Introducing the Lynleys of Law Enforcement & the Fun in Writing a Harlequin Intrigue Miniseries: Guest Post by R. Barri Flowers

As a longtime crime, mystery, and thriller author, it is always exciting to take on a new series that can connect the dots between novels, while also keeping each book as a standalone.

This is the case with my latest romantic suspense thriller miniseries for Harlequin Intrigue, entitled, The Lynleys of Law Enforcement. The Six-Book series centers around the closeknit Lynleys family, with an interesting mixture of siblings, cousins, and ex-spouses as protagonists in various law enforcement capacities across the country.
 
Trying to juggle between active careers in law enforcement, solving crimes, family dynamics, and relationships to one degree or another can be a balancing act, to say the least. But like a pro with many books to my credit, I love taking on the challenge of making it work and giving readers page turning, thought-provoking crime novels to digest and unravel.
 
In Book 1, Special Agent Witness, Detective Russell Lynley and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Rosamund Santiago, who is in the federal Witness Security Program after witnessing the murder of her partner, must work together in this small waterfront town in Northern California to stop an assassin from silencing Rosamund for good.
 
In Book 2, Christmas Lights Killer, a serial killer is putting a damper on the holiday season in this Indiana town, using string lights to strangle his victims. Detective Annette Lynley and State Trooper Hamilton McCade, whose niece falls prey to the killer, must combine forces to track down the culprit and make Christmas merry again.
 
In Book 3, Murder in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the discovery of a body along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, by Law Enforcement Ranger Madison Lynley, reunites her with ex-boyfriend, National Park Service Special Agent Garrett Sneed. The death parallels the unsolved murder of Garrett's mother three decades earlier, bringing the cold case and current investigation on a deadly collision course.
 
In Book 4, Cold Murder in Kolton Lake, FBI Special Agent Scott Lynley and FBI Victim Specialist Abby Zhang investigate a twenty-year-old homicide in the Kentucky town of Kolton Lake. The victim was Abby's aunt and the killer pulls out all the stops to keep the case on ice and identity forever hidden, including a willingness to kill again.
 
In addition to these first four books in the miniseries, all available to buy or preorder, the last two titles in the series, Campus Killer and Manhunt Underway, will be released in the summer/fall of 2024, with the promise of more Lynleys ready to use their law enforcement skills and acumen to solve murders -- or die trying!
 
As a prelude to the Lynleys of Law Enforcement miniseries, a free Harlequin online read, Christmas Peril on the Oregon Coast, will be available on the publisher's website in late September 2023. In it, Sheriff Caleb Lynley and Assistant District Attorney Hannah Brewster investigate the murder of a woman, whom Hannah stumbled upon along the Oregon Coast Trail Could it be a case of mistaken identity with a determined killer hidden in plain view?
 
When it comes to gripping crime fiction, there is no substitute for a compelling mystery series that connects the central characters in a meaningful way, while giving them their own space to get to the root of the wrongdoing, with justice prevailing when all is said and done.
Hope you check out the Lynleys of Law Enforcement miniseries, as well as my equally riveting prior Harlequin Intrigue miniseries, Hawaii CI. You won't be disappointed!
 

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R. Barri Flowers is an award-winning criminologist and bestselling crime novelist and true crime writer, with more than one hundred books published. He has also edited several mystery and true crime anthologies. His latest thriller novels include Captured on Kauai, Chasing the Violet Killer, Dead on Maui, Exposed Evidence, Honolulu Cold Homicide, The Big Island Killer, and Till She Was Done. With attention to detail, the author strives to bring verisimilitude to the characters and stories, to go with plenty of creative juices and a vivid imagination to create enthralling and realistic fiction.