BOOK REVIEW: LEFT FOR DEAD BY CAROLINE MITCHELL

Title: Left for Dead

Author: Caroline Mitchell

Genre: Thriller, mystery

Published on: July 8, 2020 by Thomas & Mercer

A victim on display. A detective on the rails.

Shopping with her sister, DI Amy Winter is admiring a Valentine's Day window display of a perfect bride encrusted in diamonds and resplendent in lace--until she notices blood oozing from the mannequin's mouth.

This is no stunt. A post-mortem reveals the victim was left to die on her macabre throne for all to see. When a second victim is found, it emerges that both women were 'Sugar Babes' arranging dates with older men online--and Amy finds herself hunting an accomplished psychopath.

As she tracks down the killer, Amy's instincts go into overdrive when the charismatic head of the agency behind the display makes no attempt to hide his fascination with her serial-killer parents. What exactly does he want from Amy? With her own world in freefall as her biological mother, Lillian Grimes, appeals her conviction, Amy pushes the boundaries of police procedure when a third 'Sugar Babe' disappears...Is she as much at risk as the killer's victims?

 

DI Amy Winter is back to handle another major case. It’s not specified, but it appears not a long time has passed since the previous book ended. This series takes place in modern-day England. Amy is part of the Notting Hill station, where she leads a team. There’s going to be a change in the status-quo, though. DCI Pike, Amy’s old boss, took an early retirement. Her replacement is DI Donovan, an officer Amy is already acquainted with. They worked together during the case where Amy’s mother, convicted serial killer Lillian Grimes, revealed the locations of her victims. Yeah, Amy is the daughter of serial killers. This is one of the most important plot points in these books. Amy struggles with her origins despite having been adopted by a loving family.

The case in Left for Dead begins in an unusual fashion. Amy is off duty, walking with her sister Sally-Ann, when she spots a chilling display in a store. It’s something most people (even cops) could easily miss: what is supposed to be a mannequin is in fact a real woman. Noticing she’s bleeding, Amy springs into action. It doesn’t take long before investigators descend upon the scene. Amy herself gets into the display in hopes of saving the woman. Despite her efforts, it is sadly too late.

BOOK REVIEW: THE SECRET CHILD BY CAROLINE MITCHELL

Title: The Secret Child

Author: Caroline Mitchell

Genre: Thriller, police procedural

Published on: March 7, 2019 by Thomas & Mercer

DI Amy Winter knows evil. She's lived through it

Four-year-old Ellen is snatched by a stranger in the dead of night. Her devastated mother, Nicole, receives four identical phials and a threatening note in a familiar scrawl that chills her to the bone. But she always knew this would happen. She’s been expecting it for years . . .

According to the note, one of the phials is poisoned. Nicole is given a deadly challenge: if she drinks one, the sadistic kidnapper will notify the police of Ellen’s location. The sender claims to be Luka Volkov but Luka is supposed to be dead, killed long ago in a fire that haunts all those involved.

DI Amy Winter is still reeling from the discovery that she is the daughter of a serial killer, and her childhood trauma only makes her more determined to bring Ellen home. When another child is taken, Amy finds herself in a race against time. To rescue the children, must she seek help from the one person she wants to forget?

 

This is the second novel in the DI Amy Winter series. I enjoyed the first book enough to continue with the next ones. The main character is Amy, a Detective Inspector. She works for the Notting Hill station. Amy heads a special unit that handles high-profile cases. After years in the force, she’s proved herself as one of the best investigators in the English police. Recently, Amy found out about a reason why she may be so good at her work. Amy happens to be the daughter of Jack and Lillian Grimes, a pair of serial killers known as the Beasts of Brentwood.

Since Jack is dead, Lillian took it upon herself to reveal the truth to Amy. She seems to be as wicked as you’d imagine. Now that Lillian has given up the burial sites of her and Jack’s victims, Amy expects she’s done with her. Unfortunately, Amy brought evidence to light that might set Lillian free. Amy hopes that won’t happen. At least one good thing came out of the experience. Amy reunited with Sally-Ann, the older sister she thought was dead. Sally-Ann is in a relationship with Paddy Byrne, an officer under Amy’s command. He's one of her most trusted colleagues.

BOOK REVIEW: TRUTH AND LIES BY CAROLINE MITCHELL

Title: Truth and Lies

Author: Caroline Mitchell

Genre: Thriller, police procedural

Published on: August 30, 2018 by Thomas & Mercer

Meet Amy Winter: Detective Inspector, daughter of a serial killer.

DI Amy Winter is hoping to follow in the footsteps of her highly respected police officer father. But when a letter arrives from the prison cell of Lillian Grimes, one half of a notorious husband-and-wife serial-killer team, it contains a revelation that will tear her life apart.

Responsible for a string of heinous killings decades ago, Lillian is pure evil. A psychopathic murderer. And Amy’s biological mother. Now, she is ready to reveal the location of three of her victims—but only if Amy plays along with her twisted game.

While her fellow detectives frantically search for a young girl taken from her mother’s doorstep, Amy must confront her own dark past. Haunted by blurred memories of a sister who sacrificed herself to save her, Amy faces a race against time to uncover the missing bodies.

But what if, from behind bars, Grimes has been pulling the strings even tighter than Amy thought? And can she overcome her demons to prevent another murder?

 

While searching for good mystery/police procedural books, I came across Truth and Lies. The cover art (and the blurb) seemed intriguing. Another thing sets this book apart from others in the genre that I’ve read. Truth and Lies takes place in London, where the police force structure and MO are not like in the U.S. The main character is Amy Winter, a Detective Inspector. There are different ranks in the U.K. police, which I wasn’t familiar with before. A DI is among the top posts, but is not the highest rank.

Truth and Lies starts with a funeral. Amy’s father Robert, the former Detective Chief Inspector of the Essex Police, has passed away. Unlike most of the mourners, Amy isn’t crying. This does not mean she didn’t care for Robert. Amy loved her father; he was her hero and one of the reasons she became a police officer. Amy is just…different. She’s not on the spectrum and she’s not a psychopath, though. Amy simply isn’t one to show her feelings openly. She also has a certain darkness in her, which makes Amy a formidably effective investigator.