Nicky, a ghostwriter, tells the first half of this tale of secrets. Then Olivia, the woman whose life story she's been hired to write, tells the second half and that when things amp up. Nicky doesn't understand Olivia, a life style guru who wants everyone to see only perfection- they are very different in personality. She does realize, early on at her stay at Olivia's home, that there's something Olivia doesn't want her or anyone else to know. No spoilers from me but know that it's more than a faltering marriage to Josh and money issues. I thought the change in narrators worked well, as it rounded out Olivia, who could have been a hologram without it. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Good characters and pacing along with a slightly tricky plot made this an entertaining read.

You Can Trust Me by Emma Rowley

Nicky is a ghostwriter and her latest job is writing a book with Instagram celebrity, Olivia Hayes. When Nicky arrives as Olivia’s vast estate, she realizes she didn’t book a hotel and is invited to stay with the Hayes family. What a great opportunity to really learn about Olivia and enhance the book with careful observations. But soon Nicky learns the grim history of the house, once upon a time it burned down and Olivia had it rebuilt. Sensing there is more to the story than Olivia is willing to share, Nicky delves in the history of the house and tries to figure out what Olivia is determined to keep secret, and why.

Synopsis:

People will tell you anything. All you have to do is listen.

Nicky Wilson tells other people’s stories. A successful ghostwriter, she’s penned tell-alls by actors, athletes, television chefs—weaving interviews and anecdotes into memoirs of love, loss, and overcoming adversity. The celebrities get bestseller status, while Nicky pockets her paycheck and moves on.

Olivia Hayes, Nicky’s new client, is the Martha Stewart of influencers, a domestic goddess with a perfectly accessorized home in the English countryside, a handsome husband, and impeccable taste. Through thousands of artfully hash-tagged posts, Olivia shares endlessly, while somehow retaining an air of mystery that enthralls her followers.

Olivia agrees to let Nicky into her house for a week, though she’s frustratingly aloof at first, and seems resentful of Nicky’s presence. Yet little by little, Nicky breaks through the cracks in the glamorous façade. She notices Olivia’s strained relationship with her husband . . . her overcautious parenting of their toddler . . . the money worries the family can’t hide. And then there are deeper secrets—including a tragedy that may shine light not just on Olivia’s past, but on how far she’ll go to preserve the life she’s made.

Soon, Nicky will learn the truth about Olivia. But it may be much more than she wanted to know . . .

Read this now, get it here.

“There are two sides to every story...what matters, in the end, is who gets to tell it”

You Can Trust Me is told by two narrators whose lives collide in a spectacular way. Nicky Wilson is a ghostwriter. Olivia Hayes is a social influencer (think Gwyneth Paltrow) whose artistic, curated photographs impress her many followers. Olivia hires Nicky to write an inspirational book to help build her brand and invites Nicky to visit for a week for interviews.

Nicky’s voice is Part One. Frustrated by Olivia’s reluctance to share stories of her childhood or anything personal, she begins to explore the sprawling house and its history. Why is there a gravestone in the back yard? What caused a devastating fire? Instead of vapid decorating advice, is there a different story here?

Part Two is all Olivia. Deeply troubled, caught in an unhappy marriage, she reveals herself to be cold and manipulative. The perfect facade she has carefully created may crumble around her.

Part Three is all exciting action. The tension that has been building between Nicky and Olivia explodes in a way I never expected. Twists and surprises are piled on until a totally unexpected conclusion changes Nicky and Olivia’s worlds. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington Books Pinnacle and Emma Rowley for this ARC.

2 stars. I normally love a thriller and the premise of this book was intriguing, but it lost me about 30% in. I wasn't interested in either character, and the more we learned, the less I cared. I ended up skimming the last 20% or so, and I can't say I was surprised by much. Bummer as I had high hopes for this. Not sure if I'd check out more from this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

You Can Trust Me by Emma Rowley is okay. A ghostwriter takes the job is writing for a domestic goddess (a la Martha...), find out the truth is much darker.

If you want a GOOD book about ghostwriters - read Verity by Colleen Hoover. This is just...fine. As Ina Garten would say, "store bought is fine." You Can Trust Me is the store bought "Verity".

