A cold case is resurrected in the newest Amanda Steele case
On a quiet morning, Detectives Amanda Steele and Trent Stenson are called to a local park where an unsettling scene awaits. A child has been discovered staged in her ballet tutu on a carousel as if she just fell asleep there. Her name is Hailey, and she is the beloved daughter of an affluent family in town. The investigation proceeds slowly, but when a clue surfaces implicating the killer in a 12-year-old cold case the entire atmosphere changes. This killer calls out by name, former interim chief Katherine Graves who is no longer on the force. With this case being familiar with the former cop as she has tirelessly searched for this person for over a decade, Graves is brought on as a consultant and a link to the NYC where the original murder took place. Then when a third girl is taken right out of her bed the trio must pull out all stops to identify and apprehend the perp before he takes another life.
Three Girls Gone, the newest in the Amanda Steele series of books by author Carolyn Arnold, is a fast-paced nailbiter that will have the reader immersed from the very first pages. The setting for the action is approximately six months after Hidden Angels and with the horrors of her last case not yet faded, Amanda and Trent are now faced with a new criminal to catch. But for Katherine Graves, this case hits closer to home than anyone could ever imagine. There is a reason she has tirelessly searched for the killer of Juile Gilbert for over a decade and when Amanda learns that reason it shakes her to the core. Her and her adopted daughter Zoe are also growing closer and being faced with the horrors of the current victims strengthens her resolve to bring this person to justice one way or the other. Graves has also started to become a more prominent character in recent books again since Missing Before Daylight. When these three characters are together there is clear dynamic and chemistry at work that humanizes the trio and makes their struggles and experiences relatable with the reader. I for one hope this is the start of an eventual Katherine Graves return to the police force. The power trio of Graves, Steele and Stenson would be an unstoppable against Prince William County’s criminal element
While Three Girls Gone is the fourteenth in a long running series, Arnold structures these books so that they can be read as stand-alone offerings or part of the larger world. With each book being an individual case in the lives of Steele and Stenson the connecting elements are more with their personal lives rather than any overall plot. Any references to prior events, cases, or people are usually summarized neatly in the overall narrative in a way that fleshes out and enhances the current action without bogging down the reader with additional back story or open plot holes.
If you like fast paced police procedurals with a story that will keep you guessing and a strong female main character (or two), Three Girls Gone is a good choice as are all Carolyn Arnolds books.
Jennly Reads 