Her Dark Grave by Carolyn Arnold – a Review

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Description:
Her eyes widen at her reflection in the steel blade as it comes closer, closer, closer…

Detective Madison Knight thought a midnight drive through the countryside would help clear her mind, but she thought wrong. Her car runs out of gas, stranding her in the middle of nowhere in pitch darkness. When she gets out to stretch her legs, the beam of her phone’s flashlight lands on a suitcase in the ditch. After she opens it, she’s sorry she did.

Tara Jackson was only twenty-one years old with her entire life ahead of her before she was stabbed to death and stuffed into a piece of luggage. Madison is determined to find her justice and soon uncovers that Tara was keeping secrets from those closest to her and suspects they may have gotten her killed. But while she’s exploring that lead, the body of another young woman is found in a sports equipment bag.

She looks just like Tara and is the same age, and Madison starts to wonder if the killer she’s after has killed before. Desperate, she turns to cold cases and missing person reports to see if she can dig up anything to further the investigation.

Madison finds eighteen-year-old Daphne Tucker, who was reported missing from the area three years ago. She’s a doppelganger to the other victims. Is the reason Daphne hasn’t been heard from because she’s dead too? And has her killer returned, hungry for more blood?

As Madison edges closer to the truth, someone is stalking her from the shadows, and she fears it just may be the twisted, demented killer she’s hunting. But can Madison outsmart him or her before she becomes the next victim?

Review:

Her Dark Grave by Carolyn Arnold is the 12^th book in her Detective Madison Knight series. As I have noted a number of times in previous reviews, Carolyn Arnold always gives us exciting suspenseful murder mysteries, led by Detective Madison Knight; and Arnold’s knowledge of police procedurals makes these investigations perfect.

Madison continues to fight her PTSD nightmares from her previous Russian case; she can’t sleep, and goes out in the middle of the night for drive to clear her mind.  When she runs out of gas, she awaits a tow truck to bring her gas, and decides to walk around in the dark. She spots a suitcase, and to her horror, she discovers the mutilated body of a young woman; the victim is identified as Tara Jackson, a 21 year old woman. Madison and Terry (her partner) take over the case, and interviewing some of her friends and those she knew at work. In a very short time, another mutilated body is discovered, who sort of looks a bit like Tara. Maddie and Terry try to find clues to see if both murders are somehow related, with them also looking into missing person and cold cases.  They bring a few suspects to be interrogated, but they have to let them go, due to not enough evidence. Madison becomes desperate when a  homeless women is now missing. Did the murderer kill her, after she interviewed the woman. 

What follows is an exciting, tense, action filled thriller with many suspects, as well as surprising developments with the help of Cynthia (Maddie’s police friend).  This is a very nasty case, with an evil murderer.  Maddie concentrates solely on the case, not spending time with her fiancée, Troy. She also discovers that Terry is hiding something he is planning, and the Sargent Winston, continues to be nasty to her.  I thought in this book, Maddie was very harsh and a bit abrasive, being very unlikeable throughout; at the end was the only time she seemed nice when she was with Troy.

Her Dark Grave was another fantastic, exciting, tense, riveting police procedural, so very well written by Carolyn Arnold.  Madison Knight is a great detective, though I as noted previously, more annoying in this book. I will say I love Detective Amanda Steel a lot better.   If you enjoy mysteries, police procedurals, a tough as nails cop, then you need to be reading this series, as Carolyn Arnold is one of the best in police procedure stories.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy supplied for Review