Good Girl, Bad Girl

Author: Michael Robotham
Genre: Crime Fiction
353 pages
Publisher: Scribner

Synopsis
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
Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham is the first book in the Cyrus Haven series, and it immediately pulled me in. Robotham has a real talent for creating memorable characters, and that’s exactly what makes this book shine.

Cyrus Haven is a forensic psychologist who consults with the police. He’s also asked to evaluate Evie Cormac, a young woman living in a secure care home, to determine whether she’s ready to rejoin society. During their sessions, Cyrus realizes Evie has an extraordinary ability to tell when people are lying. He sees it as a gift, she sees it as a curse. Their relationship quickly became my favorite part of the story, and I couldn’t wait to see where Robotham would take them.

I’ve been slowly making my way through Robotham’s Joe O’Loughlin series, and one thing I’ve come to appreciate is how effortlessly his stories flow. His pacing always feels just right, the characters are richly developed, and the plots unfold naturally while keeping me completely invested. Once I start one of his books, I have a hard time putting it down.

There’s also a murder to solve. Jodie Sheehan, a talented young figure skater with Olympic dreams, is found murdered near her home. To everyone around her, she seemed to have the perfect life. But when an offhand comment from one of her classmates catches Cyrus’s attention, he begins uncovering a much darker side to Jodie’s world. What starts as a straightforward investigation quickly becomes far more complicated, with plenty of twists and a growing list of suspects.

As always, Robotham fills the story with believable, flawed, and deeply human characters. I found myself caring about them just as much as I cared about solving the mystery. The suspense builds steadily, and the psychological elements kept me guessing right up to the end.

Good Girl, Bad Girl succeeds on every level. It’s an intelligent, gripping psychological thriller with a fresh premise, a compelling mystery, and two unforgettable lead characters. Cyrus and Evie are the kind of characters that stay with you long after you’ve finished the book, and I’m excited to read the rest of the series.

My recommendation: definitely worth the read!