My Five Word TL:DR Review : OMG – how I love this

Good Bad Girl is a perfectly puzzling story of domestic drama written with an almost ethereal quality that adds a distinct sort of charm that was quite unexpected.  A mother/daughter story with an unexpected twist.

Deliciously convoluted the story begins with a child abduction after which we are introduced to an eclectic bunch of characters, which bring an extra level of fun as you try and work out how they’ll all come together.  I would start by saying, pay attention to everything here, take nothing for granted and don’t be too disappointed when you fail to figure things out.

The story has four main characters.  A teenager called Patience who works at an expensive care home.  Edith, one of the residents who has designs of escaping, Frankie, a prison librarian who seems to be on a strange mission, and Clio, the estranged daughter of Edith who now works as a therapist.

I think as far as the plot goes I’m going to avoid writing anything, there are plenty of other reviews out there and on top of that I really don’t want to give anything away, but, I would mention that there is a murder which becomes the catalyst for a strange series of events.

The setting is London, the story is contemporary and we move between the care home, the Thames waterways, the prison, a beautiful pink house and a tiny attic above a gallery.  You see what I mean about this ‘unreal’ quality.  It’s almost fairytale(ish) – but at the same time it isn’t anything like a fairytale.  Although, there are good people being bad at being good and bad people being good at being bad.

In terms of characters.  Well,  Edith and her perky little dog stole the show a little.  I mean, okay, she’s not perfect, especially in the eyes of her children, but maybe old age has given her a level of sass and speak-your-mind that make her a very amusing character to listen to.  I must also give a little shout out for the detective investigating the murder.  But, yes, Edith seems to be truly the only character who seems to have the first notion of what’s actually going on, all the other characters were fumbling around in the dark much the same as I was.

I thoroughly enjoyed this.  The writing is perfect, the pacing is quick.  There are thankfully a few moments where you can catch your breath – or your thoughts – and there’s a wonderful conclusion.

In terms of criticisms.  Nothing at all comes to me at the moment.  This was a slippery sucker and vastly entertaining, in fact I finished reading and had that satisfying glow that made me smile – and made me actually want to go back to the beginning to read it again.  Oh, for some extra time in the day.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks.  The above is my own opinion.

My rating 4.5 of 5 stars.