Disclosure. This is a review of an ebook I was sent for free. All opinions are my own.

This is the first title in the new Sandra Vos series.

The prologue sets the scene, with a teenage girl being abducted from a busy street. How with people all around?

The main story begins 2 days earlier, where we are introduced to Sandra Vos, giving a statement as to why prisoner Darrell Patton should not be released early. Patton killed Sandra’s twin brother Sam over 30 years ago. Sandra is an FBI Special Agent with the Crisis Negotiation Unit, and she has barely got back from the hearing, when she is called into work to handle an armed hostage situation at a grocery store.

Its complicated and she’s treading on egg-shells as she attempts to negotiate a peaceful way out with the hostage taker.

Meanwhile we get flashbacks to when Sam died and updates on the verdict regarding Darrell Paton’s early release request. Is it granted or not? Plus Sandra’s home life is fleshed out, as we meet her teenage daughter Olivia, her adoptive mother who has dementia and her boyfriend Detective Eric Birch.

But then work and home collide, when Olivia goes missing en-route to her violin lesson. Her colleague Brice helps her search the area where Olivia’s phone last pinged, but all they find is the phone. Where is Olivia? Who has taken her and why? Can they find her in time?

I was soon hooked into this new series and didn’t want to put the book down.

My only tiny gripe is with having to guess what shorthand K-9 is, namely police dogs.

A compelling gripping tale. I’m really looking forward to the next installment in this series.

Intense suspense and heartwarming main character! Carolyn Arnold is setting the stage for so much good suspense to come with the first book in her Sandra Vos series. I loved Sandra and can't wait to see more. Her backstory is well developed and gives the reader a strong inclination to like the things that drive her to take down the bad guys. Her private life is intriguing with a teen daughter to raise, an ex-husband she has to make nice with and a boyfriend she doesn't advertise. The twists in the story made for lots of danger and excitement. I'm hooked!

This new series by Carolyn Arnold will take over your life from the beginning pages and not let go until you finish it. So, plan to read and do nothing else once you start it.

Sandra Vos is a top negotiator for the FBI. She has a unique ability to put the hostage taker at ease by making him or her feel that she truly understands their feelings. Her main goal is to prevent death and/or injury to anyone, including the hostage taker. This is very personal for Sandra because she lost her twin brother many years go in a hostage standoff. This is one of the many things that make her so good at her job.

Her skills are about to be truly tested. When she receives a chilling phone call that no parent wants to receive. Someone has taken her daughter, Olivia. Negotiating the release of perfect strangers is one thing, but negotiating the release of her own daughter is quite another. This will bring back every memory of that fateful day she lost her brother.

The tension is palpable and chilling at the same time. This book was part police procedural/mystery/thriller which made it even more interesting. It had the best of all of those types of books. Sandra Vos was made of pure steel. She is a very interesting character, and I look forward to reading more about her in future books. You can never go wrong with a book by this author, as she knows how to pull the reader into the story so that you feel as if you have lived there for a little while.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This kicks off with a powerful setup: FBI negotiator Sandra Vos finds herself at the center of a tense hostage crisis—only to learn that her own daughter has been kidnapped at the same time. The emotional intensity is undeniable, and the plot offers plenty of suspenseful moments that kept me turning the pages.

Sandra is a compelling character shaped by past trauma, and the story does a good job showing the emotional weight she carries. The personal stakes are sky-high, and that adds depth to the action. However, the pacing dragged at times, especially in the middle, and I found myself wishing things would move along a bit faster.

One major sticking point for me was plausibility. It strained belief that Sandra would be allowed to remain in charge of a case so intimately connected to her own family. While it made for an emotionally charged story, it also felt unrealistic from a procedural standpoint.

Still, if you’re willing to suspend some disbelief, this is a tense, emotionally driven thriller that delivers on character and suspense. Not perfect, but definitely worth a read.

This fast paced suspense ride grabs you from the beginning. Before I knew it a few hours had passed and I was at the end. I love Sandra. She's different from other female FBI characters I have read. I will be looking forward to the next book.

As the first in the series, I wonder how many of my issues stemmed from the fact that we are getting the background and set-up for the rest of the series. But I struggled to get into the meat of this story and found the beginning particularly slow moving. There were a lot of details in hostage negotiations, and it felt a bit tedious. I do appreciate that this is a different approach for a crime/police procedural, taking the perspective of a hostage negotiator. Once I read deeper into the story, I got hooked into the mystery and felt pulled along. I'm curious where the story will lead! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Sandra Vos is as cool as a cucumber as a hostage negotiator for the FBI.
She’s in a relationship with a DC cop and has a 16 year old daughter.
I loved this new series because I’m addicted to crime fiction and love series that portrays women in law enforcement.
I learned a lot about the acronyms and tactics while reading this book.
I also loved that Sandra held her own in a testosterone filled environment.
Can’t wait for the next one!

A new series by Carolyn Arnold? Yes please!
Save Her Life is book one in the Sandra Vos series by Carolyn Arnold.
A compelling and addictive FBI mystery thriller story.
The characters were engaging and the plot was intriguing. The writing was fluid and the twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat.
The book had some great twists and was hard to put down.
Arnold takes her fans on a journey filled with mystery, suspense and shocking moments.

Thank You NetGalley and Bookouture for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Wooden shoes, wooden head, wooden listen.

That quote was from a colleague kidding Sandra Vos about her name. Interestingly enough, it was her name that caught my attention and helped me decide to try this new series. Why? Vos is a Dutch name that I recognized from my hometown and since I have almost 100% Dutch ancestry, I was intrigued.

Sandra Vos is a determined negotiator. She has perfected the art of convincing the Hostage Taker (HT) that she is on his/her side. The book begins with a tense hostage situation in a market. While the blow by blow is quite interesting, I found that at times Sandra is redundant on explaining to the reader why she is saying or acting in a certain way. If she were a man, I would accuse her of mansplaining.

The bulk of the book is an even more perilous case for Sandra's family with her daughter in danger. This was more showing and less talking. It was fascinating to see the team pursue the investigation and work against the clock to get Olivia back home.

I paired the DRC with an audio copy narrated expertly by Kathryn Akin -- she sounded just how I imagined Sandra Vos would sound. Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the audio and digital ARCs in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Save Her Life: A completely addictive and gripping FBI mystery thriller (Sandra Vos Book 1)

Torn between a mom and a cop

FBI Special Agent Sandra Vos is no stranger to the high-stakes world of hostage negotiation. As a survivor herself, Sandra carries her twin brother’s memory with her to every tense scene. Her goal is to ensure that nobody endures the same pain her and her family suffered at the hands of her brother’s murderer. But when her daughter is kidnapped in broad day light, Sandra does not want to take a back seat. As a negotiator, she knows exactly what to do and what not to do, but as a mother all bets are off. In her line of work, the list of people with the motive to strike out at her in this manner is long. But who? And with Olivia’s father flying in to assist, Vos needs to walk a razor thin line to remain on the case. As tensions rise and the suspect becomes bolder in their demands, Vos must put her mother’s instinct into a box and rely on her training if she does not want to lose another person precious to her.

Carolyn Arnold returns to Prince William County with an all-new cast of characters with Save Her Life the first in the Sandra Vos series. Vos, who cameoed in the opening scenes of Hidden Angels, returns in her own series and Arnold hits the ground running with the suspense and thriller factor. While the setting and the area may be the same, all things are new as Arnold explores the Metro PD and FBI involvement in this newest case involving a perpetrator who is as opportunistic as they are sadistic. Preying on a mother’s instinct to protect her child, Vos is pushed to her limit and her training is tested up until the very end. But like her predecessors in past novels by this author, Sandra Vos is not one to be taken lightly. Arnold excels in creating female leads who are strong, fierce and formidable and Sandra Vos is no exception. Vos’ family structure is also a bit of a departure from previous female leads, which opens avenues in future installments to be explored. And while I am hoping for a Sandra Vos/Amanda Steele collaboration case in the future, time will only tell. In the meantime, I am looking forward to getting better acquainted with this strong, humble and fierce new agent in future novels.

If you are already a fan of Carolyn Arnold, you are in for a treat with this fast paced, nail-biter of an introduction to this new series. If you are new to Arnold and her catalogue buckle up as this is a wild ride that will pull on our heart strings and keep you reading long into the night.
Full disclosure: I was provided a Netgalley copy of this title by the author or their authorized agent, however, have voluntarily provided a review. All opinions are my own. Save Her Life is scheduled for a May 27,2025 release

Gripping, shocking, thrilling, and intense, Save Her Life instantly grabbed my attention and never let go! Whew! I loved the tension, the suspense, the sense of danger and the pacing of this book. There was never a dull moment! I found this book to be a captivating page turner and I look forward to reading the next book in the series!

Special Agent Sandra Vos is one of the FBI's top hostage negotiators. After dropping her daughter off at school, she reports to a hostage situation at a local grocery store. She is in the midst of doing what she does best when she is informed that Olivia, her daughter has been taken. She has twenty four hours to meet the kidnappers demands or lose her daughter forever. Talk about having a bad day. Sandra must walk a tightrope between being a special agent and being a mother who wants her child back. Plus, dealing with everyone else in her life.

Woohoo! This book was off the hook intense!!!! Man, this book put me and Sandra through the ringer and then some. This book had my heart beating and my fingers crossed hoping for the best possible outcome. I enjoyed Sandra Vos's character and felt for all she went through in this book.

This is the thrilling first book in a new series and I can't wait to read the next book in the series. Ever read a book and wonder why you have never read a book by that author before? That is my experience with reading Save Her Life. I was constantly asking myself why I had not picked up a book by Carolyn Arnold previously. Save Her Life is so good!

