Well where to start with this one – with a great big Thank You Caroline, my readers block has been well and truly banished now thanks to this beaut of a book 😍 The only criticism I can give is in relation to the wait we all now face for the next instalment in the Amy Winters series!!

There is nothing I like better than a strong female serial killer (I’m still taking notes for my ex-hubby, so if he ever turns up murdered this could will turn out to be evidence! 😂😂 No note takings from this particular book though may I add!!!) And Lillian Grimes is most definitely a strong, fascinating character who’s crimes are atrocious, depraved and sadly completely believable.

DI Amy Winter is the best strong female lead character in this genre I have come across so far this year by a mile. Being of short stature helps as I know what that can be like in a predominantly male workplace and she uses it to her advantage perfectly. Never underestimate the vertically challenged people!

It is a strong subversive plot right from the very first page to the very last with some very slick plot twists. At first you think you have it all worked out and what the twist will be, and I will say I wasn’t even disappointed when I thought I had worked it out by the middle of the book, it wouldn’t have detracted my enjoyment at all, but then, Nope, my theory was blown straight out the water forcing a re-evaluation of the situation! There are a few moments like that and as for the ending – Well that was a phenomenal little surprise twist!

As I said from the start the only negative thing from this book is the wait for the second instalment of the series! I cant wait to see where Amy goes from here but where ever it is I think she will have a huge amount of fans following her every step of the way!

If you are a fan of the crime/thriller genre then you wont want to miss this one. If you enjoyed Chelsea Cain’s Archie and Gretchen series you are going to love this I promise 👍🏻

Published by: Thomas & Mercer (30th August 2018)



ISBN: 978-1503903142



Source: Netgalley



Rating: 5*



Synopsis:

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?



Review :

I have been feeling rather spoilt of late with the number of incredible female lead characters I've had the fortune to read, and DI Amy Winter is no exception! Although she appears somewhat of a closed book at times, the way this particular case interweaves with her childhood forces her to open up. She's a fascinating, multi-faceted character, deftly supported by an array of other characters that play their part in building the story.



The way Amy's background pertains to the main case is intricately plotted, down to the very last detail. I enjoyd the amount of focus on the police's home lives, it really brought the characters to life as well as satisfying my nosey streak! There were plenty of surprises that I didn't expect including one huge one. I thought I had it all worked out, but I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong! I'm a huge fan of the author's work, and am really looking forward to the next outing for DI Amy Winter. I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley; this is my honest review.

Absolutely have to say this is such a brilliant book!

This is going to be one hell of a series for Caroline, and I for one will be itching to get my hands on each new copy!

Amy Winter has the kind of childhood that would give you nightmares, coming from evil, heinous serial killers. Having been rescued and adopted by loving parents who have done their best to give her a safe and comfortable upbringing, they had shielded her from the truth of her birth family, only for her to have the shock of her life when she is contacted by the mother from hell, just when she has taken up a new role in the police force.

I’m really interested to see the background develop, and how this plays out, if the first book is anything to go by, this is going to be up there with my all time favourite series!

DI Amy Winter, the adopted daughter of a police officer, is also the biological child of parents known as a murdering du0 -- the Beasts of Brentwood. The couple abducted and killed young girls back in the 1980s. Amy's real mom, Lillian Grimes, is in prison and her bio dad is dead. DI Winter's past is shrouded in vague memories that are brought to the forefront when Lillian contacts her from jail and promises to reveal the location of 3 bodies if Winter will help get her appeal going, "because she was framed."

This detective crime drama forces Amy Winter to accept that the circumstances of her birth do not add up to the person she is now. Although her adoptive father is dead, Amy is a dedicated police officer who agrees to see Lillian so as to give the closure necessary to the families of the dead girls by finding the bodies and taking them home. Lillian is living up to her part, taking Amy to the bodies, when another young girl is kidnapped. NO SPOILERS.

The narrative shifts in time and point of view as the various aspects of the case come together. The characters are fairly typical of this genre and not fully developed in this first of what I expect is a new series. This was more mystery than pulse-pounding suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the e-book ARC to read and review.

3.5, the ultimate game of cat and mouse stars!!

