The plot: 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.

The review: I haven’t read any of the other two books in the DI Winter series. I think reading the other books would help with Winter’s backstory. (Her parents were serial killers and she was adopted by a different family.) That being said, I don’t think it’s necessary to read the other books to enjoy this one. I’m normally not the biggest fan of police procedurals, but I enjoyed the character of DI Winter. 

I look forward to reading the other books in the series.

This was an intense, creepy, suspenseful, captivating read. Another excellent piece of fiction by Caroline Mitchell. Amy Winters is on another spine tingling case, dealing with her most diabolical killer yet. So intense was this book, I finished it in one day. Amy is such an interesting character,  her past, her family, her career, her struggles she deals with daily. I can hardly wait for the next installment of this fantastic series.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book. 
#netgalley #LeftForDead

Amy Winters was admiring a Valentine’s Day display of the perfect bride, but as Amy fixates on the mannequin, she comes to the haunting realization—this is no mannequin but a real-life woman. A young woman who was left to die for the world to see on display. Then a couple of days later, another young woman is left for dead in the museum strung up like a goddess, and a third woman is missing.  As Amy starts to compile the profile of the killer, a murder that took place 20 years ago, connects to the present day by a heart scratched onto the chest of the women. When Amy finds out all the victims are on the Sugar Babes app, she dives into a world where no girl is who they say they are.
 
Amy strongly believes the owner of Black Media, Samuel Black, is hiding something.  He offers his employees representation in legal matters and is the company behind the display case of the first victim. Sam also has an infatuation with the parents of Amy Winters, who happen to be serial killers. He dodges Amy’s questions with his own about Amy’s mothers’ up coming trial that will be televised. Amy knows he is trying to get into her head about her past to pull her off the trail of the killer. 

This is the third book in the Amy Winter series, I did not read the first two books, but I had no problems reading this as a standalone. Caroline Mitchell does an exquisite job in weaving her previous career into her books. I strongly believed that I knew who the killer was, but Caroline throws a twist right when you least expect it. I now plan on reading the first two books of this series.

Thank you to Amazon Publisher U.K, Caroline Mitchell and NetGalley for letting me read this amazing ARC.

This book is the third in a series and after not reading any of the others I found myself very lost. There is so much information from past books that is not explained. I’m sure as a series this book is good, but without reading the others it’s not a stand alone at all!

I also found myself not liking Amy or cheering for her.

This book was not for me.

This was the third book in the series and I have enjoyed them all. Great storylines and brilliant characters. I look forward to reading the next one.

This is the third book in the DI Amy Winter’s series and really you do need to read the two previous books before this one. What a belting series this is, this author’s best work ever.
The story begins for Amy where the last book ended, with everyone now knowing her true background. Decisions at work are being made on the bloodline she is from rather than her ability and past record of service in the force.
There is a new spate of killings taking place and killer is more than excited that Winter’s is playing a part in the investigation. You know who the killer is, he is charming and not new to killing, he hasn’t been lucky, he is just very efficient at what he does.
While the investigation goes on, the appeal of Lothesome Lillian Grimes begins at court. My frustration bubbled and boiled along with Winter’s with the testimony on every page. 
What a busy book this is, it is literally page-turner after pager turner from the start to finish. I love how the core characters have developed and feel like I have known them years, especially Lillian. Whenever Lillian is present she just commands the attention and could sweet talk you to believe that she is just a misunderstood granny.
I love the twistiness of this story. Do you really ever know someone, or even yourself? An outstanding read.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

I love this series by Caroline Mitchell!  I wish I had discovered it earlier - her writing drew me in right from the start.  This is the third book about DI Amy Winter, a petite yet fierce DI who is coming to grips with being the daughter of notorious serial killers.  While she helped put away her parents at the age of four, her mother Lillian, through clever manipulation, ensured that she would get an appeal which is currently underway.  This makes it hard for Amy to focus on the current case of the Love Heart Killer, who first struck 20 years ago.  Now he is back (they think) and staging his victims in elaborate displays.  He hunts them on a website geared towards wealthy old men to meet woman who provide them with a classy girlfriend experience.  The killer has other plans.

