Most Recommended Books

Track reading, wishlists & new-book alerts

Get
Skip to content
Share:

Madison Knight Books in Order

Part ofCarolyn Arnold Books in Order

See the Madison Knight books in order by Carolyn Arnold, with short summaries, series background, and a quick guide to where to start.

Last updated: June 6, 2026

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).

Publication Order

Sort:

15 books

1

Her Buried Past

by Carolyn Arnold

2025

A therapist who specialized in past-life regression is found murdered in her remote home. Madison Knight suspects the answer lies not in the supernatural, but in secrets someone desperately wants buried.

2

Murder at the Lake

by Carolyn Arnold

2024

On the day she is meant to marry Troy Matthews, Madison Knight watches him get arrested for murder. To clear him, she must reopen an old crime and stop a killer targeting everyone who was there.

3

Her Dark Grave

by Carolyn Arnold

2023

A suitcase in a roadside ditch leads Madison Knight to the body of a young woman and a chilling pattern of lookalike victims. Soon it becomes clear the killer may have added Madison to the list.

4

Girl on the Run

by Carolyn Arnold

2022

A shooting at a train station leaves two women dead and a third one missing. Madison Knight chases the fleeing witness into a case involving drug trafficking and the Russian mafia.

5

What We Bury

by Carolyn Arnold

2020

While house hunting, Madison Knight is pulled to a scene where an unidentified woman has been stabbed and moved. Two letters written in blood are the only clue to a secret worth killing for.

6

Shades of Justice

by Carolyn Arnold

2019

A double homicide inside a powerful businessman's home pits Madison against orders to stay quiet. The deeper she digs, the clearer it becomes that the cover-up reaches inside her own department.

7

Power Struggle

by Carolyn Arnold

2017

A murder victim from Madison's past pulls her into a reckoning with the Russian mafia and an old enemy. When her sister disappears, the case becomes a countdown.

8

In the Line of Duty

by Carolyn Arnold

2016

The killing of Officer Barry Weir hits the Stiles Police Department hard and makes Madison's next case painfully personal. What looks like a drive-by soon points to something far more targeted.

9

Deadly Impulse

by Carolyn Arnold

2015

A woman's death outside a hospital looks accidental until Madison Knight spots the pattern. More bodies follow, and the investigation digs up old grudges and secrets that hit uncomfortably close to home.

10

Just Cause

by Carolyn Arnold

2014

When a prominent defense attorney is murdered, Madison Knight sees echoes of an old cold case she never forgot. Reopening it leads her toward the Russian mafia and trouble inside her own department.

11

Life Sentence

by Carolyn Arnold

2013

Defense attorney Bryan Lexan angers a Russian mafia boss and puts a target on his back. At the same time, Jessica Pratt is torn between two men as danger closes in from every side.

12

Found Innocent

by Carolyn Arnold

2013

A pregnant woman found in a shallow grave looks at first like a suicide, but Madison Knight knows better. The case links to another suspicious death and puts both her career and life at risk.

13

Sacrifice

by Carolyn Arnold

2012

A young man's body is found by the river, and the case leads Madison Knight to a powerful family with money and influence. The closer she gets to the truth, the more resistance she faces.

14

Ties That Bind

by Carolyn Arnold

2011

When a woman is strangled with a necktie, Detective Madison Knight spots signs the scene was staged. As a second victim turns up, she realizes she is hunting a careful serial killer.

15

Justified

by Carolyn Arnold

2011

On Christmas Eve, wealthy Claire Reeves is murdered in her kitchen, and the scene feels carefully arranged to mislead. Madison Knight must cut through lies and hidden loyalties before the killer strikes again.

Series background & context

The Madison Knight books are Carolyn Arnold's hard-driving police procedural series, centered on a homicide detective who does not know how to leave a case alone. Madison works Major Crimes for the Stiles Police Department, in a fictional American city that still feels close to real police work. The setup lets Arnold keep the investigations grounded while building a city full of recurring pressure points, from department politics to organized crime.

Madison is the reason the series works. She is smart, stubborn, impatient, and deeply committed to getting justice for the dead. She is not polished in a television-perfect way, and that helps. She makes mistakes, pushes too hard, and sometimes gets dragged into cases more personally than is good for her. That edge gives the books their bite.

The series opens with Ties That Bind, where a staged murder scene points to a calculating killer, and it keeps that same close-to-the-ground feel as it moves through Justified, Sacrifice, and the books that follow. These are not puzzle-box mysteries built around quirky gimmicks. They are case-driven stories about interviews, motives, bad calls, forensic details, and the slow, frustrating work of getting at the truth.

Madison does not back down easily.

As the series grows, so do the stakes around her. Some books pull in powerful local families, some push her against the Russian mafia, and others turn her back toward wounds from her own past. That ongoing thread matters. Even when each novel stands on its own, there is a clear sense that Madison's job has a cost, and that every victory leaves a mark somewhere else in her life.

The tone is serious, brisk, and realistic without becoming unreadably heavy. There is violence, because the job demands it, but the focus stays on the investigation and the people trying to survive it. If you like female-led police procedurals with a determined central detective and cases that keep tightening around the lead, this is a strong place to start. Reading from Ties That Bind onward gives the fullest picture, but the series is built so that individual books can still land on their own.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

Comments

Did we miss something? Have feedback?

Help us improve this page by sharing your thoughts

We only use your email to notify you about replies.

All comments are moderated.

Discover and track your reading on the go

Track your reading, manage wishlists, and get notified when new books are added.

All 15 Madison Knight Books in Order (Complete List 2026)