Good Girl, Bad Girl (A Cyrus Haven Novel Book One)

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 shocking 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, the 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 and another who needs justice. What price will he pay for the truth?

Genres - Mystery; Thriller; Crime; Suspense

353 pages, Hardcover

First published July 23, 2019

Content Warnings

• murder

• incest

• drugs

• abuse

• torture

*** There are no graphic descriptions of any of this.

Literary awards

Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel (2020) CWA Gold Dagger (2020)

My Verdict

I think I have found a new favorite writer of thrillers. Robotham definitely knows how to create a suspenseful plot. I found myself liking both Cyrus and Evie. Evie's character can be a bit abrasive but that just made me like her more. I was cheering for her the whole way. I love that I am never sure if she has blocked out details of her early life or if she is just unwilling to share them. Overall, this was an awesome read for me. I did guess a few things about what really happened to Jodie, but Evie's storyline kept surprising me. There is violence in this book but it never feels excessive. I appreciate that. It leaves room for my imagination to connect the dots. There are definitely some unanswered questions, but that seems intentional, leaving room for the story to pick up in Book Two. The only thing keeping me from giving this 5 stars is that I was not completely surprised by the outcome. It is a strong 4.5 stars, though.