Good Me Bad Me: A Novel

I bought the book because of all the great comments I read about it, and maybe this built some expectations in me, but the book was just ok for me, kind of slow, I was waiting for things to happen and kept reading, but I can't say that I really enjoyed it, it was just ok.

Can you imagine having such an evil, vile person as your only caregiver? Your mother a serial killer. And not just a serial killer but a serial killer who preys on small children. The long lasting damage that could do to any person, let alone a child is immeasurable.

This book is definitely chilling and disturbing. It had all the things I love most. The writing for this twisted and demented story couldn't have been done any better. Ali Land nailed it perfectly! The past and present colliding at once, the emotions of a confused and damaged kid, and the struggle to survive ones past, this journey is definitely a bumpy ride.

I couldn't put this book down. I devoured it. It is so unique and thought-provoking. It gave me goosebumps and chilled me to the bone.

I would like to thank Penguin UK for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this book.

I enjoyed Good Me, Bad Me at the time of reading, but I was left feeling a bit let down on finishing it. The premise was interesting enough to hold my attention at the time, but I guessed almost right from the start where the story was heading and found it rather predictable as a result.

I couldn't connect to the characters, they didn't have enough depth to make them feel real and there were too many different elements to the storyline. I think it would have enjoyed it more had they been narrowed down and more depth and detail invested in the few rather than skimming the surface of many. I wasn't able to get into the headspace of the main character because there was so much going on around her, her character lacked the complexity and detail needed to portray her situation.

That being said, it wasn't a bad read. The premise was a good one and it was an easy, quick read, but it was lacking the suspense, thrills and tension that I love to experience in a good psychological thriller, and was too predictable.

Milly is starting her new life with a foster family with her new name to hide her true identity, you see Milly is really Annie, the daughter of a serial killer awaiting trial. Not only is Milly a serial killer’s daughter but she herself is the one that went to the police and turned her mother in to stop her from killing any more children.

Now living in the home of Mike, a psychologist working with Milly, and his family including his wife and daughter, Milly finds herself trying to come to terms with her mother. Her new life isn’t exactly easy for Milly either though, Mike’s daughter makes a point to bully Milly not liking that her parents didn’t keep their promise of no more foster children and Milly also has to prepare for her mother’s upcoming trial in which Milly is the key witness.

Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land is one that caught my attention after seeing tons of great reviews on the book so since it sounded right up my alley I thought I would fall in love with this book. When finished however I rather thought the story was more of one that is just alright, it’s good but not as great as I was expecting it to be.

My first issue with this one came with getting used to Milly/Annie’s narrative in the story. It really does fit the character quite well but it also took some getting used to for me since Milly spends alot of time in her own head speaking with her mother and going over events.

Once I got used to that though the book picked up and took off but then my second complaint came into play… There was no amazing twist or shocking reveal in my opinion. The story really just seemed to go right to the obvious to me so I was left with wanting a bit more unfortunately. Perhaps this is just because I read so much but that did end up bringing my rating down a bit more.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin for offering me a free ARC of this novel that I voluntarily chose to review.
This novel has Annie, a sixteen years old girl, as narrator and she tells us, in the first person, what happens when she reports her mother to the police. Her mother is a serial killer. Worse than that, she’s killed 9 children (allegedly). Whilst they are waiting for the trial, she is placed with a foster family and given a new identity (she becomes Milly). Her new family has its problems too. Mike, the father, is a psychologist and seems the most together in the family although he doesn’t realise he might be biting more than he can chew. Saskia, the mother, has problems in her relationship with her daughter and drinks and takes too many pills. Phoebe is a queen bee and not very nice at all. The dog is OK, though. Milly tries to fit in with the new family while getting ready for the trial. It is not easy.
I’m always intrigued by how writers use their narrators and here Milly (Annie) is pretty unreliable. She is very good at keeping under wraps some of the information and only revealing or suggesting other. She talks to her mother, whose voice she seems to have internalised (giving a clear indication of the effect such toxic people would have in the lives of those around them) and has a running conversation with her, convinced that her mother is still playing games with her. Milly insists on giving evidence because in some way that will give her closure (perhaps). She second-guesses not only her mother but all around her; a habit we guess must have grown from trying to survive in an extremely hostile environment.
Milly’s new life has difficulties, as Phoebe, who doesn’t know her circumstances, is jealous of the attention her father gives her and is quite bitchy. She bullies her and gets her friends to do the same at school. Milly manages to make a friend but her relationship with Morgan, a girl from a neighbouring estate, has very worrying traits and is not the healthiest.
The story is well written and paced, revealing information at a slow pace and keeping us intrigued. The subject matter is very hard, but the worst of the violence is psychological and there are few details given although we get to imagine terrible things. There is an air of threat and impending doom hanging over the novel that the author achieves by cleverly hiding some information and foreshadowing other events that not always take place.
The writer, who had worked nursing young people in mental health settings, creates a good plot and it’s difficult not to let our mind wonder and wander, worrying about what might come next.
I’ve read some of the comments about the novel and although most are positive, some of the negative ones deserve some discussion. Some people query the voice of the narrator, whom they feel is very articulate and adult-sounding for a sixteen-year-old. She is very articulate. She is also a girl who’s survived to incredible life events and who’s evidently very intelligent and even gifted (if we’re to judge by the comments of her art teacher) and she’s very good at self-censoring at manipulating others (and perhaps herself and us too). It is not easy to sympathise with her at an emotional level, although rationally it is impossible not to empathise and it might also depend on the reader (and our feelings change as we read on). There are comments about how Milly seems to behave too rationally and how somebody subjected to the abuse and trauma she has suffered would be much more affected. There is no fast and hard rule on that matter and one can’t help but wonder about Milly’s own personality. As she notes, she’s her mother’s daughter. Some of the reviewers felt that the rest of the characters are one-dimensional and have no depth but we need to remember the book is narrated from Milly’s point of view and she’s very self-centered and sees other characters only in the light of their interaction with her, not as individuals with other interests and full lives (her relationship with the art tutor is illustrative of that, although the school doesn’t do a very good job there either).
There are some points that are perhaps given too much emphasis (they are going to perform Lord of the Flies at the school, very aptly and that is subject of much discussion, therefore calling attention once more to children and violence), and we are given data ends up becoming a red herring or doesn’t go anywhere (Milly discovers information about some of the characters that makes us wonder what’s going to happen next and… nothing does). Personally, I think all of it helps create a picture of the central character as a contradictory individual, who is trying to not be like her mother but at the same time can’t help but want her mother’s approval, who perhaps has realised that being bad has its pluses too, as long as you don’t get caught.
The ending won’t disappoint, although I think many of us might have suspected what was going to happen but not perhaps how the author builds up to it, and as I said, we might have thought there was more to come.
In summary a disquieting and chilling book, that’s not heavy on explicit violence but explores the darker recesses of the mind of somebody affected by an extremely dysfunctional childhood. A word of warning, although there’s very little explicit violence, I know some readers prefer not to read thrillers where children are the victims and suffer abuse and that’s the case here.

At fifteen years old, Millie is living with a foster family preparing to testify against her mother, who has killed nine children while Millie was living at home with her. As the trial draws nearer, Millie still hears her mother in her head, and can't help but wonder if she's more similar to her mother than she cares to admit. Will Millie follow in her mothers footsteps, or will she choose a new life? 

Good Me, Bad Me was a book I was really excited to read and was highly anticipating! It had a lot of hype and great reviews, and the premise sounded excellent. Unfortunately, I think this one fell victim to the hype a little bit for me. While I enjoyed it, I didn't love it the way many others did. 

Good Me, Bad Me is told from Millie's point of view, and the writing style is very unique. The author uses lots of fragmented sentences in the writing, which really made it feel like we were hearing Millie's thoughts, rather than constant fluent coherent sentences that we as readers have come to expect from our books, and I really liked that. 

I think where I struggled was around the fact that the book didn't quite read like a thriller. The majority of the plot was spent in the time leading up to the trial where Millie would be testifying against her mother, and detailed the daily life that Millie had settled into with her foster parents, Mike and Saskia, and their daughter Phoebe. Phoebe absolutely hated Millie, and made it her mission to pretty much torment her on a regular basis. She was horrible, and just a bully in general, and essentially made it her mission to be as awful to Millie as possible. While I didn't mind that storyline, I wasn't expecting it to be the majority of the plot, but it was. I was also expecting a lot of twists and turns throughout the book, but overall the story was very straightforward, and while there were two minor plot twists, I saw them both coming, so overall the booked lacked the thrilling suspense element for me. 

Lastly, there were some references to Millie's past, specifically around her brother, that I would have loved to have spent more time reading about. They were mentioned, but not really covered in depth, and I would love to have read what would essentially be a prequel to this book - the life Millie lived with her abusive murderous mother, and how she turned her in and finally escaped from her. That wasn't covered in depth in this book. 

When all was said and done, I did enjoy the book, but I didn't love it. I rated this one 3.5 stars. I know I'm in the minority on this one, and that the majority of other reviews absolutely loved this one, so if the plot sounds interesting to you, definitely check it out! Thank you to NetGalley, Ali Land, and Penguin Books for an advanced copy of the book. It was my pleasure to provide an honest review. 

Thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin for offering me a free ARC of this novel that I voluntarily chose to review.
This novel has Annie, a sixteen years old girl, as narrator and she tells us, in the first person, what happens when she reports her mother to the police. Her mother is a serial killer. Worse than that, she’s killed 9 children (allegedly). Whilst they are waiting for the trial, she is placed with a foster family and given a new identity (she becomes Milly). Her new family has its problems too. Mike, the father, is a psychologist and seems the most together in the family although he doesn’t realise he might be biting more than he can chew. Saskia, the mother, has problems in her relationship with her daughter and drinks and takes too many pills. Phoebe is a queen bee and not very nice at all. The dog is OK, though. Milly tries to fit in with the new family while getting ready for the trial. It is not easy.
I’m always intrigued by how writers use their narrators and here Milly (Annie) is pretty unreliable. She is very good at keeping under wraps some of the information and only revealing or suggesting other. She talks to her mother, whose voice she seems to have internalised (giving a clear indication of the effect such toxic people would have in the lives of those around them) and has a running conversation with her, convinced that her mother is still playing games with her. Milly insists on giving evidence because in some way that will give her closure (perhaps). She second-guesses not only her mother but all around her; a habit we guess must have grown from trying to survive in an extremely hostile environment.
Milly’s new life has difficulties, as Phoebe, who doesn’t know her circumstances, is jealous of the attention her father gives her and is quite bitchy. She bullies her and gets her friends to do the same at school. Milly manages to make a friend but her relationship with Morgan, a girl from a neighbouring estate, has very worrying traits and is not the healthiest.
The story is well written and paced, revealing information at a slow pace and keeping us intrigued. The subject matter is very hard, but the worst of the violence is psychological and there are few details given although we get to imagine terrible things. There is an air of threat and impending doom hanging over the novel that the author achieves by cleverly hiding some information and foreshadowing other events that not always take place.
The writer, who had worked nursing young people in mental health settings, creates a good plot and it’s difficult not to let our mind wonder and wander, worrying about what might come next.
I’ve read some of the comments about the novel and although most are positive, some of the negative ones deserve some discussion. Some people query the voice of the narrator, whom they feel is very articulate and adult-sounding for a sixteen-year-old. She is very articulate. She is also a girl who’s survived to incredible life events and who’s evidently very intelligent and even gifted (if we’re to judge by the comments of her art teacher) and she’s very good at self-censoring at manipulating others (and perhaps herself and us too). It is not easy to sympathise with her at an emotional level, although rationally it is impossible not to empathise and it might also depend on the reader (and our feelings change as we read on). There are comments about how Milly seems to behave too rationally and how somebody subjected to the abuse and trauma she has suffered would be much more affected. There is no fast and hard rule on that matter and one can’t help but wonder about Milly’s own personality. As she notes, she’s her mother’s daughter. Some of the reviewers felt that the rest of the characters are one-dimensional and have no depth but we need to remember the book is narrated from Milly’s point of view and she’s very self-centered and sees other characters only in the light of their interaction with her, not as individuals with other interests and full lives (her relationship with the art tutor is illustrative of that, although the school doesn’t do a very good job there either).
There are some points that are perhaps given too much emphasis (they are going to perform Lord of the Flies at the school, very aptly and that is subject of much discussion, therefore calling attention once more to children and violence), and we are given data ends up becoming a red herring or doesn’t go anywhere (Milly discovers information about some of the characters that makes us wonder what’s going to happen next and… nothing does). Personally, I think all of it helps create a picture of the central character as a contradictory individual, who is trying to not be like her mother but at the same time can’t help but want her mother’s approval, who perhaps has realised that being bad has its pluses too, as long as you don’t get caught.
The ending won’t disappoint, although I think many of us might have suspected what was going to happen but not perhaps how the author builds up to it, and as I said, we might have thought there was more to come.
In summary a disquieting and chilling book, that’s not heavy on explicit violence but explores the darker recesses of the mind of somebody affected by an extremely dysfunctional childhood. A word of warning, although there’s very little explicit violence, I know some readers prefer not to read thrillers where children are the victims and suffer abuse and that’s the case here.

At fifteen years old, Millie is living with a foster family preparing to testify against her mother, who has killed nine children while Millie was living at home with her. As the trial draws nearer, Millie still hears her mother in her head, and can't help but wonder if she's more similar to her mother than she cares to admit. Will Millie follow in her mothers footsteps, or will she choose a new life? 

Good Me, Bad Me was a book I was really excited to read and was highly anticipating! It had a lot of hype and great reviews, and the premise sounded excellent. Unfortunately, I think this one fell victim to the hype a little bit for me. While I enjoyed it, I didn't love it the way many others did. 

Good Me, Bad Me is told from Millie's point of view, and the writing style is very unique. The author uses lots of fragmented sentences in the writing, which really made it feel like we were hearing Millie's thoughts, rather than constant fluent coherent sentences that we as readers have come to expect from our books, and I really liked that. 

I think where I struggled was around the fact that the book didn't quite read like a thriller. The majority of the plot was spent in the time leading up to the trial where Millie would be testifying against her mother, and detailed the daily life that Millie had settled into with her foster parents, Mike and Saskia, and their daughter Phoebe. Phoebe absolutely hated Millie, and made it her mission to pretty much torment her on a regular basis. She was horrible, and just a bully in general, and essentially made it her mission to be as awful to Millie as possible. While I didn't mind that storyline, I wasn't expecting it to be the majority of the plot, but it was. I was also expecting a lot of twists and turns throughout the book, but overall the story was very straightforward, and while there were two minor plot twists, I saw them both coming, so overall the booked lacked the thrilling suspense element for me. 

