A Book A Week

Joseph O'Loughlin is facing some tough times. His fourteen year old daughter, Charlie, recently suffered a traumatic kidnapping and hasn't been the same since. He has separated from his wife of over twenty years, Julianne, and a divorce seems imminent. On top of all his family issues, Joe has been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, and the involuntary ticks are slowly taking over his body. A seasoned psychologist, Joe lectures at the local university, assists in court cases, and attempts to keep the last strands of his personal life from unraveling.

Despite their strained relationship, Joe picks up his daughter and her best friend, Sienna, from school. He intends to take them back to the family home, but Sienna insists that he drop her off to meet with her boyfriend. Joe knows the "boy" is really closer to a man, but after a confirmation phone call to Sienna's mother, he agrees to drop her off. That evening, Joe receives a startling phone call from Julianne. Sienna has shown up at their home, catatonic and covered in blood. After sending the girl to the hospital, they learn that Sienna's father has been murdered at his home.

Immediately, Sienna is committed to a hospital for psychological analysis, and becomes the only suspect in the murder case. She is unable to remember any of the previous evening's events, and has no reasoning to explain her father's death or why she was covered in blood. Joe sets out to reach Sienna, discover who killed her father, and hopefully regain a relationship with his daughter.

In the tradition of other "literary" detective authors such as Dennis Lehane and Tana French, Michael Robotham has written a grim and moving novel while never sacrificing the suspense. Each character has a unique sense of reality in them that Robotham is able to relay to the reader, without getting bogged down with descriptions. As each layer of this mystery unfolded, I felt more and more connected to the characters and to the situations they were presented. My heart ached for the troubled Sienna and the flawed O'Loughlin family. This is one of the best novels I have read this year, and readers should definitely take notice.

For more information, visit the author's website,
http://www.michaelrobotham.com/index-usa.php,
the publisher's page, http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books_9780316126380.htm,
my Amazon review
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3GO8HXJ1M2FWI/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm,
and http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11641557-bleed-for-me

(week 17, book 19)