Storm Child by Michael Robotham

Publisher's Synopsis

The most painful of Evie Cormac's memories have been locked away, ever since she was held prisoner as a child - a child whose rescue captured hearts and headlines.

Forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven's mission is to guide her to something near normality. But today, on a British beach, seventeen bodies wash up in front of them. There is only one survivor, with two women still missing. And Evie's nightmares come roaring back . . .

Whatever happened all those years ago lies at the core of this new tragedy. Because these deaths are no accident. The same dark forces are reaching out, dragging her back into the storm.

Evie must now call upon Cyrus's unique skills, and her own, in their search for the missing pieces of this complex and haunting puzzle. But will that be enough to save them? And who will pay for the past?

My Review of Storm Child by Michael Robotham

Storm Child is the 4th book in the Cyrus Haven series featuring the beguiling Evie Cormac, the young woman with the most disturbing of pasts. The forensic psychologist and the young human lie detector are back in another emotionally taut thriller that starts in England’s Lincolnshire before heading up to Aberdeen in Scotland. 

The two friends are holidaying at the beach when a scream pierces the air. Someone has noticed a body floating to shore. When Cyrus looks out to sea he’s disturbed to find many other bodies are also in the water. A refugee boat has capsized and sunk and these are the victims. He springs into action, swimming out to bring them to shore.

“That’s when I saw Cyrus, waist deep in water, carrying a child in his arms. I felt a surge of adrenaline and a sudden, overwhelming need to run. I couldn’t make my legs move. I couldn’t speak. It was as if somebody had hit the pause button and my life had stopped, frozen on that image of Cyrus holding a dead child…”

Evie spots him carrying a child to shore and the sight triggers a memory from her past and she becomes catatonic, falling into a stupor which leads to her hospitalisation. Although she eventually recovers from the episode, the MRI that was performed has revealed some disturbing results.

Using his police connections, Cyrus is able to find out more about the smuggling operation that went wrong and resulted in so many deaths. Tracking down names of boats and then names of boat owners he is able to identify the possible identities of the smugglers. Of course, getting proof is another thing altogether and in order to do that it appears the trail is going to take them to Scotland.

Together, Cyrus and Evie travel north to Scotland hoping to learn more about Evie’s past and the illegal people smuggling trade that was part of it. Naturally, confronting people who are in the middle of a lucrative illegal activity is extremely dangerous, putting lives at risk and ramping the tension all the way up. 

Evie’s past - her early life in Albania and how she came to the UK - is revealed in a series of recalled memories. With the help of Cyrus she manages to remember the boat on which she and her mother and sister were travelling when it ran into trouble during the crossing of the English Channel. Her memories of some of the crew from that trip, the smugglers themselves, start to return to her.

I really like how this series has progressed, particularly the relationship between Cyrus and Evie. Certainly, there are still some major mental challenges to overcome for each of them but their trust and acceptance of one another provides plenty of positive moments throughout what becomes a turbulent search into Evie’s past.

It would be my recommendation to read the earlier books (Good Girl Bad Girl, When She Was Good and Lying Beside You) before tackling this one to get a full appreciation of how far they’ve come together. It will also explain the catatonia and moments of uneasiness between the two.

Normally, it’s the crime aspect of a crime novel that is of the greatest importance - who did it and how, will they be caught and how. For me, the real strength of Storm Child is the character development that takes place. They are given tremendous depth and substance as three dimensional characters and that leads to them striking an emotional chord in me. I felt as though I had a greater stake in the outcome as a result. 

This is yet another outstanding thriller from Michael Robotham filled with powerful emotion,  insightful commentary on worldwide refugee problems and a gripping finale to round things off.