Cover Image: Good Girl, Bad Girl

Good Girl, Bad Girl

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

4/5 Very Good.

A Complex psychological thriller that really nails the brief, and the start of a new series. Michael Robotham continues to show why he’s so highly rated in that this high class thriller.

It’s compelling, it makes you want to read on and the characters have been built very well alongside Robothams exciting plots and writing style

Highly Recommended

Was this review helpful?

This is a gripping story and you wont want to put this down. I read it in one sitting and loved every page.

Was this review helpful?

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. This is the first book I have read by this author but I will definitely be reading more of his titles, it was well written with great characters and plenty of twists, I will be recommending this book to all my friends.

Was this review helpful?

Not sure why it took me so long to start this fabulous book.

It's such a clever and suspenseful novel. The writing is flawless and brilliantly paced, I loved the compelling, complex characters of Cyrus and Evie with their traumatic pasts and am delighted that there is a follow up which I will be reading very soon!

Was this review helpful?

A great novel. Really loved getting to know Cyrus and Evie and watching the relationship between them develop. Can’t wait to read more about them.

Was this review helpful?

Complex and very much a slow burner but it kept me gripped. Enjoyed the dynamics between the main characters as they tried to solve the case and work each other out.

Was this review helpful?

Good Girl, Bad Girl is a complex and compelling character-driven mystery about a girl with a mysterious past and the forensic psychologist who takes her under his wing. There are many mysteries to solve and characters to unveil. The writing is compelling and the crimes are gritty.

Was this review helpful?

I was curious from the start with this book and wanted to know more about Evie and why she reacts she does. A psychological thriller that is a slow burner in my opinion.

Was this review helpful?

This is my first book by Michael Robotham and also the first book in a brand new series. Good Girl, Bad Girl is a gripping and addictive fast paced thriller which I devoured over a couple of days.

Cyrus Haven is a forensic psychologist. A dedicated and professional man who’s determined to find the truth and help solve cases as and when the police require his assistance. He lives alone in a large but run down house, doesn’t own a mobile phone and happens to be the sole survivor of a horrific family massacre.

Evie Cormac is a young girl living in a secure children’s home. She’s angry, aggressive, withdrawn and determined to leave the home. She also happens to be “Angel Face”. The little girl found in a hidden room 6 years ago where a brutal murder took place but she refuses to talk about any of the events or where she came from.

When a 15 year old professional ice skater is brutally raped and murdered Cyrus is called to assist and begins to dig deeper into the victim’s life and her family. Before long both Cyrus and Evie find their lives intertwined as they try to solve the young girls murder together.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, particularly getting to know the main characters Cyrus and Evie and learning more about their backstories. The second book When She Was Good is being published in July and I will definite be reading it soon.

Was this review helpful?

Loved it! Loved it! Loved it!

A great read and unusual in its content. Some humour, engaging characters and a plot which keeps you guessing..

Better than book 2 in the series, but book 2 was 4 stars in my view anyway.

Read it!

Was this review helpful?

Thank you for the chance to review this galley prior to publication. Please refer to my goodreads profile for a full review.

Was this review helpful?

I's never read anything from this author before so this one was a first for me...even though I have a few books from him on my TBR! Was a good storyline and I did enjoy it

Was this review helpful?

Good Girl, Bad Girl is a move away from Robotham’s Joe O’Loughlin series that I love so much and I was pleased to read such an explosive start to the series. Both Cyrus Haven, the psycholgist and Evie Cormac are great characters. Both have their own troubled pasts to deal with and their common experiences could bring them together or tear them apart. This was a delightfully enigmatic read, with a definite moreish feel to it. The complexities of Haven’s life combined with Cormac’s self destructive tendencies had me rooting for them form the start. I found it both a thought provoking and thrilling read. I look forward to more in this series.

Was this review helpful?

Unfortunately I read this book a while ago and seem to have missed it when writing reviews. - sadly I cant remember enough detail to give a full review.
However, thanks to NetGalley for the ARC :-)

Was this review helpful?

'Good Girl, Bad Girl' is possibly the best book I've read in 2020 so far. It has everything, suspense, a gripping side plot, characters you find yourself caring for and an edge of your seat finish. Evie and Cyrus are such brilliant characters and like a lot of other reviewers, I found myself more invested in Evie's past than the actual main case. It could easily have been a telling of Evie and her everyday hurdles and I'd have still been gripped. I'm extremely excited to learn more about what happened to Evie, especially after certain revelations come to light at the end of 'Good Girl, Bad Girl'. I'm also intrigued by Cyrus and his brother and hope that there is room for growth there too in future books. After reading so many crime novels, it isn't often that I don't have a rough idea of 'who done it' but this time I didn't and it actually did come as a surprise which was also a nice added bonus. Overall this is a fantastic read and would recommend it to anyone who loves a good crime/thriller/mystery.

