Emmy Ellis has crafted a great British crime thriller in The Cow Shed, the fourth installment featuring Detective Anna James. This book weaves a captivating narrative spanning two decades while maintaining suspense and intrigue. The story revolves around the mysterious disappearance of Effie, who vanished twenty years ago after a heated argument with her cousin Shannon, who, by the way, is very prickly in her dealings with the police and even her friends. The unanswered questions surrounding Effie’s fate linger. Then, when another woman is found murdered near Shannon’s home, the past comes crashing like a wave.

The author does a great job of depicting the weight of suspicion that now falls on Shannon, but then shows other characters acting suspiciously, and the more digging the police do, the more suspects surface. Detective Anna James is a very good character. I like her determination and sometimes brusqueness, but there is also a softer side. The addition of Anna’s former lover, Joshua ‘Parole’ Cribbins, adds an interesting dynamic to the story, showcasing how personal connections can complicate professional duties.

The author’s writing style is both engaging and atmospheric. The pacing keeps the tension high, and the unexpected twists ensured that just when I thought I had the plot figured out, something surprising altered my perspective.

I was surprised at the reveal of the culprit and the reasoning behind what happened to Effie and the other victims. The Cow Shed is a worthy crime drama and a must-read for anyone who appreciates a well-crafted, thought-provoking thriller. I would recommend this book and this author.

I am looking forward to more in this series. I want to find out more about Anna, Parole, and the other characters.

#TheCowShed #NetGalley @JoffeBooks

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

A dead young women is found in the garden of Shannon. Shannon was the main suspect, when her cousin disappeared twenty years ago. Effie’s ghost still appears dressed in the clothes she disappeared in. How are the two cases related? Detective Anna James and her team investigate.

This was an enjoyable read. The case and reveal of evidence progressed at a steady pace. There was a good few suspects and it wasn’t obvious who the real killer was, nor the motivation. The characters were believable, with the relationships described well. A straightforward who dunnit and one I’d recommend.

oh i could not wait to be back with detective Anna and the team. i was blown away and so grateful when the first one of hers came out. the team, the plots quickly followed and i grew to love this series. so when this book came up i was so excited to get back to the team and detective. and boy we were taken right back into the gritty world we had been in before with these books and i was worryingly happy to be there, lol.
this book is about a case from the past and one happening in the present. is there a link to the case or the person that keeps coming up in regards to these happenings? a woman vanished years ago and now there is a new murder with possible ties to it. and soon the darkness get dark and the grit gets gritty. and we are all involved all sat here for the duration. the tension and suspicion grows. the suspense builds.
Emmy always keeps you on the edge. the edge of your seat and the edge of the story, you are left guessing and excited about where she will take you next and to whom will it involve. their are dark characters and dark goings on.
i love how once again we get to delve into the team. i've come to love those parts of the book and how they all interact with each other. i like getting to know and then care about characters and have done so in the Anna series. and i know feel more involved and invested every time i read these books.
love this book and love this series. i'm so glad i got myself into these books. i feel really lucky to be able to read books. lucky to be able to get such joy from them. and thankful for authors and publishers who keep gifting them to us.

This is book 4 in the Anna James series and I would advise reading the previous 3 before this one. I struggled to get into this book as it was slow paced but it picked up in the second half. It was all a bit unbelievable for me to be honest and I felt like I was ploughing my way through the book. Not one for me but others might enjoy it. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

This is the fourth book in the series. I love the character of Anna James.
I look forward to reading more.

DI Anna James is investigating the murder of a young woman whose body was found at the bottom of the garden of a former suspect in a 20 year old disappearance. Anna has a new team and they have yet to gel. She's getting nowhere with interviews, no-one saw anything and wouldn't tell if they had. There are links to the disappearance of Effie years ago in that she, apparently' has been seen wafting around in a mask, white clothes and ballet shoes. However, there are a lot of drunks involved so no-one really knows what's real and what's the booze talking. Linking the old case with the modern one takes it's toil. It does not feel like number 4 in a series, the first three are so much better. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Read it in a day! Yea, that laundry still sitting there because I had to keep reading! Complex and truly page turning mystery, engaging characters, twisty subplots, all come together slowly but surely. Read them all, or just the one, you don't want to miss this one.

This was a hard read. The dialect was difficult to understand and make sense of. It was a slow read with a lot of characters.

DI Anna James is back with her new team, and another mystery is shrouding the estate.
Effie vanished years ago so why is the seemingly ghostly figure of her at the centre of the body just found. What is the link between the past and the present.
Brilliant story and hopefully more in this series to follow shortly.

The Cow Shed is the fourth installment in the Detective Anna James series. While each book can be read as a standalone, with recurring characters and no cliffhangers, I found this particular entry less polished than the others. Having enjoyed the previous books, I felt this one was more fragmented — I often had to reread sections to fully grasp the narrative.

In this story, DI Anna James and her team investigate a recent murder, which appears linked to the disappearance of a woman two decades earlier. As is typical of Emmy Ellis’s writing, the body count rises, and suspense builds. A ghostly presence of the long-missing woman looms over the area, yet oddly, no one has ever reported sightings to the police — a puzzling detail.

The synopsis hinted at the return of Parole, a familiar character, but he only makes a brief appearance near the end, which was a bit disappointing.

Would I read more from this author? Definitely. But for those new to the series, I recommend starting from book one for the best experience.

Many thanks to Joffe Books, NetGalley and Emmy Ellis for the advanced copy.

A vivid fast-paced thriller which kept me on the edge of my seat. A riveting 5 star read! Another page turner from Sally, I read this book in a day and a half.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it virtually without stopping! This book was superbly written and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!

What an amazing thriller and a jaw-dropping ending, OMG ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars!

A brilliant police procedural about a murdered woman which may be connected to a 20 year old missing persons case. Anna and her team are investigating the death of Mina, a young woman seen in a local pub the previous evening. But Mina’s body has been found on Shannon’s allotment and Shannon’s own cousin Effie is missing presumed dead since 2004. Are the cases connected? A gripping page turner that explores loyalty and betrayal at the darkest level. This is my first book from this author but I hadn’t realised it’s part of a series. Given the references to the personal lives of the officers involved I am genuinely intrigued to know more of the back story so I will be purchasing the preceding novels to catch myself up. Definitely recommend this and the thanks to the author & publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Two women. Twenty years apart. One deadly link. Twenty years ago, Effie vanished without a trace. She was last seen arguing with her cousin Shannon at the pub before storming home except she never made it. Suspicion fell on Shannon, but with no body and no evidence, she walked free and the case went cold! Good book! This book had chilling suspense, murder, mystery, intrigue, and a few jaw dropping twists! The storyline was very interesting! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and Joffe books (my fave!) for sharing this book with me!

Firstly thank you Netgalley for this Arc

As much as I enjoyed the book I didn’t like the child abuse content.

A good book apart from that

3* An okay read, but book 4 in this series doesn't really give readers much.

This feels so disjointed from book 3, that I didn't clock I was reading from a series until I read the name of the cop who'd infiltrated the police for The Kings, and Parole got mentioned. Yes, book 3 had been aiming for the former being outed, and outing himself, but this felt like done, dusted, a million times removed. It honestly felt like a standalone. Even the 2 scenes with Anna and Parole felt contrived. Sadly.

The tale started off with intrigue, continued nicely with the next death but honestly when the baddies got revealed, I found myself shaking my head. Not believable. Nor was the method of communication, especially when only one used a burner. It felt like the tale lacked substance and backbone and grusomeness given one particular reveal.

I didn't like the old guy storyline and reveals. Again, not believable as made out. I'm honestly not sure where the series can go next.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Joffe Books for my reading pleasure.

Dealing with difficult subjects is done excellently in this book.

I enjoyed the plot and the characters and found myself wondering how on earth this was possible late in to the night.
The pacing is however a bit slow and then too fast so it made it a little hard to hang on to at parts.

This took a while to get going for me but it did eventually.
Interesting and strange characters.
A creepy undertone and not somewhere i would choose to live!
The child abuse issue maybe making it not suitable for everyone to want to read.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for the eARC.
This book might be triggering as it contains child abuse that may upset some read.
Detective Anna James is an extremely sympathetic character, I like her a lot.
She's looking into the murder of a young woman who's body has been left on a vegetable patch. It appears the case of a missing woman 20 years ago is linked to the murder.
The missing woman keeps appearing in the neighborhood ... is it her or is it a 'ghost'?
There are more victims after that and more 'ghost' sightings.
I found the beginning a little disorienting, but then the story clicked into place and I enjoyed it a lot. It has an exciting ending and I am rounding up my review to 3.5 stars.

En una comunidad rural tranquila, el pasado vuelve a cobrar vida de forma aterradora cuando el cuerpo de una joven aparece en una parcela de cultivo. La detective Anna James y su equipo son llamados a investigar lo que parece ser un asesinato sin motivo aparente. Pero pronto descubren que este crimen está inquietantemente vinculado con la desaparición sin resolver de Effie Workington, ocurrida veinte años atrás.

Mientras Anna desentierra viejos secretos y lucha contra el silencio cómplice del vecindario, una figura fantasmal que muchos aseguran haber visto, una mujer de vestido blanco y zapatillas de ballet, ronda las calles al anochecer. ¿Es realmente un fantasma o alguien juega un juego macabro de identidad y venganza?
¿Podrá Anna resolver un caso que parece obsesionado con revivir el pasado?



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TW: Pedofilia, violación y asesinatos.





Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest

This is the first Emmy Ellis book I have read, and the first I have read of the Detective Anna James series.
As usual, having not read the beginning of the series, I wish I had started at book 1. This would have given me a background on the detective.

I was a little lost in the beginning of the book, but in the second half, the pace really hotted up and I was glued to the pages.

It is a dark, unsettling and triggering book. There should be a trigger warning about child molestation, I feel.

I just felt that people believing that the 'ghost' of a victim was haunting an area was strange. These are adults and they never called the police or a witness to the sightings!

I do recommend reading the first three books in the series before reading this one.

3.5 stars from me