When best friends Piper and Tash disappear one Sunday morning, the investigation captivates a nation but the teenage girls are never found.
Three years later, during the worst blizzard in a century, a husband and wife are brutally killed in the farmhouse where Tash McBain once lived. A suspect is in custody, a troubled young man who can hear voices and claims that he saw a girl that night being chased by a snowman.
Convinced that Piper or Tash might still be alive, clinical psychologist Joe O'Loughlin persuades police to reopen the investigation, but the closer he get to the truth, the more dangerous it becomes.
One girl is counting on them and she's running for her life...
My name is Piper Hadley and I went missing on the last Saturday of the summer holidays three years ago. I didn't disappear completely and I didn't run away, which is what a lot of people thought... I've been here all along – not in Heaven or in Hell or that place in between whose name I can never remember.
Anyone that follows the news will know that I didn't disappear alone. My best friend Tash was with me. They called us 'the Bingham Girls' and people made shrines of flowers and tied yellow ribbons to lampposts. There were balloons and soft toys and candles just like when Princess Diana died. Complete strangers were praying for us, weeping as though we belonged to them, as though we summed up the tragedies in their own lives...
Download the first chapter of Say You're SorryYou can read more about Michael's US editions on the
Mulholland Books website.
• Shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime fiction 2013
'Never-lets-up-suspense and beautiful writing.'
'Unbearably tense and nail-biting.'
'I read it in two sittings, which felt like one too many.'
'Robotham is a writer of many voices...In this story there are good fathers, bad fathers, even monstrous fathers. The daughters are no saints either. But, for all that, they can't help loving one another.'
'The combination of convincing characters, psychological expertise and a neatly constructed plot makes this an outstandingly good crime novel.'
'Suspenseful and intriguing.'
'SAY YOU'RE SORRY is the latest episode in the outstanding series featuring clinical psychologist Joe O'Loughlin.'
'This may be Robotham's most polished book to date... [with] one of those jaw dropping endings that leaves you muttering: Now how did he do that?'
'Breathtaking. SAY YOU'RE SORRY IS Michael's eighth crime thriller and I think it's the best yet.'
'A first-rate psychological thriller containing a disturbing and menacing central story flanked by acute observations of people under stress and how they react. The well-drawn characters on either side of the crime divide make fine supports for a wounded hero in a wounded world.'
'Robotham's writing ranges from insightful to superb... Subtle, smart, compelling and blessed with both an intelligent storyline and top-notch writing, this book will grab readers from page one and not let go until the final sentence.'
'Ned Kelly Award–winner Robotham's taut seventh psychological thriller...doesn't shy away from the unsettling, but he never seeks merely to titillate.'
'Writing in the first person with subtlety and compassion, Robotham assimilates his multiple plot strands so skilfully the weight and texture of social interconnection becomes almost palpable as the various stories start to intertwine, and then violently collide.'
'If you enjoy books with ticking plot clocks, SAY YOU'RE SORRY has one that you will hear in your sleep, and every other moment when you are away from it.'
'The plot is great, the action never lets up, the suspense is palpable and I adore twist endings! If you love suspense/thrillers you've got to add Robotham to your must read list. Trust me – you won't be sorry...'
'Michael is a master of his genre and every book he writes is better than his last. Even if you're not a fan of crime writing, I can assure you that SAY YOU'RE SORRY, with its psychological suspense and breakneck pace, may just change your mind.'
'Shattering, often sickening, still I guarantee you'll read until the last page.'
'A taut and thrilling narrative that as buttressed by a strong sense of realism, engaging characters and a multitude of twists and turns to keep readers guessing. Once you crack the cover, you'll be hard-pressed to stop turning pages until you reach the end.'
'Robotham's latest thriller delivers finely nuanced characters, genuine banter and an absorbing plot that will engage the most jaded mystery fan.'
'Michael Robotham returns with another stellar book in his finely written series... O'Loughlin is a wonderful character, reluctant and observant and compassionate in equal measure...'
'SAY YOU'RE SORRY is a harrowing, complex tale of triumph over evil...compelling to the very last page.'
'As Robotham plunges into the heart of darkness, he is able to retain humanity. All of his characters are beautifully fractured, especially O'Loughlin...'
'You'll be taken up a number of blind alleys before the rip-roaring finale catches you unawares. This is crime thriller writing at its very best.'
