THE WHITE CROW By MICHAEL ROBOTHAM

Michael Robotham is in very fine form with his latest novel, The White Crow (Sphere, 25 June 2025).

After recent, highly acclaimed books in his series about teenager Evie Cormac and forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven, Michael has now returned to PC Philomena (Phil) McCarthy who first appeared in 2021’s When You Are Mine.

As a police officer and the daughter of a London crime boss, Philomena has always worked hard at keeping the two sides of her complicated life apart. Not always with success, however. On patrol one night she discovers a child in pyjamas, wandering alone. Returning Daisy to her home, Phil uncovers the aftermath of a deadly home invasion. Meanwhile, three miles away Daisy’s father, a prominent jeweller, is found strapped to an explosive in his ransacked store.

The crimes are linked, and the evidence seems to suggest that Phil’s dodgy father, Edward McCarthy, is possibly the mastermind behind it. But Eddie has bigger problems than the police investigation to worry about, someone is targeting his business interests and they are becoming increasingly aggressive about it.

With her two worlds are colliding, Phil finds herself trapped in the middle of a vicious gang war that will threaten her career and everyone she loves.

This is a fast paced, highly accomplished crime novel. The various plot strands are quickly set in place, and Robotham smoothly unfolds his story with plenty of excitement and surprises. The shifting point of view between Phil, her father, and the police officer in charge of the investigation into home invasion is well handled, and Robotham uses it to good effect to increase the mystery and suspense. The characters are interesting and well fleshed-out, especially Edward’s brothers, and Philomena is an engaging central narrator.

The settings and the dialogue all ring true and there is an appealing polish to Robotham’s writing. There are also touches of poignancy and humour in the story, and themes around family, integrity and modern policing are lightly touched on. In all, a superior piece of crime writing that is nicely topped off with a neat final twist.

I think that The White Crow is close to being the best book that Robotham has written, and it is definitely his most exciting novel to date.  Highly recommended.

The White Crow is released in Australia and the United Kingdom on 25 June 2025 and in the United States on 1 July 2025.