Book Review: Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham (Cyrus Haven #1)

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The first book in Michael Robotham’s Cyrus Haven series introduces us to “Evie Cormac” (not her real name), assumed to be around seventeen years old, who was found six years ago hiding in a secret room in an old house in the aftermath of a brutal murder. Dubbed “Angel Face”, nobody knows who she is, no one came forward to claim her and DNA searches haven't yielded any results. Evie is currently a resident in a high-security children's home in Nottingham, where she meets Dr. Cyrus Haven, a forensic psychologist with a tragic past, who works as a profiler for law enforcement. Cyrus is visiting Langford Hall to study Evie’s case and help determine whether her plea to be released as an adult should be granted. Evie possesses a special gift – she can tell when anyone is lying to her face – a facet that fascinates Cyrus, his doctoral research having been based on “truth wizards”. Cyrus is sympathetic to Evie’s plight and is motivated to help her, but Evie is naturally distrustful of others and won’t make it easy for Cyrus. Cyrus is also helping the police find the person responsible for the murder of fifteen-year-old figure-skating champion, Jodie Sheehan. As the narrative progresses, we follow Cyrus and Evie as their lives intersect and the investigation into Jodie’s murder forces each of them to confront their own troubled pasts.

Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham is a dark and intense thriller. Fast-paced, with an intricately woven plot and complex characters, I was glued to the pages until the very end. Both Evie and Cyrus are fascinating characters and I could not wait to find out more about them. The murder mystery is cleverly crafted with enough twists and red herrings to keep you engrossed as the plot progresses. The narrative, shared from Cyrus and Evie’s first-person POVs in alternating chapters, allows us to explore the characters – their motives and innermost thoughts and their backstories. I was invested in the evolving dynamic between Cyrus and Evie. Though what we can gather about Evie’s past and what she has endured is heartbreaking, at times she isn’t particularly likable, but this facet makes her an interesting character.

Though I was satisfied with the unraveling of the murder mystery, there were quite a few unanswered questions in Evie’s storyline, which left me a tad disappointed with the ending. Luckily, I was reading the first four books of the series back to back, so I didn't have to wait too long for the answers.

I know I’m late to the party, but I am thrilled to have discovered this series!