Under a Silent Moon by Elizabeth Haynes

ISBN-13: 9780062276049
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date: 24 February 2015
Format: Paperback, 400 pgs
Source: Purchased

Elizabeth Haynes' Into the Darkest Corner has left me a deep impression. Pumped with full intensity and a suspense that leaves you waiting at the edge of your seat, it is one of my top reads in 2013. When I heard she has a new series out I knew I have to read them. 

Under a Silent Moon, the first book of her Briarstone series follows DCI Louisa Smith's first investigation case. Truth be told, Lou isn't anxious to prove her efficiency a month after her promotion so she is hoping it'd be a straightforward case. She didn't get what she wished. The victim, Polly Leuchars, was brutally assaulted in her home, Yonder Cottage. She worked as a groom at Hermitage Farm and Yonder Cottage is part of her employer's estate. 

On the other end, the police also responded to a suicide case at the same time. Barbara Fletcher-Norman's car is found at the bottom of a local quarry near where Hermitage Farm is. At first glance, it seems too much of a coincidence but as Lou and her team gather the evidence they realised that the two cases might be linked. 

Author Elizabeth Haynes has once again written an intense suspense that had me hooked from the beginning till the end. As this book is more of a police procedural, readers are offered more than a glimpse of how the story unfolds as Ms. Haynes included case documents such as police dispatch logs, witness statements, intelligence reports etc to make it look more like an authentic murder investigation. Ms. Haynes knew all the works as she worked as a police Intelligence analyst for many years. 

I find her characters in this book engaging; and I enjoyed reading the exchanges between Lou and Jason Mercer, the analyst. The rest of the team consisted of some interesting characters too; like DI Andy Hamilton who seems to be a natural charmer with women and DS Sam Hollands for a strong female character aside from Lou. I know I'd be reading more of them in this series and I look forward to learning more of them. Suspense wise, I was actually glad I was correct to pinpoint the killer after reading a while but that didn't take away the fun of reading this mystery till the end, as I find the police procedural all so interesting and intriguing. Behind Closed Doors is the next book of this series and needless to say, I'm looking forward to reading it.