Book: What We Bury
(Book 10 in the Detective Madison Knight Mystery series)
Author: Carolyn Arnold
Genres: Hard-Boiled, Mystery, Detective, Police Procedural
Publication date: Wednesday, 28 October 2020
Publisher: Hibbert & Stiles
ASIN: B08DH9X9PK ISBN; 9781989706404
What We Bury by Carolyn Arnold is the 10th installment in the Detective Madison Knight Mystery series and my first read in the series.
And what do I think of it?
LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS BOOK AND SERIES!
My first read but certainly not my last!
But let me start from the beginning. Madison Knight is a detective with the Stiles PD, who gets a call from her real estate agent on a Saturday morning because…dead body!
Madison heads over there, calls her partner, the lab techs, and the team to begin investigating.
A woman is found murdered in the basement of an elderly couple, who were going to sell their home. Not only does the dead body have no identification, Madison discovers the letters GB written in blood.
"What I'm struggling with is why Doe went to their shed. And did she know it was sitting unlocked or just strike it lucky that way?"
As Madison begins searching for the identity of the murdered woman and the killer, she finds herself and her team in a web of lies, deceit, and false names and identities.
There's literally lots buried in What We Bury. But you'll have to discover that for yourself.
In addition to the mystery, Madison is embroiled in a side investigation into the Russian Mafia in Stiles. We learn that, in the previous book they had kidnapped Madison's sister and threatened her personally.
This personal investigation weighs heavily on Madison's personal life and her relationship with SWAT Leader Troy Matthews becomes tense but Madison keeps avoiding confrontation.
One of the things I liked about Madison is her humanity, how she feels about murder victims:
"Jane Doe, yep." She hated to think of the murdered as "victims," detesting the assignment of label to the once-living individual, loved by people.
What We Bury reads like a super-fast-paced CSI novel. I loved it and finished it in almost 3 sittings.
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It's interesting how Madison's strength is also her weakness. Her "vow to protect and serve the city of Stiles meant something to her down to her marrow."
This desire and mission to "protect and serve" hurts Madison personally, in terms of her health and strains her relationship with her boyfriend.
Madison is also an obsessive character, whether in regards to the mystery at hand, the side investigation, or her curiosity why her boyfriend Troy hasn't proposed to her.
The latter makes Madison annoying and a bit childish sometimes, but very realistic.
I like how the title What We Bury reflects both the ongoing investigation and Madison's secrets and what's being "buried" and hidden throughout. Novel title puns are common with Carolyn Arnold's books and mysteries and I love them every time!
"As she was pulling away from the house, [Madison] thought about how unpredictable life could be. Alive one minute, gone the next. She doubted anyone woke up thinking, 'Today's the day I die.' Plans were always on the horizon, as if people preferred to play in a world without acknowledging death. It wasn't until it slapped them in the face that people were reminded of their mortality. Otherwise, most harbored fantasies of beating or outsmarting the Grim Reaper. But poor Chantelle Carson had failed, and Madison doubted she ever would have envisioned herself stabbed and bleeding out in a shed."
Having read several books and series by Carolyn Arnold, I'd love to see Madison Knight and Brandon Fisher in one book. It would be epic!
Overall rating for What We Bury by Carolyn Arnold: 5 Stars.
Note: I got a free Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of What We Bury from the publisher Hibbert and Stiles in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my review in any way.
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More books by Carolyn Arnold, read and reviewed on Nadaness In Motion:
FBI series, psychological thriller:
Historical fiction and adventure:
The Secret of the Lost Pharaoh, Book 2 in The Matthew Connor Series
The Legend of Gasparilla & His Treasure, Book 3 in The Matthew Connor Series
Cozy mysteries:
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