Good Me Bad Me

Ali Land

Flatiron Books

September 5, 2017

Blurb:  Milly’s mother is a serial killer. Though Milly loves her mother, the only way to make her stop is to turn her in to the police. Milly is given a fresh start: a new identity, a home with an affluent foster family, and a spot at an exclusive private school.

But Milly has secrets, and life at her new home becomes complicated. As her mother’s trial looms, with Milly as the star witness, Milly starts to wonder how much of her is nature, how much of her is nurture, and whether she is doomed to turn out like her mother after all.

When tensions rise and Milly feels trapped by her shiny new life, she has to decide: Will she be good? Or is she bad? She is, after all, her mother’s daughter.

SASCHA DARLINGTON’S REVIEW

I can take werewolves. I can take vampires. I can take hours of watching Supernatural but the instant you start throwing real monsters at me, the ones who are human but do awful things, that’s when I get scared. Which is why when I was nearing the end of  Ali Land’s Good Me Bad Me, was caught up in the story and brought it to bed to read one more chapter, I couldn’t. I waited until the next day to finish because…well…sleep…good dreams. I did not want real monsters invading my dreams!

Milly has been warped by a mother who has done unspeakable things to Milly as well as the children she has murdered. Good Me Bad Me slowly reveals details, immediately involving the reader. This is the kind of novel lovers of psychological thrillers would zoom through like peanuts because the writing is so taut and the tension just unrelentingly thick. In fact, I don’t think I felt it wane a single time until the last quarter, when I thought I knew what was going on.

I also found it extremely difficult to read about an individual who could abuse and murder children, who was trusted and abused that trust. This is the stuff of real monsters.

The ending felt a little predictable to me, which was a bit disappointing after such a tension-filled read. However, if you’re a fan of psychological thrillers, I would definitely recommend Good Me Bad Me.

I won an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

rating: 

4 butterflies out of 5 butterflies