From the internationally bestselling author who Stephen King calls “an absolute master,” a “gripping and eerie” (Karin Slaughter) thriller about a dangerous young woman with the ability to know when someone is lying–and the criminal psychologist who must outwit her to survive. A girl is discovered hiding in a secret room in the aftermath of a terrible crime. Half-starved and filthy, she won’t … filthy, she won’t tell anyone her name, or her age, or where she came from. Maybe she is twelve, maybe fifteen. She doesn’t appear in any missing persons file, and her DNA can’t be matched to an identity. Six years later, still unidentified, she is living in a secure children’s home with a new name, Evie Cormac. When she initiates a court case demanding the right to be released as an adult, forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven must determine if Evie is ready to go free. But she is unlike anyone he’s ever met–fascinating and dangerous in equal measure.
Meanwhile, Cyrus is called in to investigate the shocking murder of a high school figure-skating champion, Jodie Sheehan, who died on a lonely footpath close to her home. Pretty and popular, Jodie is portrayed by everyone as the ultimate girl-next-door, but as Cyrus peels back the layers, a secret life emerges–one that Evie Cormac, the girl with no past, knows something about. A man haunted by his own tragic history, Cyrus is caught between the two cases–one girl who needs saving and another who needs justice. What price will he pay for the truth?
Emotionally explosive and swiftly paced, this is an “impeccable thriller with a plot that encompasses murder, incest, drugs, abuse, torture, sex–you name it, this book has it” (New York Journal of Books).
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The audio portion of the book was terrible because voice it didn’t match up with people. The story was good though
While browsing the books in my local library, I stumbled across Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham. I was instantly intrigued by the synopsis. A teenager with a mysterious past, yes please! A murder mystery, heck yes! Good Girl, Bad Girl did not disappoint.
I felt like the synopsis was wrong a little. The story doesn’t focus on Evie as much as the synopsis makes it seem. Good Girl, Bad Girl does start out focused on Evie though. No one knows Evie’s past or even how old Evie really is. All anyone knows is that Evie knows when another person is lying. From there, the book seemed like it was going to be a paranormal read, but it wasn’t. Not very long after we are introduced to Evie, we learn about Jodie Sheehan, a 15 year old girl who was a very talented figure skater and the girl next door type. When Jodie is found murdered, psychologist Cyrus Haven starts to piece together Jodie’s life before her murder and realizes that she wasn’t as squeaky clean as everyone thought she was which puts Cyrus and others in danger. Jodie Sheehan’s life and murder is what Good Girl, Bad Girl mainly focuses on throughout the novel.
I did enjoy the plot, and I found it to be very intriguing. There were quite a few plot twists peppered throughout Good Girl, Bad Girl that I never predicted. I would think I had the story figured out, but then there would be another fantastic twist that always had me second guessing myself. All my questions were answered about Jodie’s disappearance and murder, but I still was left wondering about Evie and her past. Michael Robotham leaves Evie a mystery on purpose, but I would have liked some closure on knowing Evie’s past. It’s obvious she remembers somewhat. (Goodreads has Good Girl, Bad Girl as a series, but I can’t find anything on the actual cover of the book or on any book retailer that has this book as part of a series. I really hope it will be a series though so I can learn more about Evie.) One good thing about this book is that there are no cliff hanger endings. Also, the pacing is done fantastically throughout Good Girl, Bad Girl. This was one book that I really couldn’t put down. I’d say it could even be read in one sitting. It is just so good, and it flows so well!
I felt like all the characters, even the supporting ones, were very well written and very fleshed out in Good Girl, Bad Girl. I liked the character of Evie. I liked the fact she was this mysterious force to be reckoned with. She was pretty hardcore, yet she still had that childlike vulnerability about her. I really enjoyed the character of Cyrus. He was such a fantastic main character. He had been dealt a bad hand, but he was able to rise above it. I thought it was fantastic to read about how much he cared for Evie as well as his perseverance to learn the truth about Jodie even when the police were ready to close the case.
Trigger warnings for Good Girl, Bad Girl include violence, drugs, drinking (both adult and underage), sexual references, profanity, death, abduction, attempted murder, and attempted rape.
Overall, Good Girl, Bad Girl is such a fun and thrilling read! I can’t fault this book at all. It’s got such a great plot as well as fantastic characters with interesting backstories. The plot twists will definitely keep you guessing throughout. I would wholeheartedly recommend Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham to those aged 17+ who love thrilling and suspenseful novels. You will not be disappointed.
4 stars
This was my second book by Michael Robotham and I enjoyed it immensely more than the first. This book is a police procedural, but not in the predictable way. It is more of a character study.
There are 2 story lines running in parallel; the murder of Jodie Sheehan and who is Evie? I have to say, I really enjoyed the Evie story much more than I cared about who killed Jodie. I found her fascinating and I was riveted by her relationship with Cyrus.
There are quite a few surprises, some twists predictable, some not. But the whole story came together very nicely in what I would consider a slow burn. With the added character development and the domestic drama, this book held my interest long after I would put it down.
I highly recommend this book for fans of crime fiction and suspense.
