The Book of Accidents, By Chuck Wendig ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Child Abuse, Childhood Trauma, Horror, Science Fiction, Serial Killers, Social Issues, Supernatural Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: July 20th, 2021

544 Pages

Synopsis: A family returns to their hometown—and to the dark past that haunts them still—in this masterpiece of literary horror by the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers

Long ago, Nathan lived in a house in the country with his abusive father—and has never told his family what happened there.

Long ago, Maddie was a little girl making dolls in her bedroom when she saw something she shouldn’t have—and is trying to remember that lost trauma by making haunting sculptures.

Long ago, something sinister, something hungry, walked in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of their hometown in rural Pennsylvania.

Now, Nate and Maddie Graves are married, and they have moved back to their hometown with their son, Oliver.

And now what happened long ago is happening again . . . and it is happening to Oliver. He meets a strange boy who becomes his best friend, a boy with secrets of his own and a taste for dark magic.

This dark magic puts them at the heart of a battle of good versus evil and a fight for the soul of the family—and perhaps for all of the world. But the Graves family has a secret weapon in this battle: their love for one another. (Goodreads)

I’m thrilled to say my 2021 winning streak of scoring outstanding horror books continues with Chuck Wendig’s The Book of Accidents. There are a lot of reviewers comparing this to classic Stephen King, and they’re not wrong. The Book of Accidents shares many elements from vintage King books; strong, complex characters each hiding secrets and battling inner demons, a creative and genre-defying storyline, heart-pounding action, and thought-provoking social commentary.  But make no mistake, it stands entirely on its own merits.

The majority of the story revolves around Nate, Maddie, and their teenage son Oliver, whose empathetic nature is far more advanced than his loving parents realize. Maddie is a strong, bad-ass sculptor, whose colorful language is startling yet funny at the same time. She has a fierce love and devotion for her son and husband and will do anything to protect them. And Nate, well, he’s a survivor of an abusive father, and he’s still dealing with the after effects from his traumatic childhood. They all form a tight family unit which is what they need to fight the unknown evil that’s facing them. 

The story itself is gripping with shocking twists that I didn’t see coming. It’s over 500 pages, yet it’s so tightly written that my full attention was completely engaged from the moment I started reading. Horror, science fiction, and the supernatural are all skillfully blended with social issues like child abuse and toxic masculinity. 

In the end, The Book of Accidents is a magnificent tour de force about the power of love and the triumph of good over evil. In a year that’s giving horror fans several magnificent reads, I guarantee this will be on the top of many readers’ favorites lists. If you enjoy these genres I highly recommend you either preorder this now, or put in a request to your library!

The Last House On Needless Street, By Catriona Ward ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Child Abuse, Child Murders, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Horror, Mystery, Serial Killers, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: (US) September 28th, 2021, (UK) Available Now

352 Pages

Synopsis: In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods, lives a family of three.

A teenage girl who isn’t allowed outside, not after the last time.

A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory.

And a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible.

An unspeakable secret binds them together, but when a new neighbor moves in next door, what is buried out among the birch trees may come back to haunt them all.

Rarely has just reading the synopsis for a book made me so desperate to get my hands on it, and rarely have I begun a story with certain preconceived notions, only to be taken on a journey so profound it moved me to tears. As usual, I will endeavor not to give away too many spoilers, but there are several themes that I feel I must provide warnings about. These include: Serial killers, child abuse (physical and psychological), child murder, and Dissociative Identity Disorder. As you can guess, The Last House on Needless Street will not be for everyone. It deals with extremely difficult subject matter, and I admit I found myself numerous times wanting to take a break, yet at the same time I couldn’t tear myself away. I never would have guessed from the opening chapter, where this tale would end. It starts as a sort of gothic-like horror, with what seems to be a little magic realism mixed in, courtesy of Olivia, the Bible reading cat, but what this turns into is a deeply personal exploration of the awe-inspiring power of the mind to adapt and survive truly unimaginable circumstances. In her afterward, Catriona Ward talks about how The Last House On Needless Street came to life, and the research she did into DID. Even without reading that, it’s obvious she did her due diligence, but it gives further insight. This latest offering from Ward is receiving well-deserved, widespread accolades from bestselling authors like Stephen King, Joe Hill, Joanne Harris, Alex North, and Sarah Pinborough, and the film rights have already been scooped up by Andy Serkis’ production company, Imaginarium Productions. All I can say is this is an instance where you can believe the hype. As I stated above, it won’t be for everyone, but if you decide to try it, you’re in for an utterly heartbreaking yet in the end, heartwarming story with memorable characters that I guarantee you’ll never forget.

