Showing results by author "Carolyn Arnold" in All Categories

When the body of girl is discovered in the walls of a Woodbridge church, Detective Amanda Steele is immediately called to the scene. On arrival she meets FBI Special Agent Sandra Vos who explains that while negotiating a hostage incident moments before, a gun was fired. The bullet missed its target but exposed human remains.

It’s been five years since Detective Amanda Steele’s life was derailed by the tragic death of her young daughter. The small community of Dumfries, Virginia, may have moved on, but Amanda cannot. When the man who killed Lindsey is found murdered, she can’t keep away from the case.

The badly decomposing body of a woman is found in a farmer’s field and shows signs of bondage and torture. A ring on her finger leads to an ID and confirms a young officer’s suspicion. She’s one of several women who have been reported missing from the Prince William County area of Virginia. Trent Stenson with the Dumfries Police Department is uncovering a trend, but before he can reach out to the FBI, they show up at his door.

What does a free-spirited, 50-something professional do when she breaks up with her non-committal boyfriend and longs for a life partner? She challenges herself to go on 50 first dates, promises herself steamy sex along the way, and voila, finding Mr. Right becomes a sexy dating project!

It’s almost Christmas, and with the festive season in full swing, Denver, Colorado, would be an idyllic destination - if not for Detective Mack McClellan’s conviction there’s a serial killer on the loose. Brandon and his team are called in when a man’s body is found next to a dumpster, and the victim shares a commonality with a few men who were reported missing. It’s a motive the FBI hasn’t seen before, and it will have Brandon and his colleagues questioning who sits on the side of justice - them, or the killer they’re hunting.

When hikers find the body of a beautiful, young girl, on the banks of the Potomac River, Detective Amanda Steele is shaken and confused. What is the significance of the delicate flower resting on the girl’s torso? A sign of affection, or a twisted killer’s calling card? A long night hunting through cold cases gives her a possible lead: Twenty years ago, another local girl was murdered, with a red rose left on her body. Focused on the past, the last thing Amanda expects is the news that another girl has been found dead, another black orchid left behind.

When a young man washes up on the shore of the Bradshaw River, Detective Madison Knight and her partner are called in to investigate. But the case takes a complicated turn when he’s identified as the son of local business tycoon Marcus Randall. As one of the wealthiest and most influential men in the city, he has a lot of connections, and one of them just happens to be the police chief. Stuck between the chief and one of the most powerful men in the city of Stiles isn’t the ideal place to be, but Madison has no choice but to risk it all - if justice is to be served.

When firefighters discover the body of a teenage girl at an abandoned house, Detective Amanda Steele hurries to the scene. Dumfries, Virginia, is a small town, yet no one seems to have any idea who the dead girl is, until Amanda finds a dragonfly pin with the name Crystal engraved on it. Working tirelessly, Amanda traces the pin to Crystal Foster, a 13-year-old who disappeared three years ago from her wealthy parents’ home. Breaking the news to the distraught parents won’t be easy, but the loss of her own daughter still haunts Amanda, and she knows this will bring them closure.

Her breath hitches, and her stomach lurches, tossing up bile into the back of her throat. The man holds the revolver to her head and says, “Let’s play a little game”. She closes her eyes with each pull of the trigger, almost praying for a bullet. They told her if the gun doesn’t kill her, they’d take their time...The recent murder of a defense attorney has Detective Madison Knight fueled to find justice for him and a lawyer who was killed eight years ago. She’d never solved that crime, but she’s always had a strong suspicion who was behind the murder.

Detective Madison Knight should have ignored her phone when it rang on Christmas Eve. Now she is spending the holiday dealing with her least favorite thing: a bloody murder scene. The victim, Claire Reeves, was a successful entrepreneur and had it all - sex appeal, intelligence, and money - but it seems that one of those things may have caught up with her.

When Brandon Fisher joined the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, he knew he’d come up against psychopaths, sociopaths, pathological liars, and more. But when his first case takes him and the team to Salt Lick, Kentucky, to hunt down a ritualistic serial killer, he learns what nightmares are truly made of. Beneath a residential property, local law enforcement discovered an underground bunker with circular graves that house the remains of 10 victims.

When champion figure skater Michaela Glover returns to her hometown of Woodbridge for a special performance, Detective Amanda Steele is part of the cheering crowds. But when Michaela is discovered dead in her dressing room after the show, Amanda is the first to investigate the shocking scene. There is no sign of foul play, and the room is overflowing with flowers from Michaela’s adoring fans. But Amanda’s heart stops at the sight of a few roses tied with black ribbon and a note that reads “You’ll be sorry”.

When beautiful wife and mother Alicia Gordon is found dead in a remote woodland cabin, Detective Amanda Steele is shocked to discover that she knows the husband. Amanda hasn’t spoken to Tony since she lost the love of her own life seven years ago, and seeing tragedy tearing her old friend’s family apart brings back so many painful memories. Alicia was alone when she died, but she was so young, and Amanda can’t help feeling suspicious. Then she discovers that Alicia’s sleep medication had been tampered with, slowly poisoning her over several days.

When human remains are discovered behind a dumpster in Woodbridge, Virginia, Detective Amanda Steele rushes to the scene. Her heart drops when she arrives and is hit by the unmistakable stench of gasoline. Soon, her worst fear is confirmed: the victim was burned alive. With only an engraved gold wedding band surviving the blaze, Amanda knows it could be days before they have a confirmed ID. But when her partner Detective Trent Stenson arrives, he pales at the sight of the ring, recognizing it as belonging to his Aunt Gertrude’s husband, Don.

When a 68-year-old woman is found dead outside the hospital in a wheelchair with an anti-abortion sign strapped to its back, Detective Madison Knight expects it to be an open-and-shut case. On the surface, there are no signs of foul play, but the deeper she digs, the suspicious death turns into a homicide. Just as the victim is identified as Faye Duncan, two more bodies turn up - Faye’s niece and a homeless man.

She wakes surrounded by an inky black darkness and can barely breathe. A sack is covering her head, and her hands are tied behind her back. She desperately tries to struggle free as she hears footsteps walking toward her. She silently starts to cry as a chilling voice whispers “It’s time to pay for what you did…”

When Detective Amanda Steele is called to the brutal murder scene of successful local author Felicity Kelley, her blood runs cold. Because Amanda not only knew the victim, but was the last person Felicity called moments before she was murdered. Plagued with guilt that she never answered, Amanda is left wondering whether she could have prevented the murder and vows to catch the killer, no matter what.

When a dog walker in a local Virginia park finds the bodies of a mother and daughter, Detective Amanda Steele is first on the scene. Her own daughter has a toy just like the girl’s elephant and seeing the child like this is her worst nightmare come true. Heartbroken, she vows to get justice.

When Detective Amanda Steele unexpectedly reconnects with an old boyfriend, the last thing she expects to see lying on his bed is the dead body of his wife, Claire, who walked out on him four years ago. Logan begs Amanda to believe he’s innocent. But she doesn’t miss the gun on a nearby table, and she’s torn when forensics reveal that not only was this the murder weapon, but Logan’s fingerprints are all over it.... Could he have been framed? Or is he using his connection to Amanda to get away with murder?

A woman is found strangled in her bed, and Detective Madison Knight doesn’t think it’s anything more than an isolated incident. But when another woman’s body is discovered in a park, killed with the same brand of neckties, she can’t ignore the similarities between the two murders. Still, it’s not until a third victim surfaces that Madison really starts to fear the worst: The city of Stiles just may have a serial killer.