Review: Say You’re Sorry by Michael Robotham

Title: Say You’re Sorry by Michael Robotham
Joe O’Loughlin Mystery
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Imprint: Mulholland Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery
Length: 448 pages
Book Rating: B+

Review Copy Obtained from Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

TWO MISSING GIRLS. TWO BRUTAL MURDERS. ALL CONNECTED TO ONE FARM HOUSE. WHO IS TO BLAME?

When pretty and popular teenagers Piper Hadley and Tash McBain disappear one Sunday morning, the investigation captivates a nation but the girls are never found.

Three years later, during the worst blizzard in a century, a husband and wife are brutally killed in the farmhouse where Tash McBain once lived. A suspect is in custody, a troubled young man who can hear voices and claims that he saw a girl that night being chased by a snowman.

Convinced that Piper or Tash might still be alive, clinical psychologist Joe O’Loughlin and ex-cop Vincent Ruiz, persuade the police to re-open the investigation. But they are racing against time to save the girls from someone with an evil, calculating and twisted mind…

The Review:

Say You’re Sorry, Michael Robotham’s latest novel starring psychologist Joe O’Loughlin is a riveting mystery with many unexpected twists and turns. The death of a married couple finds Joe drawn back into police work when he discovers a possible link between the murders and two girls who have been missing for three years.

Joe O’Loughlin’s life has taken a new direction as he is back in private practice and no longer consulting for the police department. He reluctantly agrees to lend his expertise in a current case, but when compelling evidence persuades Joe that Tash McBain and Piper Hadley might still be alive, he relentlessly pursues every lead he uncovers. With the clock ticking, he once again enlists retired police investigator and close friend Vincent Ruiz to aid in the investigation.

While in many ways Joe has moved on, in some areas of his life, he has made little progress. He has moved into the city which further complicates his relationship with daughters Charlie and Emma. He and wife Julianne are still estranged with no immediate plans for divorce although Joe has indulged in a few affairs. The dynamics between them are still complicated even though there is more of an emotional distance between them.

In Say You’re Sorry, Joe’s personal life (including his Parkinson’s disease) is overshadowed by the murder investigation and the hunt for Piper and Tash. There is a high sense of urgency to discover the connection between the murder victims and the missing girls. Joe is sometimes alone in his belief that Tash and Piper might still alive and he diligently works to overcome the police’s reluctance to re-open their case.

Told in alternating perspective from Joe and one of kidnapped girl’s points of view, Say You’re Sorry is an enthralling mystery with a unique and well-executed storyline. A tangled web of clues keeps the investigation steadily moving forward until events culminate in a frantic rescue attempt that will keep the pages turning at a blistering pace. Through a series of misdirects and red herrings the killer’s identity is cleverly concealed and Michael Robotham brings the novel to an absolutely stunning conclusion.

As with the other novels featuring Joe O’Loughlin, Say You’re Sorry can be read as a standalone novel.

Read my reviews of the other novels in the series HERE.