It started with a smile….

Leah adjusted her reindeer antlers in the domed mirror that was nestled in the far corner of the store.

Her day ended in bloodshed and the race is on to find her killer. It is very sad that she was murdered, and it wiped the smile off my face. It’s one of those things, in the wrong place at the wrong time.

5:15 AM and Amanda is running out the door. Her and her partner, Trent, are on the case.

Amanda has an adopted daughter, Zoe, who is the sweetest thing, older than her years. She has a lover, Logan. Their relationship has advanced to the moving in together phase, but he is not a member of law enforcement and I foresee huge problems on the horizon. After all, it is not a 9 to 5 job. It would make more sense, to me, that her and Trent hook up. I think they are a match made in heaven. Will they? Are you just teasing me, Carolyn?

They discover that Katherine Graves, an ex police officer, was in the store and had been kidnapped. She has many enemies and it will be their job to figure out who has taken her.

Amanda yanked Lowell’s hair back, and pressed the nose of her gun to his skull, “I said, hands up!”

That is why I love Amanda Steele. She is fierce.

As the story unfolds, the past comes back to haunt Katherine, the pace picks up, the danger rises, and I am rapidly flipping pages. Carolyn Arnold does not make it easy to figure things out, leading me here and leading me there, at times fearing for Amanda’s life. Of course, I worry for the other characters, but, you know…she’s my favorite. She does give me a satisfying ending and I always look forward to the next story.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Missing Before Daylight by Carolyn Arnold.

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I am loving this series of books, it gets better with every new book. I really enjoy this fast paced story it had me gripped from the start. I look forward to reading more about Amanda Steele

Amanda and Trent attend the scene of a murder where a teen girl has lost her life, all is not as it seems when they realize a friend and fellow officer is missing from the same scene. How do the events tie together and can they find their friend before she is killed too.

A solid mystery and quick read. Another great addition to this series! Can’t wait to see what happens next… in both Amanda’s career and her love life! Team Trent 😃

The 10th book of the Detective Amanda Steele series is here and I can't believe I have already read four books in this series. As my regular readers will know, Carolyn Arnold is one of my top favorites and it's a no-brainer if I want to read any book of her's.

Last we had seen Amanda, she had been well on her way to begin to live, feel and love again. She had bonded well with Zoe and with Logan moving in to her house, she had started to think of the possibility of a future for the three of them. However, things were still heated up between her and her partner Trent and in "Missing Before Daylight", things come to a head between them when Amanda acts on the attraction she feels for Trent. This however, happens as a result of a new case that involves the murder of a gas station cashier and the abduction of Steele's former interim Sergeant Katherine Graves.

As Amanda and her team race against time to find Katherine before it gets too late for her, Amanda struggles between her feelings for Logan and Trent. Her one small inappropriate act becomes the source of tension and rift between them and Amanda has to do her best to rectify her mistake, all the while being the source of hope for Katherine's aunt May with whom she shares a close friendship.

Who kidnapped Katherine? What is their actual motive? Who amongst the many enemies, Katherine had garnered over her contentious career, is the one responsible? What is the thing which has had Katherine acting secretive and shady? Read the book to know more.

Carolyn has, as always, created a convoluted web of intrigue and secrets to conjure an interesting tale of unexpected evil. I loved the journey Amanda's character has gone through till now; the message of resilience and hope in the face of grief conveyed through her character touched my heart as always. I also liked the race- against- time aspect of storytelling in this book; it has added an extra element of urgency to the already taut narrative, which in turn enhanced the whole reading experience. The identity of the perpetrator was totally unexpected and that is a great point in the positive column for this book. The cliffhanger at which the book ends is a great hook and will keep everyone who has read this book completely tethered.

The police-procedural aspect of the story telling is on point as always. However, I did feel the way the police went about the Investigation in unnecessary tangents at times and I can't say that I cared for it. But seeing that this is how real-life Investigation works, the writing gets major points for authenticity.

Overall, this is a good book which contains all the positive aspects of Carolyn's previous books along with a few new ones and I can't wait to read the next one.

