I wanted to like this book as it sounded good but I couldn't get into it. I would have not reviewed but NetGalley insists on a review to keep your profile rating up even when you say you are declining to read it.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I am always pleased when I finally catch up with an author I like to find they have an amazing new series and Caroline Mitchell is one such author! Thsi new series featuring Amy Winter I thoroughly loved the first book and was pleased to be able to move straight onto book 2. This latest installment features a missing 4 year old Ellen. What I love about this series is Amy Winter’s background is far from ordinary. She realised in book 1 that she was the daughter of an infamous serial killer couple and has had to deal with the trauma surrounding her childhood.

Thankfully it seems that she uses this to her advantage and has a knack of spotting people that are slightly ‘dark’. There are plenty of people playing various roles within this dark and shady storyline and it takes some time to work out who has played what part but as each element is revealed it becomes clearer for the reader to see where this story could go. I found myself totally absorbed in the storyline and love the fact that we still get to see elements of Amy’s relationship with her deranged biological Mother.

This series is turning out to be pretty amazing and I am pleased that I still have a few books left in the series to become caught up. Definitely a great series to read and I would definitely reccomend!

This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

Four year old Ellen is taken from her bed by a stranger in the middle of the night, when her mother Nicole receives a package containing four phials, one of them supposedly poisonous with a note telling her to choose a phial to drink in exchange for information of where her daughter is being kept captive, she knows the nightmare of what her husband did in the past, is about to become a reality. The kidnapper claims to be Luka Volkov, but Luka is assumed dead, killed in a tragic fire with his mother many years ago, or is he? Could he have survived the fire and is back to exact revenge on those who wronged him?
DI Amy Winter and her team are brought in to investigate the case and, having suffered trauma as a child herself, she is determined to bring Ellen home and for it to be a happy ending for the Curtis family, but Luka is not going to make it easy for her and when another child disappears she knows they are in a race against time to save these children.
This is the second in this series and is just as tense and nailbiting as the first. Once again the story alternates between past and present and kept me guessing all the way through, it's packed full of twists and Lillian, Amy's sadistic birth mother is always there lurking in the background ready to cause more problems for her daughter. I was hooked from beginning to end with this one and the ending leaves it open perfectly for another book in this incredible series. Bring it on Mrs Mitchell!! I highly recommend that you read these books in order to get a true understanding of the characters and their backgrounds.

Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

Omg......... this book was amazing I flew threw the pages with Olympic speed I was hooked from the very first page. I found it full of twists and turns threw out and it kept me on the edge of my seat all the way threw  I would defiantly recommend this book if you like a good book to keep you reading threw the night hopefully you enjoy it as much as I did

This is book #2 in the DI Amy Winter series.

I read book #1 (Truth and Lies) a while back and had loved the book but had completely forgotten about this series until I started reading this one. I was like “wait a minute – the detective’s name rings a bell!” and then I realized I was reading the next book in the series. It was a good surprise! I was then very excited to dig in!

This book was pretty good! It digs more into Amy’s past, since she is the daughter of a serial killer, she is constantly questioning the age-old question between nature versus nurture. I love her character so I will definitely keep reading this series, maybe I just won’t wait three years in between reading the books.

I would consider this a medium pace police procedural. There was action, but it was mostly digging in the kidnapper’s past in order to gain an understanding of why he’s doing what he’s doing. Due to this, the book goes back and forth between past and present.

The ending was quite a surprise, I actually hadn’t really predicted how the ending would unfold. It was a decent book; this series is very highly rated on Goodreads. I recommend starting at book #1 and then devouring the next three books afterwards!

The Secret Child is the first book I have read by this author.

In this novel, we have Ellen, a four-year-old who has been snatched by a stranger. It's a riveting and engrossing thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

D I winter is a kick ass officer, fearless and fierce. The story races along at pace and creates a tense and exciting game of cat and mouse! He’s supposed to be dead…. Yet he’s terrorising previous encounters.

I really loved this book in a new to me author. The characters and location really and to the story. I can't wait to read the next one. This book keeps you guessing until the end.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

This made me go and seek out the author's previous Amy Winter books, and I was pleased to see them on Kindle Unlimited.
I enjoyed the novel, a sinister premise which had plenty of suspense. Well developed characters meant that there was a pleasing depth to the story.

THE SECRET CHILD is the second book in a new series by bestselling author Caroline Mitchell, a police procedural, featuring DI Amy Winter, the daughter of a serial killer.

The books in the DI Amy Winter Series include:
Truth and Lies (Book 1)
The Secret Child (Book 2)
Left For Dead (Book 3)

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

In the second novel of the series, DI Amy Winter is recovering from the revelations that she discovered in the first book, Truth and Lies. As everything is explained fully in this novel, it can be read as a standalone, but I recommend that you take advantage and read the novels in sequence to get a full appreciation of the storyline.

Now DI Amy Winter is assigned a case involving a kidnapping, murder and arson case when four-year-old Ellen is snatched from her bed and the home is set on fire and her mother, Nicole, subsequently is murdered. The kidnapper claims to be Luka Volkov, a child prodigy of Ellen’s father who came from Russia to participate in a special study for children just like Luka.