Lastly, there were some references to Millie's past, specifically around her brother, that I would have loved to have spent more time reading about. They were mentioned, but not really covered in depth, and I would love to have read what would essentially be a prequel to this book - the life Millie lived with her abusive murderous mother, and how she turned her in and finally escaped from her. That wasn't covered in depth in this book. 

When all was said and done, I did enjoy the book, but I didn't love it. I rated this one 3.5 stars. I know I'm in the minority on this one, and that the majority of other reviews absolutely loved this one, so if the plot sounds interesting to you, definitely check it out! Thank you to NetGalley, Ali Land, and Penguin Books for an advanced copy of the book. It was my pleasure to provide an honest review. 

I would like to thank Penguin UK for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this book.

I enjoyed Good Me, Bad Me at the time of reading, but I was left feeling a bit let down on finishing it. The premise was interesting enough to hold my attention at the time, but I guessed almost right from the start where the story was heading and found it rather predictable as a result.

I couldn't connect to the characters, they didn't have enough depth to make them feel real and there were too many different elements to the storyline. I think it would have enjoyed it more had they been narrowed down and more depth and detail invested in the few rather than skimming the surface of many. I wasn't able to get into the headspace of the main character because there was so much going on around her, her character lacked the complexity and detail needed to portray her situation.

That being said, it wasn't a bad read. The premise was a good one and it was an easy, quick read, but it was lacking the suspense, thrills and tension that I love to experience in a good psychological thriller, and was too predictable.

Wow, this one hit the psycho spot. In the opening chapters, Annie informs the police of her mother's activities as a child serial killer. She is immediately taken away and placed with foster parents under conditions similar to witness protection and Annie becomes Millie. Millie's new life doesn't go so well when she starts being bullied by her foster sister, Phoebe. She has a good relationship with her foster father, Mike, who also acts as a therapist to her, and a strange, almost controlling relationship with Saskia, her foster mother.

With Millie narrating, we read of her innermost feelings and thoughts and learn a little of the ghastly treatment at the hands of her mother. Millie is almost totally consumed by the overpowering presence and voice of her mother who is now in prison awaiting trial. She's learned a lot from her mother, she reads people well and uses her experiences to manipulate those around her. Millie is a complex character, in fact all the characters are complex – they all have issues and secrets surrounding their lives and this all adds to the disquieting and manipulative way they all interact with each other.

The writing style took a little getting used to. It's sometimes minimal, a little bit staccato, sentences short and abrupt. Once you get used to this style, accept it as detached thoughts, it becomes a quick compelling read, never pleasant, often chilling and shocking.

Flatiron Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Good Me Bad Me. I was also privileged to win a physical copy of the novel through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Milly's mother is a serial killer, currently awaiting trial for the murders of nine young children because Milly contacted the police. Temporarily living with a psychologist, his wife, and his teenage daughter, Milly has to face many difficulties as she attempts to assimilate to her new environment. Bullied by her foster sister and her friends, will Milly's fragile psyche be able to withstand the pressure? is being the daughter of a monster a legacy or a curse?

This psychological thriller had some plot holes that ruined the novel for me. The ways in which Milly was taken advantage of were unrealistic, especially in regards to those adults who were responsible for the teenager's well being. The author telegraphed the ending too much and the book would have been much better if the conclusion was more of a surprise. The bullying was a bit much, as it does not seem likely that it would have gone on undetected by adults that long. Good Me Bad Me has a writing format designed to keep readers off balance, so that they may climb into a disturbed mind. This style, however, does serve to keep readers from fully engaging in the story. Good Me Bad Me was an average read for me and it will be of interest to readers who enjoy psychological thrillers.

Lately, I've been reading genres of books that are out of my comfort zone. This may have been too far out, though. Because ultimately, I was disturbed and saddened by this story, and I wish I'd never listened to this one at all.

If you like to be inside the head of someone who has been abused mentally and psychically and see all their dark twistiness that comes from that, then the inside of Annie/Millie's head might be a welcome place for you. It's just not for me, though.

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~MY RATING~
2.5/5 STARS - GRADE=D+
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~BREAKDOWN OF RATINGS~
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Plot~ 3/5
Main Characters~ 2.5/5
Secondary Characters~ 2.5/5
The Feels~ 3/5
Pacing~ 3/5
Addictiveness~ 2.5/5
Theme or Tone~ 2/5
Flow (Writing Style)~ 3.8/5
Backdrop (World Building)~ 3/5
Ending~ 2/5 Cliffhanger~ Not really.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~๏~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book Cover~ It's kind of compelling, I wished that it had warned me away, though…
Narration~ by Imogen Church was fairly well done. She definitely had the creep factor going…
Setting~ London, England
Source~ Audiobook (Library)
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Unique and tense psychological thriller. Fifteen-year-old Millie has been given a new identity and placed in a foster home while awaiting the trial of her mother, against whom she must testify. Millie is also the one who turned her mother in, but still has a powerful emotional and mental connection to this woman, a serial killer of small children, who also subjected Millie to horrific physical, sexual and mental abuse for many years. Millie, however, has walked into a dysfunctional foster home with a distant mother, bullying teenager Phoebe, and a kind father who is also her therapist. Millie is stoic about the nonstop bullying from Phoebe at home and at school, and keeps her silence about it. You see, anything Phoebe does is small potatoes to what Millie has endured, so Phoebe has met her match in Millie - and more. Millie knows how to retaliate by stealth, without being discovered, and Phoebe starts paying big time. We learn that Millie is keeping quiet for a reason - she has A Plan, which ultimately comes to stunning fruition with a breathtaking final revenge. It's both disturbing and fascinating to live in a mind as damaged as Millie's, and author Ali Land puts the reader there flawlessly in this riveting novel.

There’s an old Native American story about a boy in whom lives two wolves: A good wolf and a bad wolf and they fight until one lives and one dies. As his grandfather explains this to him the boy asks which one lives and the grandfather responds “the one you feed.” On hearing the story Annie/Milly can perfectly attribute it to words to her own life. She knows that inside of her there is a war between Good Me, Bad Me waging battles inside of her. The fight began when she was four years old and her mother started waging war against her mind and body.

A few months before her 16th birthday Annie leaves school, goes to the police station and turns her serial killer mother in for the murder of nine small children. Annie is given a shiny new life as Milly, living with an affluent family and attending a highly regarded private school while waiting to be the star witness in the trial against her mother.

Milly is a very intelligent 15-year-old and can be quite cunning. Having survived her mother’s torture of both her and other children for the past 11 years, adjusting to her new life is not easy. Being the new girl at school is never easy, and there are some who hate her even though they have no idea who she really is, including Phoebe, the daughter of her foster parents. Milly constantly wonders how much of our psyche is nature and how much is nurture, but as Milly still hears her mother’s taunts she knows that she was subjected to both her mother’s genetics and her mother’s teaching. Which one will win?

This is one creepy book! It is a constant ebb and flow between the wolves of good and evil and is very well written. Milly’s mother is a huge presence in the book, even though she is locked away throughout the story. The way Ali Land continually brings her to the mind of the reader is brilliant. This book is also 100% a psychological thriller and the dark and twisted nature is layered throughout the book so that you peel back one layer at a time like an onion and the more that you peel, the darker the novel becomes.

