Sunday, July 25, 2021

When you are mine by Michael Robotham

Philomena "Phil" McCarthy has worked hard to become a police officer with the Metropolitan Police - no easy feat for the daughter of a notorious criminal.  Phil fought hard to become a police officer, pushing past all the rejections and working harder than anyone else in her class to make it - and she has also cut all ties with her father, and her father's side of the family.  Life isn't easy, but she has found happiness with her fiancée and his son, and she is looking forward to her wedding.  That peaceful normalcy is rocked when she attends a domestic violence complaint with her partner and has to defend herself in an unorthodox fashion.  Blindsided with the identity of her assailant, Phil finds herself on the outside once again, fighting for her place.  Phil soon discovers that she has a connection to the victim, Tempe Brown, and an unexpected friendship develops between them.

As the friendship grows, Phil finds herself in the unusual position of needing a favour from her father - the only person who can help her keep Tempe safe.  Contact with her father comes with a price though, her career with the Metropolitan Police is on shaky ground, and reconnecting with her family is not a good look.  Phil has been told she is obsessed, that she needs to stop investigating Tempe's case, that she is done - but she is determined to stop the harassment that Tempe is facing.  Something isn't quite right with Tempe though, she seems nervous and edgy, and she tells Phil's friends the wildest stories.  Phil tries to shrug it off, Tempe is helping plan her wedding after all, but things aren't adding up.  When her friends and fiancée raise questions about Tempe and her story she tries to brush it off, but she soon finds herself chasing Tempe's story down a rabbit hole that could destroy everything she has worked for.

When you are mine is a standalone novel that is a roller-coaster ride of emotions, conspiracies, betrayals and family that stands out from other books in the crime genre because of the weight of the characters and the situations they find themselves in.  Phil is an interesting character to build the story around, her links to the criminal world and the her work as a police officer making her a pariah in both worlds.  She is also impulsive, stubborn, and loyal - which makes her chasing the story to the end a foregone conclusion.  The people in her world are also complete people with their strengths, flaws, and weaknesses and they make her world completely believable and absorbing.  The theme of a young police officer standing up to a corrupt system is not a new one, but Robotham puts a very good spin on it and keeps you hooked on the story from start to finish. 

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Reviewed by Brilla

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