I wanted to love this one so much, but for whatever reason, I didn't really like it. The premise was interesting enough, and I thought it started out good, but it never really picked up. This book is definitely a "slow burn" type of novel. For me personally, it dragged and seemed to go on forever. I did want to find out "whodunit" so I skimmed the last 30% of it, but I almost put it down several times. This is definitely not a fast-paced book. The ending was okay, except there was still a lot unanswered for me. However, the author did a wonderful job of creating a lot of doubt surrounding the characters - I was never quite sure who to trust or what was real. For me, it was just too slow & too long. I read a lot of thrillers so I'm pretty picky, and this one just didn't do it for me.

"Kuebiko" is a state of exhaustion inspired by acts of senseless violence. I suffered Kuebiko reading Trust Me==though the violence there is mental and is a tribute to Hank Phillipi Ryan's amazing ability to create near-unrelenting tension. Like a chess game, the characters manipulate each other and the facts, taking the reader into a maelstrom of emotions. This book is not for the faint-hearted. It is for any reader who wants to be swept up in a story you can't put down.

Hank Phillippi Ryan's first standalone novel has many of the same elements that I have enjoyed in her Jane Ryland and Charlotte McNally series: interesting female characters, complex stories that take many twists and turns, and plot elements that could have been ripped from the headlines but are presented in fresh ways. Those series and this standalone novel draw on Ryan's journalistic background, which gives her stories and characters extraordinary depth and believability. While her earlier series have a more "cozy mystery" feel, this stand-alone novel has a darker tone and is more of a psychological thriller.

Mercer Hennessey, a grieving journalist, is approached to write a true crime account of Ashlyn Bryant, who is on trial in Boston for killing her daughter, Tasha Nicole. At first reluctant, Mercer eventually agrees to write the book and throws herself in her work. This may be just the thing she needs to help her emerge from her grief, or it could drive her into a blind obsession as she focuses on telling Ashlyn's and Tasha's stories and finding peace for herself following the losses of her own daughter and her husband.

Ashlyn insists that she is innocent, but as Mercer watches the trial and pores over her research, she is increasingly convinced that Ashlyn is a cold-blooded killer. Mercer's interpretation of the events and drafts of the book she is writing are woven into the chapters; I found that technique effective and liked that it not only presented the pre-trial story, but also provided insights into Mercer's perspective. Parallels between Ashlyn's case and the Casey Anthony trial are evident throughout, as the story explores the psychological mindset of a woman accused of such a heinous crime.

When Ashlyn and Mercer are brought together to work on the book, a complex game of cat and mouse ensues. The reader is left just as disoriented as Mercer as more details are revealed about what happened (or did it?) and begins wondering if master manipulator Ashlyn is actually telling the truth about her innocence.

If you're a fan of psychological mysteries with unreliable narrators and twisty plots, be sure to check out this excellent thriller. It is a page-turner that will keep you guessing right up until the very end. I think this would be a good pick for a book club discussion, as there are many themes that could be explored. Many thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was absolutely unable to put this book down! Okay, so I did have to sleep, but, this book takes you to the bitter end until you find out who is telling the truth, if anyone is.

One woman is on trial for a horrendous crime. Another woman, a journalist is trying to piece together her own life after a devastating life event. Both women are fighting for their lives. Or, are they?

The accused claims innocence. Is she? Is there more than one crime? More than one victim? Lies, head games, and self serving reasons push these women into a collision course. Towards what end? That's exactly what makes this book one that you cannot put down. Why do these women need to come together? This book up confuses the mind of the reader, not only the minds of the women.

Who's guilty? Of what? Once you start, you'll find yourself saying What the heck? But, you just gotta know, Trust Me!!!!!!!!!

Another awesome book by Hank Phillippi Ryan. So many different twists and turns in this book. Who is telling the truth? What is the truth, does anybody know? "Trust Me" you will want to read this book!

How much does our past shape our view of the present?