We're provided with alternate points of views that give the reader an idea of who is guilty before Amy and her team track them down.  Her team is another source of stress, as she became close to her new DCI when they were just colleagues; now, have to adapt to being in a boss and employee relationship, as well.  It's difficult because Amy continues to go rogue as she follows her instincts which gets her in trouble with her superiors even though she's nearly always right.  Because of her past and the current situation with her incarcerated mother, she's determined to do whatever it takes to get justice for victims and alleviate the guilt she feels for her family's misdeeds.  

I believe it's easier to read this one if you have read the preceding books, but it's not completely necessary, as the previous stories are recapped briefly to explain the situations. It's a real page turner with a down to earth heroine who doesn't just go through the motions.  Amy is a conflicted soul who constantly struggles to balance doing her job by professional standards but also by following her morals and ethics.  You can't help but root for her, hoping that she will persevere no matter what the odds.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Caroline Mitchell for the opportunity to read and review the latest in the Amy Winter series.  Sadly, I didn't read the first two in this series; I will definitely go back and get caught up after reading and loving this book!  4.5 stars for an intriguing police procedural written by a former police detective so she knows her stuff!

Amy Winter is shopping with her sister when she notices a mannequin in a store window is actually a deceased person.  How creepy is that?  It gets creepier when they discover a heart carved into her chest, just like a body that was found decades ago and never solved.  Upon investigating, Amy discovers a connection to a Sugar Babes website that offers a girlfriend experience to men (even more creepy).  Throughout the investigation, Amy's personal life is also spooling out in the public as her biological mother/serial killer gets a new trial.

I was riveted to this story as Amy races to nail down the killer before he kills again.  If I had read the first two books in the series, Amy's family background story would have been even more intriguing but it was still a great plot line in this book.  I loved the character of Amy - how she fought against her biological history to make sure that she caught the bad guys, whatever that involved.

I have been waiting very impatiently for the next DI Amy Winter book and was so excited when I stumbled across it one day on NetGalley. However, I hadn’t realised that it had been 16 months since I read the last one, so it did take me some time to get reacquainted with the characters and to remember everything that had gone before.
I can’t say I remember everything that had happened, and unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to go back and read books one and two at the moment. I did start to remember snippets, as I progressed throughout the book and not having the full picture in my mind, didn’t stop me from enjoying this one. I would say though that this can not be read as a stand-alone book, you need to have some knowledge of the past. The author doesn’t waste time reiterating what has gone on; there are no recaps to fill you in.
The investigation in this book is very gruesome and detailed. It is undoubtedly a twisted mind of a killer. I love the fact that we know who the killer is right from the start; we are following their thoughts and life interspersed with the investigation. It really has a different feel to it than other crime books I have read recently where you are kept in the dark until the end. Here you know their motives straight away; you know what they are planning and what they are thinking. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t some shocks in store for you as the story progresses. 
Along with the investigation, we are also following Lillian Grimes’ appeal. We had started to see the start of that in the last book, but here we get the real fallout from it. I’d say along with running parallel to the investigation the author had done a fantastic job of intertwining this with the main story also. It wasn’t just sat there on the periphery, making you feel as if you were reading two different books but was superbly connected.
It was great to be back with DI Amy Winter and the team, and I hope this wasn’t the last we hear from her. I will be rereading the first three books, though, before I embark on anymore (if there are any) to really be able to appreciate the continuity.

Left For Dead is the third book in the DI Amy Winter police procedural series by former Detective Caroline Mitchell, about the daughter of serial killers who was rescued and adopted out, and now hunts them herself as the head of a specialist police team. Each novel is a separate story but it would all make more sense if you read them in order, as there’s not quite enough recap of Amy’s backstory here. I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the earlier two, but it’s still a well written and paced English thriller.

