Murder mystery
⭐️ 5/5
🌶️ 3/5
Age range: 18+
Content Warnings: kidnapping, murder

Quotes:
- “She’s very free. She’s just . . . completely herself.”
- Of all the doors I’ve ever walked through, deciding to do life with her was by far my best choice.
- “I lost one sister, and the universe gave me another.”
- Home is a person, not a place, and everything we need is here, no matter where we go.

Review:
This novel is the story of 2 women’s lives who started out very differently. Summer has no last name, no family after her mother left her behind, and doesn’t even know her date of birth. The government has no documentation that she even exists.

Then, there’s Leo who had a good life until her sister was found dead and Leo left. Their paths collide and they become sisters who ride around and steal money to make a living.

Leo wants a big mark and finds this billionaire Micheal who is cute and totally sweeps her off her feet and onto his private meeting. Things go wrong and he’s not who she thought it was. Meanwhile Summer is worried about her friend so she takes up an offer for a date with one of Micheal associates so she can find her friend.

As I went on further into the book I was hooked and couldn’t wait to read how it all ended.

This book is about two con artists who are living out of a car just trying to survive. Leo decides to target a very wealthy man and when he invites her to his private island things are not what they seem. When Leo doesn’t come back or contact Summer she finds a way to that private island to find Leo. Their flashbacks in the book are important to the present day and understanding what is going on in the story.
I went into this blindly and wasn’t really expecting the story to end up how it did. At some parts I felt like there was too much information but all together it was a good read.

YOU CAN TRUST ME by Wendy Heard

Rating: 3 stars
Read if you like:
-Con artists
-Dual perspective
-Books set on an island

This book was middle of the road for me. I enjoyed both characters but found it difficult to differentiate between the two at times. The relationship between both women felt undeveloped and I wasn't feeling the tension when Summer was trying to figure out what happened with Leo and where she is. The whole con-artist thing was kind of put on the back burner, I wish there was more of a developed back story for them.

Overall, I think if you enjoy dual perspective books about one person trying to solve the disappearance of another, you should give this a try. It wasn't my favorite but wasn't bad either! Thank you Bantam and NetGalley for an advanced copy of You Can Trust Me in exchange for an honest review.

Summer and Leo are wanderers, conning people when they need money. But when Leo sets her sights on tech billionaire Michael and then disappears, Summer knows something is very wrong.

What a good summer thriller! Here's what I loved:

Summer and Leo: Their relationship is goals. They are more than just friends, more like sisters as they travel around. Both have things in their lives they are trying to forget or avoid, but find comfort in each other.

Summer: I really liked her character. She was born in a van and untraceable. This really added to the mystery of her character. She could literally be anyone.

The island: What a cool setting! Summer ends up traveling to Michael's private island to find Leo. Half the island is a rich person's resort while the other half is a research lab. It was all really well laid out and fascinating.

All in all, this was a great, quick, summer thriller that read like a Netflix miniseries!

-thriller
-dual POV
-friendship

Trust me, You Can Trust Me by author Wendy Heard is truly unique. “Heroines” Summer and Leo are likeable enough – except that they are grifters, thieves, con artists. Their actions aren’t admirable, or legal, but you can’t help cheering for them once they put it all on the line to save each other.

Their lifestyle is unusual, unstructured, unpredictable. But when you learn about their pasts you can begin to understand why. Summer was raised by the ultimate free-spirited nomad: there was no father in sight, her mother didn’t believe in birthdays or birth certificates, following society’s rules, or even last names. And once she decided Summer was a woman and no longer a child she “set her free.” Another word would be abandoned. Leo was raised in your run-of-the-mill suburban family, until her sister died. Then her parents shut down and shut her out. Her grief and guilt are so huge she hasn’t even shared the entire story with Summer, even though they are as close as the closest sisters.

Their lives are now their own. They do what they want, follow only the rules they wish to follow, go only to the places they wish to go, are not caged in or tied down, are free and in control. Free and in control, that is, until it starts to look like Leo may have chosen the wrong mark.

