The Bag of Secrets

Detective Matt Ballard Mystery, Book 6

By: Joy Ellis

Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies

Matt and Liz may have retired from the police, but that doesn't guarantee a quiet life.

An abandoned carpet bag full of mysterious handwritten notes. A body in a marshy lagoon.

Matt is intrigued when his partner Liz brings home an old carpet bag she found dumped in the local library. It contains a pile of mysterious handwritten notes. Liz is convinced the bag belongs to Old Molly, a local woman who lives on the streets.

The following day, a body is discovered in a marshy lagoon. It's Old Molly. Suffocated with an expensive men's handkerchief.

Molly clearly knew something that got her killed. Liz believes she was trying to tell them something important. She calls on her nephew David to help decipher the carpet bag notes.

Meanwhile Matt is hired to find teenage runaway Liam Cooper. Liam has been missing for ten days now, and Matt has a very bad feeling about him. A few days later, a second body is discovered in an old barn out on the fens.

Matt and Liz must piece together the cryptic clues Molly has left for them before more people die. The answers lead to the remote fenland village of Marshdyke-St-Mary—and a series of shocking secrets stretching back many years.

©2023 Joy Ellis (P)2024 Tantor

Character development

Liked the narrator. Story felt a bit muddled. It was hard to figure out exactly happened.

Another favorite!

Please keep writing! I cannot get enough of Joy Ellis! I love the haunting, yet beautiful portrayal of the Fens. It makes me want to travel to this magical place and meet a real Matt Ballard. I am excited to listen to your next “Favorite” read/listen. I listen in the car, the gym, the kitchen- can’t put this one down!

Excellence as always!

Joy Ellis is a master at storytelling! I never get tired of her stories. The narration was superb. Highly recommend this title!

Great as always

Loved the story line and the narrator is just fabulous. Can't get enough of Joy Ellis's books!

Excellent storyline!

Absolutely worth the wait! Excellent storyline that kept me guessing. And LOVED the other characters of the story - hoping that they weave in in future stories! Joy outdid herself - especially despite her not feeling well! Thanks for such an amazing book!

love the characters

Nothing. Excellent story and wonderful narrator. Love everything Joy Ellis writes. Can't wait for her next one.

Guessing till the end!

Bringing all of the broken pieces together made a perfect team. I hope that future books in this series make use of some of the same characters.

I loved the community of people pulling together to solve the clues left in a dear friend’s bag.

Loved the always evolving storyline. Filled with very interesting and unique people and pets. Loved this 📖 book 📕

Twists and puzzles

The characters and detailed descriptions of personalities, places and clues. The different atmospheres of the scenes

The narrator was terrific! Greatly distinctive!

Had some trouble with the strong accents, however! All in all, alot of twists and turns! Good fun!