- Series: Detective Chief Inspector Louisa Smith
- Hardcover: 368 pages
- Publisher: Harper (April 15, 2014)
- ISBN-10: 0062276026
- Source: Publisher
One morning, the police are called to a cottage to investigate a murder in a quiet English village. The victim, Polly, is a beautiful young woman, known for having multiple affairs with both men and women. Her affairs all end the same way: the other party begs for a more stable relationship which Polly quickly denies.
Soon after, a car is found at the bottom of a quarry. Inside they find the body of Barbara Fletcher-Norman, her death an apparent suicide. Barbara was a known drunk and it’s assumed her death is a suicide.
Leading the investigation on both cases Detective Chief Inspector Louisa Smith soon realizes that there is more to both of these incidents. Louisa must dig into the small village’s secrets to learn more about these two women. Unfortunately, the evidence is showing multiple potential suspects making Louisa’s job particularly difficult. As can be imagined, the villagers aren’t volunteering information. Instead, she must use phone records and eyewitness accounts to identify the individual(s!?) at fault.
Under a Silent Moon is the first in a new police procedural series from this author. Haynes, a police intelligence analyst herself, interweaves police reports, phone messages, and interviews, along with the multiple viewpoints, to create a rich and intense novel of suspense. The secondary characters play a pretty active role, having the appearance of primary characters due to their involvement in the storyline. They are each richly developed, truly making this a more dynamic read than a typical police procedural.
Haynes own background in the field certainly adds a level of authenticity to the actions the investigators perform to trace down the killer. The added addition of the police reports, etc., allows the reader to genuinely feel part of the investigation, gaining privileged access to the case information. This information provides readers with just enough information to form an educated guess about what may have transpired. The race to the end is intense; the need to know the truth is great.
Be forewarned that there are some graphic scenes of a sexual nature throughout the book. Certainly not gratuitous but necessary to exemplify the…intensity of one of the secondary characters.
Bottom line, like with all of Elizabeth Haynes’ other books, this one comes highly recommended! I can’t wait to read more!
Other books by Elizabeth Haynes:
Into the Darkest Corner
Dark Tide
Human Remains
One Response to Review: Under a Silent Moon by Elizabeth Haynes