Imogen Church (who also was one of the narrators of another dark novel, Into the Water) brings a depth to all of the characters, but most extremely through Milly’s mother. When Milly’s mom gets into Milly’s head Church has an intonation that will have you looking over your shoulder. Her narration adds so very much to this already psychologically thrilling book! I highly recommend this book in audio form.

OH. MY. GOODNESS!!!
I finished this late last night as there was no way I could go to sleep until I had finished it. It took me quite a while to go to sleep after I had finished it!
I'm not really quite sure where to start with this review, but the word horrifying springs to mind.
15 year old Milly (AKA Annie) is living with a foster family having given evidence against her mother. She is preparing herself for the trial where her mother is facing a jury for murdering 9 children. 9 children! I can't even begin to imagine. Not only that, but it is obvious very early on that Milly suffered physical abuse at the hands of her own mother. Thankfully there are no details as such, but the insinuations are enough to make your skin scrawl. Needless to say Milly isn't your average teenage girl and she struggles to get on with Phoebe, her foster family's daughter of the same age. As a result she endures bullying from Phoebe and her friends, on top of everything else.
I did really feel for Milly although she obviously has issues due to her upbringing. She seemed to crave a normal family, but didn't really know how to fit in to one properly. It was hard to imagine how she would even begin move on from the horrendous things she had witnessed and been subjected to and I have no idea how I would deal with giving evidence in court against any family member, let alone my own mother, so her reaction to what she was facing is very plausible.
I knew the story wasn't going to be as straight forward as Milly getting through the trial and moving on with her life, but nothing prepared me for the actual truths which are uncovered along the way! Absolutely shocking and quite disturbing, but totally gripping. I was completely captivated by Milly and her story. It's a very tense read. I almost felt like there was a weight on my chest as I was reading and I think I held my breath through parts in anticipation of what might happen next. Amazing writing. I loved it! It's one that I will think about and recommend for a long time to come.

This story was so disturbing and had so much potential. However; it fell a little short for me.
This does have triggers for abuse (physical and sexual), bullying, and child murder.

The parts around Milly and her past were thrilling. I wanted to know more and the more you learn the more disturbing it becomes. However; then you jump back to a game of mean girls at school and it just took away from the story. I was so bored with the foster family stuff in the first half of the book. Yes, there is mean girls, pranks, cheating, and scandals, but they were nothing that caught my attention. I just wanted to know more around the murders and what Milly went through. The second half did start to pick up a little. Everything does come together in the end. I predicted what was going to happen in the end, but there were still some twists I did not predict. I ended up skimming the first half to find out what happened.

I also did not love the ending. Overall, this was only ok.

Pre-reading Thoughts:

I have heard nothing but good things about this book from thriller lovers and honestly I am so exacted to jump into this. I have been dying for a good thriller but each one that I have read so far has just missed the mark. I cannot wait to see what mystery this book holds.

Thank you so much to Penguin Random House South Africa for providing me with a copy of this book! Just a small disclaimer for those reading this review. I have received this book in exchange for an honest review. Please note that this does not affect my opinion in any way. All thoughts are my own.

Writing Thoughts:

The writing in this book is undeniably good but unfortunately it didn't seem to agree with me. The book is written in first perspective with hints of second perspective as the main character constantly refers to you. Whilst we know she is talking about her mother, you get this feeling that she is actually talking to the reader. It was incredibly interesting and something that I had never read before. There were definitely moments that I enjoyed. However, I would have preferred for the dialogue to remain dialogue instead of just becoming indirect speech occasionally. I felt that it really broke the flow of the story.

Plot Thoughts:

The book isn't faced paced. Instead it is slow and steady. Unfolding brick by brick. There is no way to predict what will happen. I won't say anything else mainly because I believe you should go into this book not knowing much. Just know that it will be a wild ride.

Character Thoughts:

All of these characters were realistic and filled with flaws. They seemed like they were real people instead of just characters which just made the story all the more haunting.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, this book was good. It is clear to see that this book is a masterpiece however, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. It is clear as day to see why people love this book but unfortunately the pace of the book threw me off. I wasn't addicted to the book. I didn't care what happened. I was intrigued by all means but at the end of the day this book was just not for me. Ali Land has clearly mastered her craft and she definitely deserves all the praise she has gotten. My only regret is that I didn't enjoy the book as much as I thought I would. Thank you so much to Penguin Random House South Africa for sending me a copy of this book!

Yours in Reading,

Melleny

From Alice McDermott's "THE NINTH HOUR" ---which I just read --- in its Catholic milieu to debut novelist Ali Land and her adolescent mental health mise en scene is less a leap than one might think; this novel also deals with a child brought up in unusual circumstances who is faced with a moral quandary.

Let me begin by saying that the absence of a comma in the title of this novel near drove me to distraction. Then, about three-quarters of the way through reading the book, it came to me that perhaps the author insisted that the point of the story was that there was no clear delineation between the good me and the bad me and so to place a comma in the title would be a betrayal of the gist, the heart of the story. Maybe, maybe not or should I say maybe maybe not? Whichever, I'm going with it.

Annie, 15, has been re-named Milly and placed with a foster family to be therapized before the trial of her serial killer, sexually abusive mother who Annie/Milly turned in for the murder of nine children to which she was witness. Milly's foster family --- psychiatrist dad Mike, overseeing her therapy, and his wife, Saskia, who turns out to have troubles of her own, and their mean girl daughter, Phoebe, who makes it her business to torture and bully Milly, about whose true identity she knows nothing when Annie/Milly arrives --- need therapy of their own, plagued by problems Annie/Milly is likely to make worse with her presence.

This is a thriller, one of those page-turners where the past is presented in teasing drips and drabs, and the reader is given to fear along with Annie/Milly whether or not she can escape her mother's influence, damage, and genetic contribution to who she is, who she might become, and whether any of this will be found out by those in her life.

This is a dark, twisted, creepy tale, compellingly written, very fast-moving, with what sounds a very authentic troubled-adolescent voice which one assumes can be credited to Ali Land's work as a child and adolescent mental health nurse. Which, like the missing comma in the title, bothered me, because in a world which is currently so full of horrors, hatreds, and monsters, I worried and wondered just how much of the story could be all too real, based on abhorrent, abominable, tragic real-life stories Ali Land was exposed to as a mental health nurse.

So, there it is: a fast read but more than a little disturbing. If you, like me, are given nightmares by child-in-danger stories and ambiguous endings, this is not the novel for you. If you, on the other hand, are not sensitive to that sort of thing and enjoy nothing more than a fast, what's next, bet I can guess, ohmygod read, this is the book for you.

Ali Land’s debut novel, GOOD ME BAD ME, capitalizes on our fascination with serial killers, but turns the perspective upside down by giving us the point of view of a child of a murderer. With a rapid-fire interior dialogue and a slow burn of tension, Land follows teenager Annie after she turns her mother into the police, as she prepares to testify against her, and as she does her best to find a new home and new family in the aftermath of her exceptionally abusive childhood.

Annie is just 15 years old but has suffered all her life at the hands of her sadistic and monstrous mother. Besides the physical and emotional trauma inflicted on Annie herself, she was also witness to the torture and murder of nine young children in her home. The most recent, a boy named Daniel towards whom Annie felt affectionate and protective, compelled her to call the police on her mother. Annie was quickly placed in the care of a psychologist, Mike, with the complicated roles of fostering her in his home, counseling her, and getting her ready for her mother’s trial.

