I regret to say I did not enjoy this book. It seemed somewhat unrealistic and whilst I can suspend disbelief for the sake of a story, I just couldn't engage with it.. There were lots of twists and turns in the story but none of them that surprising and it did become a little predictable.

"I remember a story I read. A Native American tale where the Cherokee tells his grandson there's a battle between two wolves in all of us. One is evil, the other good. The boy asks him, which wolf wins? The Cherokee tells him, the one you feed."

I knew little about this book before reading it, and honestly, had I known a bit more - specifically, about the very dark and disturbing subject matter - I'm not sure I would have chosen to read it. As it was, I read the beginning and had serious doubts about whether I wanted to carry on. Then I read a bit further and still had serious doubts about whether I wanted to carry on. But somehow I did find myself reading to the end, which is some kind of testimony as to what a compelling read this is. It's a very impressive debut novel.

Fifteen year old Annie's mother is a serial killer of young children - a psychopath, it would appear - who not only horribly abused her own daughter but also made her somehow complicit in her crimes. Finally, Annie spoke out. Her mother was arrested and put on trial; Annie was given a new name and identity (Milly) and placed in foster care. But it's not the safe haven she'd hoped for; the daughter of the house, Phoebe, is the meanest of mean girls and determined to make "Milly"'s life even more of a misery.

We see everything through Annie/Milly's internal monologue.. Is she a reliable narrator? Only up to a point. Her monstrous mother, who she both hates and yearns for, continues to exert a powerful pull over her, but only emerges through her daughter's eyes. It's impossible to understand why she did what she did, or indeed how she got away with it for so long.

Thankfully we are spared too graphic details of what went on, but told enough to linger unpleasantly in the mind.

The story is really about Annie's internal battle between on the one hand what she knows to be right and on the other hand the deeply entrenched effects of the only life and (some kind of) love she has ever known. Can she ever become her own person, free of her mother's malign influence, or are they just too deeply entangled to ever really separate?

This is an impressive debut work. The psychological thriller genre is filled with titles that excite interest. Good Me Bad Me is a relatively simplistic hook, but this story really packs a punch. There's a violent and abusive background, some retribution and justice, but throughout, the age old conflict of right and wrong.

Very well written with strong characters and plotting which kept me gripped throughout.

Quite enjoyed this. To be honest there wasn't anything in it that surprised me or made me think. The starting chapter was hard work with all the talking to self.

Probably won't read author again.

A chillingly good read, the sort of book you can't put down. Well drawn, frighteningly convincing characters. Totally and horrifyingly believable. I identified with and empathised with the characters, willing Milly to fight through her demons, but recognising the inevitability of the plot. A Greek tragedy of a novel. A must read.

An interesting thriller. The use of the second person was intriguing and helped us understand the characters better. I felt the story dragged a bit in places but provided some thoughtful and disturbing ideas.

Read this is a couple of days . Unsettling with many twists and turns. Very well written and shows the complexities around mental health.

This book was just brilliant !! I couldn't put it down and it raised some interesting questions . when Annie reports her serial killer Mum to the police you would think her life would start to improve , however she is given a new identity and a new foster family . The teenage girl phoebe takes an instant dislike to Annie now called Milly aand some of the things she does to her are truly shocking ,but Milly has secrets too and has her story unfurls you realise the horrors she was exposed to and can these really leave her unscathed !!!! Thank you for the chance to read this ..

Everything just seemed unrealistic and not very well researched on many levels. There were lots of twists and turns in the story but none of them very unexpected but all rather too predictable.

With thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read an ebook of Good Me, Bad Me.

This is a debut novel. Hard to believe. Ali Land has written a stunning psychological thriller with a rather unique twist. It is recounted through the eyes of a teenage girl, Annie, whose mother is a serial killer. Annie reports her mother's horrendous crimes to the police. As the plot unfolds we see Annie with a new identity - 'Milly' - fostered with a couple, Mike and Saskia and their teenage daughter Phoebe, a spiteful girl who shows her intense dislike of 'Milly' and the attention she gets from her father, who is a psychologist. Phoebe is not aware of Milly's disturbing past and sees her as a threat to her own comfortable existence. But how long can it remain a secret, as the plot unravels, waiting for the forthcoming trial at which 'Milly' has to give evidence against her own mother.

The pace is relentless, often staccato in rhythm, which adds to the tension. Where is this going? Will we see 'Milly' as the teenager given a fresh start or might Annie, the serial killer's daughter come to the fore?

A great read with a satisfying, if not entirely unexpected, ending!

Only just started reading this book and I've already deleted it off the kindle, knowing I'll never read the whole book. The writing style is bizarre..."Shifted in his chair he did"...? It's just not a style I like, I've re-read paragraphs trying to get to grips with the emerging storyline but the style is annoying me! Sorry, didn't like this at all.

This is Ali Land's debut and she has certainly came and made her mark in the Psychological Thriller genre.
And a really clever unique spin on the Serial Killer fiction books I have read before. Such an easy book to read, the story flows threw the pages sweeping you along for the ride. I couldn't put the book down so i finished it in less than 36 hours!
The book is about a female serial killers daughter Annie and that it was Annie that turned her mother over to the police.
Annie is now Milly, with a new life and new home. No one knows the truth about who Milly really is but who knows how long a secret like that can stay buried?
Especially as she will have to stand up and give evidence against her own mother!
But the question is "Is she Milly, the new girl with a fresh start? Or is she Annie, the serial killers daughter?
What side wins? Good me or Bad me?
Brilliant book, I have recommended it to anyone and everyone I know who loves to read and even purchased the book as a present for a friend.
Cant wait to see what Ali's next book will be like.

