What a brilliant debut novel which dealt with consequences of abuse, both the abuser and the abused. A really deep psychological thriller that I couldn't put down. Millie is the daughter that has witnessed such horrors in her short life, who is then fostered and taken away from all the bad things that happened. But they're all still there in her head and constantly revisit her. All she has learnt in the past, and all that she subsequently does is so wrong, and misguided, through no fault of her own. Hauntingly sad but equally disturbing and horrific.

Surely a big bestseller in 2017,I had a good feeling about this book and I was so right.
A page turner that kept me up all night, the inner voice of milly-Annie reminded me of the inner voice of Norman bates mother from psycho,an awesome novel and one I highly recommended.

I enjoyed this book. Well written, well rounded characterisations. Would definitely read more rom the author

This book gripped me from first to last page, a great psychological thriller. The story of a teenage girl Milly whose mother is awaiting trial for murder. The girl is fostered by her psychologist/doctor who has a daughter of his own who is a nasty piece of work. The daughter makes life hell for her temporary foster sister both at school and home.
The story centres around the teenagers anguish leading up to and during the trial. It is creepy and intense with Milly desperately wanting a normal life and her heartfelt wanting of a proper mother and father. The author has definetly produced a captivating read drawing you in to each character. A very clever, thought provoking story that could almost be true. I would love to read more by this author,

I found this very hard to get into due to the subject matter. I questioned myself if I really wanted to carry on. I'm pleased I did. It's a cracking read, although a hard one. This is the story of 15 year old Annie, the daughter of a serial killer and abuser. Annie has turned her mother over to the police and is now living, under the new name of Milly, with a wealthy psychologist and his wife and bullying daughter. The book is narrated by Milly and we learn of what happened in the run up to the trial and its aftermath. Is Milly merely disturbed or will genetics play a big part in how her life turns out? Read andd see.

Oh this book is creepy! Gripping and low level peril all the way through.
Not 5* as some of the logistics were a tiny bit far fetched but a fantastic read!

This book wasn't what I was expecting and I did wonder if I would be able to carry on reading it when I realised that Annie's Mother is a serial killer of children. It is not something I would normally read, but there was enough of the physiological aspects of the books for me to carry on reading.
The book is mainly centered around Annie who now has a new identity as Milly and her efforts at rebuilding her life. As a new girl at school she falls prey to cyber bullying and develops a crush on a teacher. Lots of "mean girls"s type scenarios happen to her. She is also processed through the "system" and this also has effects on her.
I was shocked at the questioning of a minor in the court room scenes - would that really be allowed? It was almost as though she was on trial. Her temporary guardian Mike seemed like he was a little feckless and surely he wasn't that dim? Events happening around him and he is so oblivious to it all.
There are no chapters to the book. I found it easy to read (if not the subject matter at times) and so I read it in just over a day. The writing style was unusual but It was engrossing - what was going to happen? The ending was a real twist.
I'm giving this book 4 out of stars.
My thanks go to Netgalley for a free copy of the book for review.

This was a fascinating psychological thriller, full of tension, fear, suspense and cruelty. The conclusion was really thought provoking, does the good or the bad win in the future? Great read.

Throughly enjoyed this. Loved the characters and the plot was really good. Very enjoyable.

This book is compulsive, difficult reading, and though I raced through it I can’t honestly say I enjoyed it. It is difficult to review without giving anything away. Although it is well written I cannot say that this book was for me.

Read in two days (January 2017)

WOW...an intense and truly twisted tale...Ali Land's remarkable debut offering, 'Good Me, Bad Me', is an exceptional psychological thriller. Compelling and addictive from the outset, I felt irritated when my attention was demanded elsewhere and I had to put it down for any length of time.

Milly is a damaged, haunted fifteen year old and she has informed the police about her mother's latest killing of a young boy. The catalyst being that she knew this victim.
To await the trial she is placed in a safe environment only to suffer the hostility of the insecure daughter of the dysfunctional foster family.

Set in London, England, 'Good Me, Bad Me', is written in the first person narrative giving Milly's perspective of events. With an intense, fast paced plot-line, and devious, complex characters, it makes a hugely entertaining compulsive read. The tension and anguish of Milly's contradictory feelings she has for her mother are palpable and truly heartfelt. I routed totally for her during her torturous moments reliving her disturbing past. Milly loves, but is also terrified of, her mother. Most of all she's afraid of herself, and becoming just like her.

