Good Girl, Bad Girl

Michael Robotham's new novel GOOD GIRL, BAD GIRL initiates a new series, featuring psychologist Cyrus Haven. Teeny-tiny SPOILER: we learn, in the penultimate paragraph of the final chapter, that Cyrus is a former student of Joe O'Loughlin's. Joe is the protagonist of MR's principal series, so we can already see points of contact between Joe and Cyrus, both of whom are wounded (Joe with Parkinson's and marital challenges and Cyrus with the unfortunate reality that his disturbed brother killed the rest of his family).Cyrus is asked to help with an extremely difficult and unique case: a young woman was found alone in a cranny of a house in which another individual was tortured to death. Her own history, including her age, is a blank and she has been given a provisional name, Evie Cormac. When she is not clashing with Cyrus she is working with him to solve a local murder case involving a young figure skater. Note that we are in Nottingham, not Colorado Springs.I am on the record for predicting MR's meteoric rise to the top of our current masters of crime fiction; GOOD GIRL, BAD GIRL further cements his position there. This is a first-rate novel, with a tight plot, fascinating characters, an eternal theme (the mysteries of human experience and human behavior) and a fully-realized setting. It reads very, very quickly because of the wonderful dialogue, interior monologues and crisp description. Different chapters are narrated by different characters; sometimes we hear Cyrus' voice, sometimes Evie's. The two complement one another nicely and I look forward to seeing the two together again. Note that many mysteries that surface in this book are not resolved in this book. I have no problem signing on for the long haul.Bottom line: a great inaugural for a new series, one not terribly different from the O'Loughlin series, and all presented with a master's touch.

I hate novels that are not complete...some end with an obvious cliffhanger; some are actually one novel in two parts, but the unsuspecting reader has to buy and read the next book to finish the story. No review that I read let me know that this is one of those books that are not complete. It makes me feel.like the author cheated me. Does this author need to do this to his clueless readers because he wants the money? Well, apparently lots of readers wil obediently buy the next book, but I will not. I am done with this author just as I won't read authors that use cliffhangers to trick readers into buying the next book. The best authors respect their readers too much to stoop to that. I am very disappointed.

4 - 4 1/2 starsThis is my second book by Michael Robotham and I enjoyed this one just as much as I did The Secrets She Keeps. Looking forward to reading more of his books.I loved the main characters in this book. Especially Evie. She just tugged on my heart strings.Evie is the name she was given by the courts. Yup see 6 years earlier she was found in a hidden room in a house where the corpse of a man was found. No one knows her real name or even her age. Her DNA cannot be matched to any missing person. The hospital names her Angel Face but to keep her identity a secret the courts remained her Evie Cormac and she is living in a secured children’s home. She wants to be released and is asking the courts to declare that she is 18 and can be released. Evie also has a hidden talent, she can tell is someone is lying by looking at them.Cyrus Haven is a forensic psychologist that has been called in to determine if Evie should be recognized as an adult and released. Cyrus is fascinated with Evie and wants to protect and help her. Cyrus is also helping the police with the murder of a popular high school girl Jodie Sheehan who is also a talented figure skater.This book is told from the POV of both Cyrus and Evie. And I loved them both. They both have complicated and messy lives. Cyrus’ brother killed his parents and sisters when he was a teenager. And Evie, well she is super complicated since we do not know who she really is or what really happened to her as a child. I felt such compassion for her. I just wanted to protect her myself and when she did things that could put her in danger I wanted to jump into the book and help her.And liked how on the Cyrus chapters we got his POV about Evie and also the murder investigation. But it never got complicated having the 2 going on. I never figured out who the killer was. I thought I did a couple of times but was wrong lol. And while I did like having the murder investigation going on and watching that unfold, I really liked the Evie aspect of the book best.Everything in this book just flowed so well together.This is listed as Cyrus Haven #1 and I really hope there will be more with both Cyrus and Evie. Both of these characters were so well written and I would love to find out more about them and see them interact together again

Although this could also be “The Guy with the Bird Wings Tattoo.” Instead of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomqvist, we have Evie Cormac and Cyrus Haven. She’s not a genius hacker, she’s a genius human lie-detector, but, like Salander, she also was sexually abused as a child, she is a ward of the state, she’s socially awkward, she doesn’t trust anyone, and she basically hates the world. And, like Blomqvist, he wants to save her. As I read this book, I couldn’t stop noticing all the parallels. BUT, this book is fantastic, and a great addition to the always excellent work of Michael Robotham. The seeds of a future Cyrus-Evie series have been sown — what really happened to Evie? What’s the story behind Cyrus’s tattoos? How will the psychologist Cyrus partner with the lie-detecting Evie to capture murderers? I can’t wait for the next book!