Mirrorland, By Carole Johnstone ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Child Abuse, Domestic Abuse, Dysfunctional Families, Mystery, Psychological Suspense, Substance Abuse

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: April 20th, 2021

320 Pages

Synopsis: With the startling twists of “Gone Girl” and the haunting emotional power of “Room,” “Mirrorland” is a thrilling work of psychological suspense about twin sisters, the man they both love, and the dark childhood they can’t leave behind.

Cat lives in Los Angeles, far away from 36 Westeryk Road, the imposing gothic house in Edinburgh were she and her estranged twin sister, El, grew up. As girls, they invented Mirrorland, a dark, imaginary place under the pantry stairs, full of pirates, witches, and clowns. These days Cat rarely thinks about their childhood home, or the fact that El now lives there with her husband Ross.

But when El mysteriously disappears after going out on her sailboat, Cat is forced to return to 36 Westeryk Road, which has scarcely changed in twenty years. The grand old house is still full of shadowy corners, and at every turn Cat finds herself stumbling on long-held secrets and terrifying ghosts from the past. Because someone—El?— has left Cat clues in almost every room: a treasure hunt that leads right back to Mirrorland where she knows the truth lies crouched and waiting…

A twisty, dark, and brilliantly crafted thriller about love and betrayal, redemption and revenge, Mirrorland is a propulsive page-turning debut about the power of imagination and the price of freedom. (Goodreads)

I need to begin by saying that Mirrorland is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s extremely dark, deals with domestic and child abuse, and at times is mind-numbingly complex. More than once I felt as though I had gone so far down the rabbit hole that I’d never find my way back. But given all that, this debut is pretty impressive and deserving of the kudos it’s receiving including a rave from Stephen King.

At the heart of this twisty tale are twin sisters Cat and El. Despite having a close bond as children, something has driven them apart as adults and while I had more than one theory, in the end it wasn’t what I expected. The book starts out a little slow, as Johnstone teasingly lays out a trail of breadcrumbs for the reader to follow. Bit by bit snippets of the girls childhood is revealed as well as the creation of Mirrorland. I was constantly trying to figure out what was real and what wasn’t. The story is told from Cat’s POV and she’s an unreliable narrator so that adds to the uncertainty. The more I discovered about Cat, and the horrors that were hidden behind the doors of 36 Westeryk Road, the more I related to her because of my own unhappy childhood. One coping mechanism she unknowingly uses, I unwillingly use myself even to this day. 

El, I had more of a difficult time with, but that was because until the last third of the book, I was seeing her through Cat’s eyes, and she wasn’t a very sympathetic figure. The last several chapters, while somewhat overwrought, clears up all the murkiness and while I still questioned some of El’s actions, I understood them.

The third person that needs mentioning is Ross, the childhood friend of the twins and now grieving husband of El. His past and present role in their lives I continually guessed at, and although some of the mystery began to clear by the halfway point of the story, there were still plenty of shocking revelations to come.

The ending was relayed in multiple parts, and each time I thought the surprises were done, another one was thrown in. When the finale came though, I thought it perfect. Overall, this dark, psychological suspense/mystery is a memorable debut from Carole Johnstone, and it has me eagerly looking forward to what she comes out with next.

Girl 11, By Amy Suiter Clarke ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Child Abuse, Kidnapping, Mystery, PTSD, Serial Killers, Suspense, True Crime Podcasts

Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

April 20th, 2021

352 Pages

Synopsis: Once a social worker, specializing in kids who were the victims of violent crime, Elle Castillo is now the host of a popular true crime podcast that tackles cold cases of missing children in her hometown of the Twin Cities. After two seasons of successfully solving cases, Elle decides to tackle her white whale—The Countdown Killer. Twenty years ago TCK abruptly stopped after establishing a pattern of taking and ritualistically murdering three girls over seven days, each a year younger than the last. No one’s ever known why, why he stopped with his eleventh victim, a girl of eleven years old, or why he followed the ritual at all.

