Black Orchid Girls

Detective Amanda Steele Book 4

The first rays of sun filter through the tall trees, casting a faint light on the girl lying at the water’s edge. Her tears have frozen on her pale face, a black orchid rests against her cold white skin.

When hikers find the body of a beautiful young girl on the banks of the Potomac River, Detective Amanda Steele is shaken and confused. What is the significance of the delicate flower resting on the girl’s torso? A sign of affection, or a twisted killer’s calling card?

The girl is Chloe Somner, a local nineteen-year-old ecology student well-known to the park rangers and loved by all her classmates. Searching Chloe’s home, Amanda can’t work out who could have tempted her to the water in the early hours of the morning, but a long night hunting through cold cases gives her a possible lead: twenty years ago another local girl was murdered, a red rose left on her body. But why would this killer strike again now?

Focused on the past, the last thing Amanda expects is the news that Chloe’s roommate has been found dead, another black orchid left. Terrified that more innocent victims will follow, can Amanda uncover the significance of the flowers and stop this cold-hearted killer before he returns for the next orchid girl…?

What to Expect in Black Orchid Girls

Black Orchid Girls is a fast-paced crime thriller and police procedural featuring Detective Amanda Steele as she investigates the murder of a young woman found beside the Potomac River with a black orchid placed on her body.

Readers can expect:

Female detective protagonist
Police procedural investigation
Murder investigation involving a young woman
A body discovered on the banks of the Potomac River
A black orchid left on the victim
A mysterious flower that may be a killer’s calling card
A connection to a twenty-year-old unsolved murder
A second victim discovered with another black orchid
Cold-case investigation and buried connections
A determined detective racing to identify the killer
A growing threat to potential victims
Hidden motives and shocking discoveries
High-stakes investigation with escalating danger
Multiple twists and turns
Self-contained case featuring a recurring detective

Book Details

Genre: Crime Thriller / Police Procedural
Setting: Dumfries, Virginia
Series: Detective Amanda Steele, book 4
Publisher: Bookouture
Series Format: Self-contained cases featuring a recurring detective
Reading Experience: Fast-paced • Dark • Suspenseful • Twist-filled
Available In: Kindle Unlimited • eBook • Paperback • Audiobook
ISBN: 978-1-80314-214-2 (eBook)
ISBN: 978-1-80314-215-9 (Paperback)
ASIN: B09HMWKZ6L (eBook)

“An exciting, intriguing, tense mystery that kept me unable to put the book down. There were so many suspects, and even surprises at the end. To say too much more would be spoilers, and this was a very good story that needs to be read from start to finish.”

The Reading Café

“Compelling and enthralling and one that grips you from start to finish, this quite simply is a book that you will not want to put down. This will inspire anyone into further world of reading and that is a rare magical quality for a book.”

Goodreads review

“Carolyn Arnold is a master at penning police procedurals that keep me on my toes, flipping pages, unable to quit reading until the last page is read. Black Orchid Girls was a quick, easy read, filled with heart in my throat suspense and edge of my seat moments that made it unputdownable.”

Fundinmental

“Arnold delivered a suspenseful, fast-paced tale that keeps the reader on their toes from start to finish. It features characters with whom readers can relate. Fans of police procedurals, mysteries and thrillers should read this series.”

Goodreads review

“Black Orchid Girls drew me in from the first page as it started out with a bang…. The descriptions were so vividly written that I had no problem picturing each and every scene in my head.”

The Avid Reader

“The unveiling of the culprit pulls the reader in, gently revealing layer by layer, until you’re left with the raw reality that someone committed such heinous crimes. Arnold slays with her ability to set the scene with the perfect characters who make it come to life before your very eyes. All five senses were on high alert with this book. FANTASTIC series!”

Lynchburg Mama

“Another twisty mystery with an explosive ending you won’t see coming! Wow!”

Goodreads review

“This was an absolutely cracking piece of crime fiction, superbly delivered and the ending is surprising. I’m keen to devour book five.”

Goodreads review

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