REVIEW: The Survivors by Caroline Mitchell

The Survivors by Caroline Mitchell

Genre: Psychological thriller

Read: 27th April 2025

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 1st December 2024

★★★ 3 stars

DESCRIPTION:

My grip on the steering wheel tightens, my knuckles turning white as I navigate each dangerous curve of the dark Irish road. The cliff edge looms ahead and my baby’s cries suddenly pierces the silence, sharp and relentless. I reach back to her, taking my eye off the road for just a moment. There is a terrifying crash of tearing metal before everything goes black.

I’m so looking forward to meeting Aunt Maura, my mother’s twin sister who lives on the rugged west coast of Ireland. With my own mother dying so suddenly, and my sweet baby daughter arriving, I need family around me. But instead of arriving at Maura’s house safe and sound, I wake up in hospital, badly injured. Then I remember the crash. Where is my baby?

Maura hands my little girl to me, and I hold her tight. I look closely at my baby’s precious face and something has changed, but Maura reassures me I just need time to recover. I’m so grateful to Maura for looking after us, but am I losing my mind? Have I made a terrible mistake coming here?

And every day, I’m remembering a little more about the night of the accident. I remember Maura’s face, even though my aunt swears she wasn’t there. Why is Maura lying to me, what’s wrong with my baby?

What really happened that night?

MY THOUGHTS:

Only one person saw...only she knows the truth...

This is a dark, chilling and atmospheric tale set on the coast of Ireland and despite it's ambiguous context, the story is pretty predictable. I'm not entirely sure what I expected when I began the journey on the windy mist-filled road on Misery Hill and despite the unlikeable characters, I found I had to keep turning the pages until the end.

It's hard to feel any sympathy for Maura, who is her own worst enemy. She has grown up in the cottage on Misery Hill which was home to both her and her twin sister Daisy, their parents and their formidable grandmother, Maura's namesake. But with only Maura left in the dank dark cottage on the lonely hill above Doolin, rumours soon began to circulate about the strange young woman who turned into a bitter old one.

Decades have passed since a family shared that cottage so when Maura receives a letter from her niece Finn in England, informing her of her mother Daisy's death and that she would like to visit with her newborn daughter Saoirse to delve into her roots. Maura is looking forward to the visit and the house once again being filled with laughter. She has lived a lonely existence since Daisy left for England and never returned.

Finn is eager to uncover the secrets surrounding her mother's roots and why she never returned to Ireland or brought her here to visit. But as she approaches the cottage with the windy roads are treacherous on a dark and misty night, she is involved in a collision with a car coming from the opposite direction. The other driver is Kathryn Toibin, daughter of Dublin kingpin Danny Toibin, with her baby daughter Keira. The accident results in the death of the one of the babies.

Finn awakes from her unconscious state four weeks after the accident with the vision of her mother by her side until she realises it's her mother's twin Maura. She asks after her baby Saoirse and is assured she is fine and in the care of family friend Geraldine. Kathryn also awakes from her nightmare to her furious parents, her father informing her that her baby didn't survive having been flung from the vehicle. Both women must now come to terms with the accident and the injuries they sustained as a result.

Maura has settled Saoirse in the little cottage when she brings Finn home to recover. A lonely woman, she is eager to keep her there and fusses over her daily, caring to her every need. But then little cracks begin to appear in their cosy little life on Misery Hill and Finn finds herself questioning the wisdom of her situation. Meanwhile, Kathryn has questions of her own and thus takes on a mission to uncover the truth - no matter the cost.

There are so many layers to this story - both past and present - with some shocking secrets to uncover. There is plenty of atmosphere in this tale with the chilly eerieness shrouded in the mists that descend over the hill upon which the cottage rests. It has a claustrophobic feel that is filled with secrets, lies and deception throughout, keeping you rooted in the locked room. I felt no sympathy for Maura throughout. She showed little remorse for anything she did and she was most definitely difficult to like. I sympathised with Finn but I felt like this was more Maura's story so couldn't get a huge read on her. Kathryn was her father's daughter so she had little sympathy also.

This was a strange read. I'm not even sure I liked it much. I guessed most of the twists that were revealed along the way, with the exception of one. But that never ruins the enjoyment of a good read. I just still don't know how I feel about this book though it oozes eerieness and atmosphere which is perfect for a thriller.

