Hidden on the Fens is the eleventh instalment in the DI Nikki Galena and DS Joseph Easter series, set in the fictional town of Greenborough, Lincolnshire, UK, however, each can be read as a standalone without any issues. The team are called to Sedgefield Farm to investigate when DS Easter’s daughter Tamsin Farrow, who had been employed by the farm’s owner Richard Howard to provide her advice on a particularly overgrown copse of trees on his land, makes a surprising discovery. They soon realise that there is a derelict cottage hidden in the undergrowth and even stranger is the fact that it appears to show signs of having recently been inhabited. When they venture inside they discover a collection of photographs of Jennifer Cowley, a girl who disappeared 15 years ago. These aren't the only weird happenings in the local area though as someone seems to be preoccupied with scaring the community with voodoo. Could these incidents be linked?

This is a complex, convoluted police procedural with numerous interlinking plotlines and a plethora of twists, red herrings and reveals. There is plenty of drama and action so it is incredibly easy to tear through this in an afternoon. The unfolding of the novel is full of exciting happenings and once I read the first few pages it had me hook, line and sinker. Joy Ellis is adept at driving your thoughts over what is going on in one direction before ripping the rug right from under you leaving you gobsmacked in the process. It's a compulsive, gripping and thoroughly engrossing read from beginning to end and the most enjoyable of the whole series so far in my opinion. The author truly creates a foreboding atmosphere and illustrates just how far-reaching the consequences of long-held secrets can be. Each new instalment feels somewhat like reuniting with old friends, and I love that; it's one of the reasons I keep coming back for more. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Joffe Books for an ARC.