Reviews

Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham

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probably_confused's review

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dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

dsesana's review against another edition

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5.0

This was my first book from Michael Robotham and from now on you can safely assume I’ll be filling my bookshelf with more of his books. The characters in this book are described perfectly, you get a proper idea of who they are as a person, it feels like you know them personally. Evie is such an intricate and mysterious character, you don’t need much to get engaged in what she does, her struggles, her mysterious past. Cyrus on the other hand, is the perfect complement to Evie, with his unique, almost weird, way. Besides a great character description, this book has enough suspense to keep you guessing until the end, with the right amount of drama. There are no better ways to introduce a new series, this book does that perfectly.

allisonrae13's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

adrianagoycoolea's review against another edition

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2.0

I didn’t know this book was YA when I picked it up, and if I did, I probably wouldn’t have read it. The plot had potential, but the heavy topics of rape/incest/abuse/murder combined with the juvenile and simply language didn’t work for me. The underlying plot was similar to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (my favorite book) but executed so much worse. The mystery Haven is trying to solve felt way too idealistic and all the evidence fell into place too coincidentally.

I don’t mind dual perspective, but it didn’t work for me this time. It might’ve been the over explaining of emotions combined with elementary writing that made the dual perspective feel even more juvenile. Perhaps the style wasn’t intended to be plain, but the mix of the style and really dark themes didn’t mesh well for me.

Spoiler: the “twist” at the end that Jodie wasn’t raped by her uncle but actually sleeping with her cousin who is actually her step brother who doesn’t know his dad is actually Jodie’s dad was so stupid and felt really random and solidified my distaste for this book. I will not be reading the rest of the series.

bkbookend's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.75

This book took me longer than usual to fully get through. I was really disappointed in the writing style - it felt detached and convoluted and it was very difficult to connect to the characters. I liked the concept, but felt by the end that maybe these criminal investigations - from start to finish - are not for me. The character of Evie was fine, but again never grabbed me in an investing way. I was originally going to pick up the next books, but I don’t think that I will be continuing the series after this.

That being said, if you like really drawn out in-depth criminal cases that take 350+ pages to flesh out - give it a shot. I’m probably a minority here. The short chapters were really nice and kept me moving through, as I was determined to finish this and give it a chance.

Here’s a line I enjoyed -
‘Many years ago, a university lecturer of mine, Joe O’Loughlin, told me that a truly effective psychologist is someone who commits, who goes into the darkness to bring someone out. “When a person is drowning, someone has to get wet,” he said.’ (Chapter. 72, Pg. 353)