Good Girl, Bad Girl – Michael Robotham {Book Review}

You know the love is real when you pick up a 2nd book from the same author in under a month! So Michael Robotham, you and I are officially in an entanglement 😉 If you recall, I reviewed When She Was Good a few weeks ago….and today I am reviewing the first book in the Cyrus Haven series, Good Girl, Bad Girl. I know, a little backwards…..reading the first book second, but it is what it is. I just enjoyed the 2nd book so much, that I had to read the 1st one when it landed on my bookshelf.

Synopsis for Good Girl, Bad Girl

A girl is discovered hiding in a secret room in the aftermath of a terrible crime. Half-starved and 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. Evie knows when someone is lying, and no one around her is telling the truth.

Meanwhile, Cyrus is called in to investigate the shocking murder of a high school figure-skating champion, Jodie Sheehan, who dies 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?

My Review

The Characters and Storyline

The series starts off with an introduction to Cyrus and Evie…. Evie, the girl with no past, and Cyrus…the boy who lived. They both have experienced tremendous trauma and their stories are pretty tragic. If you’ve read my first review on this series, you’ll know that I am quite fond of Evie and Cyrus. I feel like Michael really lets us get to know these characters, as much as he can….without giving us all the answers in one book, because…of course, this is a series.

The storyline to me was secondary, because I really just want more of Cyrus and Evie. I want all the answers, all the experiences and all the back story. Of course, it’s great that we get something else to focus on, being the murder of 15yr old Jodie Sheehan.

My Thoughts

I really enjoy Michael’s writing style….it’s captivating, descriptive, but without bogging the story down or dragging us along for the sake of filling up pages. The crime was an interesting one and there were so many suspects, that I really didn’t know whodunnit. I had a feeling w.r.t some of the plot twists, but definitely not all of it. I’m starting to think I’d be a really bad cop or investigator, because I’m always flabbergasted when the perpetrator is revealed. Of course I am also a thriller writer’s dream reader!

My rating

Good Girl, Bad Girl has a Goodreads rating of 4.14 out of 5 stars. I agree with that definitely and rate it at around 4.25 stars. Why not 5 stars? I think this is my fault, but I read the book really slowly, because I was now familiar with these characters. I also knew, because I’d read book number 2, which characters would survive this book. So I didn’t feel an urgency with finishing this book. That is not the fault of the book, but my own.

Last notes/critique

I  feel that perhaps the solving of the crime was a bit dragged out, but this may have been intentional. I think the author split the book between solving the crime, and also setting up these characters for us, for the future books. Lastly, I also wish Evie’s ‘gift’ was showcased a bit more.

All these last minute notes aside though, great book, great writing, great characters! I highly recommend.

Good Girl, Bad Girl retails for around R195 and is available at all leading book retailers.

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by Jonathan Ball Publishers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.