“Madison is what you’d expect from a female cop: tough, tom-boyish, sarcastic, fearless and intensely emotional and dedicated when it comes to her job. And yet she has a vulnerability that Carolyn does a beautiful job of illustrating just when you need to see Madison’s softer side. She’s lonely, as much as she refuses to admit it…”
Katie Jennings
Author of So Fell the Sparrow
Give Detective Madison Knight a dead body and she can handle it. In fact, she loves solving murders and finding justice for the victims and their families. But when it comes to love, Madison would rather avoid the word—and any commitment that comes with it—with her entire being.
Maybe it’s because she’s been hurt before, or maybe it’s because she’s so focused on her job, but I’d go with the former. She’s more vulnerable and lonely than even she might realize. But Madison’s not ready to admit to herself that she needs love and romance.
She believes “her heart was broken for life” when she found her fiancé in bed with another woman. But somehow Blake Golden, a defense attorney, wormed his way into her life. They’ve been dating a few months now, and Blake wants more. But is taking the next step something she’s ready for? And really, aren’t they on two different paths in life? He defends the guilty, and she strives to put them away.
It’s the murder of a local business tycoon’s son that will really test their relationship. Will Madison be willing to look the other way as her boyfriend represents the opposition, or will she cut and run?
–Carolyn Arnold
Author of Sacrifice (Detective Madison Knight Series)
Not Your Everyday Female Detective
“Madison needs to work harder than the rest as she is a female in a male-dominated world. But she is very good at what she does… She is dedicated and really cares… It is a breath of fresh air when you have a kick a** female as a lead.”
Krystal
KCB Reviews
Detective Madison Knight was born when I decided to write a mystery series with a strong female lead. At the time, independent and courageous women were hard to find in literature and on television. A female detective was usually found tagging along behind her male partner and having very little to say. I wanted someone who spoke her mind and had the drive to find justice for murder victims. Madison Knight fit that image perfectly.
There’s nothing that’s going to stop Madison from solving a murder and getting the guilty behind bars. And there are no shortcuts. She stands strong in her own defense whenever she makes up her mind, and no one is going to intimidate her into looking the other way. Not even now, when the victim is the son of Marcus Randall, a wealthy business tycoon, who is in bed with the chief of police.
Chief McAlexandar is micromanaging every aspect of the investigation to keep suspicion away from Marcus, but Madison isn’t going to be intimidated. And it’s not just the chief who Madison’s up against—it’s her own sergeant. Will Madison have the gall to stand up to her superiors to solve the murder of a young man? Will she have the strength to expose the chief for his illegal affiliations, no matter what it could mean for her career?
–Carolyn Arnold
Author of Sacrifice (Detective Madison Knight Series)
Excerpt from Sacrifice, Chapter 14:
Madison followed the chief’s rushed steps to the elevator. They rode it in silence to the fifth floor where his office was located.
Sandy Taylor, his executive assistant, avoided eye contact. Madison’s stomach tightened.
The chief closed the door behind them. Sergeant Winston rose from a sofa set up in the corner of the room. His face drooped and appeared heavy with stress. It didn’t give her much confidence in her fate.
“I didn’t do anything—”
“You didn’t do anything? You have the gall to come into my office and start with that?” The chief slid behind his desk and settled into his leather chair.
She remained standing. “I’m doing my job—” Her voice was losing power. “What have I done, exactly?”
“What have you done?” The chief pointed a wagging finger at her.
“Sit, Knight,” Sergeant Winston directed her.
She didn’t want to sit. That would imply it would be a longer visit than she wanted. She was ready to leave now.
Their attention made her legs weak and her head faint. But her stubborn nature kept the adrenaline pumping and forced her to keep standing. “You have no grounds to terminate me—none.”
The chief leaned over his desk. “I asked you specifically to keep your attention off Randall. You go to his business—”
“It wasn’t for him.”
“Sit.” The sergeant insisted.
Why were they so adamant about her sitting?
She dropped herself heavily into the chair, crossed her leg away from her boss, and leaned forward. She wasn’t going to go down without defending herself.
“Why were you there?” The chief asked.
“To see Ryan Turner.”
“Who is he?”
“An employee of his—”
“Relevance to the case, Knight,” the chief said.
“He was on the victim’s—” She was going to mention the call log on Chris’s cell phone before the interruption.
“Was Chris Randall even a victim?” The chief raised his eyebrows. “From what I understand, there’s not even a confirmed cause of death at this point.” He turned to the sergeant. “At this point, I would like to suspend investigation of this case—”
“That’s insane.” Madison appealed to the sergeant.
“You have no say in this matter. It’s a waste of government money—taxpayer’s money—to have you and your monkey toting around the city investigating a murder. A murder that may not even be a murder.”
Two things were becoming clearly evident. Randall had definite power over the chief, and no doubt their relationship was mutually beneficial.
Madison pleaded the case. “There’s evidence of a struggle. And the bruising on the Chris’s shoulders can’t be dismissed.”
“Further insubordination to a superior officer. I move that you be terminated, effectively immediately—”
“But—” Her words stalled when the sergeant placed a hand on her forearm.
The chief shared a look between the two of them. “Winston has vouched for you and the need for the investigation to continue. For some reason, he has faith in your abilities.” He added the latter sentence seemingly as an afterthought.
She didn’t need someone backing her up. She stood on her own merit, her own job record.
“With that said, you are aware of the counterfeiting investigation?”
She nodded.
“Guess the girl can keep her mouth shut at times.” The chief directed the comment to the sergeant as if Madison wasn’t even in the room.
He was such an ignorant ass, expletives coursed through her mind, but she dare not let any of them come to fruition.
“With that said, you will be required to document all of your investigation moving forward, and everything that you have done to date is to be provided to the Secret Service. Winston will forward you the man’s information.”
“Up until this point?”
“Until the results come in with a confirmed cause of death—”
“We could be losing precious time—” Her cell rang.
“I want other cases to take front row. Maybe you’ll have time to look into that one cold case of yours.”
She swallowed the emotion that welled in her throat. There was nothing else he could have said that would have hurt her more. One case that seemed as if it would haunt her forever. One case that despite many others being solved, she had a hard time forgiving herself this transgression. One life would go unaccounted for. She knew the killer, she knew who ordered the hit, but she couldn’t get anything to stick.
“Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes.”
ABOUT THE DETECTIVE MADISON KNIGHT SERIES
Murder. Investigation. The pursuit of justice. Do you love trying to figure out whodunit? How about investigating alongside police detectives from the crime scene to the forensics lab and everywhere in between? Do you love a strong female lead? Then I invite you to meet Detective Madison Knight as she solves murders with her male partner, utilizing good old-fashioned investigative work aided by modern technology.
This is the perfect book series for fans of Law & Order, CSI, Blue Bloods, Rizzoli & Isles, Women’s Murder Club, and Hawaii Five-O.
Read in any order or follow the series from the beginning: Ties That Bind, Justified, Sacrifice, Found Innocent, Just Cause, Deadly Impulse, In the Line of Duty, Life Sentence (Bonus Prequel).
Femme Time 