A night stalker is terrorising women around Saltern. The man is entering their houses through the small opener windows. He is not taking anything except a photo of a child aged around ten.
Jackman and Evans have to work out the who and the why.
Then the stalker ups their game and the hunt for a murderer is on.
Meanwhile Laura has a patient who doesn't appear to be telling the whole truth and this makes her very uneasy. She asks Sam for help who in turn, asks a friend who has a lot of experience in this particular disorder for advice.
Both strings of this story intersect at one point, but only briefly..
The caser Jackman and Evans reaches a climax and the reader finds out the why and who, but the other string to this is left quite ambiguous and I was left wanting to know the why.
Other than than I really enjoyed this,

I really enjoy Joy Ellis novels and this was no exception. Lots of twists and turns, leaving you guessing throughout. The plot was complex until the end. Great read. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance read copy!

Why is someone breaking into women’s homes and taking only one thing, a picture, and a man has been hanging around schools, and then what about this elderly lady that fell down the stairs? Laura, Jackman’s better half is feeling a bit off by her newest patient.
This is my first time reading a Joy Ellis book, and it will not be my last! It had me on the edge of my seat, and double-checking windows.
Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion

There is a thief breaking into houses and only stealing pictures of children.
DI Jackman and DS Evans are assigned to the case which is a baffling one. The story starts very slowly and the women were victims of the thief get together to solve this mystery themselves. A good police procedural novel with twists and turns. Despite the slow start, the novel did not pick up for me.

This eighth outing with Jackman and Evans starts out with a series of disturbing but non violent crimes. Someone is breaking into women's homes and all that is missing is a photograph of a child. Then, one night after an intruder is spotted in an elderly lady's garden, she's found dead at the bottom of her stairs. Is it a tragic accident or murder? The body count starts to rise. Jackman and Evans, together with their team, must piece together the past and present to find the killer.
Joy Ellis is a fabulous writer, and I love this series. What I find most refreshing is the team work and the way Jackman recognizes the value of the uniform officers and their local knowledge. Definitely worth 5 stars.

I really enjoy Joy Ellis novels and this was no exception. It is best to read the previous ones in the Jackman and Evans series as it is not a stand alone. Lots of twists and genuinely creepy , breaking into homes of lone women . The plot was complex until the end. Great read.

An excellent addition to the Jackman and Evans series from Joy Ellis. Great storyline and amazing narration from Richard Armitage - I loved this audiobook.

This is a tale in 2 parts, 1st part is that a thief gets into certain peoples houses and only takes a photograph of their child a boy approx 10yrs old, Are they random or is there a purpose? There is a local lad that is always getting into peoples houses just for fun as he puts it but never takes anything so this is a bit of a conundrum for Jackman and Marie Evans. As the thief only takes a photograph it is still very unsettling for the victims and when there is a murder are things getting out of control, there is also a woman and her son going from Women's Shelters for the abused is there any truth in this? The 2nd part is more to do with Jackman's girlfriend who is a psychologist and her referral comes as a man that drives around at night apparently sleepwalking, so immediately she is a bit nervous as he does not seem to be telling the truth is there an ulterior motive, so she brings in a colleague Sam.
I have read a few of Joy Ellis books always a good read and this one did keep me on my toes as there was quite a few characters and found it a bit overpowering at times. Ellis characters are well-formed and they do get a life so it's not just a police case in the reading.
I would like to thank Netgalley & Joffe Books for an ARC to review.

This is another great addition to the Jackman and Evans series. Annie Carson has just gotten to sleep when she wakes and see a man watching her. He runs when she screams. She calls the police, and they find that of picture of her son Callum has been taken. There has been a peeping Tom in the area who they call Ratty, but he has never taken anything. Soon other women have the same thing happen. Each time, the man takes a picture of a young boy about 10 years old. Then, there is a woman who has been murdered. The man actually put on her dead husband's clothes and lured her down the stairs. They find where a wire has been strung across the top of the stairs. The police warn Ratty to stay home until they can catch the new night visitor. Unfortunately, he finally has to go out and is killed.

