Good Me Bad Me is a disturbing thriller that tells the story of 15-year-old Annie. Until recently, Annie lived with her mother Ruth, in whose care she suffered devastating psychological and physical abuse alongside witnessing her mother commit crimes against other children that will be forever ingrained on her memory. Now living with a foster family and renamed ‘Milly’, Annie is attempting to come to terms with being the one who reported her mother to the police.

The premise of this novel is strong: Annie’s mother is a manipulative serial killer whose influence on her daughter didn’t simply come to an end when she was arrested. Constantly battling with the sound of her mother’s voice in her head, Annie tries to fit in at her new home and her new school whilst also preparing herself for having to testify against Ruth in court. Although, I occasionally wondered what the system was thinking placing Annie with another obviously dysfunctional family (her foster sister hates her and her foster mother is rarely seen without an alcoholic drink in her hand), the protagonist is a strong and likeable character for whom the reader feels much sympathy. Although the sometimes chatty style of her narrative is not always easy to read it is certainly authentic and her attempts to make friends, hampered by frequent panic attacks, make often heart-breaking reading.

As the book progresses, it becomes more and more obvious that Annie’s attempts to fit in are possibly beyond her and that her battle to convince herself that she is not her mother’s daughter will quite possibly be one that she cannot win. Will it be ‘good’ Annie or ‘bad’ Annie that prevails?

Good Me Bad Me is a chilling page-turner that I’m sure will be adapted for cinema screens before long.