"DCI Louisa Smith Series"--from author Elizabeth Haynes--compelling detective series-compulsively readable tales of murder, mystery, and unsettling suspense

Under a Silent Moon

Two women share one fate.

A suspected murder at an English Farm. A reported suicide at a local quarry.

Can DCI Louisa Smith and her team gather the evidence and discover a link between them, a link which sealed their fate one cold night, Under a Silent Moon?

A tense, compelling and unsettling novel mystery brimming with source material and evidence set over just six days, Under a Silent Moon will keep you gripped until the very last page and asks:

Can you connect the clues and name the Killer?

In the crisp, early hours of an autumn morning, the police are called to investigate two deaths. The first is a suspected murder at a farm on the outskirts of a small village. A beautiful young woman has been found dead, her cottage drenched with blood. The second is a reported suicide at a nearby quarry. A car with a woman's body inside was found at the bottom of the pit.

As DCI Louisa Smith and her team gather evidence, they discover a shocking link between the two cases and the two deaths-a bond that sealed their terrible fates one cold night, under a silent moon.

In this first entry in a compelling new detective series, Elizabeth Haynes interweaves fictional primary source materials-police reports, phone messages, interviews-and multiple character viewpoints to create a sexy, edgy, and compulsively readable tale of murder, mystery, and unsettling suspense.


 

Promises to Keep

Running is the only thing keeping Jo sane. Haunted by the tragic death of a teenage asylum seeker, the rhythm of her feet pounding the earth provides temporary respite from all-consuming memories. So when she discovers a young boy living rough in the woods, Jo is determined to do everything within her power to keep him safe. DS Sam Hollands wants to get her relationship back on track, unsure of how to make things right. But everything changes when she returns from work one night to find a stranger in her home ...Told with the use of source documents, allowing the reader to delve deeper into the world of the characters, this is a stunning, psychologically-rich short story from one of the most authentic and compelling voices in British crime fiction. 


 

Behind Closed Doors

Ten years ago, fifteen-year-old Scarlett Rainsford vanished while on a family holiday in Greece. Was she abducted, or did she run away? Lou Smith worked the case as a police constable, and failing to find Scarlett has been one of the biggest regrets of her career. No one is more shocked than Lou to learn that Scarlett has unexpectedly been found during a Special Branch raid of a brothel in Briarstone.

Lou and her Major Crimes team are already stretched working two troubling cases: nineteen-year-old Ian Palmer was found badly beaten; soon after, bar owner Carl McVey was found half-buried in the woods, his Rolex and money gone. While Lou tries to establish the links between the two cases, DS Sam Hollands works with Special Branch to question Scarlett. What happened to her? Where has she been until now? And why is her family—with the exception of her emotionally fragile younger sister, Juliette—less than enthusiastic about her return?

When another brutal assault and homicide are linked to the McVey murder, Lou's cases collide, and the clues all point in one terrifying direction. As the pressure and the danger mount, it becomes clear that the silent, secretive Scarlett holds the key to everything. 


ALSO BY ELIZABETH HAYNES 


 

Dark Tide

Elizabeth Haynes, author of the bestselling debut Into the Darkest Corner, returns with a tense, gripping thriller about a woman caught in an underworld of corruption and murder...

Genevieve has finally achieved her dream: to leave the stress of London behind and start a new life aboard a houseboat in Kent. She’s found the perfect vessel: Revenge of the Tide. She already feels less lonely; as if the boat is looking after her.

But the night of her boat-warming party, a body washes up, and to Genevieve’s horror, she recognizes the victim. She isn’t about to tell the police, though; hardly anyone knows about her past as a dancer at a private members’ club, The Barclay. The death can’t have anything to do with her. Or so she thinks...

Soon, the lull of the waves against Revenge feels anything but soothing, as Genevieve begins to receive strange calls and can’t reach the one person who links the present danger with her history at the club. Fearing for her safety, Genevieve recalls the moment when it all started to go wrong: the night she saw her daytime boss in the crowd at The Barclay...

Dark, sexy, and exquisitely chilling, Dark Tide is another superb mystery from acclaimed rising star Elizabeth Haynes. 

Reviews

 

“Haynes has written romantic suspense novels and psychological thrillers, but Under a Silent Moon is her first police procedural and it’s quite a departure from anything she’s done before….Should give puzzle fiends plenty to chew on.” (New York Times Book Review)

“If there’s anything Haynes excels at, it’s addictive, tension-filled reading.” (BookPage)

“Perfect for fans of police procedurals and British mysteries.” (Library Journal)

“Haynes debuts a promising procedural series featuring a strong lead character who could just become a genre stalwart.” (Booklist)

“You’ll want to stay up all night reading Under a Silent Moon. Best-selling author Elizabeth Haynes assembles a cast of memorable characters in this gripping murder mystery that combines police procedure with romantic desire.” (National Examiner)

“The first in a series of police procedural mysteries that undoubtedly will significantly increase her readership while retraining those who have been with her from the beginning….It’s as impressive a book, in any genre, as you will read this year….And the ending will leave you breathless.” (Bookreporter.com)

“[A] gripping page-turner.” (Crimespree Magazine)

“Like your novels racy? If so, this one will fit the bill….A strong opening to what promises to be a strong series.” (New York Journal of Books)

“This is an edgy, suspenseful story that will keep you up late at night, but make sure your doors are locked.” (Suspense Magazine)

“Haynes deftly weaves together the instructional style of most police procedurals with a taut, suspenseful mystery. It’s a captivating tale of jealousy, madness and murder that readers won’t be able to put down.” (Romantic Times Book Reviews, 4.5 stars)


Elizabeth Haynes



Elizabeth Haynes is a police intelligence analyst. She started writing fiction in 2006 with the annual challenge of National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo) and the encouragement of the creative writing courses at West Dean College. She lives in a village near Maidstone, Kent, with her husband and son. Into the Darkest Corner is her first novel. Visit her website at www.elizabeth-haynes.com.