DI Amy Winter knows evil. She’s lived through it.
Four-year-old Ellen is snatched by a stranger in the dead of night. Her devastated mother, Nicole, receives four identical phials and a threatening note in a familiar scrawl that chills her to the bone. But she always knew this would happen. She’s been expecting it for years . . .
According to the note, one of the phials is poisoned. Nicole is given a deadly challenge: if she drinks one, the sadistic kidnapper will notify the police of Ellen’s location. The sender claims to be Luka Volkov but Luka is supposed to be dead, killed long ago in a fire that haunts all those involved.
DI Amy Winter is still reeling from the discovery that she is the daughter of a serial killer, and her childhood trauma only makes her more determined to bring Ellen home. When another child is taken, Amy finds herself in a race against time. To rescue the children, must she seek help from the one person she wants to forget?

The Secret Child by Caroline Mitchell is the second in the DI Amy Winter mystery series.
This new story had me gripped from the first page and didn't let me go until I finished it. Wow; what a ride that was.
The suspense had me on the edge the whole time.  Loads of twists to keep you guessing along the way.
Well written plot and story-line. Love the characters and especially Amy!!
Hope to see another in this series soon!
Highly recommend reading!

I would like to say thank you to NetGalley, the publisher Thomas & Mercer, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this e-book.

A fast-paced, riveting read! Book 2 definitely lived up to my expectations and has solidified my readership for Caroline Mitchell's DI Amy Winter series. 

In The Secret Child DI Amy Winter's latest investigation finds her in a cat and mouse race against time with a kidnapper bent on revenge. The story opens with four year old Ellen being kidnapped from her bedroom. Her mother receives a package containing four vials from "Luka". She must drink one in order for the kidnapper to contact the police with information on Ellen. 

It's not long before we find that her father the esteemed Dr. Curtis is the real target. Why? What secrets are the people connected with the Curtis Institute hiding? Who is behind this devious plot to destroy them? 

When a second child is abducted, Amy's team are in for a fight against time to uncover deeply buried secrets in order to save them. 

The story was fast paced, filled with secrets and twists and made for a gripping read! I can't wait to see what book 3 brings our way!

The Secret Child by Caroline Mitchell is the second in the DI Amy Winter mystery series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Thomas & Mercer, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Series Background:    (Warning – May contain spoilers from previous books)
DI Amy Winters is a strong, rather competitive, independent woman, responsible for running a team to handle high profile cases. Her team includes DS Paddy Byrne, DC Molly Baxter and DC Steve Moss. Although Amy was fostered by wonderful people, she has recently learned that her biological parents are serial killers, and she has a new family. This is not common knowledge, and she wants it kept that way...

My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Four-year-old girl Ellen Curtis is missing, taken from her bedroom, and her parents are sure they know the identity of the killer. The problem – he died in a fire many years ago.

When a second child is taken, it becomes apparent that the kidnapper is targeting Ellen’s father and his work at a facility many years ago. The kidnapper starts playing a game with Amy, and she has no choice but to play along.

Meanwhile, Amy can’t seem to get away from her biological mother, who, even from a jail cell interferes with her daughter’s life. Adam Rossi, Amy’s ex-boyfriend is a journalist, and still in love with her. So when convicted murderer Lillian Grimes invites him to come see her in prison, mentioning a connection to Amy, he is curious. But he wouldn’t do anything that may hurt Amy, would he?

Amy’s frustration is starting to show.

My Opinions: 
I am really enjoying this new series. The author continues to add depth to all her characters, including her villains. I like how Amy continues to struggle with her identity, but stays focused on her current case. As well, she takes time to look after her team members. The author has created a very likable protagonist.

Caroline Mitchell overlapped the topic of child endangerment across the kidnapped children, the kidnapper and Amy. The story is told from their different perspectives. They all suffered, and I was left feeling sorry for each of them.

Although I figured out a great deal of the plot and the end twist beforehand, this fast-paced thriller had me from the start. Caroline Mitchell is a smooth writer, and her books are easy to read.

Definitely recommend this. The author left me with hints of things to come…I can’t wait.

My first Caroline Mitchell book and it certainly won’t be my last. 
In this second DI Amy Winter instalment, Amy and her team are investigating the sudden disappearance of 4 year old Ellen, who was kidnapped in the middle of the night by a stranger. 
This was a truly riveting read, well written, great twists and kept me guessing.

I look forward to exploring more of this author.