Was this review helpful?

I am pretty late to the Michael Robotham party. I have heard so many good things about his books and had many a recommendation to read him, so I cannot quite believe that this my first novel of his that I have read. I am, however, delighted to say it was well and truly worth the wait!

Good Girl, Bad Girl is the first in a new series featuring forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven. What we have here is two separate storylines that you feel throughout will ultimately converge. Cyrus is asked to assist with a young woman who was found as a child abandoned in a house that had been the scene of a horrific crime. Thought to have been living there for many years and subjected to unspeakable horrors, there was no record anywhere of Evie Cormack – otherwise known as Angel Face. Cyrus is called upon to assess Evie’s suitability to be released from the institution that has been her home for many years.

Alongside this Cyrus is asked to consult on the case of a promising young skater who is found murdered. Both these plot lines will take you on a journey of intrigue as Cyrus battles his own difficult past and deep seated demons in his quest to bring about the best outcome for all. He is a complex and well written character and so is Evie and I found my empathy for both kept me completely invested in them both throughout and also looking forward to any future instalments in this series. As always, I do not like to reveal too much plot wise in my reviews, I think the above is enough to give you a wee taster.

My main reason for four and not five stars is just a bit of struggling to believe an area in the tale. I don’t want to give anything away – I’ll just say: fostering. Read it and I think you’ll very possibly understand why I am left a tad dubious on that front. Please, though, do not use that as a reason not to read this book as it’s so much more than my doubt on one point and well worth suspending your disbelief for! I definitely recommend this novel and am going to make sure I read more from this excellent author.

My thanks to #Netgalley, #Scribner and #MichaelRobotham for a copy of #GoodGirlBadGirl in return for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Another thrilling new series from Robotham. Forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven is helping Nottingham police investigate the death of teenage champion figure skater Jodie Sheehan. As well as assess the fitness of Evie Cormac, held in a secure children's home. Found in her early teens, half starved and filthy in a secret room in the home of her dead captor. Her true identity remains a mystery. Cyrus has his own tragic backstory, as a child he survived the murder of his family by his brother. As the girl's two separate stories weave together, it builds to a suspenseful ending. A gripping and compelling well written character-driven page-turner. Looking forward to the next installment.

Was this review helpful?

Good Girl, Bad Girl is an engrossing and exciting read. The characters are so well described and with detailed personal traits, allowing the reader to better understand their actions and empathise with them. Michael Robotham is a new author for me and I’ll definitely look out for more by him. I’m pretty sure we’ll see Evie again.

Was this review helpful?

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the arc, which I have enjoyed reading.
There are two new character’s Cyrus Haven and Evie. Cyrus is a Forensic Psychologist and Evie Cormac, a young woman whom he is asked to visit. Evie is living in a secure unit because she is a ward of court. No-one knows how old she is or her name or background, she has many behavioural problems but knows when she looks at someone whether they are telling the truth.
DCI Lenny Parvel is in charge of investigating the suspicious death of a young woman Jodie. The storyline is excellent and very clever. The characters are intriguing and interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I look forward to reading more of Cyrus Haven and Evie Cormac in future stories.
Highly recommended.

Was this review helpful?

Wow! This was an absolute belter of a book and I was absolutely gutted when I finished it. I can only hope that we see the return of these two characters I absolutely loved. Evie Cormack is damaged and has had a horrendous start to her life. Now she is approaching adulthood her life is getting even more complicated. Psychologist Cyrus Haven somehow ends up agreeing to be her responsible foster parent and that is where the book gets even more interesting. 

Both of the characters are very different and extremely engaging. It's clear that Evie is overly bright and intelligent albeit damaged in other ways. This story actually follows two threads, one being Evie's background and what she appears to be hiding. The other is Cyrus helping on a murder case featuring Jodie Sheehan. Gone are the days where  where I will re-hash the story line to pad a review. What I will say is that this book was absolutely brilliant and I would LOVE to read the second book featuring these two and think this could be an amazingly good series. An absolutely excellent read and one that I would HIGHLY recommend

Was this review helpful?