Summer is the pickpocket, the woman of a thousand disguises, who slips in and then zips out with credit cards, cash, wallets, jewelry, really whatever she feels like taking. Leo, on the other hand, plays a longer game, reeling in wealthy men, staying for a while and then leaving with photos that can be sold to the paparazzi, jewelry that can be liquidated, and any gifts she may have picked up along the way. She does her research and Michael Forrester seems like the ideal target. A self-made billionaire and philanthropist who is as attracted to Leo as she pretends to be to him (or may actual be). He takes her to his private island, and all is going according to plan until, oops, it’s not and she misses her check-in with Summer. Ever resourceful, Summer gets herself included in the guests for the business weekend on the island to find out what has happened to Leo. There’s a tiny bit of worry that Leo may have acted on her recent “I’m bored” comments and moved on or fallen for the rich guy. But Summer needs to see it for herself and make sure Leo is safe.

Suspense and anxiety are present in this story from the start as Summer is merrily picking pockets in a bar and barely escapes when the police arrive. It ramps up and up and up until you can hardly stand it. The story gets darker and darker as it moves along; picking pockets almost seems like a lark compared to the violent, cold, sick cruelty that follows. The plot is solid and the action is fast paced with more risk, danger and surprise around every corner. The story twists and turns and the coincidences revealed seem believable enough because you are already fully hooked; no way you are putting this book down until the very end.

You Can Trust Me provides a fascinating glimpse into both the world of those on the edge, the cons, as well as those firmly in the center, the ultra-ultra-ultra-rich. This is not light reading, but the power of female friendship and sisterhood in strong and compelling. Thanks to Penguin Random House for providing an advance copy of You Can Trust Me via NetGalley for my reading (and stressful!) pleasure and honest opinion. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

Wendy Heard's YOU CAN TRUST ME is a fun popcorn thriller for summer or beach reading. However, I would recommend not analyzing too much or taking it too seriously, or you will begin to find things that are not totally believable.

It is not a complex thriller, and as some of the other reviewers referenced, and I will have to agree, it lacked depth and plausibility. You must read it for fun.

Summer and Leo are misfits and have had tough painful pasts. Now they have found one another—partners in crime, free spirits, traveling around California in Summer's Land Cruiser.

All sounds fun, but someone has to pay the bills, and Summer turns to her pickpocket skills (think con artist/thief/scammer). Leo wants to help—she has learned a few tricks as well.

They have been doing these scams for five years. Summer keeps stealing from rich people while Leo uses her seduction skills, choosing older rich men as her targets.

They think their good luck has arrived when Leo meets a self-made billionaire and philanthropist. He could help with their Instagram influencer #vanlife project.

When Leo gets invited to his private island for the night, she imagines all kinds of things she can take and come back and sell to the paparazzi. This will be so much fun.

However, this street-smart girl is less savvy than you would think. (Guys, the same) Leo does not return, and Summer is worried. She was to text her the following day. Nothing.

Now she is alone; she must find a way to get to Michael's private island to find Leo.

Summer devises a plan to get close to one of Michael's guys so that she can attain access. She can seduce Michael's co-worker and get an invitation to Michael's private island for the top-secret technology meeting.

Did she want to ditch her, or did something sinister happen? She must follow her to the island to learn the truth.

With alternating chapters, Leo/summer, we get all the details from their earlier life to the present.
What she finds is dark and dangerous. How will she escape, and how will she find her partner in crime?

What is Michael capable of? They have no clue how their past is connected.

When I started reading, I thought of Blake Crouch's GOOD BEHAVIOR (Letty Dobesh Books #1-3) and TV series, which I LOVED. Unfortunately, these gals or guys are not in the same league as Letty (Michelle Dockery), the con woman, and hitman man Javier (Juan Diego Botto). Gosh, I loved this series! I hated to see it end. Ironically, there is a Javier in YOU CAN TRUST ME, too.

