Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I found this book to be a real slow burner that took me a while to get into. The first half of the book was pretty average but the amazing plot twist near the end certainly made up for it! I did not see that coming! I struggled to like the main characters and I felt that Jillian needed to stop being used and walked all over which ultimately she did. A decent thriller that I would recommend. 4 stars

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review*

A great thriller - I would recommend it!

A hard to do trope and yet I rate this one 5 stars!! Loved the writing and the suspense. Great book!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

Trust Only Me by McGarvey Black

The story - from her cozy home office in rural Connecticut, self-published thriller author Jillian Samuels dreams of writing a bestseller. Her friends and family cheer Jillian on when her new book is accepted by a New York agent.

By day, Jillian crafts stories about serial killers, weaving intricate plots that keep readers on the edge of their seats. But then something eerie happens: her fictional tales start coming true. Crimes from her old thrillers manifest in real life—two bodies found covered in silver paint, one unconscious and the other lifeless. Twitter buzzes with comparisons to Jillian’s previous books, and her sales soar - until the police begin asking questions.

Trust Only Me is a seamless blend of high domestic suspense with a shattering final twist. McGarvey Black masterfully navigates the thin line between fiction and reality, leaving readers questioning their own perceptions. The characters leap off the page, their flaws and secrets adding depth to the narrative. As the tension escalates, you'll find yourself turning pages faster, desperate to uncover the truth.

Black's writing is sharp, her pacing impeccable, and her storytelling gripping. If you're a fan of Gillian Flynn, T.M. Logan, or Lisa Jewell, this psychological thriller deserves a spot on your reading list.

Trust Only Me is a rollercoaster ride through deception, betrayal, and the chilling realization that sometimes the most dangerous secrets lie within our own minds. Brace yourself—you won't be able to put it down.

From her home office in rural Connecticut, self-published thriller author Jillian Samuels dreams of writing a bestseller.

Her tall, dark and handsome chef husband Teddy, and her BFF, Natalie, a glamorous PR executive, always in six-inch heels, are Jillian’s biggest fans. They’re as happy as she is when her new book, The Soul Collector, is accepted by a New York agent.

By night, she writes about serial killers. But then her stories begin to come true.

Not long afterwards, crimes from her old thrillers start to really happen — two bodies are found covered in silver paint — one unconscious, the other dead. Some people on Twitter notice the eerie similarities to Jillian’s previous books.

Jillian’s book sales are rising — but the police are asking questions .

This is a thrilling read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and action with wonderful world building.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

Jillian is an author living with her Husband Teddy. Teddy is an up & coming Chef trying to start his own brand. Her BFF Nathalie is a PR Queen.

This is an engrossing page turner with striking imagery and breakneck twists. The author has a crisp writing style which guides readers through this layered and innovative thriller. It was a treat to read.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Trust Only Me is a gripping and twisty psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end. Given how many thrillers I read, this is a difficult feat. The novel follows Jillian Samuels, a self-published author who writes about serial killers, and whose stories start to come true in a terrifying way. As the body count rises, Jillian becomes a suspect in the eyes of the police and the public, and she must find out who is behind the murders before it’s too late. As an aspiring writer of similar books, this possibility has always been a concern. Castle also started this way with a killer copycatting Castle's many books with very subtle differences. McGarvey Black delivers a fast-paced and suspenseful story that explores the dark side of fame, creativity, and obsession. There have been many books that use this concept with social media stars or podcasters, so it was refreshing for this to be an author. He creates a complex and sympathetic protagonist in Jillian, who struggles with her own demons and doubts, as well as a ruthless and cunning antagonist who will stop at nothing to achieve their goal. I have experienced some male writers who struggle with writing a strong female character, but this was definitely not the case. The novel is full of unexpected twists and turns that will shock and surprise you, as well as a stunning final reveal that will leave you breathless. This book was a lot of fun and I am thankful to NetGalley for my copy.

Wow! This book was amazing. I never saw the twist coming! I stayed up late reading it and had no regrets in the morning. This was my first book by this author and now I'm on the hunt for more.

Jillian is an author and she writes thrillers about serial killers. She has high hopes of becoming a Best Seller author. She has people who encourages this dream. Her stories are becoming known for the wrong reasons. Crimes are being committed and her stories seems to be a play by play of these crimes. Now she is a suspect to these crimes. A thrilling story and plot. There’s twists and turns to keep the reader engrossed in the story.

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for this review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thankyou to Netgalley, the publisher and McGarvey Black for allowing me to read this ARC.
This book is very gripping, I couldn't put it down and I found myself on the edge of my seat while reading.
I found it to unpredictable and has twists and turns that you don't see coming.
I like the story line and the plot twist.
I would 100% recommend this book to others.
Will read more from this author in the future.
Thankyou 4/5 stars.