How have I never heard of Michael Robotham before? I loved this book and can’t wait to read more of his work!Forensic Psychologist, Cyrus Haven, is investigating the death of teen champion figure skater, Jodie Sheehan. As he looks into her murder all is not what it seems, and he grows to find that this much-celebrated young woman is hiding things and her family have even more to hide!Alongside this, a far more compelling storyline, in my opinion, Cyrus is asked to assess young Evie Cormac. She was rescued six years ago from her abductor after being found hidden in his lair long after he has been murdered, dubbed ‘Angel Face’ by those caring for her she never revealed any details of her previous life and now finds herself a ‘ward of court’ living in a secure children’s home. This brings a whole new line to the book as we begin to hear from Evie and from Cyrus.Evie is undeniably damaged, but Cyrus can empathise a little given his own terrible past. Cyrus is a decent, generous, caring and sensitive man who truly tries his best. The same can’t always be said for Evie, but she is very clever and has some unusual skills that Cyrus can’t help but find useful.This was a compelling read, I just couldn’t leave it alone, I finished it in an afternoon and was still wanting more! I really enjoyed the two main characters; they are very well thought out and I am excited to learn more about them in future books. The twists and turns throughout the book lead to a very exciting final few chapters.

If you enjoy criminal cases where there is a police profiler, you’ll enjoy this AND it’s a double whammy because of a ‘sidekick’ with unusual abilities.Cyrus Haven is a psychologist and part of his job is profiling suspects for the police, when serious crimes have been committed. He also profiles young offenders; in this case Evie Cormac. Both Cyrus and Evie are strongly described characters in this first Book of a series.Cyrus has had a tragic upbringing that led him to his chosen profession.( I just love these clever people who are able to look inside a person to see how the tick.) His brief in this case is to profile prospective suspects and close family/friends following the murder of a teenager.Evie is incarcerated in a young offenders institution. She has a mysterious, tragic childhood. She’s been given her name and age by a court when no details could be unearthed. One of her care workers, at the institution, believes she is a truth wizard; that she can tell when a person is lying.Cyrus and Evie become an unlikely pairing as the investigation into the murdered teenager progresses.I recommend this book. Mainly, it is gripping and had my brain working overtime. The first part is better than the last part. There is certainly room for development of the main characters- particularly Evie whose background is still a mystery- in further instalments.

Michael Robotham is one of my favourite authors and the O'Loughlin/Ruiz books are fantastic. This new outing with two finely drawn and compelling characters, Evie Cormac and Cyrus Haven, is brilliant. The storyline moves quickly and the main characters draw you in. You find yourself deeply caring about them. Yes, there is a murder to solve and a victim who deserves justice, but you quickly realize that there are many victims in this fine novel and you care about all of them.I truly hope that we have not seen the last of Evie and Cyrus. In the meantime, this is a book you definitely want to read more than once!

There is a much better book fighting to get out here. The central relationship between Cyrus Haven and 'Angel Face' is potentially interesting. Two damaged people finding a kind of empathy should make for good drama. But the book is spoiled by many implausibilities, the chief one being that Cyrus would ever be allowed to foster the girl.The trouble is that, once you stop believing in the central premise of a book, you start questioning the credibility of other parts. And whole chapters printed in italics are very annoying.

I enjoyed the series featuring a clinical psychologist written by Robotham. Good Girl Bad Girl also features a psychologist, and this is an excellent standalone. I believe 6heres a follow up, which I haven5 read.There’s a strong sens3 of location, with the story set in and around Nottingham. I’m familiar with many of the roads and areas mentioned and it added a real sense of location. Cyrus helps the police an£ 5his story has two strong and very different . One is his role in investigating the murder of a young female ice skater. A complex and bizarre family set up provide numerous twists and red herrings.Alongside, he’s involved in the care of a young female in care whose back story is unknown. She’s now a teenager, traumatised, violent and seeking a new and independent life out of care. The plotting is skilful and the pace is fast. I bought the audio version too and moved between the two and polished this off in almost a single sitting. Really enjoyed it.