By: Michael Robotham
ISBN: 9781982166458
Publisher: Scribner
Publication Date: 01/04/2022
Format: Hardcover
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
In this page-turning psychological thriller from an author who Stephen King called “an absolute master,” a young female police officer faces danger on all fronts—from a clever victim of abuse, her colleagues on the force, and even her own mobster father.
Philomena McCarthy is a young, ambitious police office with the elite Metropolitan Police in London. When she responds to a domestic violence call, she finds the victim, Tempe Brown, trying to protect her abuser, a married man named Darren Goodall, a decorated Scotland Yard detective afraid of no one. As Philomena pursues the case against him, she not only encounters resistance from her police force colleagues but also becomes dangerously entangled with the victim—who is not at all whom she appears to be—much to the increasing endangerment of herself and Henry, her fiancée.
Complicating matters is Philomena’s estranged father Edward McCarthy, a powerful man who has built a criminal empire along with his brothers. Philomena has long tried to pursue her career as a police officer without her father’s involvement, but as she falls under suspicion of stalking and harassing Goodall, her father becomes involved.
As the situation escalates, Tempe’s sinister maneuvers further entangle Philomena in a web of secrets, corruption, and murder, putting Philomena’s impending marriage, career, and very survival in jeopardy…
Spellbinding, suspenseful, and filled with complex characters that could be heroes or villains, Robotham has crafted a smart and propulsive thriller that’s impossible to put down.
My Review
One of my favorites, internationally bestselling crime thriller Australian author, Michael Robotham, returns with an emotionally charged standalone domestic thriller WHEN YOU ARE MINE—where lines are blurred between love and hate, right and wrong.
This moving psychological thriller covers domestic abuse, domestic violence, toxic friendships, and all families’ baggage.
Set in London, Philomena (Phil) McCarthy is a young, ambitious police officer with the elite Metropolitan Police in London. Her name means strength. She is a strong woman and driven, but now someone is standing in her way that will threaten what she has worked so hard for her entire life.
When she responds to a domestic violence call, she finds the victim—Tempe Brown, trying to protect her abuser, a married man named Darren Goodall.
It turns out he is a decorated Scotland Yard detective afraid of no one. When Goodall assaults McCarthy, she arrests him. Later, Goodall’s male allies on the force make both assault cases go away, and he begins stalking her to get revenge. No one wants to go up against him. How can women report him when is a cop?
Philomena is the daughter of a notorious London gangster (along with his brothers) and she does not want to get her family involved; however, they may step in.
When she was 11 years old, she was injured in a bus terrorist bombing and knew she wanted to be a cop like the one on the bus that day long ago. She was her hero.
She has tried to pursue her career as a police officer without her father’s involvement, but now in her efforts to help a woman, she falls under suspicion of stalking and harassing Goodall (a total monster)! She may lose her job and reputation.
Her father married a younger woman Constance, and her stepmother is pretty close to her age. Her father is turning sixty, and he wants his estranged daughter home for the big party.
She has not spoken to him in over six years. It is difficult when she is a cop, and her father and three uncles are criminals with an empire. It took her more than four times to apply and she tries not to connect herself with her father’s way of life.
She is planning a wedding with her partner and love, Henry. Now the victim of the domestic abuse befriends her and says she is a wedding planner. She is around all the time. Can she trust her? She tries to protect Tempe, but it appears she keeps going back to him, and this guy has a hold on her.
Then Philomena discovers this decorated police officer which is violent and abusive also treats his wife the same way and children. She must stop this guy. She is suspended when trying to do her own investigation into his past.
Philomena soon interjects herself in the middle of both women trying to protect them, and her superiors and Darren Goodall has it out for her. She may lose her job and reputation for good. Goodall stalks her with a series of events. Should she get her father involved?
Heck, YES!
As she digs deeper into police files, she finds out more about Goodall and women in his past. She puts herself in harm's way along with an investigative reporter.
She is determined to save the wife and the girlfriend from the monster but then something happens which points the finger at her. She fears her father but loves him. When she joined the police force she was taught justice. Now she wonders and these events have changed her.
“Perhaps that’s the best way to ward off my demons—to have one of them at home.”
Robotham cranks up the intensity and delivers a final blow plot twist that will have your jaw-dropping!
A powerful and compelling story and read it in one day. He is always at the "top of his game" and in a class all his own.
As always, the author never disappoints. His writing is superb, action-packed with strong characterization. He always writes of strong women, obsession, and conflicts between personal and professional and full of emotion. He is one of my favorite authors and have read all his books and anxiously await the next masterpiece. Even though I adore his standalones, I am missing Joe O’Loughin’!