But Luka is supposed to be dead, the victim of a tragic fire many years before. When a second child is taken, DI Winter is forced to call upon all of her resources in order to solve this complex case.

A race against time…but to rescue the children, will Amy resort to get help from the one person from her past that caused her childhood trauma?

Another fast-paced thriller that is sure to please. On to book three.

Absolutely enjoyed from start to finish, u didn't want the book to end. Highly recommended, if you like books that keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat.

Great to catch up with Amy again and this case is a riveting one. Tense and gripping. I raced through it! Can't wait for the next one.

I really loved this book! I had requested it without being aware that it was part of a series but I enjoyed it so much that I full well intend on catching up.

Amy is the kind of heroine that I adore. Strong willed yet compassionate. A woman that isn’t afraid to speak her mind. She’s the best.

Well this is a book that is full of tension, intrigue and mystery and that's for sure. A missing child, scientific trials, a race against the clock and a dark history that holds the key to successfully solving the case ... Caroline Mitchell sure knows how to hook readers and keep them glued to the page until the very end.

This is book two in the DI Amy Winter series and I am loving getting to know that little bit more about Amy with each book. She is no stranger to having a dark history, something which continues to haunt her throughout this book, her biological mother, Lillian Grimes, refusing to slip quietly into the past. In fact, if anything, she makes Amy's life a whole lot more complicated this time around. If you haven't read book one I really do recommend that you do before setting off on this particular adventure as there is a pretty significant crossover. It leads to an unnecessary distraction for Amy from what is already a very complicated case.

What I really enjoyed about this story was the complicated feelings it stirred up in me. You don't ordinarily expect to feel sympathy, or empathy even, for one of the bad guys and yet, with Luka, it was definitely an emotion that came to the fore more than you would anticipate. For reasons that become apparent as you read, he feels compelled to exact a kind of reckoning on people from his very troubled past. I found myself understanding what had driven him to the point of no return and yet there is no denying his actions are misguided and completely reprehensible. And yet in Amy he finds a kind of kindred spirit and it felt as though there was perhaps the smallest chance of redemption, or forgiveness, for him.

I really like the characters the author has created in this series. The complicated relationship between Amy and Lillian aside, there are also the bonds between her and her team, notably Paddy and, surprisingly, DC Steve Moss who had at one point seemed like a natural antagonist to create friction in the team. We learn a little more about him this time around too and I can feel myself slowly warming to him. There is still the normal tension and pressure from up above in the form of DCI Pike who is often as much of an obstruction as she is help. The way in which their particular story concludes certainly opens up things for an interesting third instalment.

The tension in the book peaks and troughs in line with the natural flow of the investigation. From scenes where Luka has Amy racing across London in the hopes of finding the missing girl, through to the scenes in which ihe presents the worried parents with an ultimatum, Caroline Mitchell really keeps readers on edge. Add in the scenes where we learn more about Luka's past, scenes where you will left feeling more than a little uncomfortable about what has happened, and you are left with an often intense read that really holds your focus. And despite the who being obvious from the start, the author still manages to throw in a few surprises to keep us on our feet. I did have my suspicions about one of the characters quite early on, but I was still caught out by the conclusion. The clues are all there if you look back, but you do need to be paying close attention to pull them all together.

Another very satisfying read - looking forward to reading book three even more now.

Four year old Ellen Curtis is kidnapped from her home in the middle of the night. Her mother Nicole receives a parcel with four vials. One contains poison, the others are harmless, to get her daughter back all she has to do is pick one.

DI Amy Winter gets assigned to the case but feel like she’s getting blocked at every turn. A second child goes missing and they’re still no closer to finding the elusive kidnapper when suddenly, she finds herself as front page news, her history and serial killer mother displayed for all to see. Can Amy put her feelings aside and find the kidnapper?

The Secret Child is a fast paced, tension packed mystery that once you pick it up, it’s hard to put down again.
So this book is the second in the series, I would highly recommend that you read the first just so you don’t miss out on any of the story and it happens to be a really good book too.

I really enjoyed the cat and mouse game that the kidnapper plays with Amy and her team through the novel, it really kept me on my toes. It’s been awhile since I’ve read a book that really keeps up the tension throughout like The Secret Child did.

I still love the character of Amy too. We get to see more of how the bombshell of being the daughter of serial killers affects her self esteem and how she’s trying to balance it within herself, really adding to the realism of the character.

I have to be honest, I think it suffered slightly from second book syndrome, not quite living up to the first story wise. I also did sort of figure out how the ending would play out a little earlier than I would have liked but that didn’t spoil my overall enjoyment of the book.

The Secret Child is an addictive police procedural that left me eagerly awaiting the next in the series.

DI Amy Winter is at it again....a child has gone missing and she has to find her before it is too late. This is a terrific story, well-paced and well written. My only issue with this book is that I didn't read book one first, which I believe would have made it even more enjoyable. I love these English crime thrillers and this one does not disappoint.
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