But life with Mike, his wife Saskia, and their daughter Phoebe is anything but a peaceful respite for Annie, now called Milly to ensure her privacy. Phoebe is jealous of the time Mike spends with Annie and is struggling in her relationship with her mother. Saskia is medicated and distant, yet conducting an affair. Mike, either clueless or unable to help the women in his own family, focuses his efforts on Annie, who he is planning to write about in a book. School is made uncomfortable for Annie as Phoebe and her friends bully her, and when she forms an attachment with a kind teacher, she is told she needs to back off. But worst of all for Annie is the constant voice of her mother in her head and the endless barrage of memories of a parent, the only family she has ever known, who treated her so cruelly.

Annie moves toward the inevitable conclusion as she outplays her foster family, tries to create a real friendship with a young neighborhood girl, and attempts to act like a normal teenage student, all the while battling the demons in her mind and the twisted view of relationships that her mother instilled in her. GOOD ME BAD ME starts out intense and captivating. Land reveals Annie’s past and the extent of her mother’s crimes and abuses slowly, wisely leaving details to the reader’s imagination.

GOOD ME BAD ME is written in a furious staccato style. Sentences are short bursts of emotion and response as Annie mentally addresses her mother. Some are just a single word and at times are placed in a row. This works in moments of high tension and fervor, but Land falls back on it too often, and it loses its power as the novel wears on. The book also loses some of its tenseness as it moves toward the conclusion because there is a lot of repetition and not always a lot of action. Land knew where she was going in terms of plotting, but the energy falters in the last third.

Overall, GOOD ME BAD ME is a gripping tale. While some of the themes and ideas could’ve been explored more deeply, such as Mike’s responsibility to Annie and Annie’s real inability to transition to a normal life, the novel remains darkly entertaining and a promising debut.

Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman

Wow! GOOD ME BAD ME was insanely addictive, majorly disturbing, and chilling. I listened to this one with bated breath, constantly on the edge of my seat. With a hook like a 15-year-old turning her serial killer mother in for murder, are you really surprised? I completely recommend this book for those of you wanting a compelling thriller that will grab you from the beginning. If you’re an audiobook junkie like myself, the audiobook was fantastic! Let me tell you why.

Milly is Annie’s new name after she secretly turns her mother in for a string of murders. Milly’s mother used her as a great disguise as she killed 9 small children over several years, forcing Milly to not only watch but dispose of the bodies in their cellar. I mean, who would think a young nurse with a sweet daughter would be a cold killer? Totally insane!

Positioned to be the prosecution’s star witness in their case against her mother, she goes to live with a foster family who has their own set of issues. Mark, the father, is a psychologist who will be the perfect mentor for Milly while she’s trying to come to grips with what she’s been through, what she’s done. The mother is more interested in her yoga classes and calorie counting than her own troubled daughter. Their daughter, Phoebe, is the school’s “mean girl” and chooses Milly to be her next target. But seemingly fragile Milly has her own armor—years of quiet observation and an expert in manipulation and psychological trauma.

Ali Land did such a great job with Milly’s characterization. Of course, with this being a thriller, I’m asking the whole way through whether Milly is giving the reader the whole story. There is one scene where Milly is giving the reader a play-by-play of what she’s doing and what she sees and hears. Then the next chapter it’s revealed that she didn’t tell us everything. It was such a clever way for the author to make the reader question her character. Is she good or is she bad?

Ali Land addresses the question of nature versus nurture. Is Milly the wolf or the sheep? Is being evil a choice? One side of Milly wants to be everything her mother isn’t—truly good. Milly’s been traumatized, manipulated, and abused at the hands of her mother for so many years. Despite this, she knows what’s right and what’s wrong. She wants to have a family that adores her like Phoebe has and a best friend she can gossip with. But a darkness lives inside her as well, a side that she’s had to battle with and one that starts to take over with frightening frequency. It’s glimpses into this side where I felt conflicted. She’s vulnerable and trouble, yet she knows how to play people like a violin. It made her such an interesting character!

The whole book builds to her mother’s trial. What really happened in their house? Why is her mother like this? With Milly taking the stand the reader finally gets the answer to those questions in such a thrilling way. I had gotten to work one day and was in the middle of the trial scene and was so angry that I had to get out of the car and stop listening to the book!

What bothered me a little bit was how generic the ending and resolution felt to me. Even though I enjoyed the book immensely, what happens in the end just felt entirely too predictable, like I saw it coming from a mile away. With Milly being such a fantastic character, the author creating this vulnerable yet disturbed nuanced character, I was hoping for a more out-of-the-box ending.

Audiobook Comments:
I will be definitely be reading more books narrated by Imogen Church! This narrator’s performance was PERFECTLY chilling and spot on. Milly is seemingly very vulnerable and just wants to be loved by someone, after living a life so devoid of it. Church’s delivery made this vulnerability evident but also played up Milly’s darkness in such a creepy way.

In the novel, Milly hears her mother’s voice in her head, likely the product of being mentally abused all those years. Church’s vocal distinctions between this voice and Milly’s was fantastic! This audiobook is one of my favorite audiobooks of the year! I can’t recommend this narrator enough!

* Thanks to Macmillan Audio for providing me a copy of this audiobook for review. Receiving this audiobook for free did not affect my opinion.

This is a most unusual insightful story into the mind of a 15 year old. Annie's mum had been a killer, a taker of the innocent lives of children. Following the demise of a young boy called Daniel Annie has decided for her own sanity she must ask for help and disclose the evil deeds perpetrated by her mother. But can Annie ever be truly free from the clutches of an evil parent, are family relations so strong that the mind of an innocent child can be warped and twisted by a misguided and immoral parent...is blood really thicker than water?

The story is told from the perspective of Annie and her new beginning as "Milly" under the guardianship of Mike, Saskia and their daughter Phoebe. This opportunity or fostering is to protect Milly and prepare her for the trial of her mother where she will be called as the main witness for the prosecution. But this story is much more than a simple trial, rather it shows the vulnerabilities, manipulation, envy and hatred that together make up the human condition. Phoebe is jealous of having to endure the company of Milly and is incensed that she is no longer the centre of attention so she embarks on a course of action, a war of attrition to humiliate and degrade her, inciting her friends to do the same. Mention is made on a number of occasions to William Golding's Lord of the Flies where the author paints a picture of a civilization consumed by savagery and chaos, the animal instincts of human nature. Indeed I found an uncomfortable familiarity between this classic novel and the predicament of Milly....but who's really manipulating who??

Good me Bad me is a very intense, claustrophobic experience, being trapped in the mind of child as she struggles to make sense of her situation. It is this entrapment that gives the dialogue a very edgy delivery creating some uncomfortable moments. Is Milly truly the innocent she attempts to portray or is there within her character an inherent evil that allows her to mould and manipulate those around her for her own gratification.

It came as no surprise to learn that the author spent many years working as a mental health nurse with children and adolescents, and she has certainly used this experience to create a novel of great depth and insight. I enjoyed it immensely and in particular the ending which although expected was still shocking when it occurred. Many thanks to the good people at netgalley for a gratis copy in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written

Is it nature or nurture? That's the overarching question in this debut psychological thriller about a female serial killer and her daughter.

When I heard about GOOD ME BAD ME, I knew I had to get my hands on it. So when the publisher reached out with a gorgeous copy (seriously, this is an exquisite package), I was thrilled.