Dark, twisty, claustrophobic, and a bit of self-discovery. I enjoyed the gals. My first book by the author.—I look forward to reading more.

Thanks to #RandomHouse for a gifted ARC vis #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 3.5 Stars ⭐rounded to 4
Pub Date: June 13, 2023
May 2023 Must-Read Books

Summer found Leo begging on the street five years ago and the two free spirits have been traveling around California ever since. Summer is a pickpocket and con artist who was abandoned by her mother at seventeen after being trained to survive on the streets. Leo ran away from home after the murder of her sister destroyed her family. While Summer hits the clubs to score cash and credit cards, Leo works the long con on rich men, taking what she can and then leaving them. Her latest target is billionaire Michael Forrester. After researching his routine, Leo runs into him at a party and they follow up with an encounter on the beach where he runs. An eventual sexual encounter ends with an invitation for Leo to accompany him to his private island for a weekend, where he has a scheduled business event. When Summer loses contact with Leo she shows up on the island as a guest of one of Forrester’s employees. She knows something is wrong when no one acknowledges Leo’s presence on the island. It results in a fight for survival against a murderer.

Leo and Summer have a sisterly relationship. Leo would like to travel, but Summer is in a unique situation. Her mother never told her their last name, she has no birth certificate and does not even know her actual date of birth. She is totally off the grid and fears that searching for that information may call attention to her illegal activities. To survive, she has learned to adapt quickly to situations and is capable of reading the people around her. Together the women make a formidable pair that makes You Can Trust Me a highly recommended thriller. I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for providing this book for my review.

Thanks to NetGalley and. Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this read. I started this book and was drawn in with the bar scene. This book was over the top and wild and I kept reading. I was not sure what I was getting into but it was worth the read. Fast paced and interesting.

Summer and Leo are 2 peas in a pod. They are nomads, cursing around California in their Land Cruiser, waking up to views of beaches, forests, or whatever they happen to be in the mood for. This lifestyle comes with struggles though. To stay afloat, they put their beauty to good use and steal from the rich. And soon, it catches up to them and will leave them fighting for their lives.

I literally read this in one sitting. It was so good! I love the idea of #vanlife but having to deceive and steal to live it, not so much. Summer and Leo are soulmates and friendship like that is rare. They have both been through so much hardship in their lives, it only strengthens their bond.

This book was sad, heartwarming, and suspenseful all at the same time. The author did a great job of keeping me guessing until the end.

You Can Trust Me is a dual narrative following Summer and Leo, best friends and grifters, who travel around California, following no one's rules but their own. Summer is a skilled pickpocket, clearing a room of cash in minutes, while Leo plays the long con, catching big fish and keeping them on the line for a while before tossing them back. Now, Leo's met Michael Forrester, her biggest fish yet. Everything is going according to plan, until Leo doesn't return home from her date with Michael. Panicked, Summer comes up with a plan to find Leo. Has Leo gone off on her own or have the cons finally been conned?

I really enjoyed You Can Trust Me. It was engaging and intriguing and I was pulled in from the first page. Summer and Leo are the perfect couple of anti-heros à la Lucia and Mia (The White Lotus Season 2) or Thelma and Louise, who've had rough lives. Their backgrounds are revealed through flashback chapters, focusing more heavily on Summer, whose life story left me heartbroken, speechless, and angry. Even when you think you know where the story is going, it takes a sudden turn and you're thrown for a loop. And though you might be able to see some of those twists coming, the original storyline and heightened pacing make up for it, leaving you fully satisfied when each twist is revealed. The ending does get hard to believe at times, but overall I thought this one was fun. It's an easy, one-more-chapter read, with a unique storyline that's a refreshing change that I was excited to pick up every time.

Thank you to Random House Ballantine, Wendy Heard, and Netgalley for an advance digital copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and given voluntarily.

