Beware the Past

By: Joy Ellis

Narrated by: Antony Ferguson

Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

One terrible case always haunted detective Matt Ballard. Now many years later, the killer seems to be back. And this time he's after Matt.

When Matt Ballard was starting out his career, three boys were murdered in the same area, the remote and bleak Gibbet Fen. When the main suspect was killed in a hit-and-run, the killings stopped. But Matt was not satisfied that the real murderer had been caught.

Over 25 years later, Matt gets a photo in an unmarked envelope. It's of the Gibbet Fen crime scene. And the picture was taken before the murder took place. More photos arrive, relating to the historic murders, as well as intimate pictures of Matt's very secret private life.

Then another murder happens, with some of the hallmarks of the old case. Has the killer returned, or is this just a sick copycat determined to ruin Matt's life and reputation?

©2017 Joy Ellis (P)2018 Tantor

Joy Ellis fan

I was excited to dive into the Matt Ballard series. The villain twist wasn’t a shocker. The personal big truth was definitely an “ooooh!” moment.
This is not Jackman & Evans, and honestly I was looking for the character and chemistry found in J&E.
However - I will give Matt Ballard & company another try. Ballard has a sensitivity that is refreshing. I really enjoy the non-stereotype in superior officers.
FIVE BLOODY HEARTS, book 2, has a different narrator. Should be interesting.

Narration is the real killer

To be honest, this isn’t a full review because I don’t know if I’m gonna make it any further than this chapter (Chapter 8.)
The narrator sounds like he is doing the voiceover for a crime documentary. I saw another review that said he sounds like a 70’s Top 40 music DJ. That’s another good description. When he does do different voices for the others, the regular-Joe detectives working with the main character, they sound like Hagrid from Harry Potter.
That’s all I can really say at this point, but at least you’ve been warned.

Ending ruins book

The book was pretty good. I would have rated higher except for the ending. The ending was bad.

Meh...

Listened to this after listening to Mick Herron. Sadly poor comparison. Lacks convincing detail and very little literary benefit. But a different story that is worth a credit.

Good story line. Hated the narration.

Inflection and voice changes were annoying. Young women sounded old, “macho” cops sounded wimpy. Brynn sounded like a total idiot.

Twisted

The bad guy was extremely disturbing. I am glad for the happy ending but the deceiving nature of the detectives were morally questionable.

I wasn’t a fan of the narrator, after listening to his “girl” voice I was put off but stuck it out to figure out whodunit!

Meh

The story itself was just okay. Not terribly deep in its development. The ending was very disappointing. It's no Niki Galena novel. Wish I hadn't spent a credit on it.

Excellent read!

Big fan of Joy Ellis’s other series and I wasn’t disappointed with Matt Ballard! Slow start then full speed ahead till the end!

I didn't see that one coming

The story was a little slow to get started, but once it did I was very good. All I can say about the ending was I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING.

I finished the Jackman series before starting this

And the worst Rowan Jackman book is still better than this. That said, it’s not terrible. But you have to be committed to finishing it if you want to make it past the first couple hours.

The narration as mentioned in other reviews is a turn off. The narrator has an appealing voice, but his delivery is rough to say the least. He manages to make every character sound like an over eager dinner theater actor looking to outshine his peers no matter how small the part. That’s why I said you’ll have to be committed to get past the first few hours. Because that’s how long it takes for your brain to drop judging the corny vibe enough for the story to take over. And it does. I thoroughly enjoyed a stretch of the book. Then like an overweight Peter Pan being lowered by the theater stage hands, it fell flat on its face.

The plot’s been done before to say the least. It felt like an amalgamation of various popular novels and a particular movie woven into a new story. The twists weren’t shocking and were noticeable early on. And while in hindsight the middle should’ve been shorter, the end was rushed and wrapped up too easily for such a long build up.

All the negative out of the way, I still wouldn’t tell you not to read it if you’re a fan of JE. You’ll enjoy the characters and be invested enough to stick it out to see how they develop. But if you’re judging this on the Jackman series or the Galena series then after Book 1, it’s a distant third.