Annie (who now goes by Milly) is 15 and living with a foster family. Her mother is a serial killer awaiting trial. After turning her mother into the police, Milly must start fresh. Living with Mike, a psychologist, his yoga-loving (though emotionally absent wife) and snarky teenage daughter, Phoebe, Milly is doing the best she can to adjust to life without her mother, a new school, and a new identity.

Told in a voice-y dialogue from the POV of a 15 year old, GOOD ME BAD ME straddles the YA genre with that of a psychological thriller. Rest assured, there are many adult themes in this book; it is not a book for younger readers. At first, I found the style a bit distracting as Milly refers to her mother as 'you' to the reader, almost as if she is addressing her mother via a letter or journal. Once I accepted this style of narrative, I enjoyed the story more.

The writing is edgy and emotional. While not horribly graphic in detail (not a horror in that sense), the acts committed to children are unspeakable and could cause triggers for some. I found GOOD ME BAD ME complex, chilling, and insightful in terms of a teenage voice plagued by mental illness.

I'm coming up a little dry in terms of comps, but *maybe* one could liken it to BABY DOLL (Hollie Overton, 2016), THE GIRL BEFORE (Rena Olsen, 2016) or EMMA IN THE NIGHT (Wendy Walker).

This so-called thriller didn't have any thrills for me, but it did have an incredibly pathetic main character who did nothing but whine about everything and everyone. The story went nowhere, and then very slowly. And the writing? Stilted would be a generous describtion. Had high hopes, major disappointment. Didn't come close to holding my interest .... I didn't finish the book.

During the course of getting my Psychology degree the concept of Nature vs Nurture was embedded in practically every course in some way. Some believed it was a pure mix and others favored one more over the other. Myself? I’m still after all these years and with everything I’ve known and experienced a bit undecided but leaning towards Team Mix. There are times I feel Nature was going to win out even if the sociopath was raised by Leave it to Beaver standards. Other times I believe that growing up with a Charlies Manson like father could’ve turned even Jesus into Satan.

This concept, this question, journey into the deepest recess of the human mind is what Land decided to dabble with in her novel in such a way that innocence because a questionable ideal.

In all fairness to Land it has already been put out there that THIS is going to be THE controversial book of 2017. I recently read one from an esteemed Irish author that told a story through an abusive psychopath but I think Land may have even her beat when it comes to levels of being uncomfortable.

Right away it opens up with a disturbing scene of a child holding bloody items in a police stations and telling him a story so horrific he has to call others in. Police are trained to handle it all so you know whatever she’s telling him has got to be bad!

From this point you delve into a twisty, psychological journey into the rabbit hole of WTH? She’s dropped with a new family who has obvious problems of their own which is kind of ironic seeing as how Daddy Dearest is a psychologist. Why do I think their families should set the gold standard of decency yet they never seem to?

You are given pieces to the childhood that will shape Milly into being a person that turns her mother in, to someone who is struggling to fit into ‘normal’ society, to not fight back when she obviously should. At the same time, beyond how she was raised, the treatment she suffers at the hand of her peers just keeps packing on the Nurture argument that one person can only handle being treated like crap for so long before they surely need to break and lash out.

As a parent, particularly since I have daughters, I began to over-emphasize a great deal and wanted nothing more than to protect Milly so as she became more tormented by her peers and no one seemed to really notice or do anything constructive I was getting outraged on her behalf. Land just makes you start off wanting to protect her.

For the bad: I can see certain people being triggered by aspects of this book and I am so OVER that that word has to be used as prevalently as it does but it’s 2017 and everyone gets offended by something. It’s a very dark story and can be hard to handle for some. Now I prefaced this being the bad part only because I know there are people out there who need to hear this before they go nuts and give this a bad review – if you’re one of those people please just don’t read the book.

This is one of those that people are going to want to talk about particularly that ending that leaves you going “Oh hell”…

If your mother was a serial killer, what would you do? For fifteen-year-old Milly, the choice is clear: turn her in before she kills again. With her mother safely behind bars awaiting trial, Milly has a chance for a new life. But things are hard and Milly often wonders if she is good… or will she be bad, like her mother?

GOOD ME BAD ME is a chilling psychological thriller, guaranteed to leave you wide-eyed and shivering. The story shattered any vague expectations I had about how the story would progress, and gave me something so much better than anything I could have imagined.

Milly is one of the most complex characters I’ve read recently. It’s tough enough being a teenager, but to have a serial killer for a mom, too? How does a kid even begin to know how she should feel and act around others after living with a killer? Confusion and anxiety are Milly’s constant companions, and the sense of dread she feels about testifying against her mother was echoed by my own. What would come out during the trial, if anything, that wasn’t already known? The suspense had me on the edge of my seat as those final days before the trial counted down. I won’t spoil what happens in the courtroom, but there were some seriously tense moments during Milly’s testimony.

As for the ending… holy smokes! I never saw it coming, and and it was even more explosive due to the shock of it. Brilliant… just brilliant!

It’s hard to believe this is Ali Land’s first novel. (How can that be?!) This most impressive debut showcases her obvious talent for the written word, and it’s a story I doubt I will ever be able to forget. What was particularly striking to me (aside from having written such an amazing book) was the way she chose to write Milly’s inner thoughts during times of stress. It made me think of Stephen King… the way his writing style often breaks all the ‘rules’, and yet it’s wonderfully effective in telling the story.

This is a must read for fans of psychological thrillers. Once you’ve read it, I have a feeling that—like me—you’ll be impatiently waiting for Land’s next novel!

I received an advance reading copy of this book courtesy of Flatiron Books.

UK author Ali Land has dedicated her new breakout psychological gripping thriller to mental nurses everywhere. In fact, it happened to be a conversation the author had with a teenage girl when she was working as a mental health nurse that sparked the idea for the book.

Ultimately this became her chilling debut hit, GOOD ME BAD ME. An Interview with Ali Land. Land, once a full-time nurse to a full-time writer. It seems her former career has inspired new talent in the area of mental health; crosses psychological thriller. This is one highly courageous debut novel, and can only imagine how difficult this was to write — as she delves into the disturbing mind of a teenage girl.

Milly (Annie) tries so desperately to be good. However, is this possible? A strong contender for debut of the year!

“ . . . The playground. That’s what she called it. Where the games were evil, and there was only ever one winner. When it wasn’t my turn, she made me watch. A peephole in the wall. Asked me afterward. What did you see, Annie? What did you see?” . . .

“Forgive me when I tell you it was me. It was me that told.”

Annie’s mother Ruth is a serial, killer. (Peter Pan Killer). Her mom kidnapped and murdered children.Annie has finally turned over her mom to the authorities. She loves her but she must keep her from killing other children. Now she has a new family with a new name. Milly. This is her chance to start over. Or so she thinks . . .

A foster dad named Mike. A psychologist, an expert in trauma. His wife Saski and daughter Phoebe. (Phoebe is not so nice). Phoebe turns out to be a bully, making it more difficult for Milly. She turns others at school against her.

Milly has enough problems with the stress of her traumatic childhood, sexual abuse, the guilt of her mother and the damage she has inflicted on her daughter, plus the upcoming trial, and now this girl and this family.

Plus, the voices in her head. The continued taunting voices from her mom. The lessons she taught her.

She curls up in the floor. She read once that people who are violent are hotheaded, while psychopaths are cold hearted. Hot and cold. Head and heart. But what if you come from a person who’s both? What happens then? The person Milly wants to run from is also the person she wants to run to. Game on.

