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Book cover for Dark Water Graves by Carolyn Arnold, Detective Amanda Steele Book 17, featuring a canoe on a calm lake beneath a dramatic red and purple sunset. The cover tagline reads, “A completely addictive and heart-pounding crime thriller.”

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Dark Water Graves

Detective Amanda Steele Book 17

Her eyes were fixed on the body beside the water. Once a beautiful woman, she no longer even looked real. The color of her skin, the blank stare… and then there were the bruises on her arms and shoulders. She’d come here for sanctuary but she never found peace.

When the body of Rachel Keaton is found in a swimming pool in Woodbridge, Virginia, Detective Amanda Steele has a very personal reason to take the case. Rachel was due to be the maid of honor to Amanda’s friend Penny. With the wedding postponed and a community in shock, Amanda will do all she can to get to the truth.

It quickly becomes clear this was no accidental drowning. Rachel was an experienced swim instructor, and there was no sign of a health crisis. Someone knew where to find her and wanted her dead.

When Amanda and her partner Trent search through Rachel’s apartment, they discover a pile of photographs and a handful of tiny resin birds. Someone was watching Rachel for a long time, recording her every move, and wanted her to know it. But what is the significance of the birds?

Soon the investigation gives Amanda a lead to follow, one that could take them straight to a killer with a very personal motive. But when another body is found, her theory is crushed. Are they looking at a stalker or a serial killer who will surely strike again?

What to Expect in Dark Water Graves

Dark Water Graves is a fast-paced crime thriller and police procedural featuring Detective Amanda Steele as she investigates the suspicious drowning of her friend’s maid of honor and uncovers a disturbing trail of surveillance, hidden motives, and murder.

Readers can expect:

  • Female detective protagonist
  • Police procedural investigation
  • A suspicious death in a swimming pool
  • A victim who appears to have drowned but was deliberately killed
  • A personal connection between Amanda and the victim
  • A swim instructor whose death raises immediate questions
  • Photographs showing someone had been watching the victim
  • Tiny resin birds that may hold the key to the investigation
  • A possible stalking connection
  • A second body that changes the direction of the investigation
  • A killer with a deeply personal motive
  • A determined detective racing to uncover the truth
  • Hidden secrets and dangerous connections
  • Escalating danger and high personal stakes
  • Multiple twists and turns
  • Self-contained case featuring a recurring detective

Book Details

Genre: Crime Thriller / Police Procedural
Setting: Woodbridge, Virginia
Series: Detective Amanda Steele, book 17
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: 978-1-83618-061-6 (eBook)
ISBN: 978-1-83618-062-3 (Paperback)
ASIN: B0HFVZ98MV (eBook)

“I have read every book in the Detective Amanda Steele series and loved each one.”

The Avid Reader

“If you want more and haven't read the other books in the series, I recommend stopping what you're doing and starting at the beginning of the series and go on a wild ride!”

Sanity is for those without Children

“OMG YES. This was an amazing book… I couldn’t put it down… Best book I read this year.”

Goodreads reviewer

 “My heart is still beating fast! Wow!! By far, one of the best thrillers I’ve read in a long time!"

Goodreads reviewer

“I ended up devouring the entire book in just one sitting… I was completely pulled into this one and found myself completely unable to put this down.”

Little Miss Book Lover 87

“What a great book! I read it in one day and had so many twists and turns I never saw the ending coming!”

Goodreads reviewer

“If there was a way to give more than 5 stars, I would! This book is amazing!”

Goodreads reviewer

“Wow! Could not put this down. So many twists and surprises.”

Goodreads reviewer

“I LOVED this book… An engrossing page-turner and that ending, phew I didn’t see that coming at all!!! Can’t wait for the next in the series.”

NetGalley reviewer

“I already can’t wait for the next one! This one pulls you in from the very beginning… The mystery is full of action and twists. I absolutely did not see that ending coming.”

Goodreads reviewer

“Compulsive, compelling and enthralling… I became completely riveted… Intrigue to compel you to read through the night.”

Avid Reader’s Retreat

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