Fatal Homecoming
Hometown hero Michaela Glover has finally returned to Woodbridge for an ice-skating exhibition. As a Woodbridge native and Olympic hopeful, Glover is well known, and the arena is packed to watch her, and the others perform. Amanda Steele is also in attendance along with her daughter Zoe, Michaela’s aunt Patty, and retired police sergeant Katherine Graves. As the group make their way to Michaela’s dressing room after the performance Zoe’s excitement at meeting her idol is palpable, but when they get to their destination something feels off. Amanda discovers Micheala’s lifeless body prone on the floor with a bouquet of flowers and a note nearby. After quickly clearing out Zoe and the others, Amanda along with the help of her partner Trent Stenson begin to follow the clues. But who could want an aspiring athlete dead? On the surface it doesn’t seem like Micky would have many enemies, but the motive could be more personal. The duo digs into old friends and lovers along with estranged and absentee family members. With little adding up and each trail resulting in a dead end an overlooked lead is revealed that could crack the entire case wide open. When the pieces finally fall in place, Amanda and Trent are in a race against the clock to save not only a potential victim, but also a dear friend.
Her Deadly Rose is the twelfth installment in the Amanda Steele series of books by Carolyn Arnold. Picking up shortly after the close of The Wildfire Girl Amanda is ready for some much-needed down time to bond with her adopted daughter Zoe and catching an ice skating exhibition seems to be the perfect choice. But when the star skater turns up murdered, her break is short lived. With the victim being the niece of her dear friend and fellow police officer Patty Glover, Amanda must walk a fine line between personal and professional. This is not the first time she has taken the lead on a case that hit close to home, and it seems as if she would rather tackle these sensitive cases herself than allowing another officer to take the helm. Trent and Amanda put in long hours which allows Amanda space to process and gain perspective with her increasingly strained relationship with her boyfriend, Logan as well as her lingering feelings for Trent.
As far as cases go, Her Deadly Rose was probably one the less convoluted ones that Steele and Stenson have had to deal with in recent installments, but that does not make this story any less engaging. Arnold has a talent for telling the entire story of all her characters, both professional and private, so there was still a lot going on in the pages aside from the police work including a tense Steele Sunday dinner.
While Her Deadly Rose is part of a larger ongoing series, Arnold structures these installments in a way that the reader can pick up anywhere and not feel lost in backstory. When a prior plot point is mentioned, it is always accompanied by enough context to quickly catch the reader up without bogging down the overall pace of the current story. If you are a fan of strong female lead characters and police procedurals I would recommend not only Her Deadly Rose, but the entire Amanda Steele series.
Full disclosure – I was provided with a copy of this book by the author; however, I have voluntarily chosen to write a review. All opinions are my own.
Jennly Reads 