Sunday, 1 August 2021

Book Review: WHEN YOU ARE MINE by Michael Robotham


 


Title: WHEN YOU ARE MINE

Author:  Michael Robotham

Read: July 2021

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 all the stars!

 


Book Description:

 

Philomena 'Phil' McCarthy is a promising young officer in the London Metropolitan police.

But everything changes when she is called to the scene of a domestic assault. Unbeknownst to her, the abuser is a decorated detective and Phil's efforts to protect his girlfriend - Tempe Brown - from violence result in Phil being unjustly struck from the force.

In the fallout, Phil begins to teach Tempe self-defence and they strike up a tentative friendship. Tempe is thoughtful and sweet, and within a matter of weeks the two women are inseparable - talking, socialising and confiding their deepest secrets in one another. But something isn't right...


 

My musings:

 


Give me some paracetamol and a berocca, I’ve got a serious book hangover!

There aren’t many authors who can make me read all through the night and stumble to work bleary eyed and in a fog, still mulling over the characters and the story – but Michael Robotham is definitely one of them! The description of “heart pounding psychological thriller about friendship and obsession” on the blurb sums it up pretty well. But it’s also about justice, revenge, family loyalty and trying to do “the right thing” in the face of adversity. With Robotham’s uncanny eye for detail and the secret machinations of the human psyche, he lets his enigmatic young protagonist Philomena (“Phil”) take us by the hand and pull us into a story that is simply unputdownable. I always know when a book is excellent when the boundaries between fiction and reality blur and I have to re-orientate myself to my own room, in my own house, the characters still drifting like smoke in the corners, unwilling to leave.

 

I’m not going to tell you anything about the plot – read the blurb if you must, but the less you know the better. Robotham is an author I lay my trust in to lead me on a wondrous journey no matter what, and I like to take the surprises as I find them, no expectations, no preconceptions. Phil is one of those characters who will stay with me like a hint of my own lost idealistic youth. I cheered her on, I grieved for her, I felt as if I was in her head. Robotham’s books are all about their characters, the way they interact, their decision-making, the friendships and relationships that feature prominently, be it between lovers, friends, family or enemies. And woven into these dynamics is a clever, multi-layered plot that kept me guessing right to the end.

 

Lovers of clever, psychological thrillers, do yourself a favour and read this book. Robotham never fails to impress. Highly recommended.






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