Trust Me, Hank Phillippi Ryan’s newest book and first standalone, delves deep into the questions of how we are influenced by our past, by the media and by our own profound desire to trust the people in our lives. Mercer Hennessey is living everyone’s worst nightmare. More than a year after the accident that killed her husband and daughter, she is literally counting the days that she has lived since they died. Concerned for her welfare and eager to reconnect her to the world, her editor and friend is offering her an opportunity - write a book about the tragic and sensational murder of a young girl by her mother.

With the exception of the two young girls whose deaths shadow and shape the narrative, there is not one main character in the story whose motivations remain unquestioned or whose choices are completely clear. From Mercer’s decision to write about the wrenching case to the goals of the police, Ryan does an excellent job of showing us how complicated the concept of “truth” can be when individuals and systems with competing priorities enter the story. As always, she deftly brings the question of media influence and pervasive narratives into the novel, pushing her characters from their initial positions of confidence to increasing mistrust of each other as events move forward. Did the mother really kill her daughter? How much is Mercer’s friend and editor really keeping her best interests at heart? How much are we influenced by what we want to believe?

If you enjoy suspense and psychological thrillers, you will enjoy the twists, turns and ultimate answers that Trust Me provides.

Journalist Mercer Hennessey is grieving from the worst tragedy that could befall a wife and mother. Now living alone in the family home, virtually a recluse, she writes a number in the steamed-up bathroom mirror every morning: the number of days since it happened.

On day 442, publishing friend Katherine persuades Mercer to write a book about the sensational Baby Boston murder trial. Party girl Ashlyn Bryant stands accused of murdering her two-year-old daughter because the toddler got in the way.

This book is psychological thriller at its best. Riveting. Suspenseful. A morphing reality. An exploration of the shadowy canons of our mental grasp on reality and those dark places where the monsters hide. The author masterfully weaves three timelines so that these three versions of reality, yours, mine and the truth, become so blended, the smallest shifts threaten Mercer Hennessy's sanity.

Five stars. This book should be taught in creative writing courses.

I raced through Trust Me in two days. What a ride! I felt all the frustrations of the writer trying to interview the murder suspect. What can you believe from someone who invents stories as easily as she breathes? Why stories? Why not straight answers? Was there a conspiracy? As Mercer seeks answers from Ashlyn about her daughter's death she starts to question her own tragic story of her husband's and daughter's deaths. The two women's realities intertwine in a disturbing manner.

If I could give this book 100+ stars I would! Trust Me grabbed me from beginning to end. This book had everything: suspense, murder, twists and turns, intrigue, and I couldn't put it down. Mercer is a journalist who is barely getting on with her life after an accident took her husband and daughter from her. She reluctantly accepts an offer to write a novel about the upcoming trial of an accused murderer. Life as she knew it will never be the same, and when it gets turned upside down, she starts questioning herself, and everyone around her. I LOVED this book, and Hank Phillippi Ryan is a phenomenal author! Trust Me is in my top 10 favorite books of all time, and I highly recommend everyone read this book!

Journalist Mercer Hennessey was a full time mother to daughter, Sophie, putting her career on hold. Nothing could have prepared her for the accident that took the life of lawyer husband, Dex and three year old, Sophie. Her steamy bathroom mirror displayed 442, the number of days since the accident. Grief kept Dex and Sophie alive. Mercer would not allow her sorrow to retreat. She had become reclusive, seldom leaving her house. She kept replaying the car's horrendous skid into an oak tree on a slick, wet road.

Merce's former editor, Katherine Craft wants her to return to work. Katherine insistently pitches an assignment. The Assignment: watch courtroom testimony on the same video feed used by TV stations covering the murder trial of Ashlyn Bryant. Dubbed the "Baby Boston" Murder Trial, Ashlyn is accused of killing two year old daughter, Tasha and dumping her body in Boston Harbor. Katherine's expectation is that two weeks after the verdict, Merce will have written a true crime story on the death of toddler, Tasha Nicole Bryant. Based on wall-to -wall news coverage, the court of public opinion predicts a guilty verdict. Merce just might write the next bestseller.

Merce is plagued by nightmares. She experiences loss and a fierce love for Dex and Sophie. Daily tabulation on the bathroom mirror seems to connect her with them. Merce hopes that by covering this case she can replace some of her grief by focusing on someone else's loss. If she detests Ashlyn, some of her own self loathing might dissipate.

