Under A Silent Moon: A Novel by Elizabeth Haynes

(Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)

about book:

Devour the Book
Connect the Clues
Discover a Killer

P. D. James meets E. L. James in Under a Silent Moon, this first novel in an exciting British crime series—a blend of literary suspense and page-turning thriller that introduces formidable Detective Chief Inspector Louisa Smith—from suspense talent Elizabeth Haynes, author of the bestselling Into the Darkest Corner.

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 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 to discover the Killer?

Solve the crime alongside DCI Louisa Smith and her team.

my thoughts:

Normally I'm a huge fan of Haynes' works (Into the Darkest Corner, Human Remains) - I just love the way she writes about such difficult and often disturbing topics (with brutal honesty).  So, I couldn't help but get excited at the prospect of jumping into her new book, Under A Silent Moon.  Its the first in a new series she's writing and it deals with a police intelligence analyst (think CSI). From the blurb on the back, it sounded like it was going to be quite an intriguing read.  Unfortunately, I never got that far into the book.  For some reason, I just could not engage with the story at all.  I found it to be somewhat confusing and didn't really enjoy reading the procedural aspect of the investigation.  I never connected with DCI Louisa Smith and didn't really care what happened to her.  As much as I wanted to enjoy this book, I found that I couldn't.  It was a DNF for me.

But don't listen to me.  According to other bloggers, this book is a terrific story filled with loads of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end.  Check out what else they had to say about Under A Silent Moon here.

Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!

Human Remains: A Novel by Elizabeth Haynes

(Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)

about book:

New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Haynes returns with a disturbing and powerful tale that preys on our darkest fears.

Police analyst Annabel wouldn’t describe herself as lonely. Her work and the needs of her aging mother keep her busy. But Annabel is shocked when she discovers her neighbor’s decomposing body in the house next door, and she is appalled to think that no one, including herself, noticed the woman’s absence. Annabel sets out to investigate, despite her colleagues’ lack of interest, and discovers that such cases are frighteningly common in her hometown.

A chilling thriller and a hymn to all the lonely people whose individual voices haunt its pages, Human Remains shows how vulnerable we are when we live alone, and how easily ordinary lives can fall apart when no one is watching.

my thoughts:

OMG!  What the hell did I just read?  Human Remains has to be one of the most disturbing books that I have ever read.  It is creepy, dark, twisted, and completely riveting!  There are rotting corpses, sad and lonely people, NLP (a kind of hypnosis technique it seems to me), an obscene amount of wanking (seriously, did we have to keep reading about it - yuck!!), death, murder, necrophilia (sort of), and tons of suspense.  This was quite an unsettling read.  And yet, I could not help but stay up until 3am just so I could finish reading this book. It horrified me and haunted my dreams.  Human Remains was definitely an unforgettable read.

Elizabeth Haynes has once again written another spellbinding book exploring the darker aspects of human nature.  This time round she focuses on the dead.  Specifically, the dead bodies that are discovered by police after someone calls in about an unpleasant odor, or because they've recently noticed their neighbor hasn't been seen in awhile.  Its sad really, to think about these people left all alone to die without anyone knowing what is happening to them.  Its only by chance that their corpses get discovered, which makes the whole situation even sadder.  Natural causes is usually the cause of death, so no mention is ever really made about these found bodies.  Except that in Haynes' gripping story, natural causes is not the reason behind the deaths of the bodies being discovered.  And that is all I'm going to say about the book.  I don't want to ruin anything for you, so I'm going to leave you to read the novel for yourself.  I'm just going to mention that the book is a thrilling read that will have you on the edge of your seat; its filled with fascinating characters that will make you cry and make you cringe; and the whole idea of someone being able to manipulate people so easily and horrifically is terrifying!  Its been days and I still can't shake this book from my mind - its that good and scary!  Check it out - you won't be disappointed!!

In case you want to find out what everyone is saying about this book, head on over to the TLC Book Tour page for: Human Remains

Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!

Into The Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes

About book:

When young, pretty Catherine Bailey meet Lee Brightman, she can't believe her luck.  Gorgeous, charismatic, and a bit mysterious, Lee seems almost too perfect to be true.

But what begins as flattering attention and spontaneous, passionate sex transforms into raging jealousy, and Catherine soon discovers that Lee's dazzling blue eyes and blond good looks hide a dark, violent nature.  Disturbed by his increasingly erratic, controlling behavior, she tries to break it off.  Turning to her friends for support, she's stunned to find they don't believe her.  Increasingly isolated and driven into the darkest corner of her world, a desperate Catherine plans a meticulous escape.

Four years later, Lee is behind bars and Catherine - now Cathy - is trying to build a new life in a new city.  Though her body has healed, the trauma of the past still haunts her.  Trusting no one, she compulsively checks every lock, every window, every door of her apartment, and varies her route home each day.  Then Stuart Richardson, her attractive new neighbor, moves in.  Encouraging her to confront her fears, he sparks unexpected hope and the possibility of love and a normal life.

Until the day the phone rings.

Mesmerizing, skillfully drawn, vividly cinematic, Into the Darkest Corner is an ingeniously structured and plotted tour de force of suspense that marks the arrival of a major new talent.

My thoughts:

Story:  Suspense-filled!

Writing:  Soooo good!

Overall: A thrilling read!

This is one freaking good book!  Seriously, it is the epitome of uputdownable.  I sat down with it one evening and grabbed a cup of tea and the next thing I knew it was 2am and I was turning the last page. I just couldn't stop reading.  I had to find out what would happen to Cathy.  Would she be able to get a handle on her OCD and PTSD?  Would she and Stuart wind up together? How would she handle seeing Lee again - would she survive another encounter with him?  I had to find out!

Suffice it to say, Haynes has written an excellent debut novel. Her writing is spot on, the characters are engaging, and the story itself is gripping and intense.  This is seriously one good book.

Catherine Bailey is young and carefree.  She goes out with her girlfriends, has a good job and a place of her own.  Everything is peachy keen, until she meets Lee.  Well, at first things are great - he's sweet and loving and all of her girlfriends think he's the bee's knees.  Catherine can't believe her luck.  And then, Lee starts to become aggressive towards her - he starts to control her and eventually begins to hit her.  No one believes Catherine - her girlfriends all think she is just trying to sabotage a good relationship.  Left to deal with it all on her own, Catherine devises a plan of escape. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned. Instead of waking up in NYC, Catherine comes to in her own spare bedroom where she finds herself gagged and tied up.  For days Catherine lives in a hell created by Lee where he rapes and beats her and shares with her how he killed his first true love.  It is heart-wrenching reading about the abuse Catherine endured - you can't help cringe in horror and cry your eyes out at the same time.  Things are not looking good for Catherine.

Flash forward to four years later and Catherine is now Cathy.  She is living in London and working as an HR rep.  He life is consumed with rituals that consist of checking locks, windows and doorways.  Her OCD is severe - she can't rest until her checks are completed; she can't skip her scheduled tea breaks; and she can't even go out to buy tea unless it is the designated day to do so.  So you can imagine how Cathy reacts when a new neighbor moves into the building.  He's cute, but she worries that he will forget to lock the front door and that means that she will have to keep an eye on that even more now.  However, they soon form a friendship that leads Cathy to seek out help for her OCD issues.  She wants to enjoy her life and not be cooped up all day at home checking locks and windows.  She wants to be able to go out for a drink with a friend. She wants to be able to pursue a relationship with Stuart and not keep having flashbacks of Lee.  Of course, life throws a wrench in Cathy's plans once again. And I'm not going to tell you what happens, because you just have to read it for yourself to find out.  All I will share is that I cried at the end, again.

Cripes, I was definitely an emotional mess reading this book.  One minute I was sobbing, the next I was sighing in exasperation, or I was just biting my nails because I was stressed waiting to find out what was going to happen to Cathy.  I felt like I was reading a movie - the descriptions were so vivid and real that I couldn't help but easily imagine the events that were unfolding before me.  And what made it easy to flit back and forth in time was the fact that Haynes alternates each new chapter/section with a date at the top that shows you what year you are going to be reading about.  By having present day Cathy running concurrently with past Catherine, you are able to get an accurate history of Cathy's relationship with Lee and how she became to be such a neurotic mess.  Plus, I felt that going back and forth really provided us with an in depth look at what life in an abusive relationship can be like and how OCD/PTSD can truly affect every aspect of your daily life.  These serious issues are tackled head on with such honesty and rawness, that you can't help but become emotionally tied to Cathy.  You just want to give her a big hug and let her know what a strong woman she is - or at least I wanted to.   She is definitely one character I won't be forgetting about anytime soon.

Into the Darkest Corner is a terrific book that I am going to be recommending to my family and friends.  It makes for great discussion and provides plenty of food for thought.  I will most definitely be reading more of Haynes works in the future.  For now, I recommend you pick up a copy of Into the Darkest Corner and see for yourself what I've been talking about - just remember to have some tissues on hand (because you will cry). 

Thank you to TLC Book Tours and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!