Book ten in the Detective Amanda Steele series, I have been following this series since book three and this is another fab edition to this engaging police procedural drama.

Its a race against time for Amanda and Trent to locate their hostage ex-police detective Katherine and to prevent any more heartless killings by the kidnapper., what are his motives? is the closed Katherine's passed to blame? it's one dead end after another leading to a highly frustration investigator.

An intense, compelling action packed read.

PS: Team Trent for me!

I absolutely adore this series and this book is just wow! This is a wonderful book - clear time when you read it for I promise you won't be able to put it down. Fast paced and wonderfully twisty. A masterpiece.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my copy of Missing Before Daylight by Carolyn Arnold.
This is the tenth book in the Detective Amanda Steele series.
When a young clerk is killed working the late shift in a gas station, robbery is the first thing that springs to Amanda’s mind, but nothing has been stolen. Once the surveillance tapes have been viewed it’s clear that the clerk was not the only person there that night. The other woman has been abducted, the race is on for Amanda and her team to find her.

This is my first time reading this author and I'm thrilled to find that I have so many more to add to my tbr pile.
The story starts with a senseless killing then kidnapping of another woman. Detective Amanda and her partner Trent find out that the person missing is someone they know. I really enjoyed their search and connection of the clues. How on earth does a cop have time for their family, much respect for their search for justice.
Police procedures played a part but never boring.
I was hooked from the beginning of this book and could not put it down.

Wow!!! Absolutely unputdownable. From start to finish I was hooked… twists and turns I did not see coming… brilliant and suspenseful. A must read.
Amazing characters and a jaw dropping terrifying plot
Merge to create in helluva read. Heart pounding from start to finish. Horrifying!

Tenth book in the Detective Amanda Steele series
When one of Amanda’s former colleagues is kidnapped she pulls out all the stops to find her alive
Plenty of twists and turns
Thanks NetGalley

I chose to read this book after receiving a free e-copy from the author through NetGalley. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

I have read all of the books in the Amanda Steele series. If you decide to read this series, don’t judge it based on the first book, The Little Grave. After I read it, I wasn’t too sure how I’d like the series because that first book was more about Amanda’s grief than the mystery she was working on. Since then, she is dealing with her grief and has been able to move on, and she has become one of my favorite Carolyn Arnold characters.

All of the Amanda Steele books are procedural, and Missing Before Daylight didn’t disappoint. Amanda and Trent have to do a lot of investigating to find Katherine, who was kidnapped from a convenience store. Finding her will also solve the murder of the clerk at that store. As always, Amanda and Trent follow the clues as they come. They look at several different possible suspects before they figure out where Katherine is. But will they be too late?

Because of the importance of finding Katherine, Amanda works a lot of hours, and she knows she’s putting a strain on her relationship at home. And then there’s Trent…

If you like police procedurals and a touch of drama, this is a good book to pick up.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Missing Before Daylight' by Carolyn Arnold.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Carolyn Arnold, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 22nd February 2024.

This is the eighth book I have read by this author. It is also the tenth book in the 'Detective Amanda Steele' series but can be read as a standalone. I have previously read 'Stolen Daughters' which I also highly recommend and is the second book in the 'Detective Amanda Steele' series 'The Silent Witness' which is the third book in the 'Detective Amanda Steele' series, 'Black Orchid Girls' which is the fourth book in the 'Detective Amanda Steele' series, 'Her Frozen Cry' which is the fifth book in the 'Detective Amanda Steele' series, 'Last Seen Alive' by which is the sixth book in the 'Detective Amanda Steele' series, 'Her Final Breath' which is the seventh book in the 'Detective Amanda Steele' series, 'Taken Girls ' which is the eighth book in this series and 'Her Last Words' which is the ninth book in the 'Detective Amanda Steele' series. Each book can be read as a standalone and I would recommend them all.

This novel consists of a prologue, 70 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

Yet again another epic read from the very talented Carolyn Arnold!!! Absolutely rammed full of twists and turns!! Congratulations Carolyn on yet another page turner!!

