Hello everyone and welcome to a new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! Today, we are going to be discussing a thriller by Michael Robotham called When You Are Mine. And, tomorrow, be sure to tune in for bloopers from my Night At The Theater OOTD. With no spoilers given away, as always, let’s dive into it. But, I want to place a trigger warning on this book beforehand for domestic violence, general violence, and mental illness. Let’s go:

Constable Philomena McCarthy works for the police in London, which has been her dream since experiencing a bombing on a bus in her youth. Phil had no easy task of achieving this, though, as she is the daughter of the head honcho of the infamous McCarthy crime family. Phil has been estranged from her father for close to a decade and, despite her family ties, she proves herself as a strong addition to her team.

Soon to be married to her fiance, Henry, Phil is living the life that she has always wanted. But things take a sharp turn south when she answers to a domestic call in an apartment building because a resident heard screaming. At the scene, Phil finds Tempe looking worse for the wear at the hands of her lover, Darren Goodall. In his rage, he ends up taking a swing at Phil and she places him under arrest. Not knowing at the time, of course, that he is a Detective Sargent with friends in high and low places alike.

Goodall gets out of his arrest scot free and returns to his wife and children while Phil lands herself a charge for police misconduct. This doesn’t stop her from trying to help Tempe, though, and she finds her a new place to live. The women become fast friends and soon, every free moment is spent together having drinks, shopping, and planning the wedding.

While Phil is enjoying her new friendship, there is definitely something off about Tempe. Everyone around her appears to think so too but Phil brushes it off. Between the wedding, her charges, and attempting to get Goodall’s wife out of an abusive situation, she has her hands full. She also has her estranged crime boss father to think about because a journalist has turned up dead and his crew might be the cause.

With twists in family affairs, friendships, and job Phil soon finds herself at the epicenter of what appears to be a massive police cover up. Despite being told to drop it by all of her higher ups, Phil can’t and soon finds herself targeted as the one to take the blame. Will Darren Goodall finally receive the punishment of the law that he deserves? Will Phil be charged with murder? Read When You Are Mine to find out!

As I began reading When You Are Mine, I wasn’t one hundred percent sold on it and I still feel that way after finishing it. I did enjoy it and, although I figured out the main plot twist, there was still a lot that I didn’t see coming. However, this fast paced read packed a lot of information into three hundred and fifty pages and it made it difficult to keep all of the different plots straight.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a complicated story line but there were several mini plot twists that didn’t have to be included for the book to be effective. The drawn out nature of When You Are Mine made the ending seem abrupt and anticlimactic, which is a bit disappointing. I wouldn’t have minded if it went on for fifty more pages to add some more clarity all around and drama to the final scenes.

I really liked Philomena as a main character as well as her family on her father’s side, although they only played minor parts. The supporting roles of Tempe and Henry left a lot to be desired, though, and felt like a story that I have heard way too many times before. You know, the ultra clingy new friend and the fiance and friends who don’t like her. This is a somewhat tired approach in the modern day psychological thriller.

Overall, I am going to rate When You Are Mine with a six out of ten stars. The general plot was good but it got overwhelmed quickly with unnecessary twists and turns. Normally, I don’t want a book that I like to end but I felt ready for this one to be over. This is one that you aren’t missing out on if you pass on it.

What are you currently reading? What should I read next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah