Hidden Angels

The latest book in Carolyn Arnold’s series featuring Detective Amanda Steele is dark with intense moments, suspense, and solid police investigation. It’s the thirteenth book in the series and one of my top-rated ones. Amanda and her partner, Detective Trent Stenson, are sent to a crime scene at Herald Church.

 However, they’re not there for the hostage situation that occurred earlier. Instead, the body of a girl was discovered in the church walls after a bullet exposed an area behind the wallboard.

The victim has been preserved and DNA confirms the victim was taken thirty-one years ago when she was eight. However, the body is that of a sixteen-year-old. Where had she been for the eight years since she was kidnapped and who took her? As Amanda and Trent investigate and question the community in and around the church, a picture starts to unfold. Can they determine who kidnapped the young girl and who hid her body in the church wall?

Amanda is determined to get justice for victims and tends to get immediately to the point at a crime scene. She’s sensitive but not soft, inquisitive, resilient, struggles with work-life balance, and tends to rush ahead without back-up at times. Trent is loyal, funny, and always has Amanda’s back. He grounds her when she needs it and is often the voice of reason. He values honesty and views work as a calling, not a day job.

The author has a writing style that quickly pulls readers into the story. With a disturbing prologue, several suspects, a twist or two, some action scenes, and a solid plot, it kept me rapidly turning the pages. The recurring characters grow more dynamic in each new novel as readers learn more about their personal and professional lives. Themes include families, relationships, child abuse, kidnapping, murder, and much more.

Overall, this novel is an engaging, fast-paced, engrossing, dark, and gripping police procedural. The author’s note at the end reveals where she took creative liberties with such things as how fast DNA results were received. I can’t wait to find out what is next for Amanda and Trent. This series is best read in order to fully understand the backstories of the main characters. It’s a must-read for those who enjoy mysteries, crime thrillers, and police procedurals. On another exciting note, FBI Special Agent Sandra Vos is introduced in this book and is getting her own series. I’m looking forward to reading it.

Bookouture and Carolyn Arnold provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for February 20, 2025.