You Can Trust Me: The gripping, glamorous psychological thriller you won't want to miss

Product Information

In a “thriller with a sharp take on wealth and privilege” ( People, Book of the Week), two best friends grift their way through the California elite—until one scam goes awry. Alana is the New Kid in town, and she hates that fact that she is new and having to start all over again but her old Friend Esme is here, and they are ready to give their friendship another try. 1 Nigh, 1 New Year’s Eve Party and things take a turn for the worse and before Alana is knows it, the whole night has spiralled out of control. Esme is drowning and the new thing she knows Esme has been drugged with GHB. What was supposed to be a Great Night celebrating the end and start of a year takes an Avery dark turn and Alana is trying to piece it all together and wondering if she can help Police Solve the case and bring the culprits to justice. May reminded me a lot of myself and there was another terrifying real life aspect to this novel which adds another layer, because the reality is, it happens more than some people realize. It’s more and more common everyday. Let’s just say if there is a LFL on a cruise ship…this book won’t likely be in it. Ha ha. Five years ago, con artist Summer rescued Leo from a life on the streets. Ever since then, they’ve roamed from town to town all over California depending on only one another. With the freedom to do whatever they like, the two have carved out the kind of life not necessarily made for everyone, but is perfect for them.

I found some choices Livy makes to be just plain ridiculous for an intelligent adult woman, she puts herself in some really risky situations before doing a whole lot of fact-finding, but she is fueled by the deep desire to find answers, so probably not thinking very straight. I felt quite sorry for Livy in this book, she’d already lost her sister, and her husband had cheated on her, so to lose her best friend (Julia) as well was awful for her. A completely gripping thriller, and a breath of fresh air. You need to read this book‘ Rebecca Reid, author of TRUTH HURTS Eighteen years previously, Livy’s little sister Kara had been brutally murdered, and Julia had been Kara’s friend. But since then, Julia and Livy had become close – they understood each other and the devastation of the past. But Livy’s suspicions were that the same person who had killed Kara had also killed Julia. Was it possible? She had no idea who she could trust – even her husband Will had shattered her trust in him once again.

Trust me!

This book is at its darkest in the sections written from the point of view of the killer. His coldness & matter of fact descriptions are chilling. This is a great thriller about two best friends who grift their way through California until their scam hits a snag. What made this book not the best was the way Alana was being a detective. She would go ask her suspects "did you do this" and they would just tell her. I mean haha fair enough to her, but like?? I didn't see much detective stuff going on. Ok no too harsh. She was decent. She figured it out all in the end so it was worth it.

Trust your own instincts, go inside, follow your heart. Right from the start. Go ahead and stand up for what you believe in. As I’ve learned, that’s the path to happiness. Lesley Ann Warren Alana is the new girl, no one knows her and we don't know any people as we read from her point of view. So it just makes the plot that much darker. My favourite thing about Alana is that she's not afraid to ask questions. She's suspecting and questioning people left, right and centre and I was here for that strong female energy all the way through. I find characters similar to Alana in other books are meek and too frightened. But not this one! Although this was a good story, I thought some of the characters were not very convincing and found the whole story to be a bit drawn out and lengthy for it to be as compelling as it could have been. Rowley has a firm grip on language and plot, and her easy, chatty style disguises a genuine emotional intelligence‘ Daily Mail But as soon as she takes her first step onto the island, surrounded by tall, gigantic walls, heavily guarded, and wired, she realizes that something very dangerous is going on in this place. She puts herself in a more dangerous position than she expected, but she is determined to find her friend and get the hell out of this claustrophobic place before all hell breaks loose!

Again, this helped to make it feel more realistic to me. I could see how, considering what they had been through, they would end up in their current predicament. This is my first time reading this author. I want to thank my Goodreads friends for introducing me to this book, specifically. Desperate to understand the tragedies of her past and hold her unraveling life together, Livy throws herself into the search for Kara and Julia’s killer, who she now believes is someone close to her family. But if that is true, who can she still trust? Damien, the man Julia was secretly dating? Leo, her husband’s boss and a close family friend? His son Paul, her husband’s best mate since college? Or Will, her own dear husband, who has betrayed her perhaps one time too many? It wasn't a relatable lifestyle to me, by any means, but I do always love a devious long-game, so Leo was my jam. I had a lot of fun watching them plot and scheme.

While all the present drama is unfolding, you also get to learn quite a bit about both Leo and Summer's past; like before they met up and became friends. I've been so excited to read this for months and months, but I can't even explain how much better it was than I was really expecting. I'm trying to diversify my UKYA reading a little because I feel like I've definitely only scraped the surface so far, but I can confirm Gina seems like the loveliest person and I really wanted to support her work. I got the book for Christmas, in all its neon, metallic glory. And I loved it. But there is no killer here, just a deeply unhappy woman who fooled us all, who put a brave face on things," But wild... in a plausible way. Not wild in a 'that's not possible' so the story isn't fun to read way? Because as a thriller/suspense reader, I've definitely read those as well and it kind of ruins the ending? Overall, I found this to be really enjoyable. Heard did a nice job with the character work and I liked the steady build-up of intensity over the course of the story. The conclusion was satisfying as well, which made it a nice, well-rounded story.But despite the ever-present reality of systemic misogyny, 'boys being boys' and the very real truth that even nice guys can be complicit in terrible things just by saying nothing, You Can Trust Me never feels preachy, or like an "issues" book (despite dealing with all of these issues sensitively and with brilliant naunce). The twists and turns pull you along right from the start- and keep you guessing all the way to end. The characters are complex and brilliantly drawn, and even the ones you're not sure you can trust will work their way into your heart (sometimes before shattering it entirely).

I'm happy to say that You Can Trust Me is more than just a beautiful cover. In fact, it ends up being my favorite Wendy Heard novel to-date. My favorite part was how the chapters alternated between Leo and Summer. It just built the feeling of suspense up even more … as Summer is desperately retracing Leo’s steps…I kept freaking out… waiting for that moment… when we find out.. WHAT happened to Leo… 🥺…ALSO …brilliant use of June 13th!! 👏👏 The pub date is used in the book and let me tell you…something big goes down on that date! 😬 The writing style was one of the main factors that brought this book down for me, I just didn’t get along with it at all. For a mystery thriller, it did far too much telling the reader what was going on instead of making them work it out. There was barely a mystery in many aspects. I also found the fact that the protagonist was able to make such great leaps and jump to conclusions so easily without any clues or facts felt highly unrealistic, and it started grating on me a little bit. There was little to no adequate thought process behind it, so how she was jumping to these conclusions was beyond me. She needs to find her. Something must be wrong. Leo would never leave her without saying goodbye, would she?In this story we follow two perspectives, best friends, Summer and Leo. I call them best friends, but in truth, they're more like sisters. When Leo meets Michael Forrester, a tech billionaire and philanthropist, she’s determined to make this her biggest success yet. Michael invites her to a private island for his company’s exclusive investor weekend and she gladly accepts. Summer finds her own way there too, but when she arrives, she can’t find Leo and begins to worry. The vibe is very secretive, there’s limited cell service, and Summer suspects things aren’t actually as they seem.