Category: Michael Robotham

LYING BESIDE YOU BY MICHAEL ROBOTHAM (CYRUS HAVEN #3)

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Synopsis:Twenty years ago, Cyrus Haven’s family was murdered and only he and his brother survived. Cyrus because he hid. Elias because he was the killer.
 
Now Elias is being released from a secure psychiatric hospital and Cyrus, a forensic psychologist, must decide if he can forgive the man who destroyed his childhood.
 
As he prepares for the homecoming, Cyrus is called to a crime scene in Nottingham. A man is dead and his daughter, Maya, is missing. Then a second woman is abducted. The only witness is Evie Cormac, a troubled teenager with a gift for knowing when people are lying.
 
Both missing women have dark secrets that Cyrus must unravel to find them – and he and Evie know how the past can come back to haunt you . . .
 
Kat’s Rating: 5/5
 
Kat’s Review: I absolutely love this series and was looking forward to catching up with Cyrus and Evie. What I would say is that if you haven’t read the first two books I would advise you do. It certainly gives you the background on these two characters and explains a lot about their current situation. The story focuses on Cyrus brother Elias potentially being released from the secure hospital he is currently residing at. The other element of the story surrounds a dead man being found and the search for his missing daughter.
 
Evie is such a complex character but alongside Cyrus their strange and unorthodox relationship makes for compulsive reading. Evie is living with Cyrus as a lodger and decides to dip her toe into the world of work getting herself a job collecting glasses at a bar. What she doesn’t count on is being dragged into the case by being the last witness to see the missing woman alive.
 
I don’t want to expand on the storyline for fear of spoilers but the storyline as always is completely engaging from the first to the last page. I feel like we are getting to see Evie grow up and learn how to live like a normal person her age does. Alongside her Cyrus remains steadfastly single and dedicated to his job and looking after both his brother and Evie. I read this in two straight sittings and as soon as I was finished I wanted to read another. Disappointingly I have to probably wait the best part of a year for the next book. A brilliant book which I loved and would highly recommend.

THE SECRETS SHE KEEPS BY MICHAEL ROBOTOHAM

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Synopsis: Everyone has an idea of what their perfect life is. For Agatha, it’s Meghan Shaughnessy’s.
 
These two women from vastly different backgrounds have one thing in common – a dangerous secret that could destroy everything they hold dear.
 
Both will risk everything to hide the truth, but their worlds are about to collide in a shocking act that cannot be undone.
 
Kat’s Rating: 3/5
 
Kat’s Review: I absolutely love the books created by Michael Robotham featuring Cyrus Haven. This book is a standalone (yet weirdly we do see Cyrus as a cameo role). Agatha and Meghan are the lead characters in this book and they are both seemingly in the same boat as expectant mothers. However their worlds couldn’t be further apart. Meghan already has two children and is a ‘Mummy’ vlogger alongside her dashing tv sports presenter husband. Agatha on the other hand is a loner who has a supermarket job and a boyfriend in the Navy.
 
The chapters are told from both Agatha and Meghan’s viewpoints making the story flow well and give you a real idea of each person’s story. Agatha is a strange woman and that is clear from the outset, although it also becomes just as clear before long that both women are sitting on huge secrets. The book is pretty well paced and there was certainly enough going on to keep you interested. However for me, this book just wasn’t as good as others of his I have read.
 
The characters although readable, just left no impression on me either way and I couldn’t care less what happened to them. It’s such a shame as this book by Robotham seems such a departure from the norm which can sometimes be exciting but for me it just didn’t leave any lasting impression. It certainly isn’t a ‘bad’ book it just wasn’t one from this author I particularly loved.

When She Was Good by Michael Robotham (Cyrus Haven Book 2)

51qU9bkgnbS._SY346_ Synopsis: A secret room. A silent girl. A shocking truth.

Evie Cormac was found at a murder scene six years ago, hiding in a secret room. She has never revealed her real name, why she was in that house, or what she saw.

Forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven wants to help the traumatised teenager. He thinks unravelling Evie’s secrets will free her from the past.

But he has no idea what he’s about to unleash . . .

Rated: 5/5

Review: WOW!!! Back in 2019 I picked up Good Girl, Bad Girl and was blown away. It featured Cyrus Haven a psychologist and a very damaged and unusual young girl named Evie Cormack. For me you HAVE to read that book to be able to understand their relationship and to be fair it was an amazing book so why wouldn’t you want to read it? I was really hoping for them to return and when I picked this book up, I assumed it was a standalone. I was thrilled to realise it was book 2 featuring the two of them once again.

Cyrus has his own issues having lost his family as a young child. I think that is why he is so drawn to Evie who is currently residing at Langford Hall which is a secure children’s home. This book shifts between current day and Evie’s past. It is done in such a way there is no confusion, just a slow reveal of her horrific past as each layer is peeled back. We see a real emotional roller coaster for both Cyrus and Evie as they battle their own demons and Cyrus tries desperately to help save Evie. It just isn’t clear who he is saving her from.

This book I would have read in one straight sitting, however sadly I had to go to work and by 3am my eyes were fighting so I had to suffice and finish it the next day. Michael Robotham is a seriously talented author who has created an amazing book with fabulous characters. I am really hoping this isn’t the end for Cyrus and Evie and I would love to see what they do next. HUGELY recommended…

Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham

41SWJCXtmCL._SY346_ Synopsis: Six years ago, Evie Cormac was discovered, filthy and half-starved, hiding in a secret room in the aftermath of a shocking crime. Now approaching adulthood, Evie is damaged, self-destructive and has never revealed her true identity.

Forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven, a man haunted by his own past, is investigating the death of champion figure-skater Jodie Sheehan. When Cyrus is called upon to assess Evie, she threatens to disrupt the case and destroy his ordered life. Because Evie has a unique and dangerous gift – she knows when someone is lying. And nobody is telling the truth.

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

My Review: Wow! This was an absolute belter of a book and I was absolutely gutted when I finished it. I can only hope that we see the return of these two characters I absolutely loved. Evie Cormack is damaged and has had a horrendous start to her life. Now she is approaching adulthood her life is getting even more complicated. Psychologist Cyrus Haven somehow ends up agreeing to be her responsible foster parent and that is where the book gets even more interesting. 

Both of the characters are very different and extremely engaging. It’s clear that Evie is overly bright and intelligent albeit damaged in other ways. This story actually follows two threads, one being Evie’s background and what she appears to be hiding. The other is Cyrus helping on a murder case featuring Jodie Sheehan. Gone are the days where  where I will re-hash the story line to pad a review. What I will say is that this book was absolutely brilliant and I would LOVE to read the second book featuring these two and think this could be an amazingly good series. An absolutely excellent read and one that I would HIGHLY recommend

Life or Death by Michael Robotham

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Synopsis: Why would a man escape from prison the day before he’s due to be released?

Audie Palmer has spent a decade in prison for an armed robbery in which four people died, including two of the gang. Seven million dollars has never been recovered and everybody believes that Audie knows where the money is.

For ten years he has been beaten, stabbed, throttled and threatened almost daily by prison guards, inmates and criminal gangs, who all want to answer this same question, but suddenly Audie vanishes, the day before he’s due to be released.

Everybody wants to find Audie, but he’s not running. Instead he’s trying to save a life . . . and not just his own.

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: Wow. First off I have to admit were it not for a Guest Reviewer I would never have known about Michael Robotham. Having never read any of his work I was looking forward to reading another new author. The synopsis sounded fantastic and to be honest the only criticism I have is that the cover does not do the book justice. If I walked past this in a bookshop I wouldn’t even pick it up. Aside from that there is little to grumble about.

Audie Palmer is a quiet and unassuming bloke; the only difference is that he decides to break out of prison one day before he was due to be released.  There are additional characters that play just as much a part in this book including Audie’s prison friend Moss and Special Agent Desiree Furness. All three of them are fabulous characters to read and they really make you connect with the story all the more.

There are so many questions surrounding Audie, and why he ended up inside. The story is told by peeling back layers very slowly, all the while giving the readers snippets of information from secondary threads of the story. I read 50% of the book in one go and found myself using every available opportunity to continue reading after that. Towards the ¾ mark I thought I had it worked out, and then promptly realised I was all wrong!

This book truly had me gripped from the very beginning to the very end and I was sad that I had finished it. I would highly recommend this book and have already lined up the next Robotham. He has also written a series of books featuring Joe O’Loughlin, and the 8th in this series was released in July 2015. I know what’s next on the ‘to-read’ list! Fantastic!

Close Your Eyes by Michael Robotham

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Synopsis: I close my eyes and feel my heart begin racing

Someone is coming

They’re going to find me

A mother and her teenage daughter are found murdered in a remote farmhouse, one defiled by multiple stab wounds and the other left lying like Sleeping Beauty waiting for her Prince. Reluctantly, clinical psychologist Joe O’Loughlin is drawn into the investigation when a former student, calling himself ‘the Mindhunter’, jeopardises the police inquiry by leaking details to the media and stirring up public anger.

With no shortage of suspects and tempers beginning to fray, Joe discover links between these murders and a series of brutal attacks where his victims have been choked unconscious and had the letter ‘A’ carved into their foreheads.

As the case becomes ever more complex, nothing is quite what it seems and soon Joe’s fate, and that of those closest to him, become intertwined with a merciless, unpredictable killer . . .

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: I am becoming quite the ‘Robotham’ fan I must say. The last book I read of his was also my first (Life and Death) but I loved it so much I really wanted to make a start on this one. Close Your Eyes was released earlier this year and the synopsis sounded great. What I didn’t realise was that I was hitting a series of books featuring Joe O’Loughlin at this release which was number 8. Thankfully, you can get away with reading this as a standalone, but I was devastated to realise I had missed the previous 7.

Joe is a Clinical Psychologist, who suffers from Parkinsons. He is reluctantly brought into a police investigation because of a former student of his, that is intent on using Joe’s name to get him involved with the latest case.  We also meet his ex-wife Julianne and children Charlie and Emma. What seems like a straightforward double murder, throws up more suspects than you could imagine and that adds to the general intrigue of the story.

The other element of the story I liked was his old friend, ex-policeman, Vincent. Both of them are re-working the case and there are multiple threads that are picked up and then worked on even more as the suspect list grows, as does the reasoning behind them. The murder victims Elizabeth and Harper Crowe open up a literal can of worms as their lives are broken down to enable Joe to get to the bottom of who would want them both dead.

This book was a real ‘whodunnit’ and had the added element of a cracking lead character and absolutely brilliant additional characters. Although I haven’t read the rest in the series, this made me want to immediately catch up with the back catalogue. The ending was also a shock and one that left me feeling that I really needed to read the next one to see what happens next for Joe. I am amazed I have left it this long to read a Michael Robotham, but I will ensure that all future releases are top of the list!