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Bleed for Me (Joseph O'Loughlin #4)

by Michael Robotham (Goodreads Author)

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 1,434 ratings · 240 reviews

Ray Hegarty, a highly respected former detective, lies dead in his daughter Sienna's bedroom. She is found covered in his blood. Everything points to her guilt, but psychologist Joe O'Loughlin isn't convinced.

Fourteen-year-old Sienna is the best friend of Joe's daughter, and he has watched her grow up and seen the troubled look in her eyes. Against the advice of the police...more

Paperback, 418 pages

Published 2010 by Sphere

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May 30, 2010 D.M. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: thrillers

When the fourth novel of Robotham's featuring psychologist Joe O'Loughlin appeared in bookshops earlier this year, I had to buy a copy knowing I was in for a satisfying read.

I had so enjoyed Shatter and the character of O'Loughlin that, apart from the crime/thriller element of the plot, the ongoing fictional-biographical story of this character is a cosy read. For in the first person of O'Loughlin, the author relates the psychologist's life in detail, the struggles within his family including th...more

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Mar 21, 2013 Margaret rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books, thriller-mystery-suspense

What a treat, to find this most recent title in the Joe O'Loughlin series not only in the library but available on audio, and right before a long drive to the East Coast and back. Actually, I found it so compulsively listen-able that I stayed up in the hotel room until 3 a.m. listening to the last several CD's, after which I only had Sirius to entertain me on the drive back.

Yes, the audio is THAT good - major props to reader Sean Barrett. That said, I downgrade the book from 5 to 4 stars b/c the...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Simone Sinna rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is vintage Robotham. Child Abuse, race murders, and Joe O’Loughlin even though he’s meant to be lecturing and looking after his Parkinson’s is doing neither and embroils his family yet again in danger.
Like much of the current crime thrillers there is a strong back story about the protagonist, psychologist O’Loughlin, including the separation, difficult teenager (who stared in an earlier book and led to the marital breakdown) and his illness. He’s likeable but not always sensible, irritatin...more

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Dec 07, 2012 Bücherplanet rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ich bin Mitglied im Buchclub von MexxBooks und habe 'Todeswunsch' gelesen.

Nachdem meiner Meinung nach in 'Dein Wille geschehe' die Eheprobleme der O'loughlins zu sehr im Mittelpunkt der Geschichte standen, ist Michael Robotham mit 'Todeswunsch' wieder ein spannender Thriller gelungen.

Es ist entschieden: O'Loughlin ist von zuhause ausgezogen und lebt mit seinem Labrador Gunsmoke in einem Haus in der Nähe seiner Familie. Seine Töchter sind regelmäßig bei ihm zu Besuch und auch der Umgang mit seine...more Ich bin Mitglied im Buchclub von MexxBooks und habe 'Todeswunsch' gelesen.

Nachdem meiner Meinung nach in 'Dein Wille geschehe' die Eheprobleme der O'loughlins zu sehr im Mittelpunkt der Geschichte standen, ist Michael Robotham mit 'Todeswunsch' wieder ein spannender Thriller gelungen.

Es ist entschieden: O'Loughlin ist von zuhause ausgezogen und lebt mit seinem Labrador Gunsmoke in einem Haus in der Nähe seiner Familie. Seine Töchter sind regelmäßig bei ihm zu Besuch und auch der Umgang mit seiner Frau ist eher von beiderseitigem Bedauern, als von Wut, geprägt. Dennoch ist klar, dass es kein Zurück zu einem gemeinsamen Familienleben geben wird.

Die beste Freundin von O'Loughlins älterer Tochter Charlie, Sienna, taucht eines Abends voller Blut vor dem Haus der O'Loughlins auf und wird schnell verdächtigt, ihren Vater getötet zu haben. Es ist sein Blut, das an ihrer Kleidung klebt. Und aufgrund ihrer psychischen Konstitution wird nicht ausgeschlossen, dass sie als Kind misshandelt wurde und sich gegen ihren Peiniger, ihren Vater, gewehrt hat, indem sie ihn erschlagen hat.
Doch O'Loughlin glaubt ihr, dass sie unschuldig ist.

Er wird zunächst von der Polizei als Psychologe hinzu gezogen, hat jedoch zunehmend Schwierigkeiten, die Geschehnisse rund um Sienna von seiner Tochter zu trennen. Stets befürchtet er, dass der, der Sienna seelisch so verletzt hat, auch vor seiner Tochter keinen Halt macht. So rutscht O'Loughlin immer tiefer in kriminelle Grauzonen und legt sich mit dubiosen Gestalten an. Von der Partie ist auch wieder sein alter Freund Vincent Ruiz, der O'Loughlin vorbehaltlos unterstützt.

Lange ist vollkommen unklar, was hinter der Geschichte steckt. Der Fall Sienna gerät dabei zeitweise sogar etwas in den Hintergrund. Dennoch ist Michael Robotham ein fesselnder Thriller gelungen. O'Loughlins Gefühl der Machtlosigkeit lässt sich als Leser gut nachvollziehen, ebenso wie seine Befürchtungen in Bezug auf seine Tochter.

Absolute Leseempfehlung!
ChrisRueth für MexxBooks (less)

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Nov 09, 2012 David Barker rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm on a bit of a Michael Robotham thrillerbinge at the moment: read my first one (Say You're Sorry) last week, and just finished this one yesterday. This is the stronger of the two, and I'm looking forward to reading more Robotham in the coming days.

