“Fosters are strangers; you never know what you’re going to get. Your parents are the two people in the whole world who aren’t supposed to hurt you . The wounds are deeper, in a way.”

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER AND THENEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW’S EDITORS’ CHOICE

HOW FAR DOES THE APPLE REALLY FALL FROM THE TREE?

Good Me Bad Me is dark, a compelling, voice-driven psychological suspense by debut author Ali Land: “Could not be more unputdownable if it was slathered with superglue.” ―Sunday Express

Milly’s mother is a serial killer. Though Milly loves her mother, the only way to make her stop is to turn her in to the police. Milly is given a fresh start: a new identity, a home with an affluent foster family, and a spot at an exclusive private school.

But Milly has secrets, and life at her new home becomes complicated. As her mother’s trial looms, with Milly as the star witness, Milly starts to wonder how much of her is nature, how much of her is nurture, and whether she is doomed to turn out like her mother after all.

When tensions rise and Milly feels trapped by her shiny new life, she has to decide: Will she be good? Or is she bad? She is, after all, her mother’s daughter.

Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land…excuse me while I catch my breath! Holy moly!!!!! This book is everything that defines a psychological thriller! Literally everything! First of all, there’s the element of “real life-ness” that draws you in. An abused girl whom after years of abuse, finally stirs up the courage to confess the truths about her mother: her abuser!

Millie (formally known as Annie) lives each day with the knowledge of what horrific things she witnessed her mother do. It’s enough to make any person sick! As Millie’s story unravels and we begin to learn the truth in detail about her upbringing, one can’t help but feel utter sorrow for her. Is it enough to place her in a foster home with a new identity?

I’m not sure when the story takes a turn for that “holy crap what just happened” effect but when it does…rest assured, you will feel like someone pulled the rug out from underneath your feet, you will feel like you missed something, like the wool was pulled over your eyes!!! I will not say how this story ended but as a very seasoned reader of psychological thrillers, I am confident that you will experience the omg factor!

This has been on our bookshelves for quite some time. Now that we’ve read it and LOVED it, we can’t believe we waited so long! Ali Land.. YOU have gained TWO major fans!!!

AMAZON | THRIFTBOOKS | KOBO

After graduating from university with a degree in Mental Health, Ali spent a decade working as a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Nurse in both hospitals and schools in the UK and Australia. Though a voracious reader from a young age and a keen observer of the world, it took Ali over thirty years to put pen to paper but she sure is glad she did! Ali’s debut novel Good Me Bad Me is an international bestseller and will be translated into twenty-three languages. It was short-listed for The Most Unreliable Narrator at the Dead Good Reader Awards, short-listed by the Crime Writers Association for the John Creasey New Blood Dagger and won Book Of The Year at Heat magazine Unmissables Awards. It’s also a New York Times Editors choice and a Richard and Judy book club pick. Ali is now a full-time writer and lives in London and is currently working on her second novel.

TWITTER | GOODREADS