This is an extremely well written book with vivid descriptions that will suck you straight into the storyline and captivated from beginning to end. The synopsis and cover worked perfectly with the storyline.

Every time I see a Carolyn Arnold book I just know I have to read it and that it will be amazing and that's without me even bothering to read the synopsis and this one was exactly the same!!! The storyline means that there is no problem with this being read as a standalone. I was absolutely hooked throughout, a true page turner from beginning to end. Carolyn is one of those amazing authors who writes these epic books that when you are reading them you promise yourself one more chapter and then you'll go to sleep but each time she ends her chapters in a way that has you hooked so you have to read just one more, but then another and before you know it you have walked around all day with the book glued to your hands and have devoured it in one sitting!!! The storyline was in depth and packed with suspense, books, murder, twists, family, tension, hate, stress, intensity, shocks and was an edge of your seat, nail biting and heart racing psychological thriller. In this fantastic addition to the series we see Amanda being called to the murder of a gas station clerk which she assumes to be a robbery gone wrong. However, when she discovers that nothing was stolen she realises this case is alot deeper than she first thought. After watching the CCTV footage Amanda discovers that this is not just a murder but also an abduction after seeing a customer being abducted by the killer. It goes from bad to worse when she recognises the customer as a former colleague Katherine Graves. Amanda is determined to get Katherine back to her Aunt May alive and well but when Amanda and Trent discover how many enemies Katherine has and the revenge letters Katherine was sent will they find Katherine before it is too late? Will Amanda and Trent's relationship survive the tension of this case? You will have to grab your copy of this epic page turner to find out yourself!! As always with this fantastic addition to this series!! I was absolutely hooked. I read this book in less than 24 hours and I'm looking forward to reading the previous books in this series that I have yet to get around to read as well as more to come. This series is extremely addictive and I cannot wait to see what the next "episode" brings!! This book is an absolute rollercoaster ride filled with twists, action, murder, heartbreak, suffering, suspense and everything you could ask for in an absolutely thrilling page turner. As always with Carolyn's book I was mind blown when the killer was revealed so a huge congratulations Carolyn!! After reading hundreds of crimes and thrillers it's getting harder and harder to shock me but at no point did I even consider them!!! If you want to know more about this absolutely epic page turner which you will have to grab your copy today to get them!!! It is one of the best books I have read this year and I really enjoyed and loved the ending!!! It is filled with suspense, tension, mystery, shocks, love, friendship, sadness, crime and everything you could ever want in a crime novel. As always Carolyn ensures there were no loose ends at the book and that everything was explained and tied up. It is one of my pet hates having loose ends at the end of a book so well done Carolyn!! I won't say more as not to spoil it for future readers. It is a true page turner that will leave you biting your nails on the edge of your seat with your heart racing. I cannot wait to see what Amanda and Trent are going to do now!!!! Hope your busy typing the next one up Carolyn as I cannot wait!!!

Although this is the tenth book in the series you will have absolutely no problems reading it without the others. Any details or events that have previously happened are mentioned in just the right amount of detail to let a new reader know what has happened and yet not too much to bore a previous reader.

I loved meeting all the characters again who were all strong, well defined and unique. I have become completely invested in Amanda, Trent and Zoe along with all of the other amazing characters through reading these books and they now feel like family that I miss when I come to the end of one book but am excited to see again at the beginning of the next!! Amanda is absolutely whoop a## and I love seeing strong female leads in books. She has a background but will not let it pull her down and she is definitely someone I would love to have on my side. It has been so bitter sweet watching her bond with Zoe even more and watching their relationship develop and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. I've also enjoyed seeing Zoe's confidence growing book by book after everything she went through. They have become like a family to me along with Trent and Malone. Trent is another fantastic team member and they work perfectly well together. I love Rideout's (medical examiner) character and personality with his morgue humour and I also like Malone and see him as a sort of fatherly figure to Amanda. It was intriguing to see the interactions between Amanda and Trent after what happened in previous books and I'm glad to see that it hasn't affected their partnership and that they still make the most amazing team out there!! These characters are all truly unforgettable and have become like friends that I love meeting again and am sad when it comes to the end and I have to say goodbye to them. Alongside the main characters Carolyn always creates interesting and realistic characters for each crime and in this book we revisit the sister of a character who was murdered in a previous case so it's interesting to get to revisit some characters and their backgrounds. A fantastic group of intriguing, realistic and solid characters all brought to life by Carolyn's fantastic evocative writing skills!! I am definitely looking forward to meeting them all (well almost all) again!!!