There's nothing startlingly original about what Robotham's doing here - these are just good, meaty, crime thrillers with plenty of local and character detail. (Not quite as "literary" as Rankin at his peak, but a cut above your average crime writer....more

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Nov 04, 2012 Sophie Bane rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is another writer that I’ve come late to the party with, it seems – Bleed for Me is the fourth novel featuring psychologist Joe O’Loughlin, who lives in a small village near Bath and suffers from early-onset Parkinson’s Disease.

Whilst Joe’s condition gives his character something different, and something that struck a chord with me as my grandfather suffered with Parkinson’s disease, there were quite a few elements in this book that felt like they’ve been done before. In particular, and thi...more This is another writer that I’ve come late to the party with, it seems – Bleed for Me is the fourth novel featuring psychologist Joe O’Loughlin, who lives in a small village near Bath and suffers from early-onset Parkinson’s Disease.

Whilst Joe’s condition gives his character something different, and something that struck a chord with me as my grandfather suffered with Parkinson’s disease, there were quite a few elements in this book that felt like they’ve been done before. In particular, and this one kept getting in the way of my enjoyment of the novel – the fact that there is no way that O’Loughlin would have been able to get as close as he did to the case. The story begins when Sienna, best friend of his daughter Charlie, turns up at Joe’s house covered in blood, then runs away. Joe goes after her in the dark and finds her at the banks of the river. It transpires that Sienna’s father is dead, and she becomes the prime suspect.

Despite the fact that Joe was the first person to see Sienna after she left the crime scene, thus making him, to my mind, a major witness in the case, he ends up taking on a kind of advisory role for the police, is shown round the crime scene by one of the detectives he is friends with from a previous case, and then ends up writing a psychiatric report on Sienna. I may be wrong, but I just can’t see that happening, and a defence counsel would surely rip it apart. Not that there are ever any defence counsels in crime fiction, since the conviction rate of all those ‘maverick’ cops would be abysmal and nearly everything would get thrown out of court, but in this particular novel I didn’t think this was explained away very convincingly.

Anyway, that aside, the plot isn’t bad. There are suspicions that Sienna’s father, who used to be a well-respected detective, was sexually abusing his daughter, thus giving her a motive (again, a familiar plot in crime fiction) but there are further complexities involving Sienna’s teacher, and links to a prominent race-hate trial. There is some decent characterisation, and the descriptions of Joe’s frustrations with his illness were very well done. I also liked the rural setting – a lot of what I read is set in gritty urban landscapes, and it’s nice to have a contrast every once in a while. It would have been easy for the novel to slip into cosy, twee Midsomer Murders territory, but it manages to successfully combine a cosy rural setting with a gritty plot.

On the whole, I found this book reasonably successful, but the major flaw of Joe’s presence in the investigation was very distracting, and frequently had me yelling ‘but that would never happen!’ On top of that, Sienna’s family do appear to have suffered more than their fair share of tragedy, what with her sister confined to a wheelchair following an attack in one of the previous novels. I think this is the problem with a recurring character who isn’t actually a police officer – how to legitimately insert them into these cases without making them some kind of beacon for tragedy and awful incidents. Put it this way – if O’Loughlin existed, I’d steer well clear. Hang about with him for long enough, and something dreadful is almost certain to happen to you or your family.
(less)

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Oct 28, 2012 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Joe O’Loughlin is an unlikely hero. He’s a psychologist with a failing marriage, serious health problems a troubled relationship with his daughter. He’s in a holding pattern, not sure if he’s looking for a safe place to land or just circling until he runs out of fuel and crashes. He makes some bad choices in Bleed for Me, but it’s hard not to root for him.

Joe gets a late-night call from his estranged wife, Julianne. Sienna, his daughter’s best friend, showed up at the door, covered in blood, and...more Joe O’Loughlin is an unlikely hero. He’s a psychologist with a failing marriage, serious health problems a troubled relationship with his daughter. He’s in a holding pattern, not sure if he’s looking for a safe place to land or just circling until he runs out of fuel and crashes. He makes some bad choices in Bleed for Me, but it’s hard not to root for him.

Joe gets a late-night call from his estranged wife, Julianne. Sienna, his daughter’s best friend, showed up at the door, covered in blood, and then ran away. Joe finds her — wet and shivering, silent, eyes flat and staring. By the time she comes around at the hospital, Joe will have the news: her father, decorated police officer Ray Hagerty, is dead. And it looks like Sienna killed him.

Maybe I’m a little burnt out on family drama right now. This is a pretty good mystery — there’s a lot of suspense, a good lead-up to discovering the killer, some misdirection and at the center, a troubled man, struggling against some pretty long odds. I just didn’t find it as moving as I had hoped.

Sienna is a difficult character for me, although that probably means Robotham has done an excellent job of writing a teenager. Most of the time, I want to whack her on the back of the head with something. She is that special teenage blend of stubborn and pathetic; she desperately wants help but she is dead-set against doing anything to help herself. Even when it becomes clear that she is in real danger — danger of being railroaded for her father’s murder and possibly a target of the real killer, if she’s not the real killer — she is unwilling to tell the truth, unwilling to give Joe anything to work with. He’s a psychologist, he understands what he’s dealing with, but getting through to her is a long, slow process.