Meet DI Amy Winter - currently mourning the loss of her beloved and esteemed father Robert Winter. Robert spent the majority of his career working on incarcerating a husband and wife, serial-killing duo dubbed "The Beasts of Brentwood" and finding the remains of three last girls that have been missing since Lillian and Jack grimes were arrested.

I am your birth mother. The person who gave you life.

Amy receives a letter from Lillian Grimes and within this letter is a truth Amy has left buried and forgotten from her childhood. She, is the biological daughter of The Beasts of Brentwood. With this shocking realization of a past she was lucky to have forgotten this story takes off on a tale full of twists and turns as far as the eye can read.

Lillian has agreed to disclose the locations of the remains of the last three girls in exchange for deals with Amy. During this same time, another girl goes missing and the hunt is on as these two parallel story lines weave together to form a web of tangled lies and deceit as Amy struggles with her past, her personal demons and her job as DI.

Amy felt a knot grow between her shoulder blades as Lillian dangled her like a marionette.

This story drew me in immediately, not only with the premise but with the knock-out that was the first few pages. However, as things progressed the story got a lot more convoluted which led to a lack of development in the many story lines taking place here. The majority of our story follows Amy and the hunt for Hermonie (our currently missing child) and the remains of the last 3 victims of The Beasts of Brentwood. However, we're also given the point of view of Poppy (Amy's birth name), which gives us insight into the past and the horrors Amy faced as a child. Additional side-characters are also given air-time and it created quite a lot of story to follow along and some of the arcs seemed to end haphazardly without explanation.

While psychopaths could not feel empathy, they made an art of mimicking it to suit their own needs.

The last quarter of this book was chock-full of twists and turns that I definitely didn't see coming. While in some cases that's great and exciting, in others it means it came out of left field. Truth and Lies delivered both in spades. A few of the twists were shockers for me that amplified my enjoyment of the read overall and others were a bit far fetched. My main gripe and disappointment with this one is it felt that Mitchell wanted the mystery of Amy's past to propel you to the end, instead of the story engaging you enough to finish.

In the end, I feel what this lacked the most was development. There were simply so many story lines that there feasibly couldn't be enough development into them in this short of a novel. I don't think it should've been longer but I do feel some of the story lines could've been eliminated to create a more fluid and concise read. All in all, it was a good start to a promising series and I can see why so many enjoyed it. While I may not be picking up the second installment any time soon I look forward to seeing how future books in the series are received!

This was a first Caroline Mitchell book for me, having heard tons about her in my book club... And did she live up to the hype.. Oh yes!!
Loved how the story unfolds.. Total page turner,!!!

Well HOLY friggin SH*tBALLS! Where do I start? Set in Essex the reader is faced with a chilling past, nature vs nurture, relationships; family; loyalty; manipulation; control; accountability; corruption; secrets; and a search for the truth / justice.
Eeeeek! What a prologue! Spine-tingling, goosebump territory – and I certainly wanted to carry on! I was immediately hooked as I love true crime and the author blended fact with fiction in this creepy police procedural – Fred/Rosemary West as well as Ian Brady and Myra Hindley immediately crept into my mind as this macabre tale unfolded. The plot was perfectly paced, complex and compelling whereby 100,000 WTAF’s must have escaped my lips! I thought the characters and narrative were equally intriguing and I found myself pulled from pillar to post wondering whether or not DI Amy Winter’s secret would be discovered. This is the first in the series and I have to say, it may well be the best book the author has written so far. Caroline Mitchell is clearly honing her craft and using her time to bring readers the thrills, chills and OMFG moments that will keep them hooked.
Character-wise, I have to say this was one mixed up bag of dysfunctional peeps! DI Amy Winter is a strong female lead with dark secrets she doesn’t want her colleagues to find out about- can’t say I blame her. I mean, how would you trust a police officer to serve & protect you if you knew that their birth parents were bloody serial killers, right!? I loved that Amy was emotionally void at times – because of her childhood – but that she didn’t come across as being insensitive. I will certainly be following this series to see where the author goes next with DI Winter!
Lillian Grimes and the rest of the Grimes’ clan – well jaysus…master manipulator, Lillian is still pulling her children’s strings from behind bars. Although I may not have liked what she did, I loved this character. I also enjoyed the way that the author showed how two completely different upbringings (Amy vs her siblings) could lead to very different adult lives. The nature vs nurture debate has always fascinated me, and in many of my own work experiences, I came across individuals who I often wondered whether they had different role models, would they have ended up doing something more productive with their lives. (I was a Senior Probation Officer – so this always intrigued me) – when a book makes me think- especially a fictional one…well, that’s a winner for me!
The baddies were bad and even some of the goodies had the questionable streak of badness – hidden beneath the surface and leave the reader wondering. Like I said before – so many questions!
Would I recommend this book? Well, let me think about that for a minute….DUH!! Hell yeah I would – over and over again! This book has everything I love in my crime fiction: a #killerhook, interesting and relatable characters, a kickass storyline and of course – the OMFG moments that leave you screaming at the pages! I seriously can’t wait to see what is next in store for DI Winter’s and the rest of the team – as I hear that when her secret is out…well- let’s just wait and see, shall we?

