ISBN 978-1-84744-219-2
418 pages
I am indebted to the author for a signed copy hot off the presses.
I started several times to write my own blurb for this latest book from Michael Robotham and then decided I couldn't really do any better than the teaser on the back cover.
Ray Hegarty, a highly respected former detective, lies dead in his daughter Sienna's bedroom. She is found covered in his blood. Everything points to her guilt, but psychologist Joe O'Loughlin isn't convinced.
Fourteen year old Sienna is the best friend of Joe's daughter and he has watched her grow up and seen the troubled look in her eyes. Against the advice of the police, he launches his own investigation, embarking on a hunt that will lead him to a predatory schoolteacher, a conspiracy of silence and a race-hate trial that is captivating the nation.
Although he and his wife are living apart, his family, his two daughters Charlie and Emma, are of prime importance to Joe O'Loughlin. That's why they are separated really - his work with the police in Bristol has a way of backlashing into their lives.
There's a theme running through BLEED FOR ME which I feel must come straight out of Michael Robotham's own heart. The following extract comes from the final pages.
Parenthood is a lot like being a trapeze artist, knowing when to let go and watch your child tumble away in mid-air, reaching out for the next rung, testing herself. My job is to be here when she swings back, ready to catch her and to launch her into the world again.
After SHATTER which topped the charts for me two years ago, I wondered whether Michael Robotham could ever do as well or better. These days I rarely read a book in one sitting, but BLEED FOR ME just kept me reading.
The prime POV is Professor Joe O'Loughlin, clinical psychologist, but ex-detective Vincent Ruiz who has been present from the beginning of the series, and DCI Ronnie Cray whom we first met in SHATTER both play primary roles. By the end of BLEED FOR ME they are really working as a team.
If you've never read any Robotham before then this one will send you looking for more. And where better to start than at the beginning:
- The Suspect (2003)
- Lost (2005) (aka The Drowning Man)
- The Night Ferry (2007)
- Shatter (2008)
- Bombproof (2008)
- Bleed For Me (2010)
My rating: 5.0
Kerrie - Thanks for this review. I really like Robotham's work a lot, so I'm eager for this one to be released : ). It sounds like a terrific read.
ReplyDeleteSounds fantastic. This is peering at me from my TBR pile right now. You may have just encouraged me to jump it to the top of the list.
ReplyDeleteSigh. Too many good books, nowhere near enough time.
Picked this up on Friday night, finished it already. Really, really good.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, Maxine at Petrona (who I really respect as a reviewer as well) didn't seem to agree with you and I about the quality of this book however - just goes to show how everything is so subjective, eh?
I haven't seen a review by Maxine for this one Craig. She found SHATTER too noir for her though.
ReplyDeleteI was in a strange mood when I wrote my last post involving it, but actually, I'm enjoying Shatter quite a lot and it's nice to know there's a good sequel to look forward to.Thank you.
ReplyDelete