“Truth and Lies” by Caroline Mitchell – Book Review

“It’s hard to accept the truth, isn’t it? When lies are all you want to hear”.

Dotty

D.I. Amy Winter – adopted at the age of four by the policeman who arrested her parents for their notorious deeds. A respected policeman, her adoptive father has recently passed away and she is grieving him. To support her adoptive mother she and her beloved pug named Dotty have moved back into the opulent family home in Holland Park.

Short in stature, Amy’s strength is at not first apparent. Amy works in London, out of the Notting Hill Police Station.

D.S. Patrick (Paddy) Bryne – Amy’s second in command and most trusted colleague. Tall and a decade older than Amy, Paddy has a complicated and troubling home life.

Lillian Grimes – Amy Winter’s birthmother, is a psychopathic serial killer who has been in prison for more than two decades. She sends Amy a letter saying that she will divulge the location of the last three bodies, if Amy will visit her in prison. As Amy was not aware of her genetic lineage, the letter is profoundly shocking… and potentially career shattering.

Hermione Parker is a fifteen year old daughter of a television presenter. She was abducted and is being held captive… D.I. Winter is also responsible for this pressing case and she is desperate to bring the girl home.

I’m very late to the party on this novel, but what a great beginning to a series! I enjoyed it so much that I already have the second and third titles in this series loaded on my Kindle.

A while back I swore off reading any books that featured serial killers, yet once again I was tempted, and I’m so glad – as I’ve discovered a new favourite author and yet another series to follow.

While reading, I recognized the writing style as being skillful with short chapters that ramped up the pace. The characters were well developed and I particularly enjoyed the scenes featuring Amy Winter’s second in command Paddy Byrne.

It was a refreshing change to read from the viewpoint of a family member of a notorious criminal. When someone commits a crime(s) they don’t only ruin their own lives, it often has a life-changing effect on all the other members of their family as well.

Caroline Mitchell’s previous experience as a policewoman served her well in that the scenes at the police station were vivid and easily imaginable.

Thriller lovers will appreciate the surprising plot twists incorporated into the story.

I highly recommend this series to those readers who are fans of Angela Marsons, Elena Forbes, and/or Carol O’Connell. A fast paced, character-rich crime thriller.

Here are the three titles so far in the D.I. Amy Winter series:

This review was written voluntarily and my rating was in no way influenced by the fact that I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from Thomas & Mercer/Amazon Publishing UK via NetGalley.