Well hello again DI Amy Winters! It's been a while since your last case and I hope your biological mother Lillian isn't still causing trouble. What's that? Oh, you have a nice day planned with your sister, how lovely. But what's that in the display window, a body?
As you can tell, I have been following this series since it began. Left For Dead is the third installment and once again DI Amy has a lot going on, professionally and personally. The biological daughter of two serial-killers, she followed the man who adopted her into the police department. Her unique life perspective allows her to see things others miss and she uses her talent to identify killers.
Unlike the first two books, we know early on the killer's identity. While he and Amy play a game of cat and mouse, Amy must find a way to stop him before he kills again. It doesn't help that this cold-blooded killer puts Amy to a test, nature versus nurture, or that Lillian may be released from prison. If that isn't a full enough plate, Amy finds herself more and more attracted to her boss Donovan, but can she survive long enough to potentially find love?
Another great read by an author who has managed to make her way on to my must-read authors list!

Left for Dead is the latest book in the DI Amy Winter series by Caroline Mitchell and it is another dark police procedural thriller that keeps the pages turning.

Winter has a complex background which impacts how she reacts to circumstances leading to her sometimes taking big risks which can prove costly when faced with a deeply disturbed killer.

The author has created an unique main character and a series that has a twist and Left for Dead Is a worthy addition. 

Recommended

This is the third in this excellent series by Caroline Mitchell, set in London.  Amy Winter, born Poppy Grimes and the daughter of serial killers, is a DI in the Met and somewhat unconventional in her methods of detection.  When a mannequin in a bridal shop turns out to be a corpse, Amy finds herself involved in a bizarre case and her instincts are called on to find the killer.  In addition we find out more about her family and particularly her mother, who is appealing for release.  A very well written and thoroughly engrossing book.

5/5🌟 #leftfordead
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A victim on display. A detective on the rails.
Shopping with her sister, DI Amy Winter is admiring a Valentine’s Day window display of a perfect bride encrusted in diamonds and resplendent in lace—until she notices blood oozing from the mannequin’s mouth.
This is no stunt. A post-mortem reveals the victim was left to die on her macabre throne for all to see. When a second victim is found, it emerges that both women were ‘Sugar Babes’ arranging dates with older men online—and Amy finds herself hunting an accomplished psychopath.
As she tracks down the killer, Amy’s instincts go into overdrive when the charismatic head of the agency behind the display makes no attempt to hide his fascination with her serial-killer parents. What exactly does he want from Amy? With her own world in freefall as her biological mother, Lillian Grimes, appeals her conviction, Amy pushes the boundaries of police procedure when a third ‘Sugar Babe’ disappears…Is she as much at risk as the killer’s victims?
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Quite different approach taken in this book; instead of finding out who’s guilty at the very end, this book tells you the answer at the very beginning. DI Amy Winter also guesses the right killer as soon as she meets him. 
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I was wondering how the writer is going to keep readers engaged in this book when all the answers were given at the very beginning and was positively surprised how much I enjoyed reading the book and didn’t want it to end!
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Not only that, there was a major twist at the end I didn’t see coming at all! It just made the entire book so much better.
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As it’s a third book of the series, I will definitely be reading prior ones in near future and cannot wait to see what the author brings into the series next.
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Thank you Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another great Caroline Mitchell book . Detective Amy Winter proves again that she is out to get the villain. She is relentless, methodical and perspective in dealing with her team , the low life Samuel Black, Lillian Grimes ( her evil birth mother , her siblings the victims and her boss Donovan. Mitchell writes short intense chapters that force her readers to keep reading to see what happens next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Left For Dead is the third book in the mystery series featuring DI Amy Winter. While shopping with her sister, Amy notices a mannequin that looks a little too lifelike and discovers the body of a young woman.  As the details of her death emerge, the case is eerily similar to an unsolved case from years past.  While Amy investigates this death, she is also dealing with her birth mother being on trial for murder.