Milly has secrets. What is she hiding?

Will she ever be normal growing up with an abusive and murderous mother? Good or bad? She wants desperately to do the right thing, but her mother’s voice urging her on to do bad things. A child groomed and sexualized from a very young age, now fifteen. She has to take the stand.

“Good me. Bad me. Siamese twins inside of me at war.”

The upcoming trial and the dreams. Now another toxic home. What happens when the trial is over? Can Milly fit in anywhere? Maybe she thinks there may be no place.

A skillfully woven plot, with an unreliable narrator, GOOD ME BAD ME is heart wrenching, engrossing, terrifying, disturbing and filled with horror, tension, and suspense. This unsettling yet gripping tale will keep you glued to the pages. The author does an outstanding job of portraying mental and physical damages and trauma to a young disturbed girl and its outcome… A struggle between good and evil.

For fans of Ruth Ware, Candice Fox, Wendy Walker, Louise Jensen, Jennifer Jaynes, and Jennifer Hillier. Looking forward to seeing what’s next. (love the cover and the twisty conclusion). A special thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy.

JDCMustReadBooks

The very first sentence of the blurb reads: “Milly’s mother is a serial killer.” WHAAAT? That’s not a phrase you read every day! I knew right then I wanted to read this debut novel by Ali Land. This book does not disappoint! Start reading on a Saturday afternoon and you might as well cancel any plans you had for going out, ’cause you ain’t going’ nowhere!
A psychological study, this book is more of a brain-teaser than a chilling cliff-hanger type story. And I’m okay with that. I love to climb inside a head and poke around. I’d much rather read a disturbed person’s musings than read about any horrific killing scene they may have engaged in.

The story is told solely through Milly’s eyes and consists mostly of internal thoughts over dialogue or action. Still, it reads at a fast clip, and the first-person narrative is so very effective here. You are never sure if Milly is a reliable narrator, especially since she straight up admits she struggles with being good and bad. And like most humans, she presents her good side to the world, so is she showing the reader only her good side??Just when you think you’ve got Milly figured out, NOOOOO. You’re wrong! I love it!!!!

As far as the ick factor of a female child molester/killer, there are a few disturbing flashback moments, but I stress MOMENTS, not full on chapters. The foundation of this story is built on Milly starting her shiny new life at the age of 15, having just turned in her mother for the atrocious crimes.

I was really on track to give GOOD ME BAD ME a five star rating on Goodreads. But somewhere about 1/2 way through, it felt a bit draggy. Still worthy of 4.25 stars in my humble opinion! I think the problem lies in the plot structure. There isn’t a classic murder puzzle to solve and some of the situations felt implausible. For instance, I could never figure out how Milly’s mom was able to continue killing without getting caught. For heaven’s sake, the bodies are all in the basement (not a spoiler). Wasn’t anyone investigating these missing children?

I’m also wary of what I call the “coincidence factor”. Too many coincidences in the story for my liking. Milly’s foster father is also her psychiatrist. He has a daughter the same age as Milly. The daughter just happens to be a mean girl, etc.

There is a major plot twist at the end of the book that you may see coming. Milly also frequently “talks” to her estranged mother and sometimes it is confusing to me as a reader. All minor issues, I still highly recommend the book.

Ali Land is a talented, skillful writer with a background in child mental health. She obviously knows of what she writes! She is a master creator of characters. Absolutely flawless in that department.

Ali Land’s sentences are concise, no commas needed. (LIFE GOALZ). The pace of the writing is on point and completely effortless. A joy to read. I’m really looking forward to this young writer’s future career!

Annie is the daughter of a serial killer. Her mother’s case has yet to go on trial. Annie plans to be a witness and testify in court over the deaths of the nine innocent children who were killed while in the care of Annie’s mother, while Annie was nearby. Annie acts too quiet, she was too nice to have endured what she has and act the way she is, I kept waiting for the true Annie to come out.

Annie has changed her name to Milly and is currently living with a foster family. Her foster father, a psychologist, is helping her prepare for trial. In my opinion, he was a bit too big for his shoes and his wife, she needed to start wearing his shoes. What a pair. Everyone is trying to protect Milly’s new identity so she can have a quiet life until the trial. My emotions were all over the place with Annie/Milly. I wanted to like her but she was playing this hopeless, depressed individual and I knew, for what she had gone through, she was hiding something. As her foster sister Phoebe began harassing and tormenting her, I wanted Milly to fight back. I wanted justice! Do something Milly! Phoebe needed to have her lights shut down, she was one mean chick. The actions in the novel intensified and I loved how things were progressing. It was fantastic. The ending, I was waiting for it and then, when I read those final twenty pages or so….oh Milly, Milly, Milly.

‘Every time I’ve heard those words – it’ll be okay – it never has been.’ -Milly, Good Me Bad Me

Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land is psychological suspense at its best. I was sucked in from the very start of this twisted tale all the way through to the ending. I do want to share several trigger disclaimers here. If you have any triggers to sexual assault, child abuse, mental abuse and/or bullying, this is not the book for you. While Land never explicitly goes into detail about many of the alluded to events, your imagination will run in various horrific directions all on its own, based on the context. Good Me Bad Me is narrated by Milly who has obviously been through unimaginable trauma herself, at the hands of her own mother, and continues to struggle with ‘normalcy’ in her foster home. Milly kept referring to her fresh start as ‘shiny and new’. There are two sides to Milly, a presumably good side and then a dark side. Which is the true Milly? Is she good? Is she dark? Can she be both? The suspense level in this book had me on edge. It seemed that you could trust no one, that everyone had something to hide or an ulterior motive. There was so much hurt in this book. Despite the hard edges to the story details I couldn’t put this one down. There was never a dull moment in this book, you were never able to let your guard down. There were only a few aspects I wanted more of, I am a selfish reader that way. I wanted to know what exactly happened to her brother and father. Where did they end up? I would love to read more about her mother, possibly from her perspective. Bottom line, whatever Ali Land publishes next, I. Am. All. Over. It.

If you like dark suspense with a whole lot of crazy this is the book for you!

I give this one 4.5 crazy intense stars out of 5.

This is a psychological thriller which I couldn’t put down. It was disturbing, chilling, even paced and I read it in one day. The main character is Annie, later renamed Milly, as she is placed in a protective environment after turning her mother over to the police. Milly’s mother is a serial killer, her victims all young children. I am thankful it wasn’t overly graphic when they described the murder of the children.

Milly is fifteen years old and is placed in the home of Mike, a therapist who is writing a book about Milly and her mother. Milly was not told he would be documenting their therapy sessions for publication, accidentally discovering his notes one afternoon. It’s hard to share too much without giving spoilers.

One thing I wish the author had resolved was the fate of Milly’s brother. He was fleetingly mentioned as part of reason Milly’s mother started killing children. The brother was charged with arson and I suppose incarcerated, but his story isn’t delved into near enough, nor what happened to him. The end was, by the time I was over three-quarters into the book, predictable. Still chilling though.

I read this book with the Kindle British Mystery Book Club as the November main group feature. This is also another one ticked off for my New Author challenge.