Mr. Parkinsons is a main character in this novel, without having a single line. Joe O’Loughlin suffers from Parkinson’s Disease; it is largely at fault for the changes that lead to his marital problems. It makes it difficult for him to continue his work, it makes it difficult for him to get through the day, in one case it gets him arrested, when an officer sees his jerky, disjointed movements and draws the wrong conclusion. It has clearly changed Joe’s outlook on life and as much as his wife loves him, I can see how it would be difficult for her.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, even if I wasn’t swept away by it. It’s a good mystery, interesting characters and a main character you can root for. Maybe it’s a good thing I don’t have teenage kids, because I found the teenagers in the book the most difficult to deal with, even as a reader.(less)

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Jul 22, 2012 Eccentrika rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, crime, thriller, series

Grazie ad un incipit da brivido che contiene un paio di pagine del diario di Sienna, una ragazzina autolesionista e problematica, questo libro parte subito ingranando una marcia alta e riesce immediatamente a carpire la piena attenzione del lettore. Come si scoprirà dopo la breve introduzione, non è Sienna ad essere la protagonista del libro, bensì Joseph O'Loughlin, psicologo criminale cinquantenne, separato da poco dalla moglie, padre di due figlie e malato di Parkinson. Sienna è invece la mig...more Grazie ad un incipit da brivido che contiene un paio di pagine del diario di Sienna, una ragazzina autolesionista e problematica, questo libro parte subito ingranando una marcia alta e riesce immediatamente a carpire la piena attenzione del lettore. Come si scoprirà dopo la breve introduzione, non è Sienna ad essere la protagonista del libro, bensì Joseph O'Loughlin, psicologo criminale cinquantenne, separato da poco dalla moglie, padre di due figlie e malato di Parkinson. Sienna è invece la migliore amica di Charlie (figlia quattordicenne di Joseph) e una sera verrà ritrovata sotto shock e coperta del sangue di suo padre, che verrà trovato assassinato nella camera della figlia. L'unica sospettata dell'omicidio è ovviamente Sienna, ma Joseph, che conosce la ragazzina da una vita, decide di collaborare con la polizia di Bristol per saperne di più, dato che è fermamente convinto che non sia stata lei ad uccidere il padre.
Lo stile di scrittura di Robotham è riuscito a conquistarmi in pieno, mi è piaciuto il suo modo di esporre i fatti e descrivere le persone con cui il protagonista si relaziona. In particolare trovo che proprio grazie a questo suo approccio molto introspettivo nella analisi dei personaggi riesca a fornire un'immagine molto vivida e accurata nella mente del lettore. Mi sono però stupita che questo thriller non sia uno di quelli che parte con un ritmo lento, stuzzicando la curiosità in un crescendo per poi accelerare dinnanzi a colpi di scena nella seconda metà del romanzo. Come infatti ho già precisato "Ogni goccia di sangue" parte con un ritmo abbastanza veloce, ma il fatto che mi ha lasciata un po' perplessa è che già dai primi capitoli vengono fatte delle scoperte importanti, che mi hanno indotta a pensare che il mistero dietro al quale ruotava tutta la vicenda sarebbe stato abbastanza facile da intuire (e anche un po' banale). E siccome circa a pagina 50 mi ero fatta un'idea abbastanza precisa del romanzo (che conta più di 500 pagine) potete immaginare che abbia avuto un lampo di delusione al pensiero che buona parte dei colpi di scena erano stati già svelati. Mi sono chiesta cosa ci sarebbe stato scritto nelle 450 pagine rimanenti e ho sperato che la storia avesse ancora tanto da raccontare, angoli bui da esplorare, e che la verità sarebbe stata del tutto diversa da quella ipotizzata inizialmente. In parte questo mio desiderio è stato esaudito, perché la storia si è rivelata effettivamente molto più complessa e ingarbugliata rispetto ai pronostici, e lo stile di scrittura dell'autore non lascia proprio spazio alla noia nonostante sia un romanzo corposo. La vicenda infatti si snoda in più direzioni, seguendo piste diverse, che poi immancabilmente sembrano avere tutte un punto in comune, anche se apparentemente l'impressione è che non vi sia pertinenza. E per scoprire la verità il nostro protagonista dovrà focalizzarsi principalmente su QUALE punto hanno in comune tutti i vari loschi personaggi che ruotano intorno alla vita di Sienna. E la risposta cambierà totalmente le carte in tavola, dando una svolta inaspettata all'indagine e mettendo anche in grave pericolo il protagonista stesso. Ho trovato che il finale sia stato di buon livello, risponde a tutti gli interrogativi posti durante la lettura, ma non totalmente spiazzante o scioccante come piace a me. L'ho trovato soddisfacente ma non mi ha fatto scattare la scintilla. In definitiva ho trovato che "Ogni goccia di sangue" sia un thriller appassionante, con incastri ben riusciti e una solida struttura, ma non eccelso. Secondo il mio personalissimo parere manca qualcosa per farlo spiccare dagli altri buoni thriller in circolazione.
Volevo inoltre porre l'attenzione sul fatto che questo libro sia in realtà il quarto di una serie che vede come protagonista lo psicologo Joseph O'Loughlin. Come si sa tutti i thriller sono autoconclusivi e per capire la storia non vi è bisogno di leggere i romanzi precedenti. Io infatti non li avevo letti e al momento di intraprendere la lettura non ne ero neanche al corrente. Non ho avuto nessuna difficoltà riguardo alla storia narrata, ho però provato un leggero smarrimento davanti al fatto che le dinamiche relazionali tra i personaggi sono tutte già avviate, si capisce che c'erano dei precedenti e per come sono fatta io avrei preferito iniziare partendo dal principio. Intendiamoci, i personaggi sono descritti magnificamente, le caratterizzazioni sono ottime, ma ci sono a volte piccoli rimandi ad aneddoti del passato che stonavano e solo quando ho scoperto che il libro faceva parte di una serie ho capito il perché di questa mia sensazione. Per chi volesse partire cronologicamente con ordine i titoli prima di questo sono: "L'indiziato" (pubblicato con Rizzoli e BUR nel 2004-2005), "Perduta" (pubblicato con Rizzoli e RL nel 2005-2006) e "Il manipolatore" (pubblicato con Fanucci nel 2010).(less)