I would like to thank #CarolineMitchell, #Netgalley and #AmazonPublishing for an ARC of #TheSurvivors in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

An international #1 and New York Times, USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author, Caroline originates from Ireland and now lives with her family on the coast of Essex. A former police detective, Caroline has worked in CID and specialised in roles dealing with vulnerable victims, high-risk victims of domestic abuse, and serious sexual offences. She now writes full time, with over a million books sold.

As well as her crime series, Caroline also writes stand-alone psychological thrillers. The most recent, Silent Victim reached the Amazon number 1 spot in the UK, US and Australia and won first place as best psychological thriller in the US Reader’s Favourite Awards. Her previous thriller, Witness, was shortlisted for the International Thriller Awards in New York. She has also been shortlisted for ‘Best Procedural’ in the Killer Nashville awards. Her crime thriller, Truth And Lies recently became a No.1 New York Times best seller and has been optioned for TV. Her works have been translated worldwide and her book, The Silent Twin, has been converted as an interactive app in the Chapters Interactive game.

Set in Shoreditch, London, her DS Ruby Preston trilogy is described as terrifying, addictive serial killer thrillers. Of her psychological thrillers, the most recent, Silent Victim, has been described as 'brilliantly gripping and deliciously creepy'. Her thrilling new DI Amy Winter series is published by Thomas & Mercer.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

REVIEW: Left for Dead by Caroline Mitchell

Left for Dead (DI Amy Winter #3) by Caroline Mitchell

Genre: Crime fiction, Suspense, Crime Thriller

Read: 28th April 2021

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 8th July 2020

★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)

DESCRIPTION:

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?

MY REVIEW:

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 and #AmazonPub for an ARC of #LeftForDead in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

An international #1 and New York Times, USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author, Caroline originates from Ireland and now lives with her family on the coast of Essex. A former police detective, Caroline has worked in CID and specialised in roles dealing with vulnerable victims, high-risk victims of domestic abuse, and serious sexual offences. She now writes full time, with over a million books sold.

As well as her crime series, Caroline also writes stand-alone psychological thrillers. The most recent, Silent Victim reached the Amazon number 1 spot in the UK, US and Australia and won first place as best psychological thriller in the US Reader’s Favourite Awards. Her previous thriller, Witness, was shortlisted for the International Thriller Awards in New York. She has also been shortlisted for ‘Best Procedural’ in the Killer Nashville awards. Her crime thriller, Truth And Lies recently became a No.1 New York Times best seller and has been optioned for TV. Her works have been translated worldwide and her book, The Silent Twin, has been converted as an interactive app in the Chapters Interactive game.

Set in Shoreditch, London, her DS Ruby Preston trilogy is described as terrifying, addictive serial killer thrillers. Of her psychological thrillers, the most recent, Silent Victim, has been described as 'brilliantly gripping and deliciously creepy'. Her thrilling new DI Amy Winter series is published by Thomas & Mercer.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

REVIEW: The Perfect Mother by Caroline Mitchell (ARC)

The Perfect Mother by Caroline Mitchell

Genre: Psychological thriller

Read: 12th March 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 14th January 2020)

★★★ 3 stars

I wasn't sure what to expect from THE PERFECT MOTHER but it wasn't the range of emotions I felt when reading it. I wanted to like the book but all I could feel was a hopelessness and depression for Roz that bordered on extreme discomfort...not to mention the blinding rage for Sheridan. It is the first time I can recall ever wanting to toss the book because of the disturbance I felt reading it. And the fear of entering that claustrophobic setting again. Sheridan made my skin crawl and I just couldn't be in the same room or on the same page as her.

The story begins in Ireland with Roz Foley who is 24, broke and pregnant after a one night stand that should never have happened. Although she confides in her best friend Dympna about her pregnancy, she cannot reveal who the father is as it would surely destroy their friendship, of that she is certain. And yet, she knows that she is in no position to be able to provide for a child either.

Roz wants what's best for her baby and knowing she is unable to provide that, sets about finding the perfect parents for her child. So she opens a profile on an internet adoption site called Miracle Moms and begins her search for an adoptive couple. The website offers discreet and all expenses paid adoptions. I don't know about Roz, but that name alone was just too cheesy for my liking...and really, could anything be so bad that she could see no way than to basically sell her baby (and her soul) online to complete strangers? But...needs must.

Sheridan and Daniel are a celebrity power couple living in New York. Sheridan has grown up in the limelight and on screen since the age of 6 whilst Daniel is a British ex-pat Hollywood heart throb chasing that perfect starring role of his dreams. Sheridan must now live in the shadow of Daniel's success and she doesn't always like it. But one thing she does love is Daniel and she will do anything to keep him. The past few years have not been kind to the couple with inflammatory articles a constant thorn in Sheridan's side and after all the bad press surrounding them, she is determined to increase their popularity again. And what better way than with another child? But this time she wants a girl.....and what Sheridan wants, Sheridan gets.

