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A review by villenview
Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
While the core mystery of this book was interesting (if not a bit procedural), I was very frustrated by the outlandish behavior of the main characters, which worsened as the book went on.
Our main character, Cyrus, is a clinical psychologist who experienced extreme trauma as a kid. Despite what the book suggests to be "good intentions," he repeatedly makes incredibly unethical decisions in his job with the police and also in his care of in-and-out of the system Evie, a teenager who has also experienced extreme childhood trauma (though arguably more extreme than Cyrus). I understand that this is the point of the story: in trying to help Evie, Cyrus himself learns also how to heal.
While poetic in theory, in practice, the book creates a false equivalency between Cyrus and Evie's experiences that really does a disservice to Evie's extremely recent and horrific abuse. Any clinical practitioner worth their salt would NEVER prioritize their personal relationship with a patient over the patients well-being, and would also take very great pains to avoid conflicts of interest such as being responsible for the care and treatment of a patient who then comes to live in your house! Especially when that patient is a very traumatized young woman!!! (BIG red flags here!)
As someone who works in a mental health-adjacent field, not only was I shocked at this representation of a psychologist, but it destroyed any possible credibility that the character of Cyrus had. I was more than a little disturbed that Evie's placement with Cyrus is presented to be basically her only option to leave in-patientincarceration treatment (the red flag alarm is deafening).
Of course, Evie living with Cyrus causes ~plot things~ to happen (some pretty silly things at that). Because the crimes committed against Evie are not the focus of the core mystery, I felt like her chapters read very sensationalist as a result. It leaves the sinking impression that Evie is more of a plot device for Cyrus's personal development, which is (in my view) the exacty opposite of what should be the priority.
I recognize that I am being pretty harsh with my criticism here. However, for a book about how the trauma that kids experience leaves them lost and often uncared for, I feel like the bare minimum isn't met here to even sort of handle this topic appropriately.
Our main character, Cyrus, is a clinical psychologist who experienced extreme trauma as a kid. Despite what the book suggests to be "good intentions," he repeatedly makes incredibly unethical decisions in his job with the police and also in his care of in-and-out of the system Evie, a teenager who has also experienced extreme childhood trauma (though arguably more extreme than Cyrus). I understand that this is the point of the story: in trying to help Evie, Cyrus himself learns also how to heal.
While poetic in theory, in practice, the book creates a false equivalency between Cyrus and Evie's experiences that really does a disservice to Evie's extremely recent and horrific abuse. Any clinical practitioner worth their salt would NEVER prioritize their personal relationship with a patient over the patients well-being, and would also take very great pains to avoid conflicts of interest such as being responsible for the care and treatment of a patient who then comes to live in your house! Especially when that patient is a very traumatized young woman!!! (BIG red flags here!)
As someone who works in a mental health-adjacent field, not only was I shocked at this representation of a psychologist, but it destroyed any possible credibility that the character of Cyrus had. I was more than a little disturbed that Evie's placement with Cyrus is presented to be basically her only option to leave in-patient
Of course, Evie living with Cyrus causes ~plot things~ to happen (some pretty silly things at that). Because the crimes committed against Evie are not the focus of the core mystery, I felt like her chapters read very sensationalist as a result. It leaves the sinking impression that Evie is more of a plot device for Cyrus's personal development, which is (in my view) the exacty opposite of what should be the priority.
I recognize that I am being pretty harsh with my criticism here. However, for a book about how the trauma that kids experience leaves them lost and often uncared for, I feel like the bare minimum isn't met here to even sort of handle this topic appropriately.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Incest