The Garden Grave

by Joy Ellis, Sam Claflin (Narrator)

It’s the case Detective Alec Farnham can’t forget. He was the one who found his friend and mentor, DI Lou Catterick, collapsed in a deserted alleyway, her shirt drenched in blood. He was too late. With her dying breath, Lou utters a single word. Ghost. A year on, the investigation has stalled. The trail is cold. The killer still walks free. But Alec refuses to let go. He knows one thing for Lou would never have given up on him.

If he can only work out what she was trying to tell him, he knows he’d have the key to cracking the case.

Then DC Kit Reardon arrives for her first day at Holton Hurn CID – and is immediately thrown into a baffling murder investigation. A body, buried beneath a statue in the garden of a remote fenland cottage. No name. No explanation.

As Alec, Kit and the team dig deeper, a chilling connection emerges – one that ties the unidentified dead man directly to Lou’s murder.

Alec is forced to confront the the killer has been hiding in plain sight all along. And Lou’s final word, Ghost, wasn’t a dying hallucination. It was a warning.

This dark and twisty British crime thriller is perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves, Elly Griffiths, L J Ross, and Rachel McLean.

Audible Audio

Published August 27, 2026

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

[JayeL]

This is another Fens mystery from Joy Ellis with a new town and a new set of characters. There was no crossover from the Jackman & Evans series or the DI Galena series. It was an interesting story about the past meeting up with the present that has a paranormal aspect as well. It makes me think of the Ellie McEwan series combined with the Jackman & Evans series. There is a lead in another novel as well.

[Norma · Rating 4 out of 5]

( Format : Audiobook )
"Go forward Kit, make me proud."

When DO Lou Kethetick is murdered in Rattle Lane, Sgt Alex. Farnham becomes obsessed with finding g her killer, irreconcilable by the one word she'd spoken before she died: Ghost. The story becomes more and more convoluted as both police and friends are drawn into a story of revenge and possible afterlife mysticism Of start but increasingly crazy.
Good narration by Sam Claflin. Three and a half stars upgraded to four.

Not bad for a freebie with Audible plus.

[Alicia Daughtrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new series from one of my favorite authors. But I think I need to go back and listen to it again. I think I missed things about the characters as there seemed to be quite a few involved. A freebie from Audible so it’ll be in my library to listen at my convenience.