Matt and Liz may have retired from the police, but that doesn’t guarantee a quiet life.

An abandoned carpet bag full of mysterious handwritten notes. A body in a marshy lagoon.

Matt is intrigued when his partner Liz brings home an old carpet bag she found dumped in the local library. It contains a pile of mysterious handwritten notes. Liz is convinced the bag belongs to Old Molly, a local woman who lives on the streets.

The following day, a body is discovered in a marshy lagoon. It’s Old Molly. Suffocated with an expensive men’s handkerchief.

Molly clearly knew something that got her killed. Liz believes she was trying to tell them something important. She calls on her nephew David to help decipher the carpet bag notes.

Meanwhile Matt is hired to find teenage runaway Liam Cooper. Liam has been missing for ten days now, and Matt has a very bad feeling about him.

A few days later, a second body is discovered in an old barn out on the fens.

Matt and Liz must piece together the cryptic clues Molly has left for them before more people die. The answers lead to the remote fenland village of Marshdyke-St-Mary — and a series of shocking secrets stretching back many years.

DISCOVER A TOTALLY ENTHRALLING MYSTERY.

This utterly gripping crime thriller is perfect for fans of L.J. Ross, J.D. Kirk, Angela Marsons, J.M. Dalgliesh, Elly Griffiths or Ann Cleeves.

READERS LOVE THE BAG OF SECRETS:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I love all of Joy Ellis’s books, but I do believe this is the best yet.’ Amanda P.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I love Matt and Liz. A fantastic book.’ Joanne N.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A stunningly captivating read. Wow, just wow!’ Misfits Farm

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A fascinating and intriguing read. Not to be missed.’ Carol S.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Suspense, intrigue, fantastic characters and some crazy twists and turns. Had me glued to my Kindle!’ Debbie B.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Matt and Liz are such great characters . . . Terrific.’ Louise G.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Another winner! So many twists and turns and red herrings, you won’t stop turning the pages.’ Bonita S.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I always read Joy with a cuppa and some chocolate . . . Loved it!’ Kelsey S.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘An excellent read . . . Plenty of suspense.’ Martha B.

THE SETTING
England’s rural fenland is a strange place, with its never-ending fields, winding tracks, and long straight droves (the old livestock routes) that lead to nowhere. The lonely lanes are flanked either side by deep drainage ditches and are, for a good part of the year, filled with tall, whispering reeds. Closer to the Wash, high seabanks form a barrier between river and marsh, and the richly fertile soil of the drained land. But when the mists come down, as they so often do, perspective is destroyed and all sense of direction lost, and then the fens become a rather frightening place of mystery and danger. Somewhere that you do not want to be at night.

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