When a listener phones in with a tip, Elle sets out to interview him, only to discover his dead boy. And within days, a child is abducted following the original TCK MO. Unlike the experts in the media and law enforcement who have always spun theories of a guilty suicide,  Elle never believed TCK had died, and her investigation was meant to lay that suspicion to rest. But instead, her podcast seems to be kicking up new victims. (Goodreads)

I need to begin by saying if you choose to pick up Girl, 11, be prepared to leave some expectations of rationality at the door. I also need to tell you that there are some scenes of child abuse which could be difficult for some readers. With those warnings out of the way, you guys—THIS. WAS. PHENOMENONAL! You know, in the way that you’re supposed to be doing laundry, and other real life stuff, but nothing gets done because you can’t put down the book you’re reading! Well, in my defense I did finally get the laundry done albeit much later than I had planned on. Seriously though, Girl, 11 had me from the very first page and it dug its hooks into me even more as I got deeper into the story.

Elle is a flawed and emotionally complicated character who never makes you question her motives, but does make you doubt her methods. She’s stubborn, obsessive and impulsive, which starts out as annoying, but as Amy Suiter Clarke drops little hints to an unknown childhood trauma, it’s obvious why Elle is so determined to do what she thinks is right, even when those around her have doubts. Unfortunately, in her quest for the truth she puts not only herself, but others in danger. But then, in the final chapters, comes the bombshell to end all bombshells regarding Elle’s past, and everything she’s done up until this point makes much more sense.The secondary characters are equally well written, but the standout for me is Martin, Elle’s dishy Mexican husband, whose skills as an ME are quite useful. Their relationship is really sweet, and I loved the dialogue between them.

The story is told mainly from Elle’s perspective and alternate with her podcast transcripts, but there are a few chapters scattered throughout where you hear from someone else which add some interesting layers to the story. The ones from the killer are chilling and made my flesh crawl. Another compelling aspect of this ripped-from-the-headlines plot is the question that’s raised about the positive vs the negative of focusing so much attention on the monsters who commit such evil atrocities. I can honestly say I was kept guessing right up until the end, and I’m glad I finished in the afternoon, because if I had done so right before bed, I never would have gone to sleep.

To sum things up, Girl, 11, is one of the most impressive debuts I’ve had the pleasure of coming across in recent memory. If you’re a fan of true crime podcasts, complex characters, twisty mysteries, and heart-pounding suspense, I highly recommend this. Without being a psychic I can almost guarantee that this will become a series, and if it doesn’t, I’ll be extremely disappointed.

Bad Witch Burning, By Jessica Lewis ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

#ownvoices, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Drug Dealing, Poverty, Supernatural, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s/Delacorte Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: August 24th, 2021

336 Pages

Synopsis: For fans of “Us” and “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” comes a witchy story full of black girl magic as one girl’s dark ability to summon the dead offers her a chance at a new life, while revealing to her and even darker future.

Katrell doesn’t mind talking to the dead; she just wishes it made more money. Clients pay her to talk to their deceased loved ones, but it isn’t enough to support her unemployed mother and Mom’s deadbeat boyfriend of-the-week. Things get worse when a ghost warns her to stop the summonings or she’ll “burn everything down.” Katrell is willing to call them on their bluff, though. She has no choice. What do ghosts know about eating peanut butter for dinner?

However, when her next summoning accidentally raises someone from the dead, Katrell realizes that a live body is worth a lot more than a dead apparition. And, warning or not, she has no intention of letting this new lucrative business go.

But magic doesn’t come for free, and soon dark forces are closing in on Katrell. The further she goes, the more she risks the lives of not only herself, but those she loves. Katrell faces a dark choice: resign herself to poverty, or confront the darkness before it’s too late. (Goodreads)

For me personally, Bad Witch Burning was a difficult read. As you can tell from the 5 stars I’ve given it, it’s not because I think it’s a badly written story. No, it’s because it’s so on point in regards to living with a toxic parent, something author, Jessica Lewis sadly experienced herself. Without going into details, I too am a survivor of a childhood filled with abuse, although my background was white and middle class, rather than black and poverty stricken. Despite the differences in race and socioeconomic background, I strongly connected with Katrell and her complicated feelings toward her mother. She makes many terrible decisions, but every one of them can be laid at the feet of her horrendous home life and her desperation to escape. Her anger, bitterness, loneliness, and anguish are so intense they pulsate off the pages, and what she goes through is utterly heart wrenching. I confess to tearing up more then once. Mixed in with the darker real life themes of child abuse and neglect, is this incredible supernatural mythology which reminded me at first a little of The Monkey’s Paw, before taking a truly unique turn which had me worrying how Katrell was going to survive. Lest you think it is all doom and gloom, it’s not. There are moments of bright spots in the forms of Katrell’s loyal best friend Will and her adoptive parents who do their best to help, and Katrell’s caring guidance counselor, Mike. And without giving any spoilers, the book ends on a hopeful note. Because of the graphic abuse scenes, certain readers may have a tough time reading Bad Witch Burning, but if you’re looking for a vulnerable yet fiercely courageous protagonist to root for in a story that will suck you in from the first page, I highly recommend you give this a try. I guarantee it’s a book you won’t soon forget.

The Echo Wife, by Sarah Gailey ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Child Abuse, Domestic Abuse, Science Fiction, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: February 16th, 2021

256 Pages

Synopsis: Evelyn Caldwell’s husband has been having an affair—with Evelyn Caldwell. Or, to be exact, a genetically cloned replica.

After a morning that begins with a confrontation, and ends with Nathan’s body bleeding out on the kitchen floor, the two Caldwell wives will have to think fast—before sharing everything includes sharing a jail cell.

I’m going to straight up say that The Echo Wife needs to be made into a movie! What a fantastic read this was, filled with surprising twists and turns right up until the last pages. It’s both a character and plot driven tale with each pushing the other. Evelyn is a cold, calculating researcher and empathy doesn’t come easily to her. Yet ultimately she come across sympathetically through her flashbacks to her unhappy childhood. Martine, Evelyn’s clone and a complete innocent, is someone who will make your heart ache. But as these two women work together, they find strength in each other and make quite the formidable team. The Echo Wife has been compared to Westworld, and while it shares a few similarities, it’s not a thriller. Instead, it’s a slow burning suspense, that chapter by chapter, reels you in. I easily finished it in one sitting and I highly recommend it to readers who are not only looking for a good suspense tale, but also ones who enjoy pondering ethics, and the nature vs nurture debate.

The Degenerates, by J. Albert Mann ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Child Abuse, Downs Syndrome, Eugenics, Historical Fiction, Homophobia, Miscarriage, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Atheneum Books For Young Readers, for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: March 17th, 2020

288 Pages

Synopsis: In the tradition of Girl, Interrupted, this fiery historical novel follows four young women in the early 20th century whose lives intersect when they are locked up by a world that took the poor, the disabled, the marginalized—and institutionalized them for life.

The Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded is not a happy place. The young women who are already there certainly don’t think so. Not Maxine, who is doing everything she can to protect her younger sister Rose in an institution where vicious attendants and bullying older girls treat them as the morons, imbeciles, and idiots the doctors have deemed them to be. Not Alice, either, who was left there when her brother couldn’t bring himself to support a sister with a club foot. And not London, who has just been dragged there from the best foster situation she’s ever had, thanks to one unexpected, life-altering moment. Each girl is determined to change her fate, no matter what it takes.

The setting for Degenerates was actually an institution in Massachusetts which operated from 1888-2014. Sadly, the eugenics movement during the 1920s was big in my hometown state and the appalling conditions at places like the Fernald State School and the Belchertown State School in my opinion remain a blight on the state. I won’t go into the history of the movement and schools, but there’s a wealth of information to be found online.

As for Degenerates, Mann has done a thorough job researching what it was like for these unfortunate children and adults who were locked up in these despicable places. Seen through the eyes of four girls: Maxine, her sister Rose, Alice, and London, it gives the reader an up close and personal look at what life was like for these prisoners. While the four of them come from disparate  backgrounds, they find they have much in common as they do their best to survive in this hellhole. Although the majority of secondary characters are pretty much stereotypical caricatures, it doesn’t really matter because in just the first few chapters you can’t help but be totally invested in the main characters and what they’re subjected to.