Another great book from Caroline Mitchell and even though it took me longer to read it than normal because of my work shifts, I found it impossible to leave down. Without ruining the story for anyone, it's compelling and full of twists and some heartbreaking moments. I'm just hoping that there will be more of the Amy Winter series as it did end on a cliff hanger. I would like to thank the publishers and netgalley for letting me have the book to review and the opinions expressed are entirely my own views and are completely unbiased.

I confess that THE SECRET CHILD is the first book I have read by Caroline Mitchell despite it being the second in the DI Amy Winter series. And yet, the book works well as a standalone. Though for more of an insight as to Amy's history and what has lead her to where she is now, then I advise reading the first book before this one as it sets the tone for the series. Although I have yet to read it, from all I can gather it really does marks the beginning. 

THE SECRET CHILD begins with four year old Ellen being taken from her bed in the middle of the night, kidnapped by a stranger. But the parents delay in reporting her disappearance. Why? Then her mother Nicole receives a package containing four vials with instructions that one of them is poisoned but she must drink one for her daughter to be freed. However, Nicole drinks the one that is poisoned and when her husband, the famed Dr Curtis, arrives home he discovers his wife on the floor bleeding and unresponsive. Luckily, DI Winter and her team arrive with the intention of questioning the couple and Amy jumps in performing CPR in an attempt to resuscitate Nicole. Had they not arrived when they did, Dr Curtis would have seemingly let his wife die! And he, a doctor!

It soon becomes clear that Dr Curtis headed up the Curtis Institute where, in the 80s he was paramount in the psychological experimentation of children. And one of them is back for revenge - but is he? The kidnapper claims to be Luka Volkov, the once six year old child prodigy of the doctor who came from Russia with the promise of a scholarship and a better life. Only to be imprisoned to participate in a study for children like Luka. The problem is...Luka is dead, the tragic victim of a fire that destroyed the institute, along with his mother Sasha. Could Luka really be alive?

Soon after, another child goes missing on his way home from school. But the kidnapper was faced with a conundrum. Little Toby was in a wheelchair - and he had not bargained on that. But it was too late, the wheels were in motion, the regular taxi driver was unconscious in the boot and the kidnapper was in his place. Then Toby's father receives a couriered package, also with four vials, also with the same instructions to choose one to drink for Toby to be freed.

It seems the kidnapper "Luka" is working his way through those who worked at the institute - Dr Curtis, his assistant Deborah Macauley, and orderlies Stuart Coughlan and Christina Watson - and targeting their children.

But the kidnapper is playing a game. And his pawn is DI Winter. Sending her on random journeys across London with the promise of finding Ellen and then Toby...but always to arrive too late to save them. As the net closes in, he admits he set her up to fail. She was never going to find the children for he was never going to let them live.

While investigating the case, DI Winter's past comes to light via a complete published account written by her journalist ex-fiance Adam Rossi, still smarting from her refusal to give him another chance, and hand-fed by convicted serial killer Lillian Grimes with her own axe to grind. Despite being under scrutiny from her team and the public, Amy continues to investigate the missing children and the links to the experimental studies in the past endeavouring to solve what has turned out to be a very sordid and convoluted case.

THE SECRET CHILD is by far an interesting cat and mouse thriller. It is intriguing, compelling and incredibly intense as the reader follows the investigation alongside Amy and her team but also the taunting by the kidnapper as he leads them on a merry chase through London.

Told in dual timelines (a real favourite of mine) with Luka as a child and the psychological experimental study conducted in late 1984 and early 1985, and the investigation - and all that surrounds it - in the present day. There is so much going on in the story with every every character playing an important role. Even those involved in the experimental studies in the past, every victim, everyone in both timelines is a fully developed character. Each have their parts to play and they are played well as each character is seamlessly weaved into the story. I couldn't find a gap throughout, as everything blended seamlessly together in a steady narrative.

I really liked Amy, and I am not usually a fan of female leads but she is what I call real. Not a beefed up female version of bad cop and even badder cop. She is flawed, yet she has strength that doesn't make her a bitch, with a past that makes this series one with a difference. Although I have not read the first book, I was given enough background to make the necessary connections and it certainly didn't deter my enjoyment. 

While I have not revealed just what Amy's past contains and how it has serious repercussions on her personal life as well as coming to terms with it, it is no secret in this book. And I feel the reader is given enough information without having to read the first book. That said, although this book can be read as a standalone I believe it would be made better by reading both.

