me up turning the pages way past my bedtime.

[Chk_Chk_Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there's one thing I want readers to know about Joy Ellis, it's that she can flush out an entire cast of characters like no other. This, as of right now, is a standalone book and yet Ellis manages to give us a tremendous amount of information without it feeling too forced. This book is less than 200 pages and yet I absolutely love all the characters and would devour a series surrounding them. Characters are the most important thing to me as I'm reading, if there are good characters, I can read just about anything. If I find the characters unbearable, then the whole thing is unbearable. When we have amazing characters we care about AND an interesting plotline? Sign me up.

[Heather Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this on audio and finished pretty quickly. It wasn’t awful like some reviews mentioned. It kept me engaged enough while I cleaned and did errands. I didn’t have it completely figured out and I love that with a book. I like guessing along the way and trying to piece together clues. The best part of the book might have been hearing the narrator say “Katie” in her singsong voice…she nailed that part.

[Amelia Christopher🩵 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really thought the mystery part of this book was going to be amazing considering it’s such a short book. Uchhhhh why was it just so crap. Up to 50% I was somewhat enjoying because it was built up and different characters were doing different things. I had so many different suspects in my head. Then nothing. The story line went flat and confusing. The ending was absolutely dire. Like what on earth. Who are the people that are reading this book and giving 5*!? Like you really need to start reading actual good books.

[Hilary Cockshaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audiobook

[Diana Bustamante · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Audible original

[Amy McDonald · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly this one didn’t work for me. I struggled to connect with any of the characters, and the ending felt predictable and disappointing. Just 2 stars

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

The plot was good but the writing was terrible

[Johnny Haynes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Average. I thought the plot was simplistic, the characters fairly one dimensional and having a background in policing I wonder how much research into policing the author has done

[Sue Le-Heup · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed, not up to her usual standard, slow and not believable story line.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audio book. I enjoy Joy Ellis’ other police series and this new one was a good addition. Exciting story, well narrated. I liked her new detective, Kate Carter, and hope there will be more stories about her and her team.

[Kayleigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Hayley Atwell, I do, but she was not the right casting choice for this. All the voices sounded the same which made it difficult to tell who was talking.

The story itself was a bit dull. The killer turned out to be someone we had no previous connection with, and had no actual connection with the victims. The actions of several of the characters had me scratching my head in confusion.

Overall not Ellis’ best.