I have to be honest and say this isn’t the easiest book to read. In addition to the overall disgusting and despicable conditions at the school, there are difficult scenes, most notably, fourteen-year-old London having a miscarriage after being severely beaten by policemen. The ableist language used by the school staff and unfair testing on the residents had me despising these so-called medical professionals. Keeping all this in mind, Degenerates is a thoughtful exploration of what life was like for victims of the eugenics movement, and it’s a book I highly recommend for older YAs and adults. 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dead Girls Club, by Damien Angelica Walters ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Child Abuse, Mystery, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: December 10th, 2019

288 Pages

Synopsis: A supernatural thriller in the vein of  “A Head Full of Ghosts” about two young girls, a scary story that becomes all too real, and the tragic—and terrifying—consequences that follow one of them into adulthood.

Red Lady, Red Lady, show us your face…

In 1991, Heather Cole and her friends were members of the Dead Girls Club. Obsessed with the macabre, the girls exchanged stories about serial killers and monsters, like the Red Lady, the spirit of a vengeful witch killed centuries before. Heather knew the stories were just that, until her best friend Becca began insisting the Red Lady was real—and she could prove it.

That belief got Becca killed.

It’s been nearly thirty years, but Heather has never told anyone what really happened that night—that Becca was right and the Red Lady was real. She’s done her best to put that fateful summer, Becca and the Red Lady behind her. Until a familiar necklace arrives in the mail, a necklace Heather hasn’t seen since the night Becca died.

The night Heather killed her.

Now, someone else knows what she did…and they’re determined to make a Heather pay.

There were two things about The Dead Girls Club that initially caught my attention. First, there’s that gorgeous cover. Second, there’s the comparison to Paul Tremblay’s mind-bending A Head Full of Ghosts. Now that I’ve finished I can say I still love the cover, and I think the story is decent, however it has me wishing yet again that publishers would stop comparing upcoming books to previous bestsellers, and simply let them stand on their own merits.

This is a story told in two different time periods: the present, and the early 1990s. I found myself liking the tween Heather much more than the adult one. I’m all for unreliable characters who keep you guessing, but Heather’s actions, both professionally and in her personal life, did nothing to make me feel sympathetic to her plight. The two characters I felt for the most were her husband and best friend who were very supportive, and gave her increasingly unhinged behavior wide latitude. 

What saved this story for me were the chapters set in the past, and which detailed the close friendship between Heather and Becca, as well as its slow fragmentation. When it’s finally revealed what happened the night of Becca’s death, I was empathetic toward both girls, although I don’t think their actions were entirely believable.

The final few chapters contain a few surprises, and there’s an awesome fight scene between Heather and her tormentor. The ending has left me a little conflicted, and two days after I finished, I’m still not sure whether I liked it or not. But on the other hand, the fact that I’m still thinking about it is a plus.

For me, The Dead Girls Club wasn’t perfect, but it was a quick read that I easily finished in two sittings. The actual mystery behind Becca’s death kept me guessing, and even when the adult Heather was annoying the heck out of me, there was no way I was not finishing the book until I knew what happened. I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy twisty mysteries with unreliable main characters. In particular, I think fans of authors like Gillian French, Paula Hawkins and Ruth Ware will enjoy this.

 

Imaginary Friend, by Stephen Chbosky ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Non-Fiction, Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Horror, Mystery, Substance Abuse, Suicide, Suspense, Torture

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: October 1st, 2019

720 Pages

Synopsis: Christopher is seven years old. Christopher is the new kid in town. Christopher has an imaginary friend. The epic work of literary horror from the #1 bestselling author of THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER.

We can swallow our fear or let our fear swallow us.

Single mother Kate Reese is on the run. Determined to improve life for her and her son, Christopher, she flees an abusive relationship in the middle of the night with Christopher at her side. Together, they find themselves drawn to the tight-knit community of Mill Grove, Pennsylvania. It’s as far off the beaten track as they can get. Just one highway in, one highway out.

At first, it seems like the perfect place to finally settle down. Then Christopher vanishes. For six awful days, no one can find him. Until Christopher emerges from the woods at the edge of town, unharmed, but not unchanged. He returns with a voice in his head only he can hear, with a mission only he can complete: Build a tree house in the woods by Christmas, or his mother and everyone else in the town will never be the same again.

Soon, Kate and Christopher will find themselves in the fight for their lives, caught in the middle of a war between good and evil, with their small town as the battleground.

Imaginary Friend is probably one of the most anticipated books of 2019, as it’s the first book written by The Perks of Being a Wallflower author, Stephen Chbosky, in twenty years. Given how much I loved POBAW and the film adaptation, as soon as I found out about it I contacted the publisher and begged for an eARC. Grand Central Publishing was already one of my favorite publishing houses, but now they’ve gone to the top of my list thanks to their generosity.

