Truth and Lies by Caroline Mitchell

Brenda’s review

Lindsay and I read Truth and Lies with three of our Traveling Sisters and this one goes on my list of one of the best thrillers I have read in a while. For the most part we all had similar thoughts on this however one sister did see some things differently.

For me these fascinating and interesting characters and the dynamics between them really made the story for me.  Along with the mind games and manipulation played here I was intrigued and chilled at the same time.

First we meet strong, confident and respected Detective Inspector Amy whose’s world becomes too unhinged when she finds out she is a biological daughter of serial killers.

Then we meet Amy’s mother, dark minded, manipulative and terrifying Lillian a psychopathic killer wanting to play some dark and chilling mind games with Amy.  Amy not wanting to have anything to do with her mother and her games is forced to go along with it to get some information from Lillian.  We loved the dynamics here between them and were fascinated by them.  Caroline Mitchell does a great job here creating a chilling and terrifying killer with no empathy or remorse making Lillian one of the best psychopaths I have read about. We were drawn into Amy’s struggles with accepting and questioning who she was and is.

Truth and Lies is gripping right from the start to the finish however some of us did think maybe Caroline Mitchell did push that ending just a bit with a couple of the twists that we felt might not have been needed.  Anyway this made for an interesting discussion and always fun to see everyone’s different thoughts.

I highly recommend this one to readers who love a chilling, evil and manipulative psychopath the kind so unlikable and horrible that you can’t but find her fantasying and likeable as a character.

Lindsay’s review

Highly addictive! Gripping suspense! Unique and twisty plot! Incredible characters! I loved this book!

Detective Inspector Amy Winter is shocked when she receives a letter from the infamous and imprisoned serial killer, Lillian Grimes, explaining that she is her birth mother. Lillian is requesting to reunite with Amy in person to disclose the location of three bodies that have been missing for years.  Amy must process her entire childhood under a new light, all the while working against the clock to return the bodies home to their grieving families.

I couldn’t flip these pages fast enough! This is my first book by Caroline Mitchell and I am now a HUGE fan! I absolutely loved her writing – the characters, the dialogue, the atmosphere, the language – it all felt so real and memorable. The narrative and pace were both done to perfection. Though I found a couple aspects of the novel were unnecessary near the end, I still whole-heartedly enjoyed this book
and would highly recommend!  DI Amy Winter is a fantastic main character – I can’t wait to read more in the series.

Thank you from both of us to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Caroline Mitchell for a copy to read and review.

Have you read this one?  Want to read this one?  Drop us a comment!  We would love to hear from you!