48 ratings | 39 reviews | avg rating:4.79

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Carolyn Arnold

Goodreads Author

Born

in Canada

Website

http://carolynarnold.net/

Twitter

Carolyn_Arnold

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Suspense, Thriller

Member Since

May 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/carolyn_arnold

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CAROLYN ARNOLD is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has several continuing fiction series and has nearly thirty published books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from cozy to hard-boiled mysteries, and thrillers to action adventures. Her crime fiction series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining. This led to her adopting the trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.

Carolyn was born in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive imagination insists that she tell her storie ...more

163 posts
Carolyn Arnold's Blog

The One Decision That Starts a Crime Novel

A two-story white house stands alone at dusk under a vivid red-orange sky. Warm yellow light glows from several windows, suggesting someone inside. The house has a covered front porch and a circular window near the roof peak. A single tall tree stands nearby, and the surrounding landscape fades into shadow, creating an eerie, suspenseful atmosphere.

How a single choice sets crime fiction and psychological thrillers in motion\u2026\n

Not the murder.
Not the investigation.\n

The moment before all of that \u2014 when someone convinces themselves that this will be fine.\n

In Dead Woman Walking, a crime fiction novel with strong psychological thriller elements, that decision happe

Combine Editions
Carolyn Arnold’s books

Average rating: 4.23 · 66,814 ratings · 5,282 reviews · 79 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Little Grave (Detective Amanda Steele #1) 4.13 avg rating — 6,843 ratings — published 2021 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Eleven (Brandon Fisher FBI, #1) 3.95 avg rating — 6,592 ratings — published 2011 — 23 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ties That Bind (Madison Knight, #1) 3.86 avg rating — 6,654 ratings — published 2011	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Silent Witness (Detective Amanda Steele #3) 4.51 avg rating — 2,770 ratings — published 2021 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sacrifice (Madison Knight, #3) 4.03 avg rating — 2,552 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stolen Daughters (Detective Amanda Steele #2) 4.34 avg rating — 2,307 ratings — published 2021 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Her Frozen Cry (Detective Amanda Steele #5) 4.44 avg rating — 2,148 ratings — published 2022 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Black Orchid Girls (Detective Amanda Steele #4) 4.47 avg rating — 2,065 ratings — published 2022 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Taken Girls (Detective Amanda Steele #8) 4.40 avg rating — 2,024 ratings — published 2023 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Her Final Breath (Detective Amanda Steele #7) 4.54 avg rating — 1,699 ratings — published 2023 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Carolyn Arnold…

Series by Carolyn Arnold

Detective Amanda Steele (16 books)
by

Carolyn Arnold (Goodreads Author)

4.38 avg rating — 28,419 ratings

Madison Knight (14 books)
by

Carolyn Arnold (Goodreads Author)

4.12 avg rating — 19,271 ratings

Brandon Fisher FBI (9 books)
by

Carolyn Arnold (Goodreads Author)

4.10 avg rating — 14,775 ratings

Matthew Connor Adventure (3 books)
by

Carolyn Arnold (Goodreads Author)

4.09 avg rating — 1,371 ratings

McKinley Mysteries (13 books)
by

Carolyn Arnold (Goodreads Author),

Lisa Dawn Martinez (Editor)

4.08 avg rating — 1,218 ratings

More series by Carolyn Arnold…

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Carolyn’s Recent Updates

Carolyn Arnold wrote a new blog post The One Decision That Starts a Crime Novel How a single choice sets crime fiction and psychological thrillers in motion\u Read more of this blog post »
23 hours, 39 min ago · like
Carolyn Arnold made a comment in the group Goodreads Librarians Group — Book Cover Updates for Detective Madison Knight Series topic " Is this not the place for me to ask for that? "
Feb 25, 2026 05:55AM
Carolyn Arnold made a comment in the group Goodreads Librarians Group — Book Cover Updates for Detective Madison Knight Series topic " Thank you for your help. Cheers "
Jul 17, 2025 08:20AM
Carolyn Arnold made a comment in the group Goodreads Librarians Group — Need Cover File Updates topic " All of the covers for the Detective Madison Knight series have been updated on Amazon. Can you update all the Amazon eBooks to the proper new designs. ...more "
Jul 17, 2025 07:00AM
Carolyn Arnold has read The Irish House by Ann O'Loughlin (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 20, 2024 11:40PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Irish House by Ann O'Loughlin. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Irish House by Ann O'Loughlin <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Carolyn's books…

Quotes by Carolyn Arnold (?)

“You have bigger balls than some men I know.”
― Carolyn Arnold

tags: detective, justified, madison-knight

7 likes

“seven sins are wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.”
― Carolyn Arnold, Eleven

2 likes

“She managed a small laugh, but like any expression of mirth these days, it felt shallow and void of true emotion.”
― Carolyn Arnold, The Little Grave

1 likes

See all Carolyn Arnold's quotes »

Polls

Vote on our Mar./Apr. Deadly Author of the Month Poll. This poll closes Feb. 23.

Sharon Sala

3 votes, 16.7%

Rita Herron

3 votes, 16.7%

Kerry Greenwood

2 votes, 11.1%

Kennedy Layne

1 vote, 5.6%

LJ Ross

1 vote, 5.6%

Karen Robards

1 vote, 5.6%

Tonya Burrows

1 vote, 5.6%

Mary Jane Clark

1 vote, 5.6%

John Hart

1 vote, 5.6%

Anne Frasier

1 vote, 5.6%

J.D. Barker

1 vote, 5.6%

Linda Fairstein

1 vote, 5.6%

Joanna Schaffhausen

1 vote, 5.6%

Paula Munier

0 votes, 0.0%

Brian Panowich

0 votes, 0.0%

Karen Harper

0 votes, 0.0%

Juno Rushdan

0 votes, 0.0%

Mike Grist

0 votes, 0.0%

Beverly Connor

0 votes, 0.0%

Mary Stone

0 votes, 0.0%

Wendy Walker

0 votes, 0.0%

Caren Hahn

0 votes, 0.0%

Danielle M. Haas

0 votes, 0.0%

John Gilstrap

0 votes, 0.0%

Stacy M. Jones

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Isabella Maldonado

0 votes, 0.0%

Reily Garrett

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Roger Stelljes

0 votes, 0.0%

Carolyn Arnold

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C.R. Chandler

0 votes, 0.0%

Alex Sigmore

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Elle Gray

0 votes, 0.0%

Rebecca York

0 votes, 0.0%

Cherry Adair

0 votes, 0.0%

Lisa Renee Jones

0 votes, 0.0%

Leah Swann

0 votes, 0.0%

Anna Snoekstra

0 votes, 0.0%

April Wilson

0 votes, 0.0%

Susan Stoker

0 votes, 0.0%

Freya Barker

0 votes, 0.0%

Iris Johansen

0 votes, 0.0%

Jamie Lee Scott

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Joy Fielding

0 votes, 0.0%

Walter Mosley

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Jon Land

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Nancy Bush

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Jefferson Bass

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Karen White

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Mike Omer

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Kay Hooper

0 votes, 0.0%

18 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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The Seasonal Read...: 30.1 - Cindy AL's task: SuperHero Summer	49	140	Aug 21, 2012 07:57PM
The Seasonal Read...: Summer Challenge 2012: Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC	2637	937	Aug 31, 2012 09:02PM
Aussie Readers: Book Chick City's 100+ Books in 2012 Challenge	126	121	Jan 05, 2013 02:14AM
Crazy Challenge C...: Hurricane Challenge	863	224	Jan 15, 2013 09:55AM
Crazy Challenge C...: Summer Spell Challenge - 2012	291	145	Apr 13, 2013 07:25PM

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Carolyn’s Quotes

“You have bigger balls than some men I know.”
― Carolyn Arnold

tags: detective, justified, madison-knight

7 likes

Carolyn’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-7) post a comment »

date

newest »

message 7: by Donna

Jan 06, 2018 05:13PM

Thank you Carolyn for accepting my friend request on Goodreads.
Donna

reply | flag

message 6: by Tom

Jan 06, 2014 01:59PM

Hi Carolyn,

Thanks for joining my circle of friends.

Blessings,

Tom

reply | flag

message 5: by Kayla

Feb 05, 2013 12:51PM

Thanks for friending, Kayla

reply | flag

message 4: by Bill

May 14, 2012 04:46PM

Hi Carolyn, if you are a Balducci fan, you have good taste. I read many of his books along with Tom Clancy and William Bernhardt. Glad to have you as a friend. If you like thrillers, consider Room 1515, my new novel. You can watch the trailer by going to Google and typing in Room 1515 YouTube to see if it is a read for you.
I've done mostly freelance. So this is my first novel, and I'm doing shameless marketing to obtain readers. lol

reply | flag

message 3: by Douglas

Mar 23, 2012 06:27AM