Book Review: When She Was Good by Michael Robotham

I love this series! This book was every bit as engaging as the first. This is a dark dark dark tale, and the backstory that was provided should have felt overwhelming but never did.

This is another of those deceptively short reviews, because to write more risks ruining the magic of the revelations. The series is character-driven and to tell too much about what the characters undergo (and have undergone, as this one is a back-and-forth in time, filling in gaps from the first book) is to give away the farm. I wouldn’t do that for the world – the series is beautifully constructed, balancing horrific revelations with heartbreaking possibilities for redemption in a meld that works perfectly without ever feeling overly dramatic or overly optimistic. It’s a fine line to walk, but Robotham walks it with elan…

Robotham is a phenomenal writer who has a knack for writing characters who should by rights be completely broken but nevertheless manage to not only survive but thrive (in their own inimitable way) despite the odds. The revelations poured out page after page, but the back and forth presentation meant that just when you thought you couldn’t read one more description of one more horrible event, you were thrown into the other timeline and given a breather. Don’t get me wrong, the whole story is dark, past and present, but the shift back and forth made the darkness bearable. The story is so engaging and the characters painted so evocatively that it’s impossible not to fall for them heart and soul.

I could read about Cyrus Haven and Angel Face all day!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.