A Sharp And Interesting Murder Mystery | “Last Seen Alive” by Carolyn Arnold (2022) Book Review

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for this Advanced Reviewer Copy; all opinions expressed in the review are my own.

Detective Amanda Steele is at it again in this new installment of the “Detective Amanda Steele” series by Carolyn Arnold. I remember being impressed with Arnold’s writing when I read “Her Frozen Cry,” the previous book in the series. This book has again reinforced my liking of this author.

“Last Seen Alive” opens with Amanda hooking up with Logan for a one-night stand after a chance encounter, having been out-of-touch with him for quite some time since their breakup several months ago. However, their rendezvous is put to a halt when Amanda finds the body of a woman in Logan’s bed and the matter only gets more intriguing when Logan says that it is his “ex”-wife Claire. 

Though the case gets assigned to other cops in her unit and they proceed with charging Logan for the murder, Amanda is unable to shake off the feeling that Logan is being set up. After failing to get her points across to her nemesis, the new police sergeant, Amanda goes over her head to their chief and gets the case assigned to her and her partner, Trent. However, the case only gets more and more complicated when they dig up more about Claire’s past. What are the shady things Claire was involved in? Is that the reason she was killed? Or is Logan involved in the murder of his wife? 

Arnold has put together another story of entertaining characters and complicated events that grab the reader’s attention and refuses to let it go. The pace of the story never lets up from the beginning; it only heats up,  culminating in a wonderful car chase towards the end. There are also some interesting moments between Amanda and Trent that add new dimensions to their relationship. I am completely invested in her character now and would like to see more of them in future books.

This is yet another wonderful, interesting and very well-written police procedural from Arnold that proves that she is the undisputable queen of this genre.

This book gets 5 out of 5 stars.