Review: Truth and Lies by Caroline Mitchell

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?

Review

I enjoyed the Detective Ruby Preston series by Caroline Mitchell. The series ended last year so I was pretty excited to start a new series by the same author. Truth and Lies introduces readers to DI Amy Winter. If you read crime thrillers, then you know that almost all the detectives usually have a complex back story, or a tortured past. I thought I had heard all kinds of stories but Amy’s still managed to surprise me. As mentioned in the blurb, Amy’s biological parents were serial killers. A fact that Amy didn’t know until her birth mom, currently in prison, wrote to her offering her a deal but with a few conditions.

There are two main cases running concurrently in the narrative. There is a missing girl in the present time. At the same time, there is a cold case that can only be solved if Amy works together with her psychopathic birth mother. There were other minor story lines. One that stood out for me was by another detective in Amy’s team. Through his narrative, the theme of domestic violence is portrayed. I thought this was really important because it demystifies some of the assumptions about victims and perpetrators of domestic violence.

Through multiple narrations, readers get to learn about the current kidnapping case and also the gruesome crimes committed by Amy’s family. There are a couple of chapters set in the 1980s that sent chills done my spine. A few chapters are also narrated by Lillian, Amy’s biological mother. She is twisted, cold, creepy and despicable. She is the perfect villain for this kind of story.

This is a brilliant start to the series. Truth and Lies is fast-paced, well written and captivating.  I can’t wait to read the second book already. I have no doubt that DI Amy Winter is a series that I will enjoy.