4 ½ Stars rounded up to 5 Stars
Recommended for fans of:
Thrillers, Suspense, Mysteries, Fiction, Action/Adventure, Women's Fiction

Not my favorite by her. I didn’t agree with some of the authors choices in this one. But I really liked the friendship between the 2 main characters. And it definitely had some gasp worthy moments in it. Like the previous books I’ve read from her she will transport you to a beautiful location by weaving the descriptions into the story without going overboard. Many thanks to the publisher for my copy!

I inhaled You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard in one day. This is a thriller of “two best friends who grift their way through the California elite, until a scam goes awry” and one friend goes missing.

My hand is actually sore from clutching my kindle tightly as I sped through this cat-and-mouse/locked room/island mystery. I wasn’t sure who to trust or what story to believe as I read because readers only get bits and pieces as the story travels from past to present. This is a powerful story of female friendships and survival. Can a con be conned? It’s creepy and fascinating and page-turning. Perfect summer reading.

Thank you netgalley for allowing me a chance to read an advanced copy!
Pack your beach & pool bags with this fun thriller! I found myself very pleasantly suprised. Wendy Heard did an amazing job keeping the story moving and on the edge of your seat as each chapter juggles POV between our two main heroines. I tend to guess twists early, and I really had NO IDEA where this was going and kept me guessing for a long time. The storyline read a bit like a Bond movie mixed with a Dateline serial killer. Loved it!

Read this if you like:
multiple POV
billionaire villians
mysterious islands
high tech spying
serial killer stories

Summer and Leo are accustomed to life on the road. Summer was born and raised in a vagabond lifestyle, pickpocketing to survive while driving up and down the coast of California. Leo joined Summer years later, and the two are now closer than sisters. Leo’s preferred method of income is targeting wealthy men who want to gift her money, jewelry, and information. When a rich, philanthropic, do-gooder crosses her path, he seems like the perfect target for Leo. But when she doesn’t return after a night with Michael Forrester, Summer’s worry becomes all-consuming, leading her to desperate measures to find her friend.

A quick and mysterious read, You Can Trust Me has multiple points of view in nearly overlapping timelines that continues to surprise the reader with revelations. I really enjoyed the first half of the book, but found the ending a little predictable once I reached the fifty-percent mark. However, the ending was very satisfying, and it was a fun mystery/thriller that would be a great vacation read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This was a positively riveting and fascinating thriller that had me engrossed in the story from start to finish. It was an enjoyable read with likeable characters and a unique and thrilling plotline. The twists and turns keep reads guessing until the end!

This was an enjoyable read. Summer and Leo are very likeable gals - even if they lead less than perfect lives. I had in my mind a snippet of the song "Moon River" with a play on words....."Two GRIFTERS, off to see the world...." They have figured out their game and know how to work off each other perfectly - until they meet up with Michael and control of the game becomes his. Interesting concept telling stories thru both Leo and Summer and that's how we learn their backstory - which is odd that neither have been completely honest with other about all of that.....hhmmmmm. But friends they are - and they have each others' backs- which leads them into a world of luxury, lies, obsdession, and danger. Is there anyone they can trust to help them? The twists and turns that happen keep the reader dialed-in to the very end. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Bantam Books for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #NetGalley #YouCanTrustMe

You Can Trust Me, by Wendy Heard, is an absolutely riveting thriller that encompasses female friendships, loyalty, perseverance and a bit of reckless abandon.
Summer and Leo become unlikely friends and exist by grifting, conniving and stealing, while living a nomadic life along the California coast. As Leo says, “I go for the long game” in reeling in her targets, and Summer “does volume,” rapidly and deftly lifting wallets and credit cards. When they meet a wealthy mark that turns out to be more than they bargained for, the women must fight for their lives. Their friendship and unwavering commitment to each other is the force that sees them through multiple life-threatening situations.
I really like the alternating first person POVs of Summer and Leo—their individual personas are fascinating! They also give a face to those who exist and must survive without a home or family, whether by circumstance or by choice. While the women live outside of the law, they are sympathetic characters who philosophically muse—“home is a person, not a place, and everything we need is here” as they cling to each other.
The author describes this work as a “love letter to California,” her home (as well as my home.)
This is an exciting, action-filled thriller with a heart!