It is often the case that you can jump into the middle of a series and catch on quickly to the events of precious entries.  I did not find that to be the case with this novel.  The way Amy's backstory was shared throughout the book felt very disjointed.  You would often be in the middle of Amy's thoughts about the current case when a rogue paragraph about her past would be inserted in a way that made little sense to me. 

While it took me awhile to get into the book, once I did, the plot really took off.  I'm not a huge fan of knowing whodunnit from the beginning but I can see why the author made that choice here.  The denouement was still quite a ride. This was a miss for me but if you are interested in this series, I would say to start from the beginning to get the full details of Amy's backstory.

2-1/2 Stars

That scene in the shop window really chilled me. Amy Winter's team really have their work cut out on this case. Amy does seem to have heightened instinct when it comes to sniffing out a suspect.
A brilliantly crafted story that I raced through, desperate for the conclusion. 
Seriously creepy in parts!
Thanks to the author for the early copy in which I give my honest opinion.

Another great read from Caroline Mitchell . I’ve been a big fan since I first picked up one of her books and they just seem to get better and better.
This is another D.I Amy Winter book and the story rolls along at a great pace with a new crime to solve combined with the continuing back story of what made Amy into the person she’s become.
Once again a great read that I’ll be highly recommending to all.

I love these books! anything by Caroline Mitchell is fantastic! Another well written installment of Amy!!! Very disturbing storyline at the beginning but great writing, suspense, shocks!

I started this book yesterday afternoon and finished it the early hours as couldn't put it down. I love Amy's character, yet again there's a serial killer and this one thinks Amy may be more like her mum than she thinks and tries to tease her to that effect. 
Her relationship with her sister, Donovan and her mum all make this a gripping page turner. I can't get enough of this series more please!!!

I have only recently discovered Caroline Mitchell and I’m so glad I did. This is the third in the Amy Winter series and although can be read as a stand-alone its better to read them in order to get the background of the characters. I couldn’t put the book down and I so wish we didn’t have to wait ages for the next instalment!!

Third in the DI Amy Winter series, begins with Amy and her sister admiring a window display of a beautiful mannequin dressed in a lace wedding gown, encrusted with diamonds. The beauty and artistry of the display takes their breath away, until Amy notices a tinge of blue around the lips of the mannequin, and the grey pallor of the skin, and when blood begins to trickle from the mouth, she realises with horror that the mannequin is actually a dead body!

A post-mortem shows that the victim was alive when she was placed in the window, but was ‘Left for Dead’. 
As more victims turn up, investigations reveal that they all have a connection to an online website named ‘Sugar Babes’, where older men arrange meetings with young women. 

The perpetrator of these murders becomes known as The Love Heart killer, after all the victims are found to have had a heart carved into their chest. Amy and her team are clearly dealing with a psychopath here, and even though Amy has a suspect in her sights, the hunt will not only prove to be very difficult, but also dangerous for Amy herself, and tough and brave as she is, she may just have met her match this time.

It goes without saying, for those of us who are familiar with Caroline Mitchell’s DI Amy Winter series, that the dark and scary storylines are excellent and well executed, coming as they do with sub plots that always enhance one’s enjoyment, and in this particular storyline, some chapters are given over to the killer himself, so we know exactly what dark thoughts he’s entertaining, and who his next victim will be. Then there are the twists and turns, and interesting characters, not least Amy, who though very complex and not without her own issues, manages to get the reader onside.

It has to be said that this is another winner for Caroline Mitchell, and I look forward with great anticipation to the next in the series.

YES YES YES….. the third instalment in the DI Amy Winter series and certainly didn’t disappoint, the opposite in fact, I just love this series, quite different to the standard detective thrillers, Amy was born to serial killers the Beasts of Brentwood, Lillian & Jack Grimes and although she has been brought up as a Winter from the age of 4, she still feels she needs to atone for her birth parents atrocities, not an easy task!