The novel starts slowly with a missing toddler, expanded search and discovery of the body in a duct taped garbage bag recovered from Boston Harbor...but "a body decomposes more quickly in water". Can a jury find Ashlyn Bryant guilty without a reasonable doubt? Will Merce's book depicting the true crime be completed within two weeks of the verdict? One thing is true, Ashlyn Bryant is deceptive and manipulative. She seems to be a pathological liar. "The verdict isn't always the truth".

It is clear that Ashlyn Bryant is all about herself. She constantly erects smoke screens, bogus people, bogus scenarios. Is Ashlyn responsible for Tasha's death? It seems unknowable. For Merce, without the facts of the true crime, all bets are off and her non-stop journalistic efforts will be in vain. What really happened? "Trust Me" by Hank Phillippi Ryan will keep you guessing.

Thank you Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Trust Me".

Mercer Hennessey lost her family over a year ago in a tragic car accident. Katherine Craft, her friend and a book agent, contacts her with a great book proposal: Mercer will write a book covering the trial of Ashlyn Bryant, accused of murdering her daughter, Tasha Nicole, and dumping her body in Boston Harbor. As Katherine predicted, the book practically writes itself, until it doesn't, when Ashlyn is found "not guilty" by a jury of her peers. But, now Katherine has another idea, Ashlyn will move in with Mercer and Mercer will re-write the book as an "as-told-to" narrative nonfiction, in the vein of Truman Capote. But, things begin to go horribly wrong after Ashlyn moves in, Mercer begins to think she is losing her mind and...she may well be. Do not read this book before bedtime, I had to stop reading every few pages to calm myself down as the tension ratchets up. How will Mercer survive her encounter with a psychopath?

oh wow, what a book! Hank has totally outdone herself with Trust Me. I couldn’t put it down, I read the whole thing in two days. I totally enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

When one of your favorite writers steps away from an award winning and successful series you say good luck and shake your head a bit. In this case, Hank has stepped away and into an incredibly powerful thriller that may very well top all her other efforts. Trust Me is a roller coaster of a ride (I know this phrase is used a lot but it is so very true here) where the reader is caught up in trying to figure out where the truth lies. Or even if there is a truth. After having read this writer from her start I feel there is a big part of her in this storyline and that in parts she is writing straight from the heart. Trust Me will grab you from the beginning and you will be sorry to see it end. Mystery writing at its finest.

TRUST ME by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Whom to trust? Does anyone tell the truth? What is the truth? Mercer Hennessey is sure she knows, but the case of “Baby Boston” shakes the foundations her certainty. It hits too close to her own tragedy. How can she stay objective? Can she? “I’ll have to imagine much of it. In other words, make it up. Some . . . will be near-fiction.”
Everyone knows Ashlyn Bryant is guilty, “only Ashlyn” had the opportunity. Her lies about Tasha’s whereabouts confirm her guilt — or do they? I found myself thinking of Desdemona in OTHELLO, lying about her lost handkerchief in an attempt to avoid trouble and thereby dooming herself. The ethical dilemma of pre-judging, is difficult to avoid. What should be done about the judgmental, talkative juror?
The deeper Mercer goes in this case, the more confusing it becomes, “down the rabbit hole” and into an Escher print, looking for clarity but finding more puzzles, no clear path. I expected twists, turns, and surprises . . . but couldn’t foresee how they would be delivered. I know I can trust Ryan to, as storyteller Jackie Torrence advised, “bring them home safe,” but trapped and gaslighted in “book jail,” I worried, ate peanut butter sandwiches in solidarity, and wished I could give Mercer some salad and some answers.
The dream of strange but familiar-feeling rooms with treasures . . . I’ve had that dream. I was told it represents creative possibilities — appropriate!
Trust me, TRUST ME is a captivating and memorable book, not to be missed.

Trust Me is Hank Phillippi Ryan's first standalone novel. Personally? I think it's the best thing she's written. She may have found the niche in which she belongs - psychological suspense. Some who have been writing psychological suspense for years haven't nailed it as well as Ms. Ryan.