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Jun 08, 2012 Beatnik Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

http://www.cozylittlebookjournal.com/...
The only reason it took me more than a day to finish Michael Robotham’s thriller novel Bleed For Me is because I had to sleep sometime. Every time I put it down to eat, sleep, or go about my day, I kept thinking, “Oh I should go finish watching that show” instead of “I should go back and finish reading that book.” I had to remind myself that it was not a dramatic police procedural show that I was in the middle of, but a novel. That’s not to say that I pref...more

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May 10, 2012 Janet rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, mystery-thriller

Psychologist Joe O’Loughlin thinks his life is hard, but manageable. He’s separated from the wife he still loves, Julianne, but has hopes of reconciliation. He has two daughters he adores, Emma and Charlie, and he’s made sure he’s part of their everyday life. He’s still coming to terms with his Parkinson’s disease, but with medication, it seems controllable.

Then Charlie’s best friend, Sienna Hegarty, turns up at his family’s front door covered in blood and Joe O’Loughlin realizes just how much h...more

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Apr 11, 2012 cupcake rated it 5 of 5 stars

Grab on to your bra straps and belt buckles, faithful readers, because you are about to enter the seedy, "what lies beneath" world of Bath, England, where young girls are kidnapped, vicious boys can paralyze you (literally and figuratively), and pedophiles reside.

Bleed for Me, by Michael Robotham, is SO GOOD. I mean SO SO SO SOOOOOOOO GOOD.

It's part mystery, part marital drama, part buddy story, and part parenting analysis. The mystery will make you bite, while the characters keep you eating.

Jos...more Grab on to your bra straps and belt buckles, faithful readers, because you are about to enter the seedy, "what lies beneath" world of Bath, England, where young girls are kidnapped, vicious boys can paralyze you (literally and figuratively), and pedophiles reside.

Bleed for Me, by Michael Robotham, is SO GOOD. I mean SO SO SO SOOOOOOOO GOOD.

It's part mystery, part marital drama, part buddy story, and part parenting analysis. The mystery will make you bite, while the characters keep you eating.

Joseph O'Loughlin is a psychologist battling Parkinson's and an impending divorce. His 14-year-old daughter, Charlie, doesn't help matters, as she knows better than anyone how to devastate him with one word. When her best friend, Sienna, is accused of murdering Sienna's father, Charlie hopes her father will help free Sienna. As Joseph helps the police investigate the crime, he is pulled into the orbit of Annie Robinson, the counselor at the school Charlie and Sienna attend, while at the same time finding himself increasingly outside the realm of Julianne, his estranged wife.

Evidently, Bleed for Me is part of a series, but I have not read the others. It might have helped, as we learn fairly early in the novel that Charlie was once abducted and held in a kidnapping. Vincent Ruiz, a retired cop who assists Joe, is a character also featured in another Robotham novel. Still, though, you can go in cold, as I did, and not suffer any missing information. The benefit to reading the other books is knowing a little more of the O'Loughlins' back story, but, like I said, Robotham fills us in where he needs.

One of the things that struck me about this novel is that you have Bath, an English town featured in Jane Austen novels, appear as a character in itself. Not as bucolic as we might assume, the town's subdermal side is seedy, to say the least. We have drug dealers, prostitution, pedophilia, incest - everything you'd hope to find in suburbia. Joe slowly peels back the layers, thinking he should not be shocked, but finding himself shocked nonetheless. It begins with some observations he makes about the accused:

Sienna's nostrils barely move as she breathes and I notice the faint tracings of blood vessels on her eyelids, which seem to flicker as she dreams. It is the face of a child on the body of a woman.

Her lips are cracked and there are scratches on her cheek. Her hospital gown has fallen open along her thigh to her hip. I want to pull it down to protect her modesty.

Gazing at her arms, I notice a network of fine white scars that run along the inside of her forearms. She's a cutter. Self-harm. Self-abuse. There is more to Sienna than meets the eye; layers that are hidden from the world. Perhaps that's why she scratches at her surface, trying to find what lies beneath.

Those last lines apply to Bath itself, as well as Joe's family, and the girls' school.

Then there is Joe himself. Julianne accuses him of becoming too involved in his cases, and while she is frightened for him with his Parkinson's, it isn't enough to keep her in the marriage. She is realistically written; I couldn't decide - I still can't decide - if I like her or not.

I don't want to say too much about this, because I don't want to give anything away. Suffice it to say, Bleed for Me is a very good novel. It will suck you in, and you will find yourself lost in its world. Do yourself a favor and grab a copy. You will not regret it.(less)

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Mar 12, 2012 Kathleen Hagen added it · review of another edition

Bleed for Me, by Michael Robotham, a-minus, Narrated by Sean Barrett, Produced by Hachette Audio, downloaded from audible.com.

The latest in the Joe O’Loughlin series, this book pits Joe against his friend, the cop Veronica Craig, and causes him to ask his friend, the retired cop, to help him find the killer. Joe’s marriage is about over, but he and Julianne live fairly close to each other yet for the sake of Charley and Emma. Charley’s best friend, Sienna, shows up at their door one night covere...more

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Aug 27, 2011 Stephen Clynes rated it 4 of 5 stars

This novel is set in Bristol and Bath, which is rather nice as I lived around Bristol for 20 years. It is easy reading and has a steady pace. Bleed For Me is a crime thriller and is written in a similar style to novels from Peter James . This story is written in the 1st person, which is the right format because Joe O'Loughlin is the central character and the key to this mystery. Joe solves the murder not through investigative Police skills but by understanding how people think. The ending was ok...more

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Nov 03, 2010 LJ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary_post_1945, england, licensed_investigator, male_author, mystery, psychologist_psychiatrist

First Sentence: i should start by telling you my name, although it’s not really important.

Psychiatrist Joe O’Laughlin is trying to deal with having Parkinson’s disease, being separated from his wife and only seeing his daughter part time. When his daughter’s best friend is accused of murdering her father, a former police detective, Joe can’t ignore his daughter’s plea to help.

I’ll admit I’m always excited when a new Robotham book comes out and, once again, he delivers. From the very powerful an...more

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Aug 27, 2012 Karen Brooks rated it 5 of 5 stars

Once gain, Michael Robotham has managed to write a nail biting, chilling and considered thriller that explores family dysfunction, race-hate, misguided loyalty and the capacity some adults have to abuse their positions in society and families.
Centering on Joe O’Loughlin, our Parkinson-suffering psychologist, who’s separated from Julieanne, and doing the parenting juggle and his best to cope with his deterioration and be amiable as his wife finds her dating feet again, crime doesn’t simply brush...more Once gain, Michael Robotham has managed to write a nail biting, chilling and considered thriller that explores family dysfunction, race-hate, misguided loyalty and the capacity some adults have to abuse their positions in society and families.
Centering on Joe O’Loughlin, our Parkinson-suffering psychologist, who’s separated from Julieanne, and doing the parenting juggle and his best to cope with his deterioration and be amiable as his wife finds her dating feet again, crime doesn’t simply brush the O’Loughlin family in this novel, but enters the front door.
When a friend of Joe’s eldest daughter, Charlie, an attractive fourteen year old, Sienna, is found covered in blood and her father, a former policeman, Ray Hegarty, murdered, family secrets are dredged up and the whole notion of the public versus the private person/a explored.
When all evidence points to Sienna’s guilt, only Joe seems able to read between the lines, looks and unspoken language to understand that something sinister is happening, not just within Sienna’s family, but potentially, her and his daughter’s school as well. Combine this with Julieanne’s involvement in a high-profile race trial, child-sex workers and the lengths people will go to in order to keep secrets for personal gain, and Robotham once again creates an explosive story that prevented me from sleeping until I finished the book.
The language is sparse, tight; the dialogue fires from the page, constructing realistic and tortured characters – especially the villains who make you tremble – for the characters they interact with and who you know are vulnerable to their machinations. This novel also explores the notion of loyalty, the capacity for abuse that some people in positions of power can have, and the price of blackmail. I particularly enjoy Joe’s insights and the way he treats the body as a text, unpacking meaning in language, actions and interactions. His mind is his greatest weapon, his tongue how he wields it. Such an ethical and morally interesting person is Joe O’Loughlin, someone who is always questioning not only other people’s motives, but his own as well.
Against this backdrop, Robotham still manages to explore the family dynamics of the O’Loughlins – with deft and gentle strokes, we feel Joe’s loneliness, Julieanne’s regrets and determination not to acknowledge them and the children’s love for both their parents.
This is an exciting and disturbing book that’s a powerful addition to Robotham’s canon.
(less)

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Apr 08, 2012 Briant rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read a lot of mysteries, including so-called murder mysteries. This is a "thinking" mystery in that the story causes you to continuously alter your perspective of what is going on, as opposed to some mysteries that are very action-oriented. With that in mind this was a pleasant read with good character development and a good story line.

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Aug 21, 2012 Erin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-suspense

I've been on Goodreads for over 5 years now, and sometimes I'm embarrassed at how long books I've wanted to read have been on the to-read list...and that's just once I started keeping track. I've got plenty of books at home that I've been carting around for years still waiting (begging!) to be read (that's a really bad habit...)

Michael Robotham is one of those authors. I've had Shatter on my to-read list since Stephen King recommended it 4 years ago, and when I stumbled across this in the librar...more

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Feb 22, 2012 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 110-books-in-2012-and-do-it-again, family-relationships, free-book-for-honest-review, mystery, read-in-2012, reviewed, thriller

In this contemporary and far reaching novel, we see a world of impressionable teenage girls and the manner in which many of them are manipulated by men who prey on the innocent.

Psychologist Joe O'Loughlin suffers from Parkinson's Disease. His wife, Julianne, has left him and his elder daughter, Charlie, age fourteen, shows her rebellious spirit.

Charlie's close friend, Sienna, shows up at Julianne's house covered with blood and then runs away.

Julianne calls Joe who is able to find Sienna by the...more

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Feb 20, 2012 Vanya D. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012

I requested this book from Netgalley to read and review. Shortly afterward I noticed that it was part of a series. For some reason Netgalley doesn't ever mention if a book is part of a series or not, so I had no idea. So I thought, well, if this is book four, then perhaps I should just decline it, since I haven't read the previous installments. But then I re-read the summary and was left with the impression that the plot of the story wouldn't depend on previous events.
Fortunately for me, that h...more I requested this book from Netgalley to read and review. Shortly afterward I noticed that it was part of a series. For some reason Netgalley doesn't ever mention if a book is part of a series or not, so I had no idea. So I thought, well, if this is book four, then perhaps I should just decline it, since I haven't read the previous installments. But then I re-read the summary and was left with the impression that the plot of the story wouldn't depend on previous events.
Fortunately for me, that held to be true.
I was glad I made the decision to read it, because even though the book was lengthy, it proved to be entertaining and really good. It didn't lose my attention throughout the whole time. The mystery and suspense were on a really high level that kept me wanting to turn the page again and again.

"Bleed for me" is not a murder story, although there are more than a couple of corpses for investigation. It isn't the story of a psychopath who lures nothing suspecting girls into his schemes, though there's plenty of that. Nor is it the story of racial inequality in the UK.

"Bleed for me" is rather the story of Joe O'Loughlin - a college professor in psychology - post the time when he and his wife got separated and moved out to live in a village near Bristol. He's suffering the Parkinson's disease, taking medications that seem to become less and less efficient. Still, Joe keeps his sense of humor, dark it may be, and jokingly refers to his illness as Mr. Parkinson.

He's also passionate about knowing people in the depth of their psyche. And he's really good at it. It doesn't take him long to cut and paste a personality from just a couple of encounters and he's admirably accurate in his patient profiles. That's why he's well respected and sought after by the police.

I was pleasantly surprised by all the effort Joe put into his work. He'd go to any lengths to prove a person innocent or guilty. Sometimes he puts his own life at stake and others suffer for it. But in the end, no criminal or victim could escape his eagle eye.

The loyalty of his friends was striking. For who would ever mortgage their house just to pay a friend's bail? Surely, the candidates aren't many. Still, even one is enough when it's the right person.

I was really sad about Joe's circumstances. Not only because of his illness, but also because of his family situation. He missed his children and his wife, spent hours outside their house just to watch them and make sure they were alright. And he got nothing in return. I got the feeling that his wife abandoned him because he got sick. Aren't wedding vows sacred? Don't they state "in sickness and health"? And still she decided to protect herself from the pain it would cause her to lose him, rather than have him by her side for as long as he's alive. That's just plain wrong. She really, truly irritated me. Playing all saintly and caring, when it was herself that she wanted to protect. It was selfish and despicable. And truth is, he still loved her.

My favorite character had to be Vincent Ruiz. The friend in need, who really is a friend indeed (in deed as well). A retired cop, he's still got his mojo. A brilliant detective with a knack of things, he's definitely someone to want to be on the good side of. He's gentle and passionate, but can be ruthless as well. I loved him. Especially when I saw how caring he was towards a murder victim's parents.

Sienna was a broken little thing. I bled with her as she retold her story. A 13 year old, abused at home, then a teacher takes full advantage of her weakened mind. That was beyond anything I'd read so far, and it really stirred me. I wonder, how many children suffer things like that? How many enter life emotionally broken and dysfunctional? What if a child next door is one of them???

This was a happy end story, though through it all, does the death of one murderer, or the jail sentence of another, really mean a happy end for the victims? Some are dead, some are damaged for life. So, where is the happy end?(less)

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Aug 11, 2012 Danna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: high-school, domestic-violence, family-drama, crime, incest, sick-shit, prostitution, recommended, page-turner, social-behavior, speed-read, tragic

I have never been much of a mystery reader, so I am surprised by how many I've been wrapped up in lately. I grabbed this book off the new release shelf at the library because the cover grabbed me; I didn't know till later on that it was the fourth book in a series about Joseph O'Loughlin, a psychologist with a penchance for solving crimes.

Bleed For Me was a well-written page-turner. I love Robotham's writing style and ability to leave the reader hanging. The cast of characters is entertaining, m...more

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May 11, 2012 Bonnie Brody rated it 4 of 5 stars

Professor Joseph O'Loughlin is a psychologist who often does forensic evaluations for the police department. He also teaches part-time at a local university. Recently, he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease which he refers to as 'Mr. Parkinson'. It is truly poignant to watch Joe try to deal with his life now. Besides the Parkinson's, he has been separated from his wife, Julianne, for two years and he still loves her desperately. His daughter Charlie is entering adolescence and the push-p...more Professor Joseph O'Loughlin is a psychologist who often does forensic evaluations for the police department. He also teaches part-time at a local university. Recently, he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease which he refers to as 'Mr. Parkinson'. It is truly poignant to watch Joe try to deal with his life now. Besides the Parkinson's, he has been separated from his wife, Julianne, for two years and he still loves her desperately. His daughter Charlie is entering adolescence and the push-pull of her attempts to individuate are driving him crazy.

The gist of the story is that Charlie's best friend, Sienna, comes home and finds her father dead and covered with blood. She becomes the main suspect in the crime. She is a self-cutter and it is likely that she has suffered abuse at her father's hands giving her a motive to kill him. Joe doesn't believe that Sienna is guilty and he starts an investigation on his own which brings him deeper and deeper in the muck and yuck of the underworld.

