Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite

Throughout the DI Amy Winter thriller series by Caroline Mitchell, Amy has had to build her life around the knowledge of her family history, and a career of relentless criminal investigations. In book one, Truth and Lies, Amy must confront her psychopathic serial killer mother, Lillian Grimes, who offers victim locations in exchange for Amy's involvement. The Secret Child follows the kidnapping of a four-year-old whose mother is being forced into a modified Russian Roulette to save her. In book three, Amy investigates a Valentine's Day murder involving online daters. Left for Dead sees Amy tackling coastal suicides, uncovering community secrets, and continuing to face her past. In this book, In Cold Blood, a pregnant Amy confronts a serial killer duo abducting and harming victims, relying on her partner Donovan to intervene and, eventually, relying on her own mother for survival after being kidnapped.

In what is the most suspenseful book in the series yet, Caroline Mitchell goes all out on a reader and their anxiety levels with the fifth novel, In Cold Blood. The premise of an entrenched Detective Inspector with a serial killer mother is fascinating, but what elevates Amy's plight is that she is often forced to revisit that past in order to save others in her here and now. From my perspective, I genuinely feel like Amy has major issues with Imposter Syndrome. Her insecurities go so far as to keeping a pregnancy hidden out of fear she will be thought less of, and pushes the envelope further still while trying to solve cases...ultimately turning her own life into one. It's like what they say about journalists, once you become the story, it's over. Mitchell's writing is as immersive and brilliant as ever so I sincerely hope there is more of Amy Winter to come. In the meantime, I'm backtracking to read books one through four. Very highly recommended.