My Review: Shatter by Michael Robotham

The Plot
A naked woman in red high-heeled shoes is poised on the edge of a bridge. Clinical psychologist Joseph O'Loughlin is only feet away, trying desperately to talk her down. She whispers, 'You don't understand', and jumps.

Later, Joe has a visitor - the woman's teenage daughter, a runaway from boarding school. She refuses to believe that her mother would have jumped off the bridge: she wouldn't have committed suicide and she was terrified of heights.

Joe wants to believe her, but how could a woman be driven to such a desperate act? And who might drive her to it?

My Review
Australian author Michael Robotham has concocted a chilling and unputdownable psychological thriller. The book title refers to the method in which the villian, Gideon Tyler 'shatters' the victim's minds. It also shattered my sleep patterns. Once started, I could not stop reading - all 460+ pages in one (very late) night.

Gideon Tyler is military trained in psychological warfare. He uses his voice as the tool of torture and manipulates his victims into killing themselves. He is sadistic, intelligent and furtive - a potent mix.

The main protagonist is psychologist, Professor Joe O'Loughlin. Joe is highly skilled at reading people, yet he is flawed. He is suffering from an incureable disease, his wife is seemingly having an affair, he's dealing with a grief-stricken teenager and he brings danger to his own doorstep simply by serendipitous association. He is an absorbing character, and I empathised with him every tremor-filled step of the way.

I was drawn into this novel very early on. The plot was captivating and built suspense, intrigue and even terror. The characters were beguiling and Robotham's writing style flowed easily from the page. This was my first Michael Robotham novel, it won't be my last, and I am now an unabashed Michael Robotham fan.