We are back with Detective Amanda Steele in the 9th book “Her Last Words” by Carolyn Arnold. Since we saw her last, her mentor Malone is back to being the Chief and she is back from spending a holiday with her partner Logan Hunter and daughter Zoe. When she discovers that Felicity Kelley, a famous author, whom she had known in the course of an investigation had been killed, she drafts herself up to the find the person who had killed the person she had grown fond of.

The scene of the murder resembles a murder scene Felicity has in her best-selling book and Amanda and her partner Trent initially think it might be three work of a fan or a serial killer mimicking the book. But when further evidence are unearthed, they lead the team to a cold case which is about 15 years old, based on which Felicity was writing her next book.

Matters are further muddied when another murder occurs in the exact way as the murder in the book and the team are left to wonder which direction their investigation should take. Will the team find their culprit before more murders occur?

There are quite a number of good things in the book. The way Amanda has moved on from her personal loss is heartwarming. She has opened herself up to life once again and that is lovely to see. Inspite of her growing closeness with Logan, she is also still attracted to her partner Trent. The complexities of her personal relationships with people and the way she manages them, makes for a deep and rich character sketch. The case is also intriguing enough, particularly in the beginning, to hook the reader into the story.

However, I was able to guess the identity of the killer by the time I was more than half way through the book. Arnold did set up a pretty interesting narrative to the final reveal but I partly lost interest because of this. I still was able to enjoy the book and the dynamics between the various people made up for a good reading experience. And I still would love to read more of Amanda Steele.

This book gets 5 out 5 stars.