4.5 Stars - I had no clue what I was originally going into, and within the first chapter I was hooked ! This is a police procedural novel where the protagonist is Detective Inspector Amy Winter, a strong independent female. I loved her character right away ! As the story develops, the more we peel the layers as to who Amy is.

I found this book was very atmospheric, the way Caroline describes the surroundings makes you feel like you're actually there with Amy. I thought is was very well described and very well written !

Also, I couldn't help but get emotional attached! The villain in this story was really getting under my skin and I just absolutely hated her. I have a feeling we won't be done with her quite yet...

I thoroughly enjoyed this book but when I read that Caroline Mitchell is a former detective that made me love this book even more! Already can't wait to read DI Amy Winter #2 ! Highly recommend.

Talk about not being able to put a book down! This had me up until the small hours. Obviously the inspiration was from the West murders, but what a great twist on it. A real thriller with great characters and a satisfyingly twisted plot. Wil, there be a follow up? I hope so.

DI Amy Winters a smart , dedicated police officer is reeling from her dad’s death when she receives a letter from a Lillian Grimes, who is incarcerated for committing a series of killings with her husband.Claiming to be her biological mother Lillian Grimes promises to reveal the location of three of her victims if Amy visits her in prison and satisfies her list of demands.After meeting Lillian Amy starts to recall her horrifying childhood which is scary enough but has also a missing teenage girls case to solve who might be running out of time.

Truth and lies is the first book in new series by Caroline Mitchell . After loving her Ruby Preston series I was excited to read her new series and it did not disappoint . A fast paced book with lots of twists and turns and a kind of a cliffhanger at the end makes this a highly entertaining read and cannot wait for book no 2

I would like to thank Amazon Publishing UK & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

Lies can hurt you but, sometimes, the truth hurts more. Truth and Lies is a chilling new thriller by #CarolineMitchell.

Still reeling from her father’s untimely death, DI Amy Winters wants nothing more than to throw herself back into her police work where she can honor her father’s memory by becoming a well respected cop just like he was. However, fate deals Amy a blow when a letter arrives proclaiming that Amy is, in fact, the daughter of one of the most notorious serial killing couples Great Britain ever has known. This couple lured young teenage girls to their home, brutally murdered them and then hid their bodies. Most of these bodies were recovered but three still remain missing. The lone surviving killer, Lillian Grimes, wants to make a deal with Amy: do what Lillian asks and the bodies will be revealed. However, it soon becomes apparent that Lillian has additional plans for Amy as this old, cold case is apparently intertwined with a current kidnapping crime.

Caroline Mitchell is a former CID and her knowledge and experience are well apparent throughout the book. This is, by far, one of the best written police procedurals I have read in a long time simply because the methodology, the “cop-speak,” and protocol were perfectly realistic. In addition, the psychological aspect of both cases were fully explored and developed. We were able to see the struggles going on within Amy while also watching in horror the machinations of the very evil Lillian Grimes. It is a race against time as a young girl’s life hangs in the balance.

I haven’t read Mitchell before this book but, based on the writing of Truth and Lies, she definitely is going on my author watch list. If you enjoy police procedurals, crime novels or mysteries, then you will love this book. I highly recommend it – not to mention there is a terrific ending that will leave you wanting MORE –  ASAP.