Annie finally decides to get the four women who have been broken in on together to talk about what things they have in common and to be a support group for each other. Annie's son Callum is a big help. This case is being taken care of by Jackman and Marie Evans. Meanwhile, Jackman's wife Laura has a patient who is driving in his sleep. She is very worried about the man, and Jackman asks Sam to help her out. This soon becomes another police case.

When a 10 year old boy disappears from his school, things really get exciting. The police must find the the man before it's too late for an innocent young boy, and the case of the sleepwalker becomes really serious.

I found the premise of this book is genuinely creepy. A man sneaking into houses to take pictures of children is the stuff of nightmares.

It’s a good job Jackman & Evans are on the case. As with all Joy’s books, the team work and relationships between the members of the police team are well described.

Another superb police procedural from Joy Ellis. Inventive, twisty and addictive, this book has it all. Joy Ellis never lets her readers down.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

Another great book from Joy Ellis featuring the ever loved characters of Jackman and Evans and their associated entourages. Although I found the book interesting it was not as intriguing as previous books featuring them normally are and I think that it was due to just so many people being involved in the storylines.

I look forward to the next book featuring less! Sometimes less is more.

The Night Thief (Jackman & Evans #8) by Joy Ellis has a similar creepy character as in The Midnight Lock--invading houses where women are sleeping and taking only photographs of their sons. At first, it seems the culprit might be Ratty, who is known for midnight visits, but the photographs are certainly atypical as Ratty has never stolen anything. So who is making the visits and stealing photographs of young boys...and why?

Rowan Jackman's partner, psychologist Laura Archer, has a patient who has been referred to her for his sleepwalking episodes. Something about him bothers Laura and she reaches out to Sam Page for help with the man's somnambulism.

One reason I like Joy Ellis' books is that both the Rowan Jackman & Marie Evans and the Nikki Galena & Joe Easter books have well-developed members of their teams. Over the course of the series, the minor characters have become so familiar, and I always look forward to the way they work together. It isn't necessary to have read the previous books in the series since the mysteries are completed in each book, but the pleasure of having watched the secondary characters come to life over the series is a large part of my enjoyment in the books.

NetGalley/Joffe Books. Nov. 18, 2021. Print length: 370 pages.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of The Night Thief, the eight novel to feature DI Rowan Jackman and DS Marie Evans of the Lincolnshire Police.

In the isolated villages in the Fens women are calling the police. Someone is breaking into their homes and stealing a picture of a young male relative. Then an elderly woman falls down the stairs. Accident or murder?

I enjoyed The Night Thief, which has an intriguing premise and an interesting plot. It is quite a slow novel with a lot of unknowns for the detectives and with information hard to come by it takes a while for them to formulate a theory about motive and longer to find a suspect.

I like the procedural aspects of this series and this novel is a good example of it as much of the initial investigation is about information gathering and, basically, gossip. Every little snippet allows them to build a picture. It follows a logical course with each snippet leading them to another source and more information. I found it compulsive reading, but then, procedurals are my favourite kind of reading. Others might find it slow.

There is a subplot involving Jackman’s partner, Laura, who is a clinical psychologist. She has a patient who is worrying her, something is not quite right about him, his symptoms and his demeanour. I loved the outcome of this section of the novel.

This is a novel about mental health, or more aptly the lack thereof. I’m not sure I fully bought the story about the night thief. I know that mental health issues throw up inconsistencies, but I simply couldn’t reconcile the delusion with the otherwise high functioning behaviour. It’s an interesting conundrum that I’m still pondering.

By now Jackman and Evans are like old friends. I like their closeness as a team and the light banter between them. Marie Evans is the one with the flashes of genius, Rowan Jackman is the steady and authoritative hand. There is a focus, in this novel, on relationships and romance, with the inference that a good relationship brings happiness. It’s a bit trite and hammered home with a sledgehammer, but, hey, it might be true.

