I cannot say this plainly enough; if you have not bought this book - buy it now. It is fantastic.
Really, truly, a fantastic read.
I usually write all my reviews down in a little book I keep by the side of me, but I'd just put up the review of the new Maggie O'Farrell novel, This Must Be The Place, today so my book was by my computer. The thing is, I didn't want to wait to write this down, so here I am, tapping away rather than writing with a pen!
I have quite recently reviewed another of Tammy Cohen's books, The Broken, which had lived happily in my Dining Room for a while - and that was great, "a real page-turner" were the actual words I wrote. Seriously, that had nothing on When She Was Bad.
I was quite honestly holding my breath at several parts of this book, and it's fair to say I was totally and utterly hooked. Thankfully the little one was at nursery today so I have managed to read it all in one day - and I do mean thankfully, I would have been a very neglectful mother if he had been here. Obviously not on the scale of Noelle Egan, but neglectful nonetheless.
I honestly had no idea at all who Child L or Child D was, until they were revealed. I even had my suspicions, but they were totally wrong - how great is that!?! I admit to being initially confused by the entries from Anne, and several times turning to the blurb to double-check that I hadn't overlooked her name; but all soon became apparent. Her narration of the Egan story was very chilling, and it ran perfectly alongside the unfolding saga of the Hamilton workplace - drawing me further and further into the depths of tension I haven't seen for a while.
Each of the colleagues - Sarah, Amira, Paula, Ewan and Charlie - were given a life so totally rounded that I felt like I knew them. Rachel, the new boss, whilst not having a voice for most of the book, was portrayed so well by the other characters, that I shared their dislike of her. Giving Rachel a couple of chapters towards the end of the book, whilst adding another dimension to her that I hadn't seen before, didn't serve to endear her to me very much at all I have to say. The events are played out in such a way, that they take on a sense of realism - helped no end by visions of people that have shared some of the same traits as Rachel in their quest for power I'm sure!
I really feel like I could gush forever about this book, such is the whole-hearted pleasure I've got from reading it. I was gripped, thrilled, smiling, squirming and in a state of near nervous tension for practically all of When She Was Bad - it is a terrific read.