This was one of the best debuts I've read in years. It was dark and controversial and those are two things I love in a crime novel. I love that the serial killer was portrayed as a women - this is something that is rare (the only other book series I can think of is the Archie Sheridan and Gretchen Lowell series) and really welcome in my eyes. I found this book unique and original and it questioned the stereotypes of the nurturing mother, the mother who will do anything for their child. I enjoyed the contrast of this with Saskia a lot.

The writing style was unique and this book was powerful. I'm really grateful to have read this early because I'll certainly be recommending it to every bookworm I know.

If you want to read a terrific psychological thriller, then Good Me Bad Me should be first high on your list. I only read paperbacks or hardbacks. I don't read any digital format of books, but I first read Good Me Bad Me as my first download on netgalley to read and didn't gel with reading online. Never again will I be downloading from netgalley. Now I have bought Good Me Bad Me in hardback I took it all in and couldn't let go of the book. Every character, every word, every sentence and every chapter was just brilliantly written. I just couldn't believe that Good Me Bad Me is the very first book that Ali Land has written. I'm not going to go into detail of what this story is about as so many reviews have already been written about this book. But what I will say is I am now a fan of the new author Ali Land. Roll on for her next book. I'm now following Ali Land on Goodreads. Highly recommend this sensational novel.

Annie's mom is a serial killer. Annie can only make it stop by going to the police. Awaiting the trial Annie goes to live with a foster family where she becomes Milly.

I've got mixed feelings about this book. The premise is good and the story is interesting. There is enough to hold my interest and I really wanted to see where the story was going.

At times the story is very dark and disturbing. There were more than one storyline in the book and some were only touched on and I felt needed to be explored a little more. I was left needing answers.

The story was building up to a court case and I was expecting a little more where that was concerned. This part of the story I found disappointing.

The storyline about the relationship between Milly and Pheobe I enjoyed but did find it a little predictable especially the ending.

I liked this book, but at times felt let down. An interesting premise and the storyline was a little different. I read the book in two sittings as it was easy to read but at times found it uncomfortable .

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review the book .

This book came highly recommended and I can appreciate why. It's utterly compelling and extremely absorbing. It's an intense psychological thriller and it certainly plays with your thoughts and feelings. It's disturbing and yet there are elements of game playing and role playing and its gentle start hooks you from the beginning.

Many books are given the tag of unputdownable but this book truly is enthralling. I'm already looking forward to more first rate novels by the author Ali Land.

#suspense, #psychological
A novel that chills.
The mind of ‘Milly’ is cunning - as she has been taught to be by her mother. She shares what she thinks is needed and required, and that which will progress her objectives. She seems to have 2 main objectives, one being to ensure that her mother goes to prison for as long as possible and thus she will not have to return to the house of horrors that she was brought up in; and 2 to remain with Mike as a foster child, whatever that takes.
Milly manipulates the situation and we learn just how far she will go as the story develops. She has a Good personality and a Bad personality and she is aware of each and feels no shame when she uses her Bad personality to undertake a behaviour that will bring her closer to one of her goals. She is aware of what is morally correct to do in situations but often behaves differently, justifying her behaviour from her own goals.
In the book her foster sister has a manipulative personality and she is unaware of just how far Milly understands her and can counteract her when necessary. Her mother did teach her a great many ways to manipulate others.
Yet Milly is lonely. Her life with her mother did not permit her to have friends. She would like to be accepted as who she really is but the very heavy publicity about her mother, who is now on trial due to Milly, prevents this. Only a very few are permitted to know who she really is as she is the prime witness against her mother.
The story is told by Milly so we see her thinking and rationales as the trial of her mother develops and as her relationship with her foster family is impacted by the trial.
You feel very sorry for Milly. Her mother twisted and warped her through abuse and yet her awareness of good and bad means that in the end, when the full extent of her behaviour is revealed, you realise that she is probably not fit to live in normal society.

Every now and then you read a book that puts you through all emotions going from squirming shock horror and disgust to heartbreaking sympathy and this book is one of those!.
Millie is a teenager, a teenager who like any other just wants a normal life, to do normal things and have a normal family but unfortunately hers is the polar opposite. Millie's Mother is a serial killer on trial from evidence provided by Millie. So with Millie as our narrator we get inside her head and see what's going on and what she's been through and how it's affected her, how she now closely anxiously analyses people and desperately craves acceptance.
This book sucks you right in and absorbs you, I found it hard to stop thinking about it long after I'd put it down. Suprisingly this is the authors debut, I'm excited to see what she comes up with next so this is an author to watch!.
My thanks go to the publisher, author and Netgalley in providing me with a arc in return for an honest review.

A very dark thread runs through the storyline of this book.
Millie is an intriguing character and the author keeps you guessing whether the 'Good or Bad Me' will triumph.
Great book, highly recommend.

A tense, deeply troubling but utterly fascinating read.
Our narrator is fifteen year old Annie, the daughter of a serial killer. Details of Annie's life are drip-fed to us, and they make for a tough read. We learn, bit by bit, of the awful abuse meted out to Annie by the very person who is meant to care for her. Alongside this we are given some details of the murders her mother carried out.
When Annie makes the decision to go to the police it sets in motion a court case, and Annie being taken into foster care.
Her shiny new identity is as Milly. This is a chance for a new start, but throughout the book we are urged to consider the extent to which you can move on from your past.
Watching Milly's attempts to settle into her new home always felt rather strained. We put it down to the strain of preparing to testify against your own mother, but there's a point where Milly questions whether good me or bad me will win out - and we're launched into a murky psychological area. Watching events unfold there was a grim inevitability to them, where I hoped the author wouldn't go down this route.
This book references Lord of the Flies throughout, and there's a lurking menace behind most interactions.
While I can't say I enjoyed this book - some taboos feel like they don't need to be broken - it was one I found myself mesmerised by.