I enjoyed the story and characters in this book. I think i was at a disadvantage because i have not read earlier books in the series but now plan to. Madison and Terry are interesting characters

Thanks to Carolyn and NetGalley for allowing me to read Her Dark Grave before the publication date.
The reader’s attention is grabbed in the opening pages which are narrated by a teenage boy in a school classroom as he forms plans for his future. You would be disappointed if you expect those plans to be along the lines of footballer, pop star or entrepreneur, because this teenager has a goal to commit a murder before his 18th birthday.

Moving on to the present day, Detective Madison Knight is struggling with both the personal and professional trauma which she has experienced. She is nervous, always looking over her shoulder.
Unable to sleep, she goes for a drive only for the car to break down in the middle of nowhere. Her first thoughts are that someone has sabotaged her car and has to decide whether to stay in the car or venture outside, not knowing if there is someone waiting for her.
Stepping out of the car, she sees a suitcase lying in a ditch. When she opens the case, she finds the dismembered body of a young woman.

The victim, Tara Jackson, seems to be leading a double life. The autopsy report would suggest that the killer has previous experience of dismembering bodies, which sets Madison and the team on the hunt for similar past cases.

The team are under pressure from their sergeant, a lazy man who normally avoids work at all costs. Yet now he is demanding constant updates. This incenses Madison but her partner, Terry Grant seems to be quite happy to co-operate, a fact which taps into Madison’s paranoia. Their working relationship is under strain as Madison decides to keep information from Terry and is surprised that he is no longer willing to take instructions from her.

Whilst I have read a number of Carolyn’s books, this is the second in the Madison Knight series which I have read and I don’t think that it is her best. There is a degree of sympathy for the trauma which Madison has experienced but the character’s treatment of Terry became irritating. Should she even be working with the mental health issues she is having?

Another brilliant book, fantastic from start to finish, it had everything in it, can’t wait to read what’s next in the series

Detective Madison Knight is fighting symptoms of PTSD from her last case. She can't sleep, she feels like she is being watched. She gets up in the middle of the night and goes for a drive to help calm herself down. On one of those drives she finds a body cut up and in a suitcase on the side of the road. To top off these feelings, she and her supervisor don't exactly get along, and now her partner is hiding something from her. As they investigate the murder of the girl in the suitcase, another body is found. Can they figure out who is killing these young women and why? What is the connection? Or is there one? I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Detective Madison Knight has been having nightmares and goes for drives to calm down. So while waiting for a tow truck driver to bring her gas, she finds the body of a young woman mutilated in a suitcase. While Maddie and her partner are investigating, another young woman is found mutilated. Things are not falling into place as far as clues go. Can the killer be stopped before more young women are found? And do the secrets the detectives discover about the victims have any part in the killings...

This is a very good book. Here Detective Knight and her partner investigate a horrific murder of a young woman. I found Knight harder to like here though, as a character I thought she was rash with her decision making and quite confrontational with others which I found quite off putting. The plot line is well thought out and executed, the writing is good and certainly held my attention and interest all the way through. I enjoyed following the police investigation which races to a thrilling conclusion with all ends tied up nicely.

4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

3 1/2 STARS
Her Dark Grave by Carolyn Arnold is book 12 in the Detective Madison Knight series. This was a nasty case. It was tough reading about the details. Such evil... I appreciated the two lead characters, Detective Madison Knight's and her partner Detective Terry Grant's dedication to the case. These two characters were well-developed and had logical personalities, well suited for police detectives. I couldn't quite connect with them much though. Madison's a little too harsh and abrasive for me and the bickering between Madison and Terry, while it may have been necessary to define their relationship, threw me out of the story. I've read the first book in this series to get background before reading this one. I liked this one better than the first but I prefer Ms. Arnold's Detective Amanda Steele series.

Great book and series! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, intrigue, murder, serial killers, mystery, A great who done it, great police work and a few crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book and series as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!