September 18, 2026 - fundinmentalfundinmental

MY REVIEW

Bring Them Home by Carolyn Arnold is the sixteenth book in the Amanda Steele series. Amanda Steele is the complete package for a mystery series, a not so perfect woman who loves her work and her adopted daughter, Zoe. She doesn’t have a relationship going on, right now, but…

In Bring them Home by Carolyn Arnold, the mystery hits close to home when one of the kidnapped victims is Zoe’s school teacher. Amanda struggles between work and motherhood, and protecting Zoe is at the top of her list of things to do.

Amanda and her partner, Trent, have some great dialogue. Their brainstorming the what ifs of the mystery make for some great reading. The sexual tension between them is not to be denied. Will they ever come together and have the relationship I feel they both deserve? They already make a fantastic team.

I know a lot of people don’t care for Prologues and Epilogues, but I love them. Prologues can set the hook early, and Carolyn Arnold gets me every time. Her Epilogues make me eager for the next book to come. If you are looking for an easy to read police procedural, you can’t go wrong with a Carolyn Arnold book. Even though Detective Amanda Steele is a series, each book can stand alone.

My thanks go out to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to share Bring Them Home by Carolyn Arnold.

GOODREADS BLURB

She’d never been this terrified but she refused to let it show, to give her captors more power. As she was led out of the van with her parents, she stifled a cry. Ahead of her was an old farm, surrounded by fields. There was no one for miles around. No one to hear the screams that would inevitably come.

When a seemingly ordinary family goes missing in plain sight, Detective Amanda Steele is called in to find them before it’s too late. The only evidence left behind is the mother’s abandoned car in a mall parking lot—her phone and purse on the front seat. But why would anyone target a loving mother, a dedicated father and elementary schoolteacher, and a teenage girl?

Amanda and Trent speak with friends and family but can’t unearth any reason the family would disappear on their own. Their darker suspicion is confirmed when they find CCTV footage of the mother and daughter being bundled into an unmarked black van, driven away at speed. They are looking at an abduction.

Soon charred remains are discovered in a field outside of town, and Amanda uncovers a lead that could blow the investigation wide open. If she’s right, this case is linked to a woman who went missing ten years ago—and closer still, to someone within the police department. But can Amanda and Trent put all the pieces together in time to stop a twisted killer before more lives are lost?

A completely gripping and pulse-pounding crime thriller, perfect for fans of Kendra Elliott, Robert Dugoni and Mary Burton.

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Police Procedural, Suspense, Thriller
342 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 27, 2026 by Bookouture
Series: Detective Amanda Steele #16

ABOUT CAROLYN ARNOLD

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 many published books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from police procedurals, 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 stories. Her intention is to touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and empower.

She currently lives near London, Ontario, Canada with her husband and two beagles.