Be prepared – the last half of this book will keep you reading all night.
I think there are times that we all struggle with our inner demons. This is only natural. There’s the part of us that wants to please everyone, and there’s the part that wants to rebel against parents and society.
But for Annie/Milly it is a bit more than that. Since the age of five Annie has been abused in her home. She has witnessed horrific acts done by her mother. Finally at the age of 15 she turns her mother in to the police. Upon investigation it is revealed that her mother has killed nine children. Now Annie is known as Milly and lives in a foster home. The home consists of Mike who is a therapist experienced in trauma cases, his wife Saskia, and teenage daughter Phoebe who is not at all happy with Milly being there.
Milly tries to please her foster family even though Phoebe makes her life hell, especially at school. But Milly is haunted by the voice of her mother. As is typical in child abuse cases, no matter how severe the abuse the child still wants to be loved by its parent. So Milly struggles with the knowledge that she will be the primary witness in court against her mother. She also knows just how manipulative her mother is.
I could see what direction the book was going it, but Ms. Land artfully doled out pieces of the chilling puzzle a few pieces at a time, building the suspense notch by notch. I definitely recommend this book to those who love a good thriller.

Good Me Bad Me is a chilling, psychological thriller that will give you nightmares for days after reading.

I was hooked when I seen the cover and more so when I finished the first two pages. Intriguing. Scared to go on. What was I going to read? Playground? I have to know more.

Annie is even more intriguing. Closed off. Secretive. There's something about her that I can't put my finger on but she has been through so much. Her mother is evil. A sadist really. That has to put a toll on a child.

Annie became Milly and we become one with her. I start to feel compassion for her. Her hurt becomes mine. Her pain. Her loss. Her joy. All of it.

This shows why Ali Land will not only be an International Bestseller but also a NY Times or USA Bestseller. Her writing draws you in like a pungi does a snake.

This book... so not what I was expecting. Molly was a mystery and as confusing as she was confused and I loved every minute I spent trying to figure her out.

This story was brilliantly written and kept me engaged throughout. I never wanted to put it down and I thought about the story even when I wasn't reading it, wanting to hurry back to it.

It brought to mind so many questions, what kind of person would you be if you'd been raised with a serial killer as a parent? How much would that parent continue to influence your thoughts and actions even after you no longer lived with them? Would you feel guilt for turning them in? And how would that affect you? Each of those questions were eventually answered and sometimes in some very unexpected ways.

This will be a book that continues to haunt me in the days to come. It was tense and hard to read at times and there were some awesome unexpected twists, especially twists in my own thinking that were a bit surprising. No doubt this will be on my favorites of the year list. And I highly recommend it.

I received an Advanced Reading Copy from the publusher for review .
Its the story of a 15 year old girl who was raised by her serial killer mother and finally turns her in.
She's placed in a foster home where the father is a psychiatrist. He is working with her helping prepare her for her court testimony.
She is also dealing with a foster sister who is extremely mean to her.
There is a great twist at the end and it makes for a very satisfying read.

I really enjoyed this twisted, unique story and the surprisingly likeable character of Annie/Milly. It was a psychological ride, that is for sure. The only aspects of the story that I felt were odd were the characters of Saskia and Morgan. Especially Morgan, it felt like her presence wasn't even quite real and was more like an afterthought. I also wished there was a bit more description of MIlly's appearance to make her seem more vivid in my mind, but maybe that is just because I'm a very visual thinker. Anyway, the book got me one hundred percent intrigued and interested within about ten pages and I really couldn't put it down, and I'm usually a person who will take a week or two to push through to the end but I spent my Sunday afternoon finishing this. I think that says a lot. It really gets you thinking about family dynamics, genetics, and right vs. wrong. Such a good read!

Review Milly is the daughter of the infamous Peter Pan serial killer. She has watched this go on long enough and wants it to stop so Milly and turns her mother in. After her mother is arrested she is placed in a foster home of a prominent phycologist and his wife and teenage daughter. The daughter Phobe is cruel to Milly and doesn't want her there. Milly is hoping she has found a home. The phsycological trauma milly has suffered has caused her to not only not trust anyone but to have trouble with reality.
I so wanted the best for Millie that I could not put this phycological thriller down until the end!
This will definitely be one of the books the critics will talk about and question the darkness of it. Personnaly I loved and look forward to more books or a sequel to Good Me Bad Me ,by Ali Land.

Thank you for my advance copy to reviewfrom Goodreads and Gridiron Books

Milly has had something happen to her and has several weeks to be prepared for court. She is living with her psychologist Mike and his family to try and coax what has happened out of her. His daughter however has other plans.Milly hears the voice of her mother in her head, the things she has said and the things she has done. This is a rather dark tale. Nothing to put you off your dinner but enough to get your mind whirring and to keep you on the edge of your seat. For anyone who has been through any sort of abuse this could be a challenge of a read. For others- be aware of what others might have gone through or might still be enduring. A brilliantly written book, one where I kept turning and turning- it drew me in from the start. One stunning read.I voluntarily chose to read this ARC and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

I received ARC from Flatiron Press for an honest review. Milly, a daughter of a serial killer who grew up tortured by her mom and watching her take and kill little kids tells the story of Milly finally getting the courage to go to the police on her mom. Psychiatrist studying female serial killers takes Milly in to help her and coach her for her mother's trial neglects his wife and daughter. Of course the daughter is a bully and torments Milly even further. Good me, Bad me tells the tale from Milly's perspective of her life and what happens when she hears her mother in her head and the dysfunctional foster family around her. One statement from the book that Milly says to herself, "... The brain of a pyschopath is different from most. I've weighed up my chances. Eighty percent genetics, twenty percent environment. Me. One hundred percent f______."

I received this ARC book from the publisher Flatiron Books and I appreciate the chance to read it! I was away when it arrived in the mail and in the middle of another book, so I was a bit late for the release date September 5th.

I totally enjoyed this book and in fact found it hard to put down. It was a page turner for me. If you enjoy psychological thrillers you should read this book. I believe it is Ali Land's first novel.

Milly's Mom is a serial killer and she wonders if it is inbred in her as well. Growing up witnessing brutal acts against little children, and her own suffering at the hand of her Mother, the reader has to wonder the effect it has on her. The content of the book is thrilling, controversial, and disturbing. After turning her Mother in to the authorities, the author takes us through the start of her new life, new foster family, new name, and new school. All while preparing to testify against her Mother, who is the alternate voice in her head. We see Milly's internal struggles with right and wrong while she is trying to be accepted and find her way. The author takes us on this journey all leading to unexpected twists on the way.

Not giving anything away here, I closed the book and said "wow"...now go and get your copy, it will keep you up at night! !!

Milly is the child of a serial killer, her mother. From the first page, I was pulled in! This story is a captivating pull between the good and evil that Milly feels she is. On one hand, Milly couldn’t take it any longer and to save the next child from harm; turns in her mother to authorities. The other hand, Milly misses her mother terribly and still has a deep love for her. Throughout the story, Milly wrestles with the weight and guilt of what she did, all the while trying to chase her own demons. I enjoyed the story. I do feel the ending was a bit predictable but overall a great psychological thriller.

Intense, very intense, and rightly so! This book is uniquely written in second person... Which worked beautifully.
Milly's mom is a serial killer, and Milly just wants her to stop... But does she? Is it the killing she wants to stop, or the abuse? These two make everything into a competition. Milly's getting ready to testify against her mom, but can't get her mom out of her head, and may be more like her mom that she's willing to admit. Constantly, she thinks about how she could apply what her mom has taught her, and argues with herself about it. I couldn't put it down, I so badly wanted to know which way Milly would go. YES go read it!
Note: I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.