Thanks to #Netgalley, #CarolineMitchell, #Thomas&Mercer and #AmazonPublishingUK for this terrific book!

How do I start this review other than to say what a tangled web this story is! Truth and Lies is a story that left me glued to my Kindle and what a journey it takes the reader on! In this book we meet Amy who is a police officer just like her adoptive father and her career is going well. However she soon finds herself being confronted with her past in the form of the sinister and wicked Lilian who sends Amy on a path to discover the locations of three of her victims. A manipulator doesn't even half begin to describe Lillian, she really does send a chill down your spine!

I have to say that Caroline Mitchell had me fully immersed in the story. The way she wrote her characters was brilliant creating some dark and disturbing ones but also some likeable if troubled ones too. There was a whole different range of personalities in this book that just worked so well. Creating a well balanced out story that had so many elements from dark moments whenever the story focuses on Lillian to the investigation and Amy's team.

There is so much to this story that combines to bring some tense, dark and atmospheric moments that made me keep reading wondering how it would all end. Truth and Lies pretty much had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through along with making me sit up straight just waiting for the next surprise to surface. There were so many shocks in store for Amy who is a strong and determined character but was put under some pretty stressful situations.

A completely addictive and explosive start to a brand new series, I can't wait to see what will be in store for Amy next!

Intriguing, dark and very compelling!

Five stars from me!

As can be seen from the description/synopsis , the idea is very interesting, it's the execution I wasn't thrilled about.

It took me some time to get into the book, as the writing is disruptive and the dialogues seem fake. I was neither impressed by the characters, who either remain flat or they change radically, not following a natural development i.m.o.
The plot was interesting enough to make me think of a 3★ review, but the ending twists were too far-fetched for my taste, so I'll settle with less.

Overall, everything screams of debut instead of an experienced writer and I don't think I'll follow-up this series.

Absolute blinded of a thriller read. This is the first book I have read by this author and won't be the last.
The plot is unique and handle very well, the main character Amy has a last unbeknownst to her. When her biological mother contacts her Amy's past comes back to slap her right in the face. Amy is a detective, following in the footsteps of her beloved father. A girl is taken and bares similarities to a case her father was involved in many years before.
This book keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting more. I'm very pleased to hear this is the first book in the Amy Winton series as I love a good thriller with a female heroine.

I don’t even know where to begin with this one! If you have an interest in serial killers, Caroline Mitchell’s latest novel will be right up your street. I’ll tell you something else, if you had mentioned this type of book to me several years ago, I would have said no to reading it, ten times over – it’s funny how things change, eh!

‘Truth and Lies’ is an extremely uncomfortable, yet highly addictive read which made my toes curl, make me feel incredibly nauseous, as well as making me rub my hands together wanting more. I know, I know. I shouldn’t feel excited about reading a book where serial killers are the running theme, but Caroline Mitchell’s addictive story telling brings that excitement to the top of the pile, time and time again.

Even though this book is the work of fiction, I couldn’t help but think of a certain serial killer duo whilst I was reading this (there’s quite a few so I’m not giving anything away by saying that!), especially as I felt like I was reading a non-fiction novel. Yep. That’s how strong the writing was in this book. Caroline Mitchell certainly knows what she’s talking about, yet even though a lot of her readers may not have the knowledge of police talk or the like, the author refuses to let that be an issue by teaching her readers indirectly, instead of patronising them like other books I have read in this genre.

Lillian is an absolute -insert bad word here beginning with C-, yet she makes the book the twisted, uncomfortable, jaw-dropping read this is. Well, not just her, obviously. I just don’t think that ‘Truth and Lies’ would have made me react in the same manner if Lillian’s character hadn’t been the psycho that she was.

I am so, so pleased that this is the start of a new series because there are quite a few characters I must find out more about. Don’t get me wrong, they had their time in the spotlight in this novel, but even then I felt like their guards were up and I wasn’t able to see the entire picture where a couple of them were concerned. Namely Paddy and Pike – something just didn’t sit right with me with either them.

I’ve often wondered whether blood could be tainted or whether a family member could end up like one who broke the law. Does it go down the family tree? If one person commits a murder does that mean that anyone related to them would have a higher chance of following in their footsteps? I thought it was very clever that Caroline Mitchell had that thought running throughout the storyline as it made me more intrigued about what lay ahead. The psychology behind serial killers psyche is one that interests me greatly, and after reading ‘Truth and Lies’, that interest has been cemented so deeply, I must act on it and educate myself further.

