The Fourth Friend

Publisher's Summary

Crimebusting duo DI Jackman and DS Evans are back, solving another crime that will make your skin crawl.

Police detective Carter McLean is the only survivor of a plane crash that kills his four best friends. He returns to work, but he is left full of guilt and terrible flashbacks. So for each of his four friends, he decides to complete something that they left unfinished.

Eighteen months before the crash, Suzanne Holland disappeared, leaving a room with traces of blood but no other leads. Suzanne was the wife of one of Carter’s four best friends. Adding to the pressure, the boss’ niece has a stalker. Due to the sensitivity of the Holland case, Carter is put on this investigation.

DS Marie Evans is the only person Carter can confide in. But even she begins to doubt whether he can really cope and whether he is actually losing his mind. DI Jackman and DS Evans of the Fenland police face a battle to untangle three mysteries, and can they really believe their friend and colleague Carter?

©2017 Joy Ellis (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

A bit of a disappointment

This is a tough one. I truly enjoy Joy Ellis’s work. After the first two books in this series, Jackman and Evans and their team have become interesting and I’m curious as to where things go with them. For that reason I finished this book. Oh, and Richard Armitage’s narration helped a great deal, too.

The story itself was difficult. I couldn’t get invested in the players, mainly Carter. I had to force myself to keep going.

I smiled at the mention of Nikki Galena (one of my favorite characters) and I want to know more about Orlagh in the basement.

This is my least favorite book in the series but I’ll continue with it while waiting for the next Nikki Galena book.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Ellis/Armitage knocks it out of the park again!

Wow! Joy Ellis never disappoints. Her attention to character development and details is superb. Her attention to police investigative techniques and forensics adds to the richness of her stories that grabs you from the start. Richard Armitage makes Ellis's stories a living, breathing story that cannot fully be described. You are transported as if you are standing right next to each person and inside each scene. He electrifies all five of your senses and holds your attention where you cannot stop listening. You have to know what happens next.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

I did finish the book

I thought this book was OK, and I did finish it, The characters were fine, but the actual story did not sit well with me. SPOILER ALERT: I would like to listen to a police procedural where the criminal, murderer, victim, etc. is not the police, main character, co-worker, friend, spouse, neighbor, pet, or partner. I would like to listen to a book about a police team working together to solve a case using a list of suspects outside the police circle. Can't a police team work together to solve a mystery without being a part of it?. The story was not happy, and had a dreary ending. Not a bad writer, but I would like to see a different story-line in the next book. I haven't decided if I want to listen to another book by this author. There won't be many fictional police left in the UK to write about, since most of them end up dead or guilty of a major crime. Too many books turn out the same way.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Another great book by Joy Ellis

Another great read. As always, lots of twists and turns. LOVE the Jackman and Evan's series!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Another great read

Joy Ellis writes in an engaging manner that keeps you moving forward in the story. Richard Armitage is a wonderful reader/performer. A perfect match!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

The Fourth Friend

Excellent mystery ,twists and turns kept me wondering who was the actual killer or killers

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Happily not what I expected.

I read the book first and then saw that Richard Armitage was the narrator in the audible version. I had to listen. While I enjoyed reading this book Richard's narration was spot on and gave me a whole new perspective. Going to have to check out more collaborations between Joy and Richard!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Everyone Needs a Friend Like Old Silas

Following the fiery crash that killed his four best friends, Police detective Carter McLean is back at work on desk duty, following his recovery. But only his friend DS Marie Evans really knows of the nightmares and ghosts that haunt the young detective. Desiring to return to solving crimes, including the 18-month old cold case of Suzanne Holland, the wife of one of his four friends killed in the crash, Carter carefully withholds the full extent of his frightening encounters with his dead mates. Although I found this to be a GOOD book, it doesn’t quite measure up to the many others of Joy Ellis’ that I’ve read/listened to. Parts do not ring true to me, and my empathy/connection with Carter McLean, no matter how I tried, was not as it is with most of the others I’ve came to care about in Ellis’ books. My favorite in this book is Old Silas and his scruffy dog, Klink. The solving of the case seemed to take a long and winding way and the ending . . . well, I was sad.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Nah

This was a let down after how much I enjoyed "Their Lost Duaghters". The narrator is one of my favorites but this story fell flat for me. There was simply no flow and I found it difficult to figure out where the focus was intended. Was it the crash, the missing wife, the fued with the super, the dead guys? None of it panned out and how it was all explained was weak, making the end predicable and a bit absurd. I wouldn't suggest this book to a friend and I don't think it's any where close to as good as other books I've read by Joy Ellis.

