The White Crow
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4.6 • 97 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
“No one does suspense better.” —Stephen King
Ambitious young London police officer Philomena McCarthy returns in this propulsive thriller by the author of When You Are Mine.
Philomena McCarthy has defied the odds to become a young officer with the Metropolitan Police despite her father and her uncles being notorious London gangsters.
On patrol one night, Philomena finds a barefoot child, covered in blood, who says she can’t wake her mother. Meanwhile, three miles away, a London jeweler has a bomb strapped to his chest in his ransacked store and millions are missing.
These two events collide and threaten Philomena’s career, her new marriage, and her life. In too deep, and falling further, Phil must decide who she can trust—her family or her colleagues—and on what side of the thin blue line she wants to live.
Told in real time from multiple points of view, The White Crow is filled with almost unbearable suspense—a page-turning tour de force that shows Robotham at the top of his game.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The daughter of a mob boss is pulled back into his seedy world in this gripping crime thriller from Michael Robotham. Officer Philomena McCarthy has been on the force for four years on the night she finds Daisy, the five-year-old daughter of a woman who’s just been killed in a hostage situation. A war is erupting in London’s organized-crime underworld—with Philomena’s own father and uncles at its center. Philomena is a compelling heroine who’s full of complexity. She doesn’t like being forced to deal directly with the ugly world she left behind, but she still feels a relatable sense of family loyalty in spite of herself. As the case unfolds, she has to walk a razor-thin line, using her insider knowledge of the city’s criminal class without catching too much unwanted attention from her colleagues. We didn’t want to pull our eyes away from this story.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
London Metropolitan Police constable Philomena McCarthy returns in Robotham's rip-roaring sequel to When You Are Mine. When Philomena and her partner catch a glimpse of a barefoot child hiding in a yard in a posh neighborhood, they take the girl to her home and find her mother murdered. A few miles away, a jewelry store is robbed and the owner is forced to put on a suicide vest before the assailants escape. After one of Philomena's colleagues frees him, the store owner asks about his wife, who turns out to be the dead woman Philomena discovered, and the action kicks into high gear. As Philomena, despite her low rank, is drawn deeper into the investigation, evidence emerges that her criminal father—who insists he's gone straight with a legit property development firm—is connected to the jewelry store robbery. Soon, she's forced to decide whether to protect her career or her family. Robotham nimbly balances Philomena's psychological stresses with vigorous action and sharp dialogue. The plot is sleek and elegant, with interlocking story lines that culminate in a big, bloody finale. Readers will be sold on the prospect of another Philomena McCarthy mystery even before they put this one down.
Customer Reviews
The White Crow
Outstanding book I greatly enjoyed reading!! The main character, the only daughter of a famous London mob boss, is a London police officer….she is described by a Bulgarian criminal as a white crow, or black sheep, for being the disgrace of the mob family. Ironically, the mob family seems much more likable and helpful than her police colleagues when she needs them most.