The Night Thief is a good read that I can recommend.

A cosy type of thriller which I loved as I'm local to the Lincolnshire fens and enjoyed the setting. Some of the characters were really likeable and relatable, others I found a bit unnatural especially their dialogue. Often sounded as though the character was explaining something for the readers' benefit.
Some inconsistencies eg ch 5 the police officer tells her partner not to use the nickname Ratty, but then does do herself, twice.
Overall a pleasant easy read.

Thank you Netgalley, Joffe Books, and Author Joy Ellis for this ARC.

I couldn't get into this book and I never really did. This is not a standalone; you must read the previous books in the series to fully get into this one which I did not. Aside from that, this book was so freakin' boring. Nothing actually happened until half way through the story, and the action was lack luster as it felt like I was reading a game of phone tag.

The Night Thief by Joy Ellis. #8 Jackman and Evans. Joffe Books, 2021.

This well-written and engaging book has two story lines, one creepy and one innocuous: a peeping tom house breaker watches women sleeping before stealing off with a family photo; a psychologist’s client seems to be making things up.

There is an overabundance of characters, all nicely developed, appealing and interesting but tricky initially to keep straight. Reading earlier books in the series would have helped identify the main characters from among the “separate yet equally important” sets of individuals involved sooner. The dust settled after several chapters and story lines became easier to follow. These meander along, appear about to converge, then one or both twist in a new direction so that by the end, the initially innocuous was seriously creepy, and the initially creepy a little less so.

This is page turner is warmly recommended.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of The Night Thief for free via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. #THENIGHTTHIEF #NetGalley.

Jackman and Evans number 8. This time the team have a weirdo who gets into houses, stares at the female occupants in bed then leaves and another, similar, one but who steals photos of boys of a certain age. Things escalate to murder. Someone is sleep walking and having counselling - by Jackman's partner. A lot of rather one-dimensional characters to remember - not up to Ms Ellis' usual standards. Still, the story does keep you interested and it is worth a read. Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Book eight full of stunning twists.
DI Rowan Jackman, DS Marie Evans on the fens.
Annie Carson saw a man standing at the foot of her bed, screaming for her son Callum they went down to see the front door wide open how the hell did he get in? lots of questions with no answers and a missing photo of Callum is gone, she calls the police.
PC's Smith and Acharya are taking this seriously this guy is up to his game pushing the boundaries and there's more to come, an habitual intruder the spider monkey named Ratty has been doing this for years until they find out who he really is he has change his ways now taking kids framed photos but it could well now be someone else and this doesn't end there's more incidences to come. A murder and a sudden death brings in Jackman and Evans where is this book going?
As always I was gripped into this story you just never know what's coming next, this is really the one in the series that is full of action with lots of characters jumping out the pages.
Oh boy I didn't see that ending LOVED IT

If your female an live alone don't read! Really a twist and turn at every corner, Will be hard to put down because you'll want to figure out WHO did it!

Thank you Netgalley and the author for providing this ARC.


I downloaded this because the blurb sounded very promising, and because I am absolutely chuffed whenever a Joy Ellis’ novels pops up. I am a great fan of all her novels, - have read most of them - and am always looking for a new one to read.

Unfortunaley, I have mixed feelings about this one.

This book is about some sort of Peeping Tom, who is watching women sleep at night, stealing their family snapshots when he leaves.

I thought the story got off to a slow start; moreover, I found the concept that the women, whose family snapshots had been stolen from their homes, go sleuthing in search of the perpetrator themselves a bit too far-fetched.
The story doesn't really get exciting anywhere, and lacks the Joy Ellis’ sparkle I normally enjoy so much. The idea of somnambulism could have been worked out better imho.
Parts of it were o.k, parts were a bit slow, so 3 stars for me.