Louisa Scarr Books In Order

Publication Order of Butler & West Books

Publication Order of PC Lucy Halliday Books

Louisa Scarr is the pseudonym of Sam Holland who is best known for his mystery fiction novels. The author went to the University of Southampton where he studied psychology.

She published “Last Place You Look,” her debut novel in 2021, and has since published at least five titles. After moving to Southampton for her studies, Louisa decided to make her home in the city, where she still lives to this day.
While she has made a lot of waves with her fiction novels, she still works as an editor and freelance copywriter.

When she is not penning her novels, she can usually be found swimming in muddy lakes or out on the streets in running shoes whenever she can find time.

“Last Place You Look” by Louisa Scarr opens with the discovery of a man found in a hotel room where a sex act gone wrong had left him strangled to death.

There is also the case of the young mother and two boys who are involved in a horrific accident that results in their death. Lastly, is the death of a drunk driver whose car hits a tree. Could these fatal accidents be related?
On her first day at work, Detective Constable Freya West is partnered with Detective Inspector Robin Butler. They are now to go break the bad news of a man’s death to his widow.

When she hears the name of the deceased, she is sure that it is Jonathan her married lover. He had promised to leave his wife and now she thinks he was murdered and that his wife Amy had been somehow involved.
She decides to keep her mouth shut but what is interesting is that it does seem that both she and her partner have some career-ending secrets they are keeping.
They will have to push forward and find the people responsible for the murders before their own secrets come to light.
It is a suspenseful and excellent police procedural with deeply flawed but likable characters that is engaging from the first page to the last.

Louisa Scarr’s novel “Under A Dark Cloud” is an interesting work that follows the life and times of West and Butler’s relationship. It is a relationship that has been getting more complicated, even if it is going from strength to strength.
One early morning, Butler gets a call and is informed that there is an ongoing incident and one of the people involved had specifically asked for him.

The person is Dr. Finn Msson his long-standing friend who is best known as a storm chaser, who had been caught up in a van where they had been testing the working of an innovative new device.
Things had become complicated as Finn’s colleague ended up deceased and Finn cannot explain what happened. The police believe Finn is responsible and it is now up to Butler to try to get him out of his predicament.
In the meantime, West has been reassigned and is now working with detective sergeant Josh Smith on the case of a body that had been found hidden in an abandoned freezer.
West will not let Finn become indicted and convicted of the crime and even as she works on the freezer case, she does everything she can to help him.
It is a refreshing follow-up that just like most of Louisa’s other works makes for an engrossing read.

“Blink of an Eye” by Louisa Scarr is set on Christmas morning where Detective Sergeant Robin Butler is not planning to celebrate. All he wants to is to get back to work and he gets his wish far sooner than he had anticipated.
He is informed that five unresponsive people had been found at the local beach by a dog walker. By the time Butler gets to the beach, one man has been pronounced dead while the rest have been sent to hospital in critical condition.
Detective Constable Freya West is not very pleased since she had planned a romantic date with her boyfriend and her plans have now been scuppered.

Speaking to the witnesses many of whom had been in another group on the same hike, it is clear that they are hiding something. They claim that they are all friends but they are too cagey for the liking of the detectives.
Going through some cold files, they find some indication that a beach-going gang could be involved. However, since they will not talk, West and Butler find themselves stranded once again.

It is a thrilling work that has been compared to the works of the likes of Susie Steiner, Jane Casey, and Cara Hunter.