Past Deeds by Carolyn Arnold

Whenever I am in the mood for a fast-paced plot, an edge of your seat read, Carolyn Arnold is one of the many authors I can rely on to meet this need. Therefore, when the opportunity came for me to read and review her latest novel, I could not resist.

The story began with a federal prosecutor being gunned down in front of a high priced condo by a sniper. Although this is not typical of the cases Brandon’s team would investigate, the fact it occurred close to their headquarters, a special request was made for them to take over the investigation. The question on everyone’s mind was why was the victim targeted? As the team dug deeper, they would discover there was more to the murder than they had originally thought, and they may be dealing with a serial killer.

The plot may not have been as fast-paced as the previous books, but it was engaging. I found I could not put the book down, as I had to know how the events would unfold. This is one of those mysteries where figuring out the identity of the villain and the motive for their actions proved difficult. I got my answers at the same time the team did. However, there was one incident the team never saw coming, but I expected that outcome.

It was great re-connecting with the characters. Kelly, a former police officer and a new member of the team, attempted to her worth to her boss throughout the investigation. Meanwhile, Brandon and Paige are struggling with their feelings for each other and guilt over a mistake from their past. The current case did not help the situation as it aided in opening old wounds.

Based on my experience with the author’s work, I expected to get an insight into the mind of the antagonist throughout the story. However, this was not the case with this installment.

I got a small glimpse into the sniper’s mental state. However, it was not until events were tied up that I got the full details on the sniper’s state of mind. I would have preferred if the author had provided this information throughout the story, as I believe it would have helped me to establish a connection to this character.

As usual, I enjoyed the author’s writing style. Intense, riveting, bold and true to life.

Conclusion/Recommendation

Although, this was not my favourite of the series, I still found Past Deeds to be an engaging read and one I would recommend to fans of mysteries, psychological suspense and police procedurals.