Book Review: ‘Under A Silent Moon’ by Elizabeth Haynes

Things are not always what they seem. Even the most obvious of answers can be the wrong one. Digging a little deeper will bring the truth to light, often a truth more complicated than expected.

In Under a Silent Moon by Elizabeth Haynes, we are introduced to DCI Louisa Smith and her team of officers. Called in to investigate two deaths on neighboring farms, she is immediately intrigued. The death of the young woman in her cottage is obviously murder. That is where she determines most of her skills will play. The other death appears to be a suicide. A car with a woman’s body is found at the bottom of a quarry. As Smith and her team dive into the investigation a thin line appears, seeming to link the two deaths. Suddenly the answer is no longer the one imagined.

Haynes has given us an investigator full of intelligence and spice. She is gritty and witty as well as well versed in the art of investigation. As she and her team begin to unravel the clues you will be drawn to many of the characters, yet appalled at the others.

Haynes uses her experience as a police analyst to give us fiction at its best. The evidentiary elements as well as the dip into the darker side of life are a part of the parcel of interesting sidelines that engender a realistic and brutal scene with red herrings at every turn.

Smith must use her smarts to get to the very depth of depravity and at the same time weather the challenges of being a woman in her field. Can she find the real killer and hold them responsible for the horrific deed?

If you enjoy mystery and investigation as well as the secret lives of those around you, you will find this to be a great summer read. The story is fantastic, and the mystery keeps you guessing to the very end. This would be a great book for a reading group as well as just a great read for those lazy days of summer.