I started reading this only to realise that it is part of a series and therefore did not finish so I cannot comment on this book.

What I did read was interesting and I would like to find the time to start the series from the beginning.

3.5 stars

This is the third book in the DI Amy Winter series, and it’s been a hot minute since I have hung out with DI Amy Winter and the gang, so I figured it was high time for a catch-up session in Left For Dead” In my reunion with Amy and the gang Winter the time apart made reconnecting and bonding a bit challenging.

Amy's still rocking that crazy, intriguing backstory with her unique background that adds complexity—being the offspring of serial killers while serving as a law enforcement officer. The family drama there makes for some juicy mother-daughter dynamics.

Our little break might have put a dent in our connection, the series dynamics that I found exciting in the other books, but the compelling case with exciting twists offered a satisfying payoff. So, even though Amy and I needed a minute to get our groove back, diving into this investigation made it one heck of a reunion.

I started this series and have read books 1 and 2 back to back going straight onto book 3. This book was just as good as the last and I read this in a day and a half it was that good. Every opportunity was spent sneaking a few pages in until such time as I could actually sit and read a big chunk. While Amy is spending some time shopping with her sister she comes across a macabre window display and as she looks closer and realises that the 'model' is in fact a murder victim. All hell breaks loose and before you know it Amy and the team are working on this newest case.

The difference with this book is that we know who the killer is early on but that makes not one bit of difference to the story. If anything it amps up the drama and intrigue. We see Amy continue down a strange path with her mother the serial killer Lillian Grimes, as well as coming to terms with new working arrangements. DI Donovan is now her Boss and with her foot in both professional and personal camps where he is concerned she struggles to adapt.

This latest instalment flowed very well with lots packed into a book that flew by. This series is absolutely brilliant so far and I hope I continue enjoying the books as much as I have so far!

Really enjoyed this. Good twists and tension throughout and Amy's backstory is fascinating. Gripping and full of action.

Looks like I found a new series to read , which is good because it was easy to get lost in this one right from the start

I’m always so impressed with Caroline Mitchell’s writing. I’ve previously read her books but I haven’t read from this series before. Even though I’ve never read this series, it was not hard to getting into. This is a detective novel. Detective winters finds a woman murdered and left in a stores window display like a mannequin. The story quickly pops off from there. While you do learn about the detectives past, it wasn’t hard to fill in the missing pieces. I would definitely continue in this series.

The characters were well-developed, and I found myself invested in their lives. The plot was well thought out and had enough twists and turns to keep me on the edge of my seat. I appreciated the attention to detail, and the author did a great job of creating a vivid world that was easy to picture in my mind.
The themes explored in the book were thought-provoking. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good story with well-developed characters.
Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with this book and would definitely read it again. It was a great addition to my reading collection, and I can't wait to see what else this author has in store.

I'm not sure if I would've enjoyed this better after reading 1 and 2 but I just couldn't get into the story or engage with the characters.

Thank you #netgalley #amazonpublishinguk #carolinemitchell for a copy of this book to review.

Out shopping with her sister, DI Amy Winter notices a stunning mannequin in a store window. Dressed as a bride with beautiful diamonds and lace, that is what Amy is admiring. Until she notices the blood.
When a second victim is found hanging at the National Museum, Amy must find out who is commiting these crimes quickly. When she finds out both victim's were "sugar babes", dating older men through an app, this is the break she has been looking for. And with a third victim on the line, time is running out.

This is the third book in Amy's series. I haven't had the chance to read the previous two novels before reading this but I did purchase them straight away!
I really like Amy. Her backstory is so interesting, she's strong and capable. A bit reckless but that's also what makes her interesting.

This is a gripping story with an interesting plot and characters. I will definitely recommend this series.

This is the third instalment of the DI Amy Winters novels and I was able to read this without reading the first two.

There was a back story involving Amy and her birth parents - named the butchers of Brentwood, but this didn’t take anything away from what I was reading.

Amy is a strong character, and her history of what she suffered at the hands of her parents definitely made her who she is.

What I liked about this one is that we learn who the perpetrator is quite early on, but Caroline Mitchell has written it so it’s like a game of cat and mouse; each one trying to outsmart the other.

I don’t know why it took me so long to get around to reading this!

Left for Dead is a fast-paced and intriguing story that grips your attention from the beginning. I haven´t read the previous books in the series but found this one really engrossing and left me wanting to read more books by this author.

I found this to be an enjoyable read, keeping me on my toes throughout. The storyline was written well and flowed seamlessly. I look forward to reading more by this author!

Caroline, I do not know how you continually manage to write such good books. I cannot stop reading once I pick them up and I try to savour every page. I love the character of Amy Winters who as a detective and the child of serial killers has to be aware of where she stands. This book was just so thrilling and I wanted to keep turning the pages. I loved the nature verses nurture part of the story, this is something that has always fascinated me. I cannot wait to read the next one! Thank you!

Great book. Highly recommend and will most defiantly read more by this author and suggest to others!

Absolutely. brilliant narrative , you can visualise scenes and surroundings so easily. Great characters , well thought out plot line. Another brilliant book in the Amy winter series

This book makes me want to go back and read the other books in this series. I really enjoyed this book. Good read. Excellent read. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving this book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

Caroline Mitchell is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors.
I cannot wait to read her latest book, The Village.

Another great Amy Winter book from Caroline Mitchell. Loving the way the characters develop throughout.

I enjoyed this fast paced thriller. I found the characters relatable. I haven’t read many of this authors books before but now intend to do so.

Many thanks to netgalley and Caroline Mitchell for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)

The third in the DI Amy Winter series by former police detective Caroline Mitchell, LEFT FOR DEAD is a dark and tense thriller that I found myself immediately immersed in from the very first page. It's not a whodunnit as such because we learn who the villain is quite early on...and yet I still sat on tenterhooks throughout waiting for a twist to turn everything on its head. There is something rather chilling still within this cleverly-written thriller that keeps us on our toes throughout.

For a recap, Amy Winter is the daughter of "the Fred and Rose West" husband and wife serial killers Jack and Lillian Grimes but, as the youngest of the Grimes' children at aged four, was adopted to a loving family - the Winters. Her adoptive father Robert Grimes was in the police force and Amy and brother Craig followed in his footsteps. For Amy, Robert was her greatest role model whom she most wanted to emulate but upon learning that her biological parents were real life serial killers, her whole world almost shattered.

Now a DI with the Met, Amy is enjoying a day off shopping with her older sister Sally-Ann...while trying to put recent events of their mother's appeal to the back of their minds. Upon admiring an expertly designed window display of wedding dresses, Amy realises that the mannequin in the window is actually a dead woman. Springing into action, she gains access to the display to ascertain the condition of the woman whilst calling paramedics and for back-up. A subsequent post mortem reveals the victim, identified as Stacy, was drugged with a rare form of heroin and left to die for all to see.

Meanwhile, Amy's boss DCI Helen Pike has retired and she is shocked to discover that DCI Donovan has stepped into the role. The same Donovan she had shared a moment, and a kiss, with previously and with their fledgling relationship still relatively unexplored Amy is now unsure where things stand between them now that he is her boss. But not only is he her superior, he has swung things to allow them to use the old conference room as their shared office. Things could get a little cosy with two relative alphas in the same room.

Amy and Donovan (I'm not sure his first name was even mentioned in this book and I can't remember if it was revealed in the previous one either) are on a trip to Southend on their day off to interview the former fiance of a murder victim from twenty years ago that bears a striking resemblance to their current case. Schoolteacher Claire Lacey was murdered in her home one night after a drunken evening with her fiance Michael who was arrested for her murder, given that they were rowing rather publicly at the time before she left in a huff and flounced off home. But when speaking with Michael he revealed that Claire had taken one of her students under her wing who appeared troubled and having some difficulty, though she never revealed his name. Was this student involved in her death? Or was Michael just covering up for his own jealousy of her spending an inordinate amount of time with the student that went beyond the remit of her duties as a teacher? He sure seemed to be hiding something when hurriedly let them out the back way after Amy and Donovan questioned him when his wife and children arrived home.

On their way back from Southend, Amy received a call from her brother who had picked up a case that appeared to be linked to theirs. A woman had been found strung up in the National Museum unconscious but alive, barely. The killer has made a mistake in leaving his victim alive...or was that an accident? Hopefully she will be able to identify her attacker. But one thing that soon emerges is that both women were "Sugar Babes", using an app to arrange dates with older men online. Is this how their killer found his victims?

When the killer has a third women in his sights, time is running out for Amy as she endeavours to drive the final nail in his coffin and arrest him before any more women fall victim to his charismatic charms and psychopathic traits. But how can she when someone else has confessed to the crimes and her superiors appear to be satisfied with the result?

Amy and her team are hunting a deadly psychopath who will stop at nothing to achieve his ultimate fantasy. Her radar pings loudly by the head of a media agency behind the window display in which the first victim was found who makes no attempt to hide his fascination with her serial killer parents. It seems, in her, he believes he has found a kindred spirit and that a dark side looms within Amy as well.

In her previous life before she was adopted as a child, Amy was Poppy Grimes, youngest daughter of serial killer parents Jack and Lillian Grimes. Unlike her older siblings - Sally-Ann, Mandy and Damian - Poppy was given the chance at a new life and a new start with the Winter family, starting with a new name. Now Amy must face her haunted past when her biological mother applied for an appeal against her original conviction, based on evidence Amy herself uncovered, and is now the subject of a new trial. Unfortunately, Amy finds that she must give evidence for the defence in her mother's favour but she also remembers the abuse and neglect in the Grimes household. Knowing full well what her mother is capable of, Amy fears that she may well be acquitted this time round...especially as her sisters appear to have changed their tune towards Lillian. But why? What hold has Lillian over them?

Will Amy be able to bring the real killer to justice before it's too late? And face the ghosts of her past whilst putting them to bed once and for all?

A gripping story, LEFT FOR DEAD is a fast paced story with a cleverly written plot. Despite learning the identity of the killer from the outset, it didn't ruin the story at all...in fact it kind of gave it an edge. It was like watching the TV shows "Dexter" or "The Fall" where we know who the killer is and follow their respective journeys learning how they pick their victims and how they taunt police. But unlike those two shows, there was nothing to like about this killer. Although everyone around him adored him and had not a bad word to say about him, we saw his darker sinister side and we don't like him. But it does add a chilling curve to the story.

I really like Amy, although I'm not generally a fan of strong female leads who tend to throw caution to the wind and end up going rogue when they have clearly been told to toe the line. But there is something vulnerable about Amy that endears her to me. The fact that she has such a cloudy background makes for a very interesting sub-plot. I'm looking forward to see how things pan out for her in that regard in the next book.

LEFT FOR DEAD can be read as a standalone but it is a series that is best started from the beginning. Having said that, I did not read the first book but came in on the second one. However, it's been two years since I had read that and I didn't remember a whole lot when beginning this book. Granted some of it came back to me as I delved further in and Amy's past was reignited once again, but as I really didn't remember much from the second one I can safely say the reader can glean enough background to keep up with the current state of play. It's only that the main theme that plays out over all three books and then-some really began in the first one which is why I recommend reading them from the beginning.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed LEFT FOR DEAD and Amy Winter is fast becoming one of my favourite detective series. I love crime fiction procedurals with a difference...and this one definitely offers that! Not many could cite having serial killers for parents on their CV, could they?

Perfect for fans of darker crime fiction like Katerina Diamond and Carla Kovach.

I would like to thank #CarolineMitchell, #Netgalley,/b> and #AmazonPub for an ARC of #LeftForDead in exchange for an honest review.