Troubled Lives

Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham shares the parallel points of view of Cyrus, a psychologist, and Evie/”Angel Face,” a troubled teen.

Cyrus provides his medical insight to friend and police detective Lenny in the murder case of a teen-aged girl named Jodie.  Meanwhile, he is involved in the rehabilitative efforts of Evie.  It turns out that as a child, Evie was rescued from a hidden room after the brutal  murder of her abductor.  There is no knowledge of her true identity, family or age and she has never revealed her story to anyone.  Ever since being rescued, she has lived in failed foster care situations, until ending up in a secure group home for other troubled teens.

Cyrus goes out on a limb by offering to provide foster care to Edie.  This living situation creates its own set of conflicts.  Meanwhile, the murder investigation is ramping up.  One “sure” suspect is taken in while signs point to there being another person involved in Jodie’s death.  The investigation reveals that Jodie had a secret life.  Evie crosses paths with this secret life, which is how everything ultimately comes to a head, and the answers to Jodie’s death are finally revealed.

This is a great read, which slowly but satisfyingly releases tidbits of information to keep you guessing until the very end.