During a shopping trip with her sister in Oxford Street, they stop outside a bridal shop, the display is fantastic, however, on closer inspection, Amy’s instinct takes over, the mannequin is not a mannequin, they don’t bleed or have a blue hue and Amy jumps into action. The body is that of a young woman and at the autopsy, she is discovered to have a small heart shape carved into her chest which mirrors a murder from years ago when a young teacher was found with the same shape, the killer at the time dubbed “the Love Heart Killer”.  Amy has yet another brutal case on her hands and you can be damn sure she will have more than one body on her hands…….

With DCI Pike retiring, Donovan has been appointed to take over her job much to Amy’s displeasure (at first as they have history!), can she cope with Donovan being her boss?

As and aside, Lillian Grimes is currently in the middle of her appeal and this is being televised, Amy has a lot going on in her personal life, her biological sisters are backing Lillian for some reason, Lillian has been able to get them onside, what has she promised them and at what cost? Battling her demons from her past, Amy is starting to remember things from her time in the Grimes household, she cannot bear for Lillian to be set free  but at the same time, she inadvertently assisted in her case for appeal by finding planted evidence from when Lillian was found guilty initially.

I loved that we got the POV from the killer himself, Sam Black of Black Media, on the face of it, he is a brilliant boss, perfect place to work, has won loads of awards, perfect family but he has a dark side that needs feeding more and more lately. Although Amy believes Sam Black is the murdered, all evidence points elsewhere, but we know Amy is not one to let this go and she works on her instinct and her insight!!

So much going on in this book between the murders, the appeal and Amy’s testimony and her battle with her feelings for Donovan…. Another fantastic instalment, I literally did not put this book down and read it in one sitting…. Break for a cuppa was it! I devoured it, it draws you in straight away and you get submersed in it, a fantastically written police procedural thriller, another winner, I just love this series, thank you Caroline Mitchell.

Wow! This book was a page turner. From the first few chapters, you knew who the killer was so we were going back and forth between Samuel and Amy as each of their own stories were revealed. The twist at the end was well worth it! I definitely recommend giving this a read!

Really enjoyed this book bit as with most series these days the back story is becoming boring and dragging between books.

Loved this book! Third in the Amy Winter series, this one even topped the first two books.

Although a series, this can definitely can be read as a standalone!!! (Why not just read them all!)

Plucky Amy Winter, DI, is passed over for the DCI position on her police force. She is not happy. This, especially as Donovan, a once "friend" (close?) takes the DCI position. On the weekend prior to Donovan's start Amy observes something weird in a dress shop. Actually, the mannequin in the wedding dress - to be exact. This takes Amy on quite the mission...

Excellent series!

Many Thanks to Amazon Publishing UK, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for a super read!

Another un put down  book. Love the amy winter characters. Twists and turns throughout. It is quite dark and eerie. Whens the next one caroline?

Absolutely addicted to the Amy Winter series. How she gets in the mind of someone so evil and creates realistic characters and interesting plots.

Having loved the first two books in this series, I was excited to read this one and I wasn't disappointed!

Amy Winter is a fantastic character.  She is a police inspector who is the daughter of serial killers, and has really good intuition and a tendency to go 'rogue' in order to catch criminals.  I was hooked right from the first page and the plot moves very quickly with some real nail-biting moments towards the end.

There is enough background info to make this readable as a standalone, but I really suggest you read the first two books to properly understand Amy.

Book 3 in the DI Amy Winter series and it’s the best one so far.  It took me a while to get into this series after the fantastic Ruby Preston books, but now Amy Winter is a firm favourite.  You really have to read the first 2 to understand Amy’s backstory or else the whole new trial of Lillian Grimes won’t make much sense.  I love this book, it had me on the edge of my seat throughout.  The main story is very dark and fairly graphic but wonderfully written.  Relationships are tested and we get a great insight into how much people will do for someone they love.  This is a fantastic thriller and I highly recommend it