Lying Beside You and Storm Child by Michael Robotham

 Lying Beside You is book 3 in the Cyrus Haven/Evie Cormac series.  It can work as a standalone, but it is more satisfying to read the first two books:  Good Girl, Bad Girl and When She Was Good.  I had to read this one before reading Storm Child because I'd somehow missed it.  Reading the first two books provides the background of the relationship of Cyrus as caretaker/guardian of the damaged Evie.

In this third installment, Cyrus Haven's brother Elias (who has been in a psychiatric hospital for killing his parents and twin sisters twenty years ago) will be released into Cyrus's care.  Cyrus, who wasn't at home at the time of the massacre, suffers survivor's guilt.  

As a criminal psychologist, Cyrus believes in forgiveness and second chances, but he knows that medication is the key for his schizophrenic brother, and he isn't completely sure about his own ability to forgive.

Evie Cormac, a troubled young woman with a horrific background, lives with Cyrus, who hopes that she can eventually regain her memories and overcome some of the traumatic effects.  Evie is also a "truth wizard," one of those rare individuals who can tell if a person is lying up to 90% of the time.  

Elias, who has spent 20 years in a psychiatric hospital, is out of touch with modern life.  His addition to the household causes tension for everyone.

When Cyrus is called in to help in the murder of an old man and the abduction of his daughter things become even more complicated.

Aside from the awful cover and title (neither of which have much to do with the plot), this psychological thriller is in keeping with Robotham's ability to keep the reader engaged and intrigued with the characters.

  349 pages;   published 2023

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After catching up with book 3, it was time for Storm Child.

A much better cover and title.  Cyrus has been trying to get Evie to remember elements of her childhood, to discover how she came to be locked in the secret room.  

When Cyrus and Evie take a trip to the beach, bodies of migrants begin washing to the shore, and Evie begins having debilitating flashbacks.  

The only survivor, a teenage boy insists they were intentionally rammed and that no efforts were made to rescue those who were drowning. However, two young women are missing from the bodies and suspicions of human trafficking are on the table.

Two men are arrested, and Cyrus hopes to help Evie regain her awareness of what happened to her by joining the investigation.

While the plot is sometimes less than realistic, the characters carry it well.  The themes of human trafficking and human evil are real...and sometimes fiction does a better job of making us aware than do newspaper articles.  

I particularly enjoyed the references to Joe O'Loughlin, who was Cyrus's mentor.  Michael Robotham's Joe O'Loughlin books are worth checking out if you haven't read them.  

Thanks to Scribner's and NetGalley.

Publication date:  July 2, 2024

I'll post a reminder closer to publication.