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This was a decent mystery but was a bit boring to me. The twist at the halfway point was unexpected and made me keep reading, otherwise I’m not sure I could have finished. I don’t know why, because the writing is good, it just didn’t keep my attention.

Told by 2 POVs, Nicky and Olivia. Nicky is a ghostwriter and Olivia is an internet influencer who has won millions of followers by sharing her picture perfect life online. She's releasing her tell-all autobiography. As Nicky looks into Olivia's past, Nicky sees that it's not what it appears. This is a slow build up, but picks up with twists! Thank you to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for an ebook ARC. This is my honest review.

This was really an unusual read, with nothing as it seems, and the story is told by an online blogger. almost remind the reader of the hit tv series 13 Reasons why. Recommended for anyone who likes another type of read than the normal straightforward story.
TB

I thought this was an interesting story - a ghost writer uncovering secrets that their client wants to remain hidden. It did drag at times, and all the characters become unlikable at some stage, but there were twists in there that surprised me.

. Nicky is a ghost writer who helps celebrities bring their lives to paper. Olivia is a social media influencer who shares just enough to keep her followers interested in her current projects and affairs but never reveals anything in her personal life. Olivia calls on Nicky to help write a book about how to be a successful influencer. and Nicky is determined to see if the woman behind the social media pages is who she seems to be,

As Nicky starts to research and question Olivia she finds that Olivia is the one who is driving the interview. Olivia chooses not to answer any questions related to her childhood, past or family leaving Nicky stuck for a good story, She begins to research Olivia to see what she could be hiding from her stumbling across a wedding announcement with Olivia's maiden name Vane. Nicky finds that she is connected to the family whose mansion burned to the ground with a body inside that body was identified as her father, Alex Vane. Olivia refuses to answer any questions regarding the fire and begins to find Nicky's presence in her home irritating. Nicky goes missing and the search is on to find her.

Olivia is hiding her secrets from her childhood deep inside. She wants no one to know what happened that night when the fire started. She begins to see Nicky change in front of her the night before she went missing. Her eyes connected with Olivia's when she was able to put together the events that lead to her father being found burned in the house. Oliva finds out quickly that she is being charged with Nicky's murder and is desperate to clear her name.. As she is trying to piece together the night Nicky went missing, she begins to find clues that points to secrets Nicky herself was hiding in plain site.

I found this book to drag a little in the beginning but quickly picked up towards the middle. Told from two points of view in each narrator can be unreliable in their thoughts and actions. Emma Rowley does a good job in writing a slow but steady suspense builder.

Thank you to NetGalley, Emma Rowley and Kingston Books-Pinnacle for allowing me to read this ARC.

I really enjoyed You Can Trust Me by Emma Rowley.
The story is told with two perspectives, one of Nicky and one of Alivia.
Nicky is a ghost writer who is writing a book about Olivia who is a social media influencer.

This was a well written story with complex fleshed out characters that kept me turning the pages.
The plot was perfectly paced and the twists were fantastic!

This book is in three parts. Part one is from the perspective of Nicky, a ghostwriter who works with celebrities, helping them get their past memories into their books. Which is where Olivia comes in.
Olivia is an influencer on Instagram, she shares just enough of her life to keep people interested but never shares anything personal.
While trying to write Olivia's story Nicky starts to discover that this perfect woman isn't all she seems and has some pretty dark secrets.
Then Nicky goes missing.
Part two us from Olivia's perspective. When Nicky goes missing, Olivia is on a mission to find out more about this mysterious ghostwriter who has been living in her home. She soon discovers that Nicky was not very truthful about who she was.
But time is against Olivia now, because some secrets have a way of resurfacing.

I really enjoyed this one. I'll admit that the first half of part one was a little slow. But it did pick up. And it soon became a pretty fast paced enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for the ARC of You Can Trust Me by Emma Rowley.

3.5 Stars

I won't bore you with the details of what this book is about. The synopsis and other reviewers cover it adequately. But, as a lover of suspenseful thrillers, I will say this book is acceptable, but not incredible.

The book moved at a consistent pace throughout the first part, but when the narrative switched from Nicky, the ghostwriter/pseudo-investigator, to Oliva, the picture-perfect influencer and the "author" of Nicky's book, my interest waned. A few clever plot twists pulled me back in, and in the end, I appreciated this book as a nice distraction from everything going on in the world today.

If you're looking for an intense heart-pounding thriller, look elsewhere. If you want a quick, immersive mid/late summer read as a form of escapism, well, here you go.

Nick is a ghostwriter for someone with a cultivated life that’s all built on lies. With the current influencer culture, this book strikes a cord. What secrets lie in a life like this? I loved it. I highly recommend this.

3 for neutral, I was really excited this book, by cover, synopsis, and author. Unfortunately, I tried a few times to read and was unable to get into it enough to finish. Will update if able to finish at a later date. I am a moody reader, so could be this.

“ People will tell you anything. All you have to do is listen.

Nicky Wilson tells other people’s stories. A successful ghostwriter, she’s penned tell-alls by actors, athletes, television chefs—weaving interviews and anecdotes into memoirs of love, loss, and overcoming adversity. The celebrities get bestseller status, while Nicky pockets her paycheck and moves on.

Olivia Hayes, Nicky’s new client, is the Martha Stewart of influencers, a domestic goddess with a perfectly accessorized home in the English countryside, a handsome husband, and impeccable taste. Through thousands of artfully hash-tagged posts, Olivia shares endlessly, while somehow retaining an air of mystery that enthralls her followers.

Olivia agrees to let Nicky into her house for a week, though she’s frustratingly aloof at first, and seems resentful of Nicky’s presence. Yet little by little, Nicky breaks through the cracks in the glamorous façade. She notices Olivia’s strained relationship with her husband . . . her overcautious parenting of their toddler . . . the money worries the family can’t hide. And then there are deeper secrets—including a tragedy that may shine light not just on Olivia’s past, but on how far she’ll go to preserve the life she’s made.

Soon, Nicky will learn the truth about Olivia. But it may be much more than she wanted to know . . .”

I’m not sure what I was expecting here, and this is my first book by Emma Rowley. The story is told well, but for some reason, I struggled to finish this.

Hopefully, Rowley’s fan base feels differently about it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

Really wish I had just given up on this one- it started off promisingly but DRAGGED sooooooo much! All over the place with plot too. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

Nicky Wilson is a ghost writer who pens the “memoirs”of the rich and famous. Her newest client is Olivia Hayes, a woman who makes her living selling her elegant lifestyle brand. Her perfect life is envied by her many followers and Nicky moves in with Olivia and her family temporarily to try to get a feel for the real Olivia so the book is as authentic as possible. It doesn’t take long for Nicky to see beyond Olivia’s thin veneer. There is no perfect marriage and money troubles plague the elegant lifestyle expert. What else is she hiding?

This is definitely a middle of the road book for me. I didn’t hate it. Didn’t love it. But it was good.

I wasn’t sure at first. It didn’t seem like a thriller. It felt like women’s fiction—some type of contemporary story.

But then it picks up.

Parts were disjointed. And some of the twists weren’t believable.

However, it was readable and kept me interested.

The reviews for this book are all over the place, which made me a bit weary. I’m glad I went with it!

Olivia is a wife and mother. She is also an influencer, someone whose made tons of money for sharing pictures of her life to her many adoring fans via Instagram. Nicky is a ghostwriter who is tasked with writing Olivia’s autobiography. She stays at Olivia’s house for a week so that she can interview her and get all she needs to shape the book. However, it seems that Olivia doesn’t want to talk about herself or her past, and would prefer to keep the book light...a “how-to” on living your best life. When Nicky stumbles on something in the expansive garden, she realizes it may be a clue to Olivia’s past, and decides to find out what Olivia doesn’t want anyone to know.

The first half is told from Nicky’s POV. It’s a slow burn. I found it interesting, but felt that I would be disappointed if things don’t ramp up at some point. And ramp up they sure did! The second half is told from Olivia’s POV, and it’s where the story and twists really start gelling. The pacing is a bit off since this section flies by and really holds your attention. The inconsistency might bother some readers, but I was fine with it. What I thought worked really well was how author Emma Rowley made me recall little moments in the first half while reading the the second half. I’m glad I paid attention and didn’t just skim.

I don’t think this story will work for everyone, but I really enjoyed how everything came together. The last section of the book has a lot of information to take in, and can be a bit confusing at first as things jump around, but ultimately works itself into a satisfying conclusion. Mystery solved! 3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to Pinnacle/Kensington Books, Emma Rowley, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.