Amy is shopping with her older sister when she realises that the mannequin in a wedding dress in the Valentine’s Day window display is actually a dead woman. The killer is the well known head of a glamorous advertising company, who has been using an escort service to select his victims. Amy suspects him from the start but he’s too smart to leave any evidence and is setting someone else up as a suspect. Distracted by the very public appeal of her mother against her life sentence for murder, and her complicated relationship with her new DCI, Amy will do whatever it takes to stop the next murder...

While the premise of a dedicated police officer haunted by her parents’ guilt is interesting, Amy’s reckless arrogant stupidity really put me off her this time. While I don’t mind knowing in advance who the killer is, I don’t like spending so much time in their head - although learning his backstory made a nice change as at least we understand the reasons why Samuel is compelled to kill. The dual plots - unrelated - did keep the suspense up although the outcome of neither was a surprise - I had hoped for more of a twist. I didn’t mind the tiny bit of romance with the unbelievably tolerant Donovan, as it didn’t get in the way of the plot, nor are we subjected to any tedious sex scenes. We get to know the rest of the team a tiny bit more, but I would like the other characters to be developed more fully. 3.5 rounded up for a good if unoriginal story overall.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon UK for the ARC which allowed me to give an honest review. Left for Dead is published on July 7th.

I love police procedural books! The premise of this series is great! I did not realize it was a series when I originally started, but the author does a good job of summarizing a little and letting you know who characters are, so you can pick up one book without feeling like you are missing vital parts of the characters or overall plot.

I did really like DI Amy Winter and DCI Donovan! They are a fun duo in this book and I am interested to go back to past books and read a little more!

Where I think this one missed the mark for me was that Winter is supposed to be a "psychopath whisperer" since she is the daughter of serial killers. I really wish we would have gotten more into her mind and process because it is such a unique characteristic in the MC. I really would love to see more of an emphasis on how she works and sees things differently than other detectives around her. Other than the relationship between the Winter and Donovan, the other relationships seemed stilted and not well fleshed out. 

I do think I will give this series another shot because the premise is very good!

Caroline Mitchell is such a talented writer!  This book is the third of a series featuring DI Amy Winter.  It works very well as a stand-alone book.  However, Amy’s dark backstory as the biological child of serial killers is so fascinating, it would be worth the reader’s time to read the first two books in the series.  This is a good story, as well as a good police procedural.  I am happy that - as Ms. Mitchell noted in her Author’s Note - there is more to come!

This is one series of books that I absolutely love. A detective with a serial killer for a mother is always going to grab any crime thriller fans attention. Lillian Grimes as much as I hate her, is a brilliant character and along with Amy, keeps me rushing back for more.

In this story, we get to meet another killer who is very much a psychopath. I adore how this author creates such fantastic characters that keep the reader glued to the pages. The murders are horrific with the killer being extremely twisted. There is an almost cat and mouse feel not just with the killer and the police but with Amy and her biological mother also. It felt almost like a battle of minds.

Even though the story focuses on some of the investigative side of things, the author makes sure there is never a dull moment. We have two threads with Amy investigating her current case as well as having to deal with old ghosts that had me hanging on to every word.

Left For Dead is the perfect read for fans of serial killers. Not only do we get to see the evil that resides in these killers minds but also the affect it has on others that are to close for comfort. You can’t help feel for Amy who wants to put right what her parents have done by doing the job she does but also the inevitable lime light that comes with it which therein causes issues in itself. There were some nice little twists as well as great detective work that made this another winner in the series for me. An absolute must read!

Amy Winter is such a great character and the fact that she has such an interesting family makes it even more fun to read.

I love how she is trying to remain free from the influence of her birth mother.  It is so fun to see especially in this book as she shows a bit of her mothers style.

It is hard at times when dealing with a series as you always seem to go back to the previous books.  This series never seems to have that happen as they keep building on what has already made this series brilliant.

Amy is one of the best characters that I have seen designed and I love reading about her exploits and about her trying to get away from her biological mother.  

I think that this book is great and has so many great psychological aspects.  I love seeing the story unfold and how Amy deals with it.