A solid police procedural with a definite difference, THE SECRET CHILD is a compelling, thrilling and completely intriguing you won't want to put it down! Even piecing together the breadcrumbs scattered throughout the story and drawing my own conclusions as to the identity of Luka and who else was involved did in no way deter my enjoyment. It was utterly brilliant!

I would like to thank #CarolineMitchell, #NetGalley and #AmazonPublishingUK for an ARC of #TheSecretChild in exchange for an honest review.

I was gripped by this story from the start. This was definitely a page turner. I read this book in one go. I really like the characters and Amy's back story is fascinating and something I want to find out more about. Both books in this series are well worth reading. 

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

A gripping thriller a little girl is kidnapped and her Mum is given a choice of phails to drink one to find out information about her daughter. Unfortunately she picks the wrong one and is poisoned will her daughter be found alive. DI Winters has a tough case to crack firstly is Luka a young boy who died back in the 80’s still alive and responsible or is it someone else. A fast paced read following DI Winters as she struggles with her personal life as well as this case. A great read.

An exciting and ,on the edge of your seat book,I didnt read the first book in the series but this was fine as this book can be read as a stand alone,I will definitely read the first book now
A really well written book, full of suspense

With thanks to Netgalley and Amazon publishing for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

I was drawn into this book from the first page.  The story began with an intruder walking into four year old Ellen Curtis bedroom.  The intruder told the little girl her house was on fire, the man then picked Ellen up and drove her away in his car.

The next morning Amy and her team were called to Ellen`s house after her babysitter saw she was missing.   Her father was Dr Hugh Curtis a celebrated child psychologist and her mother Nicole Curtis.

When Amy asked why the Curtis`s did not ring the police the night before they were reticent to answer.    Hugh then explained he suspected an Ex patient called Luca Volkov, who supposedly died in a fire when he was 11 years old.  Later Nicole received a mysterious parcel delivered by courier.  Inside were 4 vials of liquid a message explained three were safe to drink and the fourth contained ethanol.  To see Ellen again she had to drink one of the vials.

Then Luca goes further a kidnaps Tony the disabled son of an ex employee of Dr Curtis.  Luca starts to ring Amy to provide clues to the children's whereabouts but  can she find them on time.

The Secret Child is the second book in the DI Amy Winter series.  Although Amy`s biological mother Lilian Grimes only made a fleeting appearance in the book , I still felt grubby after her reading her scenes.

I felt so sorry for Amy when the press discovered she was Lilian Grimes daughter.  Especially when her father had been a highly respected policeman and her brother a fellow DI.

The plot was fast paced and you feel the tension mounting as the team looked for the missing children.  The story was told from the present day and went back to 1984 when Luca won a 'scholarship' to the Curtis Institute.

This was a dark tale indeed which tackled unethical medical practices.

I highly recommend this series and hope Amy will be able to separate herself from four year old Poppy.

DI Amy Winter is back with a mystery crime to solve. This time someone kidnaps the kids and this someone has dark past which is linked to the kids’ parents. Very good crime suspense/thriller, fast paste page turner without any boring conversations and scenes. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

DI Amy Winters is the child of serial killers but after being adopted into a loving home she's now a detective inspector heading a team of police on her second big case. Someone had kidnapped a child. The only problem is the kidnapper is supposed to be dead.
This book picked up where the last seemed to leave off. Amy's mother is still appealing her murder convictions, trying to mess with Amy's head and interfere in her life. The most important thing to Amy is finding the missing child and solving her latest case. 
The kidnapping case is an interesting one. The backstory leading up to the present day kidnapping was a page turner by itself. The continuation of Amy's dramatic life will keep me reading this series. The way her mind works and the wrongs she feels she wants to right knowing the evil her birth parents caused.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy to honestly review.

This is a good book. I loved the gritty main character and the straightforward mystery.
This was such a good mystery.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

** spoiler alert ** Book 2 featuring Amy Winter,and it's as easy to read as the first.
Following straight on from where we left everyone,but progressing nicely as the book goes on.
There are still some questionable police practices (do you go talk to a serial killer about a kidnappers mind set,or an actual professional? Even if she is your mother???)
I really like the characters in this,and think I'll be reading the books for some time if only to find out what becomes of above mentioned mother.
Told over two timelines,a story of child abuse and revenge that didn't really offer any surprises,but was well paced and I finished it in one go on a long train journey.