Gordon Ellis is a teacher at the school that Charlie and Sienna attend. It appears that he has a history of grooming young girls and getting his way with them. His second wife was once his student and his first wife has disappeared with no one having a clue as to what happened to her. Gordon is an unsavory character that makes Joe's blood boil.

The book is peopled with a number of interesting characters, all with their parts to play and no red herrings to be found. The only problem I had with the book is the aspect of the underworld and a trial that goes with it. The mystery would have played out much better without these characters though they end up becoming essential to the story.

Joe is a tender-hearted soul, someone who wants to know the 'why' of the human psyche, not just the 'what' or 'how'. He is truly interested in people. He says at one point, "I like you. You're kind of broken". He is drawn to broken people and has a gentle way of healing with a genuine interest in others.

It can be gleaned from this novel that in a previous O'Loughlin mystery, Charlie has been kidnapped and Joe worries a lot about the impact of that trauma on his child. I anticipate reading his previous novels as this one had me intrigued and caught up in it from the beginning.
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Apr 01, 2012 Dorie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction

Another outstanding entry in the series. In this one psychologist Joe O'Loughlin defends his daughter's best friend who is thought to have murdered her father. The plot itself becomes pretty complicated and involved so many characters I actually lost track of who was who by the end. I really enjoyed reading this book but I did have a few problems with it.

I don't know if it's just me, but the author seemed to be punishing Joe in this novel. Why does the author expect the reader to understand and...more

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Apr 13, 2010 Karen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian, crime, review-books

Fans of Australian writer Michael Robotham will always be waiting with baited breath for the next instalment from him. Be it a book that features (now) ex-cop Victor Ruiz, psychologist Joe O'Loughlin, Sikh detective Alisha Barba or a combination of those characters. BLEED FOR ME is another Joe O'Loughlin book, with a hefty appearance from Ruiz as well - and these two are particular favourites of this reader anyway.

If you've never read a Robotham book before it won't take you long to get up to sp...more Fans of Australian writer Michael Robotham will always be waiting with baited breath for the next instalment from him. Be it a book that features (now) ex-cop Victor Ruiz, psychologist Joe O'Loughlin, Sikh detective Alisha Barba or a combination of those characters. BLEED FOR ME is another Joe O'Loughlin book, with a hefty appearance from Ruiz as well - and these two are particular favourites of this reader anyway.

If you've never read a Robotham book before it won't take you long to get up to speed with Joe's back story. A psychologist, he doesn't practice any more, now teaching instead. A sufferer of early onset Parkinsons, his physical frailty is something he struggles with on a daily basis. As he struggles with his separation from wife Julianne. A separation he is consistently unable to accept, his lose of close and regular contact with the woman he continues to love deeply is made even worse by his longing to be back living in the same house as his daughters - baby Emma and teenager on the verge Charlie. When Charlie's best friend Sienna is embroiled in the death of her father - ex-cop in his own right Ray Hegarty Joe is there from the very start. Searching for Sienna on the night that Ray is murdered; trying to help Sienna; trying to help his own daughter deal with the impact of the upheavals in her friends life; trying to restore his marriage; trying to stay in good with the police; trying to find the real killer. Joe seems to spend a lot of his life trying - and he tries the patience of a lot of people around him in the process. Calling in a favour from Ruiz, Joe and Victor seem to be the only people who don't believe Sienna killed her father, even when revelations of what has been going on in that family start to surface.

Joe's family have been through a lot in earlier books, and those circumstances, and his increasing Parkinson's symptoms seem to have made Joe more of a hero and Julianne, in particular, somewhat of a villain as their marriage has crumbled. BLEED FOR ME definitely is going someway towards explaining the relationship - the tensions and the difficulties between these two people. A lot of those difficulties play out as the pressure, this time albeit one removed from Joe's own family, acts on everybody in this book. Joe is as alternatively driven, bumbling, well meaning and blind stubborn as he's ever been; Ruiz is closed, measured and somewhat ruthless by comparison. Julianne is defensive sometimes, at other points she's open and caring and protective - and there's some explanation of why she has done what seemed so heartless in earlier books.

Along the way, the personal is balanced well against a story of human perversity and cruelty that is often profoundly confrontational. Perhaps it is that idea of confrontation that made Robotham step over one of those lines for some readers of crime fiction. Whilst I have struggled with, and sometimes been able to see and understand the reason for animal cruelty in some books - as a way of instigating some reaction / affecting a character or illustrating a character's flaws, in BLEED FOR ME it's not just that the depiction goes beyond cruelty and steps into explicit suffering, it's because I struggled from then on to find a context for it - a reason if you will. Despite the fact that I found this story of manipulation and cruelty balanced against understanding and care good, and the balancing of the relationship between Joe and his wife fairer and more balanced than before, since finishing the book I'm still confronted by that animal suffering incident. With the passage of time, the details have faded, but I'm still puzzled by the reactions (or lack thereof) of all the characters around that poor animal and increasingly discomforted by extrapolations of why it had to be so graphic. So confrontational. So unexplained, unnecessary. Certainly the last O'Loughlin book I read was the one that Robotham quipped his wife was worried might stop them from being invited to dinner parties. I hope that the bar didn't need to be raised.
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Jul 03, 2012 Susie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, bestsellers

This is the first book I've read by this author and I think it's actually the 4th book in a series. The author did a good job of giving me the gist of what had happened previously without making me feel like I had to go read the first three to understand the characters. The story was fast paced and really engaging. It was dark and had several elements going on: domestic issues, immigrant issues in England, and racism. I really liked the British-isms used throughout the book and even learned a fe...more

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May 27, 2012 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

Hello, I just finished a murder mystery book called Bleed For Me, by Michael Robotham. At the beginning of the book, the best friend of a man's teenage daughter shows up at his home, covered in blood. The blood turns out to be her father's. She's accused of his murder.

The main character, Joe, is a psychologist. He investigates things to help his daughter's friend, not believing she's guilty. His search for information brings him around Britain. He finds danger at many turns, and someone ends up...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Nicole rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, audiobook, fiction

Loved it! I was so hooked. I usually can't listen to audio books at home but I was on disc 8 out of 10 and had to continue when I got home from work to find out how it ends!

I thought this was really well thought out and cleverly done. I am getting a bit annoyed with the professor's wife Julianne and Charlie was a snot in this one. I love Ruiz. He is one of my favorites in the series.

While listening to all the books in such close succession I noticed phrases that the author continually uses tha...more

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May 01, 2011 Artie rated it 4 of 5 stars

An interesting thriller with a focus on the characters and how crime affects them more than the gruesome nature of the evil surrounding them. I cared for the characters, especially the teenagers, but the main character was well drawn. He's part of an ongoing series of books, and I will now trackback to that first one and begin his family's story, despite already being aware of some key moments, simply because they did pull me in. Like a lot of good books, this probably would have been a 4.5 rati...more

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Mar 01, 2013 Andy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I think that I really love across the pond mystery novels. Tana French, and now Michael Robotham. The story follows Joe O'Loughlin, a psychologist, who is sort of shrink, sort of cop, figure out why his daughters best friend is being accused of murdering her father. This book is intense, and one twist after another. The moments are great, the characters are totally realistic, and the story is kick ass. My only regret is that I hadn't read the first 3 novels that feature Joe. I think if I tackled...more

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Feb 11, 2012 Tad rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, thriller, arc

Bleed For Me by Michael Robotham is an outstanding mystery/thriller. One of the best I’ve read in years.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve read a book that’s gotten this much right. The characters are heart-breakingly real. Major and minor characters alike have a depth and complexity to them that you don’t often find. Even the most evil characters have depth, and while not necessarily sympathetic, they have great complexity. It is in large part due to this complexity that the mystery remains t...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Claire Bayeez Ahmad added it

This is the first off Micheal's books I have ever read and I have too say what a fantastic author he is, this book is a truly good read and keeps you guessing the whole way through, would highly recommend this too anyone who likes crime novels

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About Michael Robotham

Born in Australia in November 1960, Michael Robotham grew up in small country towns that had more dogs than people and more flies than dogs. He escaped in 1979 and became a cadet journalist on an afternoon newspaper in Sydney.

For the next fourteen years he worked for newspapers in Australia, Europe, Africa and America. As a senior feature writer for the UK’s Mail on Sunday he was among the first p...more Born in Australia in November 1960, Michael Robotham grew up in small country towns that had more dogs than people and more flies than dogs. He escaped in 1979 and became a cadet journalist on an afternoon newspaper in Sydney.

For the next fourteen years he worked for newspapers in Australia, Europe, Africa and America. As a senior feature writer for the UK’s Mail on Sunday he was among the first people to view the letters and diaries of Czar Nicholas II and his wife Empress Alexandra, unearthed in the Moscow State Archives in 1991. He also gained access to Stalin’s Hitler files, which had been missing for nearly fifty years until a cleaner stumbled upon a cardboard box that had been misplaced and misfiled.

In 1993 he quit journalism to become a ghostwriter, collaborating with politicians, pop stars, psychologists, adventurers and showbusiness personalities to write their autobiographies. Twelve of these non-fiction titles have been bestsellers with combined sales of more than 2 million copies.

His first novel 'THE SUSPECT', a psychological thriller, was chosen by the world’s largest consortium of book clubs as only the fifth “International Book of the Month”, making it the top recommendation to 28 million book club members in fifteen countries. It has been translated into twenty-two, including some he's barely heard of.

His second novel 'THE DROWNING MAN' (first published as 'LOST') won the Ned Kelly Award for the Crime Novel of the Year in 2005, given by the Australian Crime Writers Association. It was also shortlisted for the 2006 Barry Award for the BEST BRITISH NOVEL published in the US in 2005.

Michael's subsequent novels 'THE NIGHT FERRY' and 'SHATTER' were both shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger in the UK in 2007 and 2008. 'SHATTER' went on to win the 2008 Ned Kelly Award for Australia's best crime novel and was also shortlisted in the inaugural ITV3 Thriller Awards and for South Africa's Boeke Prize.

Michael has recently swapped his 'pit of despair' (basement office) on Sydney’s northern beaches for a 'cabana of cruelty' where he funds the extravagent lifestyles of a wife and three daughters. (less)

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Quotes from Bleed for Me

“Jealousy is a terrible thing. I know all the psychological triggers. The fear of losing control, the fear of loss, the fear of abandonment, neglect and loneliness...But the most destructive thing about jealousy is that it kills what it values-the love you want to save won't survive the constraints of jealousy. There is no entitlement. Love is either equal or a tragedy.” — 5 people liked it

“You try to understand human behavior. You try to explain it. Not me. I know we're smaller than gorillas, bigger than chimps, worse than both of them and, for all our rationality, our rules and laws, our baser drives are still straight out of the jungle.” — 4 people liked it

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Bleed for Me (Joseph O'Loughlin #4)

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