Fans of the movie, Ocean’s 8 will love the new book You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard. This is my first book by Ms. Heard, but there was so much buzz about this book that I had to pick it up.

The thriller follows two female best friends turned con artists. Summer and Leo both live off the grid and beg, borrow and steal. They pickpocket, go on fancy dates for a meal, and lie their way into hotel rooms. The duo has been successful for years until Leo meets a rich man, Michael Forrester. After her date with Michael, Leo goes missing and Summer is convinced that something is just not right. The rest of the novel follows Summer’s hunt to locate Leo, and how her con artist skills will be needed.

I will be honest; it took me a little bit to get into the book and become invested. That being said, once it got going it was an easy read and pretty straight forward. I enjoyed reading about how the girls would manipulate and pick pocket to get what they wanted. I appreciated the ending but since it was boring at times, it will be a 3 star read for me.

Leo and Summer are more than best friends. They are two young women with broken and painful paths. They live on the road protecting and caring for each other and they survive by pick-pocketing and swindling the rich. Leo hooks up with Michael, a tech billionaire and is invited to his private island for a weekend. But, Leo has no idea their plan to get rich may be anything but. This is a super thriller of a read with excellent character development and a fast-paced, page turning suspenseful plot, full of heart. Strong female protagonists and first person narratives really work to rachet up the apprehension. "You Can Trust Me" is on my excellent reads list and happily a 5 star read for me. Netflix, are you reading this?? I voluntarily reviewed a complementary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Awesome story. I could not put it down! Very exciting, and although I thought I had it all figured out about half way through I was wrong. A great thriller. Perfect for book clubs. 5/5 ⭐️

Two best friend con artists who lean on each other to survive stumble upon the best job yet. But when Leo doesn’t come home after a night, Summer is determined to find her. I really didn’t know how this was going to end! It had me from the first page. A really great thriller that will keep you entertained from start to finish!

You Can Trust Me is a con game gone crazy! You root for the crooks who are two lifelong scammers whose newest ruse turns into a stunningly horrible mess. Filled with unexpectedness, sadness and an incredibly exciting storyline this thriller will take over your life as you impatiently wait to find out the truth…who is really conning who?

Summer and Leo are nomads. That is the two women live off the grid in Summer’s Land Cruiser scamming anybody and everybody in order to pay their bills and survive. Summer is older than Leo and treats her like the younger sister she never had. She has taught Leo everything she has learned about ripping people off. Summer had a very unconventional upbringing whose mother was a wandering gypsy type. Summer not only never knew her father but didn’t even know her last name or her birthday. Her mother “released her” to the universe when she was very young, and Summer grew up fast and learning how to survive.

Leo ran away from home after her happy home-life turned tragic. When the two met they knew they were kindred spirits and have worked together for five years. But Leo is getting antsy and wants to take their work outside of California. Summer is not so sure as she doesn’t even have a Social Security card.

Enter IT billionaire Michael Forrester. Leo feels like she can create the ultimate con by making him fall for her and if he does there is no limit to the amount of money and items she can take from him. Summer is unsure and warns Leo this may be a bit over her head, but with Leo insisting, her only advice to her be careful.

So, Leo sets up an accidental meeting with Forrester who she finds not only nerdly handsome but sweet and kind who wants to give her the world on a silver platter. But when he invites her to his private island for the weekend because he has a business seminar going on and wants to be with her as well, she jumps at the chance. Without informing Summer she heads off to what she thinks will be the best weekend of her life.

And then Leo disappears.

When Summer doesn’t hear from Leo, she realizes that something has gone terribly wrong. As she retraces Leo’s steps, she discovers the plan to go to his private island. So, Summer takes it upon herself to con her way to the island to search for her friend. But right from the start something doesn’t feel right. Cell phones are taken away and there is no boat or air service back to the mainland until the end of the weekend. But most importantly, there is no sign of Leo.

As Summer begins to try and track her friend, she begins to see people are hiding information and lying. But why? When she finally finds proof that at some point Leo was on the island, unfortunately it’s too late. She’s been found out and must now use every tool in her arsenal to learn if Leo is still alive or has conned her and left for better swindles.

And that’s when You Can Trust Me becomes a rollercoaster ride gone wrong and the reader begins to anxiously await getting off the ride. With