5 of 7 people found this review helpful

Best one in the Jackman/Evans Series

The Fourth Friend, by Joy Ellis. I listened to this on Audible. Narrated by Richard Armitage (North & South). The third installment in the Jackman and Evans series, DS Evans allows Detective Carter McLean back to work following his being the only survivor of a plane crash that killed his four best friends 18 mos earlier. When he confides in her that he sees his friends all the time and that they are each having him help them complete one last request, she wonders if she's made a mistake. When it turns out a missing woman is the wife of one of those friends, things get even dicier. I enjoy the characters in these books so much. Adding mental illness or the supernatural made the story even more interesting. Joy Ellis is very skilled at combining character, 3 different mysteries and elements of surprise making her books hard to put down. Richard Armitage is a stellar narrator moving seamlessly between character voices, leaving no doubt in your mind, which one is speaking. Enjoyed this very much.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Ellis Gets Into The Groove!

In cricketing parlance Ellis is like an expert with the bat, she's settled in, maybe had one or two very minor scratchy moments but now she's established her rhythm and is starting to stroke the ball around the ground with some elegance. She has shown extremely fine judgement with this book having built a very likeable pair in Jackman and Evans. This is more psychologically oriented and to allow her story freedom to breathe and grow organically she knows when to let her leads step back and let other characters have their moments in the limelight.

Jackman and particularly Evans are extremely human characters, perhaps more caring than your average fictional detectives and this does give an additional angle to some of the plotlines. The Fourth Friend is about a colleague who is particularly vulnerable and some of the relationships between the characters such as him and Evans and an old friend of his were carried off to near perfection. Although the book starts quite literally with a crash there is no great action in it at all after that and so it was those relationships and personal traumas that kept me engrossed from start to finish.

Of course such a story is brilliantly suited to Armitage's very considered narration. He is one of the smoothest narrators I think I've heard which put together with the story makes The Fourth Friend a very compelling package and this series is now firmly ensconced on my Must Read list!

17 of 17 people found this review helpful

Crime with a difference.

I was hooked in the first chapter. Brilliant book and superb narration. I'll be looking for more books by Joy Ellis , also anything narrated by Richard Armitage . Sad I've finished it!.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

A non stop thrilling ride

An original book with a great story full of twists and turns, excellent characters and no slow points. The story kept me guessing till the end. I was thoroughly taken by this excellent writer who was new to me. One of those audible reads that stands way above the rest. I am now going to look out for more by this author.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Good listen

Good listen , not what I expected, got a bit confused with the characters.
Love the narrator, he's voice keeps you listening .

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Brilliant

Loved this story. Richard Armitage as usual an excellent narrator. I have enjoyed all the books in this series.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

An intriguing story

Quite different from Joy Ellis’ previous books. A little macabre in places but a psychologically fascinating read. Jackman I felt was a bit sidelined in this story, but the rest of the characters were good. Read beautifully as usual, by Richard Armitage. I don’t think I could listen to a Jackman and Evans book without him reading it now. He is them and they are him!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Thoroughly enjoyable

I listened to this over 2 days. I couldn't "put it down". Flawless performance from Richard Armitage.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

An enticing mystery!

My favourite of the Jackman and Evans thrillers, from the clues, the conversations and conclusions I was hooked on this book more so than the last two and I'll definitely be listening to this one again.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Loved it

This is the third Jackman and Evans book I've listened to and I love Richard Armatige as the Narrator. I've just finished this and Im not sure I've ever cried at a book but I did at this.
cant wait to listen to more.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Gripping, brilliant

Really love these books, compulsive listening! Can’t wait for another! Keep writing please Joy Ellis!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful