Patricia Moyes, also known as "Penny," was a British author of mystery novels, best known for her Inspector Henry Tibbett series. She was born in Dublin in 1923 and was educated in Northampton. Moyes began her career working for Peter Ustinov as a technical assistant and later became his personal assistant for eight years. She also co-wrote the screenplay for the film School for Scoundrels and worked as an assistant editor for the British version of Vogue.
Moyes was born into a family with a distinguished background, her father being a High Court judge in Madras and in the Indian civil service. She was educated in Northampton at the Overstone girls' school. In 1939, she joined the WAAF. Following a successful career in the film and magazine industries, Moyes turned to writing mystery novels. Her first novel, "Dead Men Don't Ski," was published in 1959 and introduced the character of C.I.D. Inspector Henry Tibbett. The series would go on to include 20 novels, with one of them, "Who Saw Her Die" (Many Deadly Returns in the US) being nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1971. In addition to her mystery novels, Moyes also wrote several juveniles and short stories.
Moyes married photographer John Moyes in 1951, but they divorced in 1959. She later married James Haszard, a linguist at the International Monetary Fund in The Hague. She died at her home on the island of Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands on 2 August 2000.