So she signs them up under a pseudonym on Miracle Moms and finds Roz. As soon as Sheridan sees her, she knows she is perfect!

Roz can't believe a "Diamond Couple" are interested in her baby. This status means they are rich where money is no object, and of course, having come from nothing herself, Roz equates money to being the best for her child. She couldn't be more wrong!

Things progress quickly and Roz is flown first class to New York to meet the couple and not even the fact her ticket was one-way threw up a red flag! But no amount of pleading from Dympna could sway her to reconsider, who was understandably wary and concerned for her friend. Upon arrival in New York, she is delivered to her swanky hotel and hardly has time to get comfortable before she is whisked away to meet the prospective parents. But she will only learn of their real identities once she has signed the non-disclosure agreement swearing her to secrecy. It's all very cloak and dagger but Roz barely bats an eye...and I have to wonder, is it jet lag or is she really that naive?

The moment Roz enters the couple's apartment her fate is sealed and she is more than happy to comply. After all, Sheridan is the epitome of warmth and friendliness - what more could she possibly hope for? And yet still she thinks nothing of the fact that Sheridan has already organised for her belongings to be collected from the hotel and deposited in the basement flat that is to be her home until the baby is born. But what she doesn't expect is that this is where she will remain for the foreseeable future ...alone...with no internet, no mobile phone, no contact with the outside world unless Sheridan says so. She will not share the main house with the couple and her presence is to remain a secret. Because Sheridan is going to pass the baby off as her own...complete with the whole pregnant look of a false "bump" to fool the public.

As soon as Roz learns this, she begins to wonder where she will factor in this once it is all over? Has she just made the worst decision of her life? Are they safe? Or has she just put herself and her baby in danger?

To say I hated Sheridan is an understatement. She made my skin crawl and just spending any time with her left me unsettled. She is heartless, manipulative, calculating and incredibly cold. Her prime concern is for her and Daniel to maintain their status as a celebrity power couple, and she will stop at nothing to see it stays that way. Daniel remained in the background for the most part, taking on the role as the caring kind protector...completely oblivious to his wife's sadistic proclivities. It was hard to resist his charms and his kindness in the wake of one of Sheridan's outbursts. Roz felt sure she could get Daniel onside...and help her escape.

As naive as she is, I feel compassion for Roz. She is a vulnerable young woman in a strange city in a different country under the care of complete strangers...when all she wants to do is to do the right thing for her baby. Locked in a basement with no way out and no way of summoning help, it is easy to feel that same hopelessness that Roz feels. How can she get word to anyone when the only people she has any contact with are Sheridan, Daniel or their staff who either don't speak English or are bound by obligation to their employers that their jobs are not worth risking? If only she had her phone to send that single code word that would alert Dympna that she is in trouble and needs immediate assistance...but George took hers the day she moved in and Sheridan found the secret phone hidden in her luggage. Roz was completely and utterly alone.

The ending was a bit of a surprise. Dympna and her father actively investigated Roz's disappearance in Ireland before chasing their lead to New York and yet they played no part in her discovery. I felt that was a little wasted subplot that could been used better. Still, the revelation as to the father of Roz's baby was a surprise I had guessed very early on. The little clues I picked up along the way made that an easy puzzle to piece together.

A taut and tense psychological thriller, THE PERFECT MOTHER is not an easy read, in my opinion. I found it difficult to get through with the sheer narcissism and psychopathy Sheridan continually displayed. To be in the same room with her, on the same page, was unsettling...and I felt a level of disturbance after being in her presence. I can't really say it was an enjoyable read...because for me, it really wasn't.

An interesting premise, I have read better than THE PERFECT MOTHER with the same or similar concepts (one by Lisa Jewell and another by Alex Lake) but it is still a nail-biting read despite my reservations.

This is my second read by Caroline Mitchell, having enjoyed "The Secret Child" previously. I don't write an author off based on one book as I could love one and not another. So I look forward to discovering more by her in the future.

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

REVIEW: The Secret Child by Caroline Mitchell (ARC)

The Secret Child (DI Amy Winter #2) by Caroline Mitchell

Genre: Thriller, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural

Read: 17th April 2019

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(release date: 18th April 2019)

★★★★ 4 stars

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.