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 … 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?
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4.5 Stars
“He was every woman’s nightmare. He was the monster under the bed.”
DI Amy Winter needs a break away from the nightmare her personal life has become. Her biological mother is a famed serial killer who is seeking an appeal of her conviction, and Amy is still coming to terms with that information as well as coping with the loss of her adopted father. Thinking a day of shopping with her sister is just what she needs, Amy stops to admire a display of a beautiful bride in the shop window. But upon closer inspection, the detective within notices the blueish tint to the nails as well as what appears to be blood dripping from the lips. This is no mannequin…this was a young woman placed on display…and left to die…
Amy is now on the case to stop the monster hunting young women via an online dating site…but when Amy offers herself up as bait, she begins to worry that perhaps her luck in catching serial killers is running out…and she may just end up being the next victim…
LEFT FOR DEAD is the third installment to the DI Amy Winter series, but can easily be read stand alone. I’ve been devouring this thrilling series and highly recommend!
A book that leaves you chilled to the bone, gripping and deliciously creepy, Left For Dead is the third installment in the DI Amy Winter Thriller book series.
The book opens on a chilly February day in the office of Samuel Black who, after having scratched his way to the top, now lives in a large home in Notting Hill. Itching to release his hidden desires, he unlocks the second draw of his desk, and with the help of a little black notebook, he is thrust from his mundane life into the bowels of a secret society.
DCI Hazel Pike is retiring and Donovan, toned and muscular and without a tie, has been transferred from Essex Police to take over her role. Dubbed as the psychopath-whisperer and with fan-mail to boot, it’s a bitter pill for DI Amy Winter to swallow. But I love Donovan, in fact, I quite fancy him myself.
A shopping trip with her sister down London’s Oxford Street on a Saturday morning, starts the ball rolling on the most bizarre case yet. A widow display with the distinctive scent of death and a dummy, left on a throne, ice cold with blood dripping from her mouth. A small heart-shaped wound had been cut in her chest, reminiscent of Claire Lacey’s murder twenty years ago— nicknamed The Love Heart Killer.
With all the ingredients of a fabulous plot, this book definitely delivers on many counts. The antagonist is deliciously creepy (which I love) and the protagonist is a pit-bull of a crime fighter, whose punchbag sessions in her basement gym make up a small part of her amazing strength. The word ‘no’ doesn’t exist in her vocabulary and wedging a boot in a closing a door demonstrates her prickly dedication. Reluctant to discuss the Beasts of Brentwood with the likes of Samuel Black, she will have to atone for Lillian’s crimes, the true reason why Amy does what she does. But with tainted blood running through her veins—or you could say a foot in both camps—I wonder if this makes her twice as intuitive. Her nemesis in this case may refer to her as ‘same dog, different fleas,’ but he doesn’t know what he’s dealing with.
On the final stretch of the crime, the twist in the tale had me reeling. I thought I might have it all worked out by about the three quarter mark, but I hadn’t. A twenty-year-old murder told from two perspectives, with a cruel and perverted outcome. What’s that Harper Lee saying? “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”
I always have my go-to crime writers and I’m happy to say, Caroline Mitchell is one who never disappoints. Edgy, dark and showcasing one of the finest detective characters in modern fiction, it’s exciting to note that the series has been optioned and will soon be on our screens to watch.
In this book, DI Amy Winter is juggling quite a bit…she’s searching for a serial killer dubbed ‘The Love Heart Killer’, adjusting to her new boss…who is also her lover…and the televised re-trial of her evil birth mother. Good police drama. Looking forward to the next book.
Left for Dead by Caroline Mitchell
A DI Amy Winter Thriller #3
DI Amy Winter was raised in a house of horrors and her memory of those days have followed her into her job as a Detective Inspector of murder cases. I am sure that more of her past was mentioned in the first two books of the series. Not having read those books did not impede my enjoyment of this book but it did make me wonder what I had missed.
The story begins is predominantly the finding of a serial killer but also has the understory of what is happening with Amy’s murderous mother and her attempt to get out of jail. Will they find the one fiend and stop the murders AND will the fiendish killer mother stay in jail or get out?
What I liked:
* Amy: a bit of a wild card and maverick that doesn’t play by the rules with the instincts that set her apart in sussing out murderers. She is good with her team and might have a bit of romance coming her way.
* Donovan: I think I like him though he seems a bit weak to be in charge and rein Amy in. Still, do like him and want to get to know him better
* The plotting, pace and writing of the story
* Police procedural aspects
* Knowing who the murderer is but finding out how the police find out
* That the victims were not “weak”
* That the protector of the Sugar Babes seemed to have the women’s interest at heart
* That evil did not win…at least not entirely
* Being left wondering what will happen next
What I did not like:
* The serial killer: amoral and rotten to the core – could have been so much better than he actually was
* Lillian: Amy’s mother was evil through and through – really wonder what she will get up to next
* Being reminded that evil people really do exist in this world and some are no doubt worse than the ones in this book.
Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series/by this author? Definitely
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC – This is my honest review.
4.5 Stars
I was quite intrigued with this book’s cover & creepy blurb! Sadly, it’s a very slow build with a predictable whodunnit. MC Amy Winter is a tough as nails inspector/ DI who discovers a real body posed as a mannequin. This fits a previous unsolved case, known as, The Love Heart Killer. At the same time, Amy’s biological mother is on trial. It felt like reading two stories. This is Book 3, I would suggest reading Books 1 and 2 as I was a bit lost. Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an ebook ARC. This is my honest review.
Amy finally comes into her own. Lillian’s trial comes to ahead. I liked that we know who the killer is at the beginning of the book then we follow Amy and her team as she tracks them down. There are some twists. There are also some revelations. If you have enjoyed the first two books then you will really like this one. I look forward to seeing what happens to Amy, her team and her birth family.
*I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.*