Truth & Lies by Caroline Mitchell
Published by Thomas & Mercer
Publication date: 30 August 2018
348 pages
Genre: Crime, Thrillers
Book Description:
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?
My Review:
'One lie spoils a thousand truths'
Wow. If ever a book made me feel uncomfortable, this is the one. As the first in a new series featuring detective Amy Winter it certainly makes a spectacular entrance and I can't wait to see where the author takes the characters in future.
The scene is set with a news report of the sentencing of serial killer Lillian Grimes, nicknamed along with husband Jack as 'The Beasts of Brentwood'. Daughter Poppy has witnessed scenes in her short life time that no adult would ever wish to encounter, let alone a 4 year old child. The whole novel was reminiscent of the Fred and Rosemary West crimes in Gloucester which came to light in the 1990's. Amy Winter's father was the detective leading the case, yet the bodies of 3 victims remain undiscovered with Jack Grimes taking his secrets to the grave with him and wife Lillian staying resolutely silent on the subject for 30 years. Until Amy's father dies and she receives a letter from Lillian which blows her world apart and makes her question everything which she has based her life on.
In her professional life Amy is leading the case of a missing teenager, her first case back since the death of her father, which is spookily similar to the disappearances of the girls in the Grimes case all those years ago. Her personal life is one huge round of questions as to who she is and how that impacts on her job. People she has known and trusted for as long as she can remember - both personally and professionally - are now cast into doubt with psychopathic Lillian seeming to pull the strings of Amy's life even from behind bars. Who is involved in Lillian's mind games? And does she have any involvement in the disappearance of local teenager Hemmy Parker? If so, how is this possible? Who is helping her on the outside? The questions keep stacking up.
All this makes for an unsettling yet gripping read. Lillian is a scarily well written character who believes her own lies until she trips herself up during her conversations with Amy. It is clear that the author has worked with people just like Lillian in her day job before becoming a writer as the detail in the character is just too realistic for this to be part of someone's imagination. The way the current case weaves in and out of the personal side of the detective's life is absolutely brilliant and although I did have a couple of question marks surrounding the significance of some of the other characters who feature in the plot I wasn't even close to working out the whodunnit part of the tale.
I can't wait for the next instalment of this series and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes their crime novels to have that edge to them which makes you feel horrified yet compelled to turn the page to find out more.
My thanks to Eleanor Hemming of Midas PR and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book and the opportunity to be part of the promotional tour. My review is entirely my own view.
'One lie spoils a thousand truths'
Wow. If ever a book made me feel uncomfortable, this is the one. As the first in a new series featuring detective Amy Winter it certainly makes a spectacular entrance and I can't wait to see where the author takes the characters in future.
The scene is set with a news report of the sentencing of serial killer Lillian Grimes, nicknamed along with husband Jack as 'The Beasts of Brentwood'. Daughter Poppy has witnessed scenes in her short life time that no adult would ever wish to encounter, let alone a 4 year old child. The whole novel was reminiscent of the Fred and Rosemary West crimes in Gloucester which came to light in the 1990's. Amy Winter's father was the detective leading the case, yet the bodies of 3 victims remain undiscovered with Jack Grimes taking his secrets to the grave with him and wife Lillian staying resolutely silent on the subject for 30 years. Until Amy's father dies and she receives a letter from Lillian which blows her world apart and makes her question everything which she has based her life on.
In her professional life Amy is leading the case of a missing teenager, her first case back since the death of her father, which is spookily similar to the disappearances of the girls in the Grimes case all those years ago. Her personal life is one huge round of questions as to who she is and how that impacts on her job. People she has known and trusted for as long as she can remember - both personally and professionally - are now cast into doubt with psychopathic Lillian seeming to pull the strings of Amy's life even from behind bars. Who is involved in Lillian's mind games? And does she have any involvement in the disappearance of local teenager Hemmy Parker? If so, how is this possible? Who is helping her on the outside? The questions keep stacking up.
All this makes for an unsettling yet gripping read. Lillian is a scarily well written character who believes her own lies until she trips herself up during her conversations with Amy. It is clear that the author has worked with people just like Lillian in her day job before becoming a writer as the detail in the character is just too realistic for this to be part of someone's imagination. The way the current case weaves in and out of the personal side of the detective's life is absolutely brilliant and although I did have a couple of question marks surrounding the significance of some of the other characters who feature in the plot I wasn't even close to working out the whodunnit part of the tale.
I can't wait for the next instalment of this series and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes their crime novels to have that edge to them which makes you feel horrified yet compelled to turn the page to find out more.
My thanks to Eleanor Hemming of Midas PR and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book and the opportunity to be part of the promotional tour. My review is entirely my own view.
About the Author:
USA Today and International #1 Bestselling Author. Shortlisted by the International Thriller Awards for best ebook 2017.
Over half a million books sold.
A former police detective, Caroline Mitchell now writes full time. She has worked in CID and specialised in roles dealing with the vulnerable victims—high-risk victims of domestic abuse and serious sexual offences. The mental strength shown by the victims of these crimes is a constant source of inspiration to her, and Mitchell combines their tenacity with her knowledge of police procedure to create tense psychological thrillers. Originally from Ireland, she now lives in a pretty village on the coast of Essex with her husband and three children.
Website: www.caroline-writes.com
Twitter :@caroline_writes
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CMitchellAuthor/
This sounds really good and my type of book.
ReplyDeleteHi Shelleen, it is excellent. Quite chilling if you think too long about it!
ReplyDelete