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Five Bloody Hearts cover art

Five Bloody Hearts

Written by: Joy Ellis
Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
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Publisher's Summary

Grace Repton, a beautiful older woman, walks into the police station to tell Detective Matt Ballard she has information that could stop a murder. Her fiance, the infamous serial killer Jeremy Reader, has told her that he has a disciple who is going to kill using Reader's horrific methods.  

Reader murdered five women and was finally brought to justice by Detective Ballard. Reader is safely imprisoned in a high security prison, and claiming to be a reformed man who wants to help the police.   

But can Matt believe the serial killer or his peculiar wife to be? Can the love of a good woman really change a serial killer?  

And the Fenland police also have another investigation on their hands. A Lithuanian migrant worker is found dead on the fens. There is no ID on him, but he has a Tree of Life tattoo. This is the third body to be found with this distinctive tattoo. Is this gang war or something even more sinister?  

The police are stretched to the breaking point with multiple copycat murders. And Matt and his girlfriend Liz will fight for everything they care about in a heart-stopping conclusion that will have you on the edge of your seat.

©2019 Joy Ellis (P)2019 Tantor

What listeners love about Five Bloody Hearts

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  • Overall
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Good story. Narration all over the place

Really enjoyed the story. Narration was distracting as the accents seemed to change and stay consistent with characters.

1 person found this helpful

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5 bloody hearts

Loved the intrigue, the characters and the storyline. Lots of twists and turns and a good bloody read ha ha.

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A bit disappointing

The narration left something to be desired, accents were pretty shaky throughout. Good story line tho

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Could have been more enjoyable

The narrator really did an injustice to this book. The accents were horrible. Sometimes the narrator would read so softly that you couldn't hear and then there's the times where he would draw out the words or insert pregnant pauses.
Very disappointed overall.

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Distracted…

Could not concentrate on the plot as much as I would have liked. I just adore Joy Ellis but in this case the narration was not what I usually enjoy. Up, down, he sounds more like a stuffy teacher than a story teller.

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My least favourite Joy Ellis book

I was disappointed in this book, the story lacked the suspense and drama of all the other Joy Ellis books I have listened to. I also found the narrator, Mathew Lloyd Davies to be my least favourite reader. His intonation was annoying. I am a huge Joy Ellis fan so will continue to listen to more of her books but hope they are better than this one.

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Twisty and suspenseful

I've not been disappointed with any of Joy Ellis' books. This is a great read. One small but important thing is the narrator whose delivery mars the story a bit. The tone and cadence is one of a stage actor, often ponderous and emphatic that sometimes does not quite fit with the story. But the story itself is excellent.

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Another great one by Joy Ellis

I’ve listened to all of her series. It’s challenging to hear a new narrator for each series because my ear gets used to expecting others, but given time, the narration for each series is well done.

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Wish they kept the previous narrator

I guess after listening to so many with Richard I have in my mind connected the charters with those voices.
I didn’t enjoy the narration in this one.
Story wasn’t the same but still good.

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Great listen

Another great listen by Joy Ellis! I’ve enjoyed many of her books. They immerse you in the lives of he characters. You can feel the camaraderie of them as they make their way through a case. You feel like you’ve come back to old friends when you pick u a new book and start a new case.

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  • Wayne
  • 2020-06-08

Disappointed!!

All Joy Ellis novels are in my Audible library. FIVE BLOODY HEARTS is the first to fail to earn 4 or 5 stars. This 10 hour audio novel contains at least 3 hours of useless fill words that do not add/contribute to the story. The plot is quite interesting. The narration is barely acceptable.

9 people found this helpful

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  • Maine Knitter
  • 2019-10-05

Much better narrator

This took me a long time to get through the first few chapters. I’d start and stop and start over. At least the new narrator is 100% better than the reader of the previous book.

The story was interesting - eventually. I was disturbed by the relationship between Matt and Liz in the last book and I’m glad to see how that was resolved. Now Matt is awaiting retirement and Liz is recovering from their last case. A copycat killer, the original murderer now in prison, his fiancée, and other murders that appear to be a national feud keep Ballard and his team very busy. Red herrings abound. I figured out the killer (at least partly) before the end. I liked the Nikki Galena reference.

I’ve read the other series by Joy Ellis. She’s an automatic pre-order author for me.

8 people found this helpful

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  • BookGirl
  • 2019-09-24

When will Matt recover?

After listening to the first book...I was hoping for a recovered in-charge DCI; not so; and the narrator did not help, work to be done here. While the cast of characters are interesting, not enough to add to my "buy every one in the series list" . I will return this one. Hope they will get better, and that Matt will fully recover.

5 people found this helpful

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  • jimfarrell
  • 2019-09-09

worth it, even with the overdramatic reading

cool story, like the characters, not a fan of the narration (at all) ; but worth it if you need to listen instead of read (like myself) - this is definitely one book i wish i could've read myself

5 people found this helpful

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  • LEBla
  • 2019-10-05

Good story - terrible narration

The characters in this book are from previous storylines but because of the narration i couldn’t recognize them until well into the story. Very disappointing.

4 people found this helpful

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  • Carole
  • 2019-09-25

oops!

It was good, but I suspected the real killer from almost the beginning. Kim was correct!

4 people found this helpful

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  • Georgia Burns
  • 2022-06-16

Decent story, wrong reader

If I continue with this series it will have to be on my Kindle. The intonation on almost every line here was off. It wasn’t the dodgy accents either that got me. Every now and then, I caught myself reciting a sentence out loud without dropping the ending just to hear it like it should have been read. Sorry to be so negative but a good narrator is crucial for me. I can’t hear any more with this reader.

3 people found this helpful

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  • Diana Hart 33
  • 2020-01-10

book 2

I sorta had this one figured out at the beginning, and it turned out I was right, but I still enjoyed it a lot. other than the narrator getting to quiet at times because the character was whispering or something, he was very good.

3 people found this helpful

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  • Garden Womble
  • 2020-10-02

Another Ellis treat!

I wasn't sure how much I really liked Ballard after the first book in this series, but I'm warming up to him now! I think I was just too spoiled by DI Galena and had trouble easing into a new character set. I love the way that Ellis uses Rory in both series, although it's a bit jarring when the narrators are different and Rory speaks with a different voice! None the less, I like the cross-overs between the series. I also liked the way that this mystery was, albeit tangentially, connected to the last. Interesting twists!
I look forward to the next in series!

1 person found this helpful

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  • E. Langan
  • 2023-09-21

So disappointed

I have loved the DI Galena and Jackman series. I am not enjoying Matt Ballard as much. The first book was ok, but this one is taking me a while to finish. It may be because the narrator is absolutely horrible. I will be sure to never get another book he narrates. The others have kept me on the edge of my seat. This one cannot keep my attention and I keep having to rewind to try to keep up with the plot.