FBI Special Agent Sandra Vos’ brother was killed by a hostage taker more than thirty years ago, and the book opens with her testifying at his parole hearing. As she heads home, she is called to the scene of another hostage situation. As a skilled negotiator, her job is to diffuse the situation with as little collateral damage as possible. Finally able to relax, she is called to duty again, but this time it is personal. Someone has kidnapped her beloved daughter, Olivia, and she refuses to step aside as a crack FBI team races to save her.

This is the first in what looks to be an exciting new series by prolific writer Carolyn Arnold. I am fond of her other books, including the series featuring Amanda Steele and another with Madison Knight as the main character. The two storylines in Save Her Life are tense and suspenseful. Sandra Vos is a strong, capable, and likable protagonist, and her support team is equally appealing. Arnold does a good job of filling in the backstory of Amanda’s life. This book drew me in and wouldn’t let go. I read it in one day, not willing to put it down.

Now is the time for readers to get in on the ground floor of a new, exciting mystery thriller series with a strong female main character. I look forward to many more installments.

Sandra is leaving a parole hearing where she deposed against the early release of the man who killed her twin brother, when she's called to work on a negotiation where there are several hostages in a small shop. There's a step by step description on how the work is done and how different law enforcement officers view the hold up which proves to be really interesting for the reader. Everything is fine till the moment she realizes that her daughter is missing and later on, that she was in fact kidnapped. Sandra will do anything to have her daughter back, up to an including, to negotiate with the man who killed her brother. Save Her Life has a good plot, the characters are well developed and keep a positive promise for the books that'll come.
I thank Ms. Arnold, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

I soon got into the story and had to keep reading until late in the night . The female lead worked well and kept me engaged. I liked the dynamic with the ex-husband.

All in all a really good start to the series and looking forward to seeing how this develops

First time reading a book by this author and it did not disappoint. Fast-paced, short chapters, interesting plot, and really good character development. I look forward to reading more in the series.

It took me a while to get into this book, but as I read more I was hooked..
A new series! Save Her Life throws FBI negotiator Sandra Vos into a tense hostage standoff—while her own daughter goes missing. Great pacing, strong lead, and lots of emotional stakes. Perfect for fans of intense thrillers with heart.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy, for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my copy of Save Her Life by Carolyn Arnold.
A great start to wait I hope will be an entertaining series.
Special Agent Sandra Vos Is one of the best negotiators in the business.
She’ll need all her skills to find her daughter who has disappeared.
Good paced pace.

My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Save Her Life’, book 1 in the Sandra Vos series written by Carolyn Arnold, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

FBI Special Agent Sandra Vos is an accomplished hostage negotiator but her ability to achieve a peaceful conclusion is put to the test when her daughter Olivia is abducted. With support from her partner Eric, colleague Brice Sutton and the team at the FBI, Sandra has just hours to find Olivia before the kidnapper fulfils his threat to kill her.

As a great fan of Carolyn Arnold’s books I didn’t think she could improve on her series with Detective Amanda Steele but I was so mistaken. ‘Save Her Life’ is the first in a brand new series featuring FBI Special Agent Sandra Vos who keeps her cool under the tensest of situations, even when it involves her own daughter. The first pages give an introduction to Sandra’s character and what her job entails, as well as her private life with partner Eric and her ailing mother. If this first book is anything to go by we’ve got a lot of action-packed plots, excitement and twists and turns to look forward to. I’ve been hooked from the first page to the last, unable to concentrate on anything else while Olivia’s life is at risk and praying Sandra would get to her in time, and the final pages are fraught with suspense and a conclusion that set my heart pounding. I can’t wait to read book 2.

It’s been more than thirty years since Special Agent Sandra Vos’s twin brother was shot dead, an innocent victim caught in a kidnap gone wrong. It devastated Sandra’s family, but it made her who she is today, one of the FBI’s most successful negotiators. After dropping her teenage daughter, Olivia, at school, Sandra is alerted to a potential hostage situation at her local grocery store and races to the scene. A man has pulled out a gun and is refusing to talk or let anyone out of the building until his demands are met. The fate of dozens of lives rests in Sandra’s hands. But as Sandra starts to make a breakthrough with the hostage taker, she receives a call that makes her blood run cold. Someone has taken Olivia, and their demand will push Sandra to her absolute limit. If it’s not met within twenty-four hours, she will never see her daughter again.
The start of a new series & a very good starter. I really liked Sandra when we first met her in the author’s Amanda Steele series & I’m so glad she now has her own series. Very well written, strong characters & fast paced. There’s also plenty of tension & edge of the seat moments all of which meant I devoured the book in two sittings & look forward to more in the series
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own

My thoughts:
This is a new series from author Carolyn Arnold. I was very excited to read it!
It was fun getting to meet Sandra Vos. She is a FBI hostage investigator. She is trying to manage home and work life. When her own daughter is kidnapped, Sandra has to use all her skills to figure out what is going and get her daughter safely home.
Save Her Life was fast paced with an engaging plot.
What a great start to the series. I am looking forward to reading the next book!