What an out of this world, deeply unsettling, jaw-dropping, spine tingling, and phenomenal read this is. Caroline Mitchell has upped her game once again as this book, in my opinion, is her best book yet.

What a fantastic start to the series featuring DI Amy Walters. Amy’s world comes crashing down on her when she receives a letter from Lillian Grimes, one half of a notorious husband and wife serial killers, who is still serving her sentence in prison. What she reveals to Amy devastates her and she also wants Amy to visit her in prison and she will lead her the burial sites of some of the previous young victims. Amy is still recovering from the death of her father who was also a police officer. Amy then has to play Lillian’s twisted games whilst keeping a dark secret from her colleagues and also trying to solve the case of a young missing girl. The story goes backwards and forwards in time as Amy's childhood memories begin to surface. This is a gripping read with an intriguing plot and a book I could not put down. Highly recommended, can’t wait for the next book in the series.
Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Truth and Lies by Caroline Mitchell is a police procedural novel that kept me hooked from the beginning. D I Amy Winter is a well respected police officer. After the death of her father also a police officer, Amy is contacted by serial killer Lillian Grimes offering to tell her the resting places of three of her victims who have never been found. Lillian then tells Amy that she is her daughter and was adopted when Lillian was sent to prison. Amy is appalled by this and starts to remember incidents from her childhood. Amy is also investigating the disappearance of a young girl and desperately trying to find her before it's too late.
I enjoyed this book and all its twists and turns and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love the whole idea of this book, what if you were related to the most notorious serial killing couple where you live? Does your bloodline make you who you are or can you get away from an evil family? DI Amy Winters has that troubling thought when she finds out who her biological parents are. The biggest problem is when her murderous mother's case is reopened to find the bodies of three missing girls. Working for the unit that is investigating where the girls' bodies are buried, is going to be hard keeping her true identity private.

If you visualize every vile and twisted serial killer that you have read about, altogether they simply wouldn’t have a patch on Lillian Grimes. She knows how to use the knowledge she has as a tool to control, manipulate and play mind games in the wickedest way. Half of a vicious child killer duo, Lillian is well and truly behind bars but knows where the remaining three little victims are buried. It is time to play a little game with one of the three remaining children she gave birth to many years before. From her prison cell Lillian Grimes writes a letter to DI Amy Winter, who was adopted by a police officer when she was a little girl, offering her information of where one of the missing children is buried, with an added note, I am your natural mother.
Amy was in shock and scared at who her real parents were, could this evil be somewhere deep in her? Then there was her career, should she tell her superiors? This was a chance to give the family of one dead girl some sort of closure if she went to see Lillian Grimes. So a pro-quo game began.
This has to be the best book that Caroline Mitchell has written so far. The story did ring true to a mix of real life crimes from the past with the added twist of parentage well and truly taking front seat. Amy had wanted to make her ‘parents’ proud especially as her dad was a well-respected officer. To say that Lillian Grimes was tickled pink about Amy’s successful career is a gross understatement, she was on the best high she had ever had.
Once Amy had crossed that breach it was a never ending spiral with nowhere to get off. As the longer this arrangement went on the harder it was to come clean. But this deadly game takes a turn for real. From opening this book to the end page it really is impossible to close and do anything else. This is the first Amy Winter book and well how do you follow such a superb first in a series? Talk about a mental battering, which has woken up so much from her past. I think this is going to make her one outstanding Officer with something continually to prove, not just to others but to herself too. Nature and nurture in harmony, but with an edge when she needs it. A top read of the year!

Life is going well for DI Amy Winters, recently promoted, she is being well respected and following in her fathers footsteps. Then, one day she gets a letter from a convicted killer, promising her new leads and the truth. When facing Lillian in prison, she soon finds that, not only is Lillian a killer, she is pure evil. And the revelation Lillian promised is not only one about the missing bodies, but very personal to Amy. Knowing the truth, she has to decide what to do and what to believe. Brilliantly written story with an ending that makes me yearning for the next book in the series.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK!