Blink of an Eye
Five friends meet. Only four come home.
On Christmas morning, DS Robin Butler has no plans to celebrate. He'll be glad to get back to work - a wish that comes true sooner than he anticipates. A dog walker at a local beach has discovered five unresponsive people strewn across the shingle. By the time Robin arrives, one is pronounced dead, and the other four are being treated in hospital.
DC Freya West is less than pleased when the romantic day with her boyfriend is scuppered, but duty calls. As she and Butler speak to those involved, it's clear something is being left unsaid. They claim they are friends, and that they don't know how one of the group was killed. But why are they so cagey?
A cold case investigation unlocks some answers about the history between the beach-going gang, yet they're tight-lipped about what prompted them to meet on Christmas Eve. Butler and West are getting nowhere, and their partnership is about to face another test. When Freya wants to come clean about events in her past, it's not just her neck on the line, but Robin's too. Can their relationship survive if their pact of silence is broken?
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Louisa Scarr
Louisa Scarr, also writing as Sam Holland, studied psychology at the University of Southampton and has lived in and around the city ever since. She is a full-time writer, and when she's not at her desk, she can be found pounding the streets in running shoes or swimming in muddy lakes.
She is the author of the Butler and West crime series, published by Canelo Crime, beginning with Last Place You Look and ending with Out of the Ashes. A new series, about a police dog handler PC Lucy Halliday, launched in 2024 with Gallows Wood. Book two and three in the series, Memorial Park and Broken House, are both out now.
Her DS Kate Munro series, Ask Me No Questions and Nowhere to be Found, have been republished by Canelo Crime and are available now.
Butler & West
Butler & West consists of five books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
