43. Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham

#1 Cyrus Haven
listened on Libby/Bosler Library
narrated by Joe Jameson
Unabridged audio (11:49
2019 Scribner
353 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished 3/3/2020
Goodreads rating:
My rating:  4.5
Setting: contemporary UK

First line/s:  " 'Which one is she?' I ask, leaning closer to the observation window."

My comments: This was a pretty interesting story, or actually two stories in one.  Cyrus Haven is a youngish psychologist working with the police on the murder of a 15-year-old ice skater at the same time that he is called in to interview/examine an 18-year-old who is living locked up in a type of state home for troubled youth.  Most of the book is told from Cyrus's point of view, but every now and then there's a chapter that is first person titled "angel face" that is Evie's voice.  Evie's story is by far the most interesting, but there's a nice surprising twist in the murder story that keeps you on the edge throughout the book.  In June of July there'll be a second book detailing more of Evie's backstory.  I really like this protagonist and look forward to more.

Goodreads synopsis:  A girl is found hiding in a secret room in a house being renovated after a terrible crime. For weeks she has survived by sneaking out at night, stealing food for herself and two dogs that are kept in the garden. The nurses at the hospital where she is taken call her “Angel Face” because she won’t tell anyone her name, or her age, or where she came from. Maybe she is twelve, maybe fifteen, or somewhere in between. She doesn’t appear on any missing person’s file, or match the DNA of any murder victim.
          Six years later, still unidentified, the same girl 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. Psychologist Cyrus Haven is sent to interview Evie and decide if she’s ready to go free, but Evie Cormac is unlike he’s anyone he’s ever met. She’s damaged, destructive, and self-hating, yet possessed of a gift, or a curse, that makes her both fascinating and dangerous to be with—the ability to tell when someone is lying. Soon he is embroiled in her unique and dangerous world, his life in utmost peril.