Book excerpt: "This series is getting stronger with every book."—Dear Author on Silent Witness This new collection includes the first 5 titles in The Dylan Scott Mystery series by Shirley Wells. PRESUMED DEAD Dismissed in disgrace from the police force for assaulting a suspect, Dylan Scott has no job, his wife has thrown him out and—worse luck—his mother has moved in. So when Holly Champion begs him to investigate the disappearance of her mother thirteen years ago, he can't say no, even though it means taking up residence in the dreary Lancashire town of Dawson's Clough for the duration. Although the local police still believe Anita Champion took off for a better life, Dylan's inquiries turn up plenty of potential suspects. But one sleepy Northern town can keep a lot of secrets. DEAD SILENT Ten months ago, Samantha Hunt set off for work…and was never seen again. Dylan Scott wants to believe the young woman's alive—by all accounts Sam was a lovely girl, devoted to her younger stepsisters, well-liked at her work, in love with her boyfriend. But as usual not everything is as it seems in sleepy Dawson's Clough. Sam's boyfriend has a violent past. She may have been having an affair with her boss. And Dylan can't shake the feeling that her stepfather is hiding something. Who wanted to silence Sam, and why? SILENT WITNESS After his ex-wife bled to death in a bathtub covered in his fingerprints, the case against Aleksander Kaminski seemed open and shut. Though sentenced to life in prison, he swears he's innocent, a claim supported by his current wife. Having been unjustly jailed himself, P.I. Dylan Scott is compelled to pursue the case; if there's even a small chance the man is innocent, he has to help. The other obvious suspect—the victim's second husband—has a watertight alibi. But Dylan has a strong hunch that as usual, there's more going on than meets the eye in Dawson's Clough. But if Kaminski didn't murder his childhood sweetheart, who did? DEAD CALM Detective Dylan Scott thinks cruising well above the Arctic Circle in November is nothing short of madness; he agrees to the Norwegian holiday to keep his wife and mother happy. At least the biggest problem he'll have to deal with is boredom. But that boredom quickly dissipates when the unpleasant elderly woman in the neighboring cabin is found dead. Everyone thinks Hanna Larsen had a heart attack. Everyone except Dylan. Dylan is convinced there's a killer aboard the Midnight Sun—a killer who may strike again. DYING ART Dylan Scott vowed never to return to the dreary town of Dawson's Clough. But one visit from a beautiful ex-lover and he's back in Lancashire, investigating a possible murder. The police think Prue Murphy died during a burglary gone wrong, but her sister isn't so sure—and neither is Dylan. After all, the killer overlooked the only valuable thing in Prue's flat. Who could have wanted the quirky young woman dead, and why? Dylan's search for answers takes him to France, where he discovers Prue's family didn't know her as well as they thought they did. And the more he digs, the more secrets he unearths—secrets someone would kill to keep buried.