Reviews

Meisje zonder verleden by Michael Robotham

littletaiko's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

netherfield72's review against another edition

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4.0

I am always looking for more British mysteries or thrillers and found this one and it did not disappoint. Even though I prefer police procedures I am really glad I picked this one up. I couldn’t put this down. The main character survived a very sad and troubling crime and becomes a physiologist. Cyrus you like him not just because of his past but he is kind and patient but also helps another person Evie who also survived something every terrible.  
 
So first off this is not for the faint of heart. There are descriptions that become hard to read. However the story is very engrossing and I love the complicated character Evie. We know very little about her. What I love about this is there are 2 mysteries going on. One is solved at the end of this book the other is about Evie where the writer over the course of the book slowly reveals things about her life/past from her point of view but not enough to tells much but creates more questions which I love. 
 
So if you like complicated people and layers of mystery I hight recommend this one. 

twicomb's review against another edition

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2.0

Two interwoven stories, one of a psychologist trying to solve a teen girl’s murder, and the other of a disturbed teen girl (who is very much alive). With this sort of book, you expect the two stories to end up connecting in some way, or at the very least, impacting one another significantly. Nope. The disturbed girl (Evie) has the ability to tell if someone is lying, which is set up as Very Important, but ultimately has no bearing on the murder being solved. We’re also told at the start that Evie has a Hidden Past and Nobody Knows Who She Is. So you would reasonably think these would be revealed by the end of the book. Nope. A half-hearted effort is made to “answer” just enough of her Hidden Past to leave you wondering why the author even bothered to put it into the story in the first place.

Overall, an uneven read. The story was enjoyable enough, and the twists and turns were actually pretty clever. But I just couldn’t get past this character being introduced as 1/2 of the story (she has her own chapters, for Pete’s sake!) and then getting used as emotional wallpaper for…what? Not even the emotional development of the (other) main character. A solid meh.

How I rate books:
1: awful, terribly written, and/or inexcusable story issues
2: dull, unenjoyable, and/or poorly written
3: decent, possibly a good “airplane read” but I won’t be recommending it, an average book experience
4: quite good, engaging, and/or well-written
5: top-notch, fascinating story/content, wonderful writing

ladytiara's review against another edition

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4.0

Michael Robotham is a a prolific mystery writer, and I've been wanting to try one of his books. Good Girl, Bad Girl was my first Robotham, and it was quite good.

Psychologist Cyrus Haven is assisting on two difficult cases. Teen figure skating champion Jodie Sheehan is murdered, and Cyrus is called in to help by an old friend. He's also been asked to consult on whether a young women in a secure children's home should be allowed to go free. Evie Cormack was discovered in a secret room in the home of a man who'd been tortured and murdered. She has no name and no past. She was so malnourished that determining her age wasn't possible, and no one is sure if she's 18 yet. Evie wants to be on her own, but the authorities think she's a danger to herself and others. Cyrus, who has his own tragic past, finds Evie fascinating. She has the unique ability to tell when people are lying, something that most people find creepy, but Cyrus is interested in.

This was an engrossing mystery, and I stayed up too late at night reading because I couldn't put it down. I did find that the mystery of Jodie's death, although clever, wasn't terribly original. It's the story of a popular, pretty, girl-next-door type who has secrets, which has been done before. For me, it paled in comparison to Evie's story, which is only just beginning to be explored. I get the feeling that this is a setup for a new series featuring Cyrus and Evie. The pairing of the troubled psychologist and the human lie detector is an interesting one. Cyrus' past trauma makes him want to help Evie, and as unnerving as Evie can be, she's also very much a scared child inside. More books with this pair sounds intriguing.

Trigger warning for mentions of rape, sexual abuse, and violence against children, attempted rape, descriptions of torture.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

ljayne's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

sammyx's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

aklev13's review against another edition

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4.0

Love a good thriller and while i solved this before they did - it was still not until almost the very end. I loved the psychology angle to the crime solving. I felt like it was done very well. But it was the relationship between Cyrus and Evie that made this book for me. I really hope i get to see more of that in the other books of this series.

billymac1962's review against another edition

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3.0

I'm a day and a bit late on this review since reading it.
This may serve to be a more accurate rating because as time has gone by, this story quite easily slipped out of my head.

For the most part, while I was reading it I was feeling a four star rating through it. But since finishing it, the star rating dropped and it took a little thinking to realize what went wrong for me.
The novel had a very strong beginning. Robotham is a pretty good writer, and he can move a storyline along very well. What really hooked me, though, was Evie. She was a fascinating, mysterious character, with a great attribute that served as a cool hook: she has the uncanny ability to determine if anyone is lying. Evie also has a very dark past that we're not fully privy to, and this furthers the enticement.

The four star rating I was holding was running on anticipation, and this is where things went south for me.

I am loathe to spoil any story and I rarely divulge a speck of plot. But, I feel there should be some disclosure here: if you are in this novel and expecting the full story on Evie, you will be sorely disappointed, especially with the expectations that come with her being one of the alternating perspectives. Now, I am fully aware that this is a series, and more of her story is likely to be a focus going forward, but finishing this first book without closure on her left me cold. And resentful.

Otherwise, it's a pretty good story, and it will certainly scratch that police procedural mystery itch you may have going. It scratched my itch fine but feeling forced to read the next one to close off my curiousity about Evie rubs me the wrong way.
I may still read it once I get over the resentment but for now I'm happy to stew about it for a while.

brimckoy's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 stars

Here is what happened: I was on a solo road trip and I needed a book that was going to grab me from the beginning and never let me go. Which naturally meant a crime mystery. I did a lot of research and this book kept coming up so here we are. This is much darker than I usually like (apparently I do really dark crime mysteries on road trips, for example, The Whisper Man and The Chestnut Man).

The thing that is making me absolutely crazy is there are basically three big mysteries happening in this book. One in Evie’s life, one in the forensic psychologist's life, and then a murder mystery that weirdly brings them together. As the book was nearing the end I was like, how is there only 20 minutes left in this book? We haven’t even begun to unravel two of the mysteries.

Well my friends, that is because we do not, in fact, unravel these other two mysteries.

And this is when I realized this is a series. Of course it is. Am I going to listen to the second book? Yes, yes I am. I need to know what is happening. I’m too invested. But now I am annoyed-invested and that is a dangerous combination.

jzapp10's review against another edition

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5.0

Great book, can't wait until the second book is delivered.