Chbosky’s first book as well as its film adaptation has an enormous cult following, so his second twenty years later, is a dream come true, particularly as it’s so different. If you look on Goodreads you’ll see a lot of mixed reactions to it. After spending the last four nights reading, I can say that while I did have a couple of issues, for the most part I really enjoyed it. 

One of the chief complaints seems to be the length. Yes,720 pages makes for a long story, but this didn’t bother me until the last 200 pages. At that point I think the battle between good and evil goes on a little too long and could have been pared down some. One saving grace is that Chbosky and his editor were smart when they decided to make the chapters short because this helps keep the pace going even during the slower sections. The actual horror portion doesn’t truly kick in until a little past the first quarter. Instead, this first part is spent introducing the characters which I didn’t mind at all because I loved them, especially Christopher, a seven-year-old boy who literally winds up having the fate of the world resting on his tiny shoulders. Having a small child be the main character in an adult novel carries quite a bit of risk, but Stephen Chbosky successfully pulls it off. He perfectly captures Christopher’s feelings of confusion, frustration, and fright, as well as his love for his mother and friends. The bond between Christopher and his mom, Kate, is beautiful and one of my favorite parts of the story. 

The story itself is a creative spin on the familiar good vs evil theme. There’s a ton of religious symbolism which may not appeal to every reader, but I thought was entirely in keeping with the storyline. There’s some awkward and repetitive phrasing scattered throughout which was occasionally distracting, but it didn’t substantially detract from my enjoyment. In addition to the main story with Christopher and his family and friends, there are others centered around secondary characters which blend intriguing layers into the larger picture. There are quite a lot of twists, and one in particular that I thought particularly brilliant. The ending perfectly wraps all the plot lines up yet leaves the door open a crack for a possible sequel.

Imaginary Friend may not be the same generation-defining literary achievement as its predecessor was, but it’s a thoroughly enjoyable horror story that’s perfect for fans of books like The Stand, by Stephen King. One word of caution. There are quite a few themes here that may be triggers for some people. These include: child abuse, domestic violence, suicide, torture, substance abuse, and extreme violence and gore. Also, I am now terrified of deer! 

Good Girl, Bad Girl, by Michael Robothom ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Attempted Rape, Attempted Suicide, Child Abuse, Mystery, Substance Abuse, Suspense, Torture

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: July 23, 2019

368 Pages

Synopsis: From the bestselling author of The Secrets She Keeps, the writer Stephen King calls “an absolute master…with heart and soul,” comes a fiendishly clever suspense novel about a dangerous young woman with a special ability to know when someone is lying—-and the criminal psychologist who must outwit her to survive.

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 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, a 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, another who needs justice. What price will he pay for the truth? Fiendishly clever, swiftly paced, and emotionally explosive, Good Girl, Bad Girl is the perfect thrilling summer read by internationally bestselling author Michael Robothom.

Good Girl, Bad Girl is the first book I’ve read by Michael Robothom, and while there were a couple of issues I ran into, I still really enjoyed it. 

The best part of the book are Cyrus and Evie. I loved both their backstories and the mystery surrounding Evie, I found especially compelling. I confess I thought her ability of being a “truth wizard” would be more of a focus of the book and was disappointed that it wasn’t. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the same emotional investment in discovering who was behind Jodie’s death. Don’t get me wrong, it was a solid mystery. I think I was just so captivated by the developing relationship between Cyrus and Evie, and the shared traumas between them, that I found Jodie’s story almost distracting. 

All of the characters are extremely well-written, with plenty of flaws amongst them, which serves to make them relatable (although there was one who I found thoroughly detestable and who didn’t get the just desserts they should have.) But again, it’s Cyrus and Evie who are the standouts here and raise this story above others in the same genre.

Good Girl, Bad Girl was an entertaining and quick read, and from the way it ends I will be very surprised if this doesn’t turn into a series. Both Cyrus and Evie are characters I easily grew attached to and I’d love to see more of them. I do want to caution though, there are triggers which some people may have a difficult time with. These include: Descriptions of torture, child abuse, substance abuse, attempted suicide, self-harm, and attempted rape. Otherwise, I highly recommend this to fans of mystery, suspense, and character-driven stories.