Fast paced and absolutely gripping, I couldn't put it down and it had me on the edge of seat. Twisty and unpredictable, I was kept guessing and I definitely didn't see the ending coming. I loved it

Thank you so much to the publishers and Netgalley for my early read of Trust Only Me in exchange for my honest review.

A young struggling writer begins to see her novel's events become a reality in Trust Only Me. With her next novel in the works, Jillian recounts what led to what could have been the destruction of her career? A twisted game of cat and mouse ending in murder, mysterious notes from the killer? Who can she truly trust? Who is the copy- cat that keeps playing out scenes from her novels? Told directly from Jillian's perspective, the story continuously unfolds with lots of twists and turns.

I raced through this one as I had to know who was behind all of the copy-cat events. Let me tell you I was very shocked. This was an easy 5 stars for me!!! Will definitely be reading more from this author.

This month flew by! It might have been the fact that my nose was stuck in a book the entire month or the realistic fact that this month only has 28 days, but who's counting?

Trust Only Me

I am no stranger to McGarvey Black, having read The First Husband, A Familiar Stranger and Without Her Consent and loved all three books, I knew that I just had to get my hands on Trust Only Me.

These Netgalley requests are like playing the lottery and every time you are approved you feel as though you are the richest person in the world.

Now, when you get approved and the book ends up being fantastic, its an even bigger win.

Well, I hit the jackpot.

Trust Only Me had me riddled with anxiety. My heart was pounding, every twist that was revealed had me gasping for air. Every time I thought the final twist had revealed itself, another one was sneaking right up on me.

This book needs to be on everyone's list!

Teaser :

rom her home office in rural Connecticut, self-published thriller author Jillian Samuels dreams of writing a bestseller.

Her tall, dark and handsome chef husband Teddy, and her BFF, Natalie, a glamorous PR executive, always in six-inch heels, are Jillian’s biggest fans. They’re as happy as she is when her new book, The Soul Collector, is accepted by a New York agent.

By night, she writes about serial killers. But then her stories begin to come true.

Not long afterwards, crimes from her old thrillers start to really happen — two bodies are found covered in silver paint — one unconscious, the other dead. Some people on Twitter notice the eerie similarities to Jillian’s previous books.

Jillian’s book sales are rising — but the police are asking questions . . .

𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸❟ 𝗜 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗷𝗼𝗯𝘀｡ 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀❟ 𝗜 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀｡｡｡𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗼𝗱｡ 𝗜 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜 𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗲𝘀｡

Jillian Samuels is a headhunter in her day job, but she longs to become a respected author. Her self-published books haven't gone anywhere and were mostly read by friends and family. Her husband Teddy is a rising star in the food world as a renowned chef, and her best friend Natalie is a dynamic, glamorous public relations specialist. While she watches everyone else's star soar, Jillian feels stuck.

Things are looking up for Jillian when her newest book, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒍 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓, is accepted by a New York agent, who is quick to tell her that she needs to make a splash on social media. Before she has a chance to formulate a plan, someone does it for her...crimes from her first few books start happening in real life. The Twitter community picks up on the similarities, and suddenly, Jillian's book sales are rising. Does she have an obsessed fan?

My rating changed several times over the course of the book, mainly because I hated how insecure Jillian was and how the people in her life treated her as an afterthought. However, once I saw what Jillian was made of, my opinion of her drastically changed. This was a tense, well-paced thriller with a most satisfying ending. Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for the early read. TRUST ONLY ME is available now.

This is a fast paced psychological thriller set in Connecticut and NYC. The main protagonist is Jillian, a self- published crime author who has landed an agent. Jillian’s husband is Buddy, an up and coming culinary star in NYC.
Fiction becomes fact as Jillian’s crime stories are played out in real life. Suspense builds as law enforcement can’t figure out if these are copycats of her fictional crime stories – or is this a publicity stunt?
The suspense ramps up and the book ends with with an unexpected, satisfying ending. The author had me guessing until the end.
Highly recommended! I can’t wait to read McGarvey Black’s other books.
Thank you to NetGalley and Joffee Books for this ARC on exchange for an honest review.

An author's little-read previous novels are coming to horrific life with someone using them as deadly inspiration. While scary, this is also beneficial as it is drumming up interest in the author and she has a new book coming out that is primed for more promotion and widespread notice. The police question her because it all seems a little coincidental. The book starts slowly but then took off and I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who was responsible.

This is one twisty, creepy thriller! I liked the premise and am glad I got the chance to read Trust Only Me!

The concept was creative, but I really struggled to connect to the story. I felt that there was a lot of unnecessary build up with the constant interludes of foreshadowing at the end of each chapter. I’m not sure if it’s because it was an arc, but I felt that the writing was a tad jumpy and disjointed. The big plot twist at the end was great if not a bit predictable. I really wanted to like this more, and I look forward to reading more from this author, but I don’t think this one was for me.

Blurring the lines between reality and fiction - did Jillian’s writing cause the crimes or was it mere coincidence?
Fast paced with several twists and turns I couldn’t put this down - well worth a read!