"The plot was engrossing but became somewhat repetitive"

When You Are Mine By Michael Robotham

Thanks to Netra Surana from thebooklit.com for sharing her review of Robotham's latest psychological thriller.

Set the scene for us: What made you pick up the book? Where and when did you read it? How long did it take to read?

I loved Michael Robotham's previous book called Good Girl, Bad Girl. I also like to read domestic thrillers, and the synopsis sounded interesting to me. I picked it up on a weekend at home and finished it within two days.

How did this book make you feel?

I was furiously flipping through pages in the beginning, but then my excitement waned. I still kept going because I enjoyed the author's previous work and I wanted to finish it, but there was little pay off. It didn't really live up to my expectations and I felt a little deflated.

What themes did it explore?

It explores abuse against women and children, as well as obsession and a twisted friendship.

What did you like about the plot/characterisation/writing style?

I did like the fact that it was emotionally engaging; the plot was engrossing right from the beginning.

However, my thoughts after reading this are a little scrambled. The writing style is straightforward but not descriptive enough. It has a super simple storyline, and we follow an officer as she tries to report a well-known detective. But she's failing to be heard due to the detective's influence. The character Tempe adds some intrigue. We see the abused women hiding secrets. But despite these hooks, the end didn't feel satisfying. The actual plot was super repetitive. He attacks someone; they call Phil (the officer); she gets involved and then they backtrack. The plot sort of fell into a cycle and didn't progress for well over half the book.

Who'd love/hate this book?

People who like a fast-paced mystery/thriller will like this book. Readers who don't like a straightforward plot should avoid reading it.

Specific line or paragraph you liked?

“Strong women can be abused. Rich women. Old. Young. Victim-blamers, often men, sometimes claim that women enable their violent husbands by being somehow co-dependent, or enjoying their victimhood, but none of that is true. There is only one person who can control domestic abuse, and that’s the abuser.”

Found a funny/stupid Amazon one-star review?

"While the book gets off to a promising start, it quickly descends into “yada, yada, yada”. I struggled through a third of the book before giving it away. It got to the stage where I started to wonder whether Robotham actually wrote this book?"

Thanks so much Netra for filling in our review form!