This is exactly why you are one of my favourite authors Carolyn!!! Here is to your next guaranteed success 🥂!!

I could not praise this book enough and highly recommend. Carolyn I cannot wait to read more of your very successful work!!! I would also love to see this book turned into a movie. Another absolutely addictive, compelling and gripping true page turner!!! If you have not read any books by this epic author then you are seriously missing out!!!

Overall another absolutely captivating, engrossing page turner that is compelling and addictive by an extremely talented author!!!

371 pages.

This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited and £9.99 in paperback via Amazon at time of review, which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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The latest installment in the Detective Amanda Steele series is fast paced and captivating. Amanda and her partner Trent are looking for a kidnapped woman they know from the local diner. They fear the longer she is missing, the more likely the situation won’t end well.

One of the things I like about this series is that even though Amanda is a true workaholic, there is some personal life still thrown in there with her love life and daughter. While I don’t need a romance in my police procedural, it breaks up the intensity of the chase to catch the bad guys.

There are two POVs, Amanda, which is most of the chapters, and Katherine the missing woman. So the reader has a little insight into what the situation is over the cops. I love that Amanda is a strong, spunky woman. But she also shows she’s infallible in this installment. That makes me relate to her even more.

I was gripped from the start and fell for a few of the red herrings. I can’t wait to see what happens with Amanda next.

Detective Amanda Steel and her partner Trent wake to the early morning murder at a gas station. It’s just before Christmas and not a time they want to give a death report to a family and on top of that a former colleague has be taken, after a ransom demand Amanda knows time is short to save her former colleague but there could be dozens of possible suspects. Carolyn Arnold knows how to write a story that keeps you reading and interested. Not only are the characters well developed, you really can like and relate to them. I do recommend this book for a great mystery. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this eARC

Early morning call for Detective Amanda Steele and her partner Detective Trent Stenson – they are called to gas station shooting, the 18-year-old gas station attendant was shot. But when they arrive there seems to have no trace of robbery, first reaction was to figure out what the young girl was into, but once they take a look at surveillance video it tells another story. The video shows the abduction of Katharine Graves, their former intern Sergeant, this starts a massive search into Kat’s life, who would want to take her?

Book 10 and still going strong!

I have read quite a few in this series now and each ones is just as good. I have a few authors that I actively seek out and this is one of them. Detective Amanda Steele and her work partner Trent are soon immersed in finding another killer. This is a bit more personnel to Amanda as some who she knows and is close to someone she really cares has been taken and time is running out fast.
Can they find out who is responsible with so many possible leads and people to track down.
Yet another great detective story that you won't be able to put down.

Carolyn Arnold delivers another gripping read with Missing Before Daylight, the newest installment in her Detective Amanda Steele series. This book is filled with action, suspense, and intense moments scattered throughout the story.

Missing Before Daylight focuses on the search for Katherine Graves. Katherine filled in as Amanda and Trent's boss, when their sergeant Malone took a leave of absence due to illness.  Amanda and her butted heads, but after several cases, their respect for each other grew.  After Malone's return, Katherine retired and proceeded to build a relationship with her estranged aunt. In the week before Christmas, while on her way to her aunt's café, someone kidnapped Katherine from a gas station. During the kidnapping exercise, the eighteen-year-old attendant became a casualty.

Trent and Amanda arrived on the scene of what they believed to be a robbery gone wrong, but then they discovered nothing was taken. Examining the security footage reveals not just murder, but also kidnapping. Now, Trent and Amanda find themselves in a race against time to locate their former sergeant before it's too late.