Robotham is a top crime writer, and fans of Karin Slaughter, Lisa Gardner, and Lisa Unger will devour WHEN YOU ARE MINE. He is my "go-to" author for good crime thrillers with heart.
The author includes more information and statistics regarding domestic abuse in the acknowledgments. It is astounding that an intimate partner in America kills three women a day. Two women a week die from domestic violence in the UK, and one woman dies every week in Australia. As he reiterates, if this were terrorism, we would have done something by now.
If you have not read Michael Robotham’s books, get started. He lands on my top books each year and he has an incredible backlist. This would make a super entertaining book to movie or TV series.
If you have not watched his "novel to movie" —“The Secrets She Keeps” highly recommend the book and the movie (landing on my top books of 2017). Starring the adorable Australian actress, Jessica De Gouw! Love her. Check it out on Amazon Video. You can check my top books of the year on my website under the BOOK STUFF drop-down, where you will find all my reviews for Michael Robotham.
PS Another all-time favorite of Robotham LIFE OR DEATH Highly impressive and still sits on the front shelf of my bookcase. Top Books of 2015
2022 is stacked and everything I have read thus far has been off the charts extraordinary.
What a treat to be able to read an advanced reading copy. Thank you #NetGalley and #Scribner! I also pre-ordered the hardcover copy.
Blog Review:
@JudithDCollins
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/of 5 Stars
Pub Date: Jan 4, 2022
Praise for Michael Robotham
"[An] expertly paced first-person narrative. . . . Sidestepping all the clichés—the tough-girl humor is perfectly pitched and never overdone—the novel is as psychologically nuanced and emotionally engaging as it is suspenseful. . . . A flawless and compassionate psychological thriller." —Kirkus (starred review)
'An absolute master'
—Stephen King
'He writes in a voice with a haunting sense of soul'
—Peter James
'Heart-stopping, heart-breaking and heart-wrenching'
—Val McDermid
'Robotham is the real deal'
—David Baldacci
'Robotham doesn't just make me scared for his characters, he makes my heart ache for them'
—Linwood Barclay
'A highly skilled thriller writer'
—Daily Express
"In this nail-biter from Edgar finalist Robotham (When She Was Good), Police Constable Philomena McCarthy’s devotion to duty and empathy for victimized women threaten to make her time with the Southwark Police short after she and her partner, Anishi Kohli, respond to a report of a domestic disturbance. After conferring with a woman who says she could hear her neighbor screaming, McCarthy and Kohli go to the neighbor’s door, which is answered by a battered young woman who calls herself Tempe and claims that her injuries are accidental—and that she’s alone. Behind the door, McCarthy finds Tempe’s abusive boyfriend, a decorated detective sergeant, Darren Goodall. When Goodall assaults McCarthy, she arrests him. Later, Goodall’s male allies on the force make both assault cases go away. Though she’s warned to distance herself from Goodall, McCarthy pursues her suspicions that he may also be abusing his wife, while also trying to find a refuge for Tempe. Those unauthorized endeavors jeopardize her job and her life. Robotham tightens the screws on his sympathetic lead incrementally as the action builds to a satisfying climax. Lisa Unger fans will be riveted."
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
The Secrets She Keeps
You must read and watch THE SECRETS SHE KEEPS!!!!! I read the book (Top Books of 2017) 10 stars (my Review) and the TV series is just as good!!!! I purchased it on Amazon Video if you guys want to know where to watch. I adore Australian actress, Jessica De Gouw (from Underground)!!!
Read the inspiration behind the novel: HELLO MAGAZINE It is juicy!
About the Author
Two times Gold Dagger award winner, Michael Robotham began his writing career as an investigative journalist working across Britain, Australia and America. Later he became a ghostwriter, collaborating on 15 'autobiographies' for politician, pop stars, soldiers and adventurers. Twelve of these books became Sunday Times bestsellers.
Michael's haunting psychological thrillers have been translated into twenty-five languages and his Joe O'Loughlin series is are currently in development for TV by World Productions. A six-part TV series based upon his standalone novel THE SECRETS SHE KEEPS was aired on BBC1 in 2020.
Michael has twice won the prestigious CWA Gold Dagger for GOOD GIRL BAD GIRL (2020) and LIFE OR DEATH (2015). He has twice been shortlisted for the Edgar Award for crime fiction in the US, and twice won the Ned Kelly Award for Australia's Crime Novel of the Year, and twice been shortlisted for the CWA Steel Dagger.
Michael lives in Sydney with his wife and a diminishing number of dependent daughters.
His website is: www.michaelrobotham.com
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