Carolyn Arnold

The book opens with the rape and murder of a high school senior, Emily Kane. Although three of his friends, including Troy Matthews, testified that they did not think him capable of the crime, a fourth is arrested, found guilty, and imprisioned.

Skip ahead 24 years and the killer has been set free. It is the day of the wedding between Detective Madison Knight and fellow police officer Troy Matthews. Before the I dos can be said, the ceremony is crashed by a neighboring department’s detectives and Troy is arrested for the murder of Dylan Graham, one of the friends who testified for the defense in the long ago trial. There is concrete evidence of Troy’s guilt, as well as a journal entry by Dylan stating that Troy was Emily’s true killer. Out on bail, a second murder occurs, again with evidence pointing at Troy. As Madison races to clear her fiancee’s name, she uncovers a sinister plot and places her own life in danger.

Although I am a fan of Carolyn Arnold’s writing, Madison Knight is not my favorite of her characters. She is abrasive, impetuous, tenacious. But she is good at her job and has a strong sense of responsibility and justice. Fortunately, her partner, Terry, tempers that impetuousness when necessary. One would have hoped that Troy, as a police officer, even though threatened, would have played the situation a little smarter but who knows how we might respond if we were unjustly accused?

That said, the book is cleverly plotted and another addictive read by Arnold. She always pulls in her reader’s attention. Her police procedurals are engrossing and entertaining.

This can be read as a stand alone. However, there is a lot of history behind the repeating characters and as this is the thirteenth in the series, readers might want to go back and read some of the earlier installments.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #HibbertStilesPublishing for the DRC.… (mer)

During the predawn hours, a young clerk in a gas station convenience store is shot dead and a former colleague of Amanda’s, Katherine Graves, is abducted. Katherine has been involved in many high profile cases in her time and there are any number of nefarious characters who could be involved. It seems very personal as the perpetrator tells her “it’s time to pay for what you did.” Amanda and partner Trent work tirelessly to solve the case, but will their feelings for each other impede their progress?

This is the tenth in the Prince William County (VA) Detective Amanda Steele series. Although I have read quite a few of them and have enjoyed seeing the repeating characters and relationships change and grow, I think this would work well as a standalone. The author does a nice job of filling in background information, including Amanda’s past history and references to some other cases she has worked.

Told in two POVs, Amanda’s and Katherine’s in captivity, this is yet another of Arnold’s fast paced, engrossing police procedurals. Arnold knows how to capture and maintain her readers’ interest. I love the repeating characters, especially Amanda who, despite an earlier tragedy in her life, is a strong, capable, independent, empathetic female.

Carolyn Arnold is one of my go to authors. She has written more than thirty books featuring five series and spanning different genre including strong police procedurals, cozy mysteries, and adventure novels. I also really like her Madison Knight series.

Thanks to #netgalley and @bookouture for the ARC.… (mer)

Taken Girls by Carolyn Arnold is about a prom gone wrong…and it’s all down hill from there.

Detective Amanda Steel works for the Homicide Unit of the Prince William County Police Department. She stays busy with work, but I’m not sure how she would cope if she wasn’t. Sure she loves spending time with her adopted daughter, Zoe, and her significant other, Logan, but she is not one for being idle.

A call for help from her niece Ava, draws Amanda into a missing person’s case. Though it is outside her normal purview, it is the sister, Reese, of Ava’s best friend, Nadine, so she can’t say no. The shit really hits the fan when her niece, Ava, has been taken by the same man who took Reese. I saw it coming, because Ava is too smart for her own britches. She couldn’t stop investigating on her own, but she already had a target on her back.

There was one bump in the road at about 70%. I don’t see Carolyn Arnold letting that slip by and it really bugged me. Other than that, it was another intriguing mystery that kept me entertained for hours. I am looking forward to the next Detective Amanda Steele. novel.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com… (mer)

I love a good Prologue, don’t you? It sets the hook, and Carolyn Arnold did a great job with the Prologue for Her Last Words, but that doesn’t surprise me. I have read a lot of Carolyn Arnold’s books and she never disappoints me. Yeah, they may not all blow my mind, but they do supply hours of entertainment.

I love Detective Amanda Steele. She is a power to be reckoned with…and, even though she is on vacation, when someone she knows is murdered, she’s on the case. Could she have prevented her murder if she had returned Felicity’s call? See carries plenty of guilt already. Does she neglect her family for the job? Isn’t that a question many of us ask ourselves?

Felicity is a successful crime novelist and Amanda was on the case. Could her success have been the catalyst? Could it be her work in progress? She was known for her in depth, detailed research. Could she has found something someone wanted to left undiscovered?

Carolyn Arnold is good at keeping the mystery alive, giving us a plentiful supply of suspects and motives, throwing out red herrings, trying to lead us down the wrong path. In the end, she brings everything together, like pieces to a jigsaw puzzle. Step by step, clue by clue. We have some danger, but it’s not the dark and depraved kind that I love so much. It’s your normal, everyday murderer that could be your neighbor, your boss, your coworker, your friend…

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com… (mer)