As a former detective in New York City, Katherine had quite a list of people whom she arrested who may have a strong desire for revenge.  This revelation made Trent and Amanda's work harder as they attempted to track down the person behind the kidnapping and murder.  There was no time for extended breaks, as this case was a matter of life and death.

With each instalment, Arnold gives readers a view into the characters' personal lives. In Missing Before Daylight, she revisits the sexual tension between Amanda and Trent. She also explores the impact an impulsive action on Amanda's part had on her current relationship. Amanda seems content with her current relationship, but her feelings for her partner have the potential to derail everything. Honestly, I am team Trent and I believe they would be good together.

The dynamic between Trent and Amanda also helped to make this a compelling read. Missing Before Daylight is a thrilling and suspenseful tale, with a complex case that will keep readers glued to the pages from start to finish.

Missing Before Daylight by Carolyn Arnold.
She wakes surrounded by an inky black darkness and can barely breathe. A sack is covering her head, and her hands are tied behind her back. She desperately tries to struggle free as she hears footsteps walking toward her. She silently starts to cry as a chilling voice whispers “It’s time to pay for what you did…”
When Detective Amanda Steele is called to the murder scene of a young gas station clerk just before dawn, she assumes it must be a robbery gone tragically wrong. But when she discovers nothing has been stolen, she knows the motive must be far more personal. Watching the security footage, Amanda is shocked to witness the cold-blooded killer not only shoot the clerk dead but abduct a customer. And her heart stops when she recognizes the customer as her former colleague, Katherine Graves. As Amanda breaks the news to Katherine’s heartbroken Aunt May, she vows to do whatever it takes to bring her niece home alive.
I did enjoy this book. I did like Amanda and Trent. They were a great team. Twisty and gripping. I was sure I knew who it was but I was so wrong. I was gripped from page one and read in 2 sitting. I wasn't sure about Katherine. I was sure she was dodgy. It definitely made me think. A lot of red herrings. I am certainly looking forward to this author next book. 4*.

Missing Before Daylight by Carolyn Arnold is an extremely emotional book, both for the protagonist and for the reader. Detective Amanda Steele has been on the edge for years, ever since the car accident had taken her husband, her daughter, and her unborn child from her. Lately things have been better, between her adopted daughter, Zoe, and her live-in boyfriend, Logan, whom she loved. Then she got the call: an eighteen year old girl had been shot in a convenience store. As if that wasn’t bad enough, when they looked at the security footage they saw she was collateral damage. The real target was Amanda’s ex-sergeant and friend, Katherine Graves, who had been abducted. They knew they didn’t have much time. Who took her? And why? They went to visit Katherine’s aunt, a woman Amanda had known all of her life. Telling her was difficult. They left an officer in case there was a ransom demand. They scoured the security tapes for clues and followed up on every one they found.

This was a very tense book, in several ways, and Arnold did it well. They scoured all her old cases, both there and in New York. They spoke several times with her best friend in New York, who did her best to help. Things were tense and tension tends to play out in odd ways, as it did in this situation, threatening to blow up not only this case, but Amanda’s life. She is a terrific character who has lived through much and come out the other end. Her relationship with Katherine was fairly new, but with her aunt, lifelong. Balancing all the balls was proving to be challenging. One of the perps looked to be leaving them clues. It might have been a woman. She might have been participating under coercion. Then the found her body and knew for sure. The clock was ticking. The kidnapper was getting restless. Could they find Katherine in time? Could she save her home life? It was all a jumble as they careened toward the conclusion of a finely crafted, police procedural. Thanks, Carolyn Arnold!

I was invited to read Missing before Daylight by Bookoutre. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Bookoutre #CarolynArnold #MissingBeforeDaylight

Thanks to netgalley for providing this advanced copy for the purpose of review.

I have read all the books in this series and enjoyed them thoroughly so I was excited to read this. It did not disappoint and had the intriguing mystery and great characters that i have enjoyed in the previous books. Looking forward to reading more.