DI Amy Winter has to follow all of her intuition to catch the serial killer that is killing "sugarbabes" in a gruesome way. Getting one step ahead of the killer, however, puts her directly in his path. This was a good plot. Although the killer is identified fairly early on, it doesn't distract from the suspense. Characters are well-rounded and it was a good read

spoiler alert ** This is the third in the Amy Winter series,and I've enjoyed them all equally.
This time around we had a murderer who was at times evil genius,and at other times,just over the top camp.
What keeps me coming back though,is the family history,and Amy's mother,the real evil genius,who has huge scope for the next book now she's out of prison.
The whole psychology of the children supporting her is riveting.
Enjoyable book,with a few good twists.

Another thrilling installment of the Amy Winter series.  I raced through this book and absolutely loved the ending.  I cant wait to see what happens in the next novel.  More murder and mayhem, I hope.  4 stars

The third instalment in the DCI Amy Winters series 'Left For Dead' follows the daughter of serial killers Jack and Lillian Grimes as she stumbles upon a case that has echoes of her parents. Amy and her team must work against the clock to find the killer before they find her. A gripping novel that effortlessly entwines Amy's work and personal storylines to produce a well-paced and clever plot. 
Personally, knowing who the murderer is pretty much from the get go takes away the mystery element that I enjoy with thrillers so I deducted half a star. I also deducted half a star for the sometimes unbelievable events that transpire throughout the story. 
Overall, I think most of the characters were well-rounded and the story was left not unfinished but with potential for more development for them. This was my first foray into Caroline Mitchell's works and my first venture into the world of Amy Winters (which did leave me mildly confused but there is enough backstory in this book to understand most of Amy's past). An enjoyable and easy thriller. Thanks to NetGalley and publishers Thomas & Mercer for an ARC.

Thanks to #Netgalley, #Amaz0n Publishing UK and the author #Caroline Mitchell for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is the third book in the #DI Amy Winter series, and although I have read the first book I feel that this could be read as a standalone.  The plot and sub-plots of this book kept me riveted with the links between DI Winter’s personal and professional life being so well written, and although we knew who the killer was I had no idea how DI Winter was going to prove it.  I cannot wait to read the fourth book in this series!!

Left For Dead is another tense thriller in Caroline Mitchell’s DI Amy Winter series. In the opening chapters, by accident, Amy Winter comes across the body of a young woman in a shop’s display window. The macabre discovery sparks an intense police investigation. But what strikes Amy is a significant link between this killing and the killing of a teacher decades earlier. The culprit behind the murder has remained at large ever since. It seems that this is the start of a new killing spree, and the killer is willing to do anything to make sure he goes undetected.

What made this book really intriguing is that we know who the killer is very early on in the novel and if anything, I found this made the story even more tense. We can see how keen they are to make sure that they aren’t discovered as the culprit behind the crimes. What is even more disturbing is the lengths they are willing to go to make this certain. Amy Winter has a hunch who they are, but with a suspect already in custody, she knows it is going to be very difficult to convince her colleagues that they’ve got the wrong man. This means that Amy will have to do a lot of work on her own, and it’ll mean going against the orders and advice of her superiors.

What I liked about this book is Amy’s growing relationship with her boss, although I do wonder as they work closely together whether this will have an impact on their relationship. But I am interested to see where Caroline Mitchell will take this in future books. Another part of the story which feeds into this book is Amy’s relationship with her birth mother, serial killer Lillian Grimes. This is a really tense part of the narrative as you are never sure what hand Lillian is going to play next. Her retrial is fast approaching and Amy is willing to do anything that she possibly can to stop her mother from being released. It appears that Lillian is playing games with her family and all of a sudden it seems possible that she’ll soon be walking free.

As Amy gets closer to catching the killer, Caroline Mitchell continues to raise the tension. You know that she is risking her career by doing this, but all that matters to Amy is getting justice for the victims, and making sure that this despicable killer is locked up behind bars.

After reading the final chapters in this book, it’s going to be really interesting to see where Caroline Mitchell takes things next and what this will mean for Amy. I’ve raced through the last few books in this series, and I can’t wait to see what Caroline Mitchell has in store for us next.