Lest Angels Weep

Detective Liz Moorland #5

by Phillipa Nefri Clark

The new case is cold. Freezing cold. Until another murder with striking similarities rocks a remote outback town.

Detective Liz Moorland is desperate to get out of Melbourne. Away from the aftermath of shocking events surrounding her team and her father. The heat of the red dirt is a welcome distraction.

But was this murder done by a copycat or is the original killer still living within the small community? And what is the secret which keeps everyone away from the old church. Almost everyone.

There's so much more to this case than Liz expected and she is quickly caught up in the hunt for a killer who is poised to strike again. With a town unwilling to help her, has her longing for solitude put her in the most perilous situation of her life?

Genres: Mystery, Crime

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 29, 2026

About the author

Phillipa lives just outside a beautiful town in country Victoria, Australia. She also lives in the many worlds of her imagination and stockpiles stories beside her laptop.

She writes from the heart about love, dreams, secrets, discovery, the sea, the world as she knows it… or wishes it could be. She loves happy endings, heart-pounding suspense, and characters who stay with you long after the final page.

With a passion for music, the ocean, nature, reading, and writing, she is often found in the vegetable garden pondering a new story.

Reviews

[Phrynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book five in the Detective Liz Moorland series.

This book takes Liz and her team out of Melbourne to a country town in northern Victoria. They are there to investigate several suspicious deaths from the past which have never been solved. When a new murder takes place in a similar manner to the past ones they know that someone is hiding evidence and the local police are suspects.

It is a great story, always interesting, exciting and full of intrigue. The team work so well together largely due to their respect for Liz who is a very strong character. Highly recommended but best to read the series from the start to get the full impact. Five stars.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Detective Liz Moorland arrived in the small town of Ouyen in northern Victoria, she was looking at a couple of cold cases - two bodies found at the graveyard of a local church, three weeks apart but decades earlier. Neither had been identified so she hoped to rectify that. But another body appeared at the graveyard, mimicking the positioning of the two previous ones. And Liz then discovered about the disappearance of a fifteen year old girl, prior to the cold cases. What was happening in this small town, where no one was willing to help?

With the rest of Liz's team from Melbourne joining her, they immediately deepened the investigation. Meg was in her element with all she could dig up; Candace, Reuben and Pete made them five. With their BearCat filled with necessary supplies, the team was formidable. But the killer and perhaps accomplices, were steps ahead. Could Liz and her team discover what was going on in this small country town; something that had been happening for a lot of years if they had things right?

Lest Angels Weep is the 5th in the Detective Liz Moorland series by Aussie author Phillipa Nefri Clark and oh my goodness! What a tense, gritty, spectacular and heartstoppingly chilling story! I loved it! Liz is one determined and feisty character and her team are strong, all having each others' backs. I am already looking forward to #6! Highly recommended.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

When there is a death in a small outback Victorian town that raises questions because of the similarities to a cold case back in the 1980’s, Liz and the team are called in, this is the first case with a new boss after Ben left and Liz is keen to get away from Melbourne for a while after the consequences from their last case and what happened with her father, so she makes her way on her own first to the small town and starts the investigation before more of the team arrive to help.

Soon Meg, Rueben and then Pete and Candice arrive and they are working through the small amount of information they have to see if this is the same killer from all those years ago or is it a copycat killer but what they uncover appears to be cover ups that go deep into the town hierarchy including police, they hit brick walls trying to get information but they do have the local cop Kath Conner helping but the danger is growing as is the suspects.

This is another fabulous installment in the awesome series, after all that has happened and with a new boss Felix Fletcher and new team members to get to know Liz has her worries about how things will go but she soon sees that the team are working well and she is getting on with the job and putting the past behind her, as for this case there are many twists that had me thinking who did this, how many people are involved and what started it all, all those years ago, so many great characters.

I loved this one so much the author has written another awesome crime mystery that is sure to keep readers turning the pages to find out who and why, I do highly recommend this one and the series and I can’t wait for more in this series, a must read.

My thanks to the author for my digital copy to read and review.

[Susan Mackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another page-turner. So twisty, kept me hanging on until the end.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liz and her team in their new capacity as Operation Nobody investigate a murder that has ties to a couple old murders. A body is found on a grave. Liz, Pete, Rueben and Meg are sent to investigate. They have a new boss who has ties to one of their team, Candace. I look forward to more in this series.

[Heather Reyburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This latest release in the Liz Moorland crime series is unputdownable! Fast paced with twists and turns and fabulous, strong characters, this story adds another level to Phillipa Nefri Clark's amazing portfolio. I highly recommend this one.

[Sam Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping from page one and doesn't let go. You'll be thinking about it long after you finish.

[Mireille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast delivery and works well.

[Julia Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

lest Angels Weep

Another great who dunnit, with several twists along the way to keep the reader guessing as to who any why. A great result for the investigating team. Another great thriller, a must read

[Albertine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I notice that the author mentions "early readers to help find typos". They missed a few.