However, it's not without its flaws, being a touch (ok, very) over the top with scenarios involving the unlikely, aggressive court questioning of a minor who, for the past ten years, has been subject to mental, physical and sexual abuse, and been witness to several child murders. I'm not convinced this would be allowed to happen in today's court proceedings. The accident scene was a little contrived and implausible too with regards to the suggested timeframes, etc, etc, in my opinion.

These two niggles aside, 'Good Me, Bad Me' is an explosive, pulse racing, tortuous thriller with a convincing portrayal and perceptive character study of the behaviour and thought processes of the daughter of a serial killer mum. I really enjoyed it.

With a great plot and gripping storyline, it's perfect for fans of, 'The Girl on the Train', 'Gone Girl', and all the other psychological thrillers of the genre.

Disclaimer: I received a complementary digital copy from the publisher for a non biased review.

This book was a compelling read in many ways. I read it in a day and found I couldn't put it down not only because on the one hand was rooting for Milly but because I had a creeping sense of unease around her.

I'm pretty sure this book is going to be huge and I will absolutely be recommending it!

Slightly slow to start enjoyable read if you can stay with it!!!

I was intrigued by the premise, Milly's Mum is a serial killer and Milly has to come to terms with what this means and how she was shaped by her past.

Given a new name and a cover story Milly is fostered by her psychologist Mike, his wife Saskia and daughter Phoebe don't take to this particularly well. Predictably Phoebe and Milly don't get on and Milly is bullied by Phoebe.

I found the style of writing hard to get into, lots of short sentences that didn't flow to me.

The story was ok, but I found the ending lazy and predictable. I won't give it away but anything other than what happened would have been better.

Annie is the daughter of a serial killer. When she hands her mother over to the police she is fostered by Mike and Saskia and living under the name, Milly.

Milly struggles with the pain and suffering her mother caused both to the children she murdered and to Milly herself. Mike and Saskia have a daughter, Phoebe, who resents Milly and makes her life hell at school.

Milly has the trial to deal with and the aftershocks of guilt, suffering and immense pain at loving her mother and being the one to bring her to justice.

For a debut novel this was very well written and intensely dark. At times I found it very turbulent with the myriad of feelings Milly was going through. A brilliant read

A very dark and quite sinister book. An original story-line with great potential; certainly keeps the pages turning. A little bit disappointed by the slightly anti-climactic ending.

I didn't enjoy this book due to the content, but it was such a compelling read that I had to finish it. An amazing twist right at the end kept me riveted until the last page

Perhaps the first, most natural instinct that we all have is to love our mother. But what happens when that mother is a monster. How is it possible to stay sane when everyday life at home is filled with madness and evil.

This could have been just another of the many books in the "serial killer" genre but what makes it different is that it is told from the perspective of the daughter of the perpetrator and the action begins after all the crimes have taken place. There are no upsetting descriptions of evil acts, no gross details of what was done to whom. This is Milly's story and she is the innocent in all of this, but how innocent can somebody be after having lived with depravity for fifteen years?

I can understand and sympathise with Milly's desire to be part of a normal family but it didn't have to read very far into the book in order to work out exactly how it was all going to end. I kept waiting for a plot twist to prove me wrong but it never happened. The ending is obvious and disappointing because of the obviousness.

It is still an engaging read. The descriptions of Milly as she tries to escape her mother's influence provide thought-provoking moments that make her a sympathetic character. The difficulties she has fitting into a new life that involves a foster family, a move from a rural village to a big city and enrollment in a new school all ring true and help show the sensitive side of her character.

This book is trying very hard to be a fresh and different voice within the genre but ultimately I don't think it quite succeeded. However, it is still an engaging, interesting read.

I liked the book but, unfortunately, it didn't 'wow' me like it has done for so many others.

I didn't find it to be full of suspense and mystery. The story was told in such a way that there were no twists and turns. It was a little dark in places however which was good.

The characters were interesting and held some intrigue about them and their pasts. I would love to find out more about the history of Phoebe and Saskia.

The biggest issue I had with this book was the style of writing. I just couldn't take to it and felt slightly disjointed. It is probably a very good style to use when writing about someone dangerous and mentally ill but sometimes it felt like I was reading something written by Yoda.

I will look out for the next book by this author. 3 stars