Thank you to Scribner for my copy of this book via NetGalley
Wow…where to begin! This thriller has one eye-popping and complicated storyline! But considering there are so many different threads unfolding, the author does a great job. I was never confused.
Now for the negative. I was left with numerous questions! I’m not a fan of series, but I’ll have to send hate mail to the amazing Mr. Robotham if he does not write another book about Evie and Cyrus and fill in the missing details!!
Evie is sassy, funny, smart, resilient, resourceful and uniquely lovable! She is wildly impressive and very scary, at the same time. Her true age is unknown. What little is known about her background is horrendous and she either doesn’t remember the rest, or refuses to talk about it. She’s suspected to be a truth wizard aka human lie detector, which I found fascinating.
Cyrus is a forensic psychologist with his own tragic past. He’s called in to evaluate Evie, after she requests release from the secure children’s home where she resides. They form a very unique and interesting relationship. He understands her like no one else, so his treatment of her is different, which throws Evie off her game a bit. The banter between the two is hilarious.
I spent nine long days reading this well-written and original book. Not because the book was slow! We had out-of-town visitors and all I could think about was sneaking off to read.
This is my first novel by this author, so I can’t compare it to his previous work. But this book was suspenseful and dark. The flawed characters are wonderful and fascinating! Another great author added to by TBR list. Anyone who hasn’t read this author is missing out.
My Rating: 4.5 ’s
This would be 5 stars if it weren’t for the unanswered questions.
Published: July 23rd 2019 by Scribner
Pages: 352
Recommend: Yes
Thank you to NetGalley, Edelweiss, Scribner and Michael Robotham for this ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion!
My second book by this author and though well written for me I did find it a tad slow in places.
I enjoyed this to a point but I just felt it dragged somewhat.
I was initially expecting this to be more of a psychological thriller but this is actually a police procedural with an ongoing backstory.
This was told in dual POV and switched between psychologist Cyrus Haven and Evie Cormac a girl with a mysterious past.
The story focuses on Cyrus’s work with the local police as an advisor and top of the agenda is the investigation into local murdered schoolgirl and champion figure skater Jodie Sheehan.
Meanwhile in the background is Cyrus’s professional relationship with Evie and his desire to help her.
This does leave the door open for future works as we are left with lingering questions mostly in regard to Evie and her mysterious origins.
I did take a while to get into this and I felt that the blurb here did slightly oversell this.
Though mostly a solid read I was left somewhat underwhelmed.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of Good Girl, Bad Girl.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
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4 ½ stars for this stellar thriller. This is by far one of the best psychological thrillers that I have read all year. It has a complicated, twisty plot that will keep you guessing up until the very last pages. There are a multitude of characters that all have secrets. The characters are well developed and unique, yet, for the most part, still believable. There are many mysteries to solve and characters to unveil. I’ve never read this author before but this book was highly recommended by my Goodreads friends.
Cyrus Haven is a forensic pathologist, who had an incredibly troubled past as a child. He has found his niche in helping with extremely damaged, disturbed individuals. He drives a run down car and lives in a large, once beautiful, home which he has inherited. He has neither the time nor the money to do the repairs necessary to bring it back to its glory days but he seems happy here.
In this novel he is working on two cases concurrently. One involves the murder of a high school student, Jodie, who is a well known, world class skating champion. She is her family’s golden girl whom they feel will surely compete at the Olympic level. She was popular, pretty and well liked by her classmates. The other case involves his evaluation of an extremely troubled young woman, called Evie, although her real name, age and family are unknown. She was held prisoner for many years, sexually abused, malnourished and finally found hidden in a secret room in a home that had been cleared previously by the police. She had spent her last weeks, maybe months, watching her captor tortured, dying and then decomposing before her eyes. The police eventually found Evie but never solved the case of who she is. Evie has been in and out of foster homes and is now residing in a care home that is highly supervised and secure. She claims to be 18 years old and is asking the court for permission to be released from the care of the state and allowed to live on her own. Evie’s lawyer is a friend of Cyrus and has asked his help in evaluating her.
The novel is told from two points of view, Cyrus and Evie, sometimes called Angel Face. The book flows very well and there is no problem following both narratives, each one being equally enthralling. There is some great descriptive writing whether describing Cyrus’s tattoos or the intensity of a burning house.
I’m not going to give away any more of this thrilling plot, you will just have to read it to experience it. Who is the good girl, who is the bad girl ????
I should note that the book is deeply disturbing in some parts and also very graphic. It covers kidnapping, murder, incest and deeply twisted psyches. I had to wait a day to let this settle before writing the review. It will lure you in from the beginning and not let you turn away. I will tell you that I came away absolutely loving the characters of Cyrus and Evie, cheering for them both and hoping that their paths will continue to align into perhaps a series of books.
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss
There is not enough to say about this book. The insights that Robotham provides go well beyond that of storytelling. They are deep, moving, and provide the reader with a thoughtfulness that lasts well beyond the last page of the book. The plot line, the characters, the set up, and the execution are perfect. Every one of his characters holds this beautiful, gritty personification that makes the story feel tangible. An absolute must read. 5 stars.
Thank you to #NetGalley for this ARC