How incredibly devious can someone be? The villain in this well written and suspenseful thriller/procedural not only kidnaps, he/she also sends parents vials of poison.  I had not read the first Amy Winter book so I was not familiar with her back story but quickly caught up thanks to good references by Mitchell.  There are some fascinating (and at times creepy) interactions between Amy and her birth mother Lilian.  Amy must find who is wrecking revenge on Dr. Curtis through his daughter and stop it before more kids- and parents-are hurt.  She's got a good team- I enjoyed the way they worked together.  Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.  A very good read.

I absolutely loved the first book in this series, Truth and Lies, so was excited to receive an ARC of the sequel , but unfortunately did not find it quite so compelling. At the risk of sounding like the cliché “it’s not you it’s me”, I think part of the problem was that I am completely sick of missing child plot lines, and am actively avoiding them, but they keep sneaking in even when it’s not mentioned in the blurb, and so my aversion has grown stronger since requesting this a couple of months ago. It is a good book so I’m trying not to let my churlishness affect this review.

DI Amy Winter and her team are called in to investigate the kidnapping of four year old Ellen, daughter of a prominent medical researcher in the field of child psychiatry. The perpetrator appears to be a Russian boy who was lured to London in the eighties to be one of his experimental subjects, now grown up and intent on seeking revenge by subjecting the family of his captors to twisted games, but Luka died in a fire at the institute. Meanwhile Amy’s biological mother, the serial killer Lillian Grimes, continues with her malignant schemes to be freed from prison by involving Amy’s ex, narcissistic journalist Adam.

You don’t have to have read the first book to follow this, but it helps to know the background especially the tense relationship between Lillian and Amy, as well as some of the issues with her team. One of the things I really liked about the first book was how surprisingly undamaged Amy was - too many fictional detectives really should not be in their jobs - whereas here the pressure is starting to show and Amy behaves like an arrogant diva, pushing away those who are trying to help. I found it hard to believe that she would be so gullible as to let the baddie lead her on a kind of treasure hunt around London, not once but twice, or that she would engage with Lillian at all, knowing what happened last time. As for Adam, he certainly needed a dose of karma, hopefully that’s coming in the next book!

I personally didn’t enjoy having quite so much of the story told from the point of view of Luka, although the flashbacks to his past were necessary to explain his motivations. This is my third book recently to feature unethical medical research, and again I found the scenario pretty unrealistic given it’s set in the UK. I found the reveal to also be implausible and was frustrated that the ultimate guilty party apparently gets off scot-free. One of the problems with missing children scenarios is the lack of suspense as unlike with an adult victim, you know they will almost certainly be rescued. There are also some continuity errors that should’ve been picked up by an editor. 

Overall, despite my quibbles, this is still a good solid thriller and I would be keen to read the next in the series. 3.5 rounded up for fluid writing and intriguing villains.

This is the second instalment of DI Amy Winter and if you loved the first book you won’t be disappointed with the second.

DI Amy Winter is the child of a notorious murdering husband and wife but from the age of four she was raised by the Winter family and given a loving stable home.  

This latest case covers a kidnap of 4 year old Ellen Curtis, the daughter of Dr Curtis, who ran trials on children back in the 1980’s. The kidnapper claims to be Luka, a child from the trials who was thought to have died during a fire whilst attending the trials.  Did Luka really die in the fire ? If he did why is someone pretending to be him and cause pain and distress to Dr Curtis ?

This is a great read and you will have trouble not warming to the characters in this book, especially Amy !! This is very much a police procedural book but with so much more. A definite must read, along with the first in the series !! 

Thank you to Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

This is the second installment in the DI Amy Winter series.
This is a superior psychological mystery thriller unlike any ordinary police procedure. 

The plot is pacey, mysterious, and full of unexpected surprises.
The characters are well developed, real and engaging, so we care that much about them all the way.

This a highly recommended read without any reservations. This series is also best read in order to get a full sense of the characters and their development.

Thanks #Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love how Caroline Mitchell makes you wrestle with issues. She doesn't shy away from tough subjects, but rather forces you to look and think. Now that's not to say that she can't write a good yarn, because she can do that too. It takes a special author to dig at deep issues and entertain at the same time. I absolutely will be on the lookout for the next one in the series. I only wish this one had more Paddy. I love him!

A great book!
I read the first one of Amy Winters  books and it was good. This one is a carry on and it gets better. A lot of links to the previous book, so I think it's helpful to read it first.

A lot of depth in this book, and there was a fair amount of edge of seat moments!

I can recommend this book