The Lizard: A Summer Suspense Mystery (The Summer Suspense Mysteries Book 5)

THERE'S NOTHING SO DEADLY AS THE SEA, AND THE MAN WHO SURVIVES IT...
Bryher Enys is the proud owner of Cornwall's newest restaurant, Panorama.

When she isn't whipping up culinary feasts, she volunteers with the local lifeboat crew - a tight-knit team who regularly risk their lives to save others.

With no immediate plans to settle down, life is pretty much perfect.

Until one stormy night, when a distress signal shatters the calm. A luxury yacht is going down fast, and Bryher joins the rescue.

Too late to save the vessel, they search the raging seas for survivors – but find only one...

A man with no name, no memory and the power to turn her world upside down.

Suspense is peppered with romance and humour in this fast-paced mystery, set amidst the spectacular Cornish landscape.

“LJ Ross keeps company with the best mystery writers”—The Times

“A literary phenomenon”—Evening Chronicle

LJ Ross is an international bestselling author, best known for creating atmospheric mystery and thriller novels, including the DCI Ryan series of Northumbrian murder mysteries which have sold over 12 million copies worldwide.

Her debut, Holy Island, was released in January 2015 and reached number one in the Amazon UK and Australian charts. Since then, she has released more than thirty further novels, all of which have been top three global bestsellers and most of which have been UK #1 bestsellers. Louise has garnered an army of loyal readers through her storytelling and, thanks to them, most of her books reached the coveted #1 spot whilst only available to pre-order ahead of release. Her eleventh novel, "The Infirmary", is a prequel story and is also available as a major Audible Originals audio-drama starring Tom Bateman, Kevin Whately, Bertie Carvel, Hermione Norris and Alun Armstrong.

Her first hardback edition "Berwick" (DCI Ryan #24) was released by Cornerstone in February 2026 and was an instant Sunday Times Bestseller.

In addition to her DCI Ryan series, Louise has created a new series of thriller novels based around the central character of ‘Dr Alexander Gregory’, whose work as a psychological profiler takes him around the world.

"The Cove" (the first book in her new Summer Suspense Mysteries series) was released in 2021 and followed up by "The Creek" in 2022, "The Bay" in 2023, and "The Haven" in 2024. This is a new series of standalone romantic suspense novels featuring strong female protagonists. "The Lizard" will follow in summer 2026.

The novels all are available to purchase in e-book, paperback and audiobook formats on the Amazon store, as well as in libraries and book shops around the world.

Louise was born in Northumberland, England. She studied undergraduate and postgraduate Law at King’s College, University of London and then abroad in Paris and Florence. She spent much of her working life in London, where she was a lawyer for a number of years until taking the decision to change career and pursue her dream to write. Now, she writes full-time and lives with her family Northumberland, where she enjoys reading all manner of books, travelling and spending time with family and friends.

Louise is a keen philanthropist, and is pleased to have supported numerous non-profit programmes in addition to founding several of her own, including the Lindisfarne Reading Challenge and the Lindisfarne Prize for Debut Crime Fiction.