Thank you to Bantam/Random House Books for the ARC. This is my honest review.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard is a psychological thriller full of danger, secrets, and cons that create such a mind-blowing story that it is impossible to put down.

Bullet Point Review:
I loved the Most Dangerous Game vibes. It goes in a different direction than the Most Dangerous Game, but it gives off those vibes. I would go so far as to say that it has the same essential core.

I also loved that the main characters are morally grey and that I rooted for them regardless. They are entirely relatable and sympathetic characters and have one quality that makes them highly redeemable – their dedication to each other and the found family they created with each other.

I loved all the twists and turns in this crazy story, and I can't mention, even vaguely, any of the ones currently running through my head for fear of spoiling.

I think what makes this story a five-star read for me are the characters. They are so intricately developed with layer upon layer of a lifetime of overcoming challenges that would have brought most people to their knees.

Summer and Leo (short for Leoneli) have formed a sisterhood bond and become as important to each other as any family by blood. Summer was born to a free spirit and didn't have a birth certificate or any additional identifying information, which led her to the life of a con woman to survive. She runs across a recent runaway Leo on the streets of LA and takes her under her wing. It quickly becomes Leo and Summer against the world, each finding something they desperately need in the other. When Leo goes missing, Summer refuses to stop looking for her until she finds her, but will she find her in time?

The story is told in the first person through the two main characters, Summer and Leo.

The pacing is incredibly fast. The chapters are short, and the action is frequent, and those two things work together with the first-person narration to create a rapid pace.

You Can Trust Me is set in California – partly in LA and a more significant part on a private island near Catalina. The setting is not only well-utilized, but it's also almost another character in the story.

Read if you're in the mood for:
* A mysterious, dark, tense, and adventurous story
* A thriller with strong character development and a fast pace
* Morally grey characters that will win your heart

You Can Trust Me starts out tame, you may even forget you're reading a thriller as the author, Wendy Heard, "sets the scene" and you get engrossed in the lifestyle of the main characters. Summer was on her own for years after her mother abandoned her as a teenager, making her way in life using her pickpocket skills. When she met Leo 5 years ago, she recognized a kindred spirit and the two have been together since, close as sisters. Leo is a con artist, her specialty is rich (usually older) men. Her latest target is a Silicon Valley billionaire, Michael Forrester, and she figures she is on her way to a big score after they spend the night together and he takes her to his private, off-grid island. When Summer doesn't hear from Leo, her concern leads her to finagling an invitation to the island, where Michael tells her he dropped Leo off in L.A. before he left. The plot heats up quickly and pretty soon you don't know who you can trust or what's going to happen next! The characters are unique and the plot is unexpected and intense; this book will hold your interest to the end.

Would you ever want to own an island? Be a billionaire? Live in a Range Rover? You can do all these in Wendy Heard's new book - You Can Trust Me.

"Summer and Leo live on the road. Money mostly comes from Summer and her ability as a pickpocket. Leo also helps out be looking for rich men. She sets her sights on Michael, a tech billionaire. When she doesn't come back from a weekend away, Summer tracks her to Michael's private island and manages an invitation. What she finds is terrifying and desperately tries to find Leo before it's too late..."

Heard gives us these morally gray characters in Summer and Leo. Leo's back story is awful and a connection shows up later. Summer was raised by a hippy mom off the grid and doesn't even know her own name. You pull for these characters and want things to work out.
Heard gives a little backstory to show us just how desperate things are what happened for them to end up living in a car. You never know what's happening with a couple of characters because Heard will leave you hanging. And there's one reveal that's horrifying.
The ending is wild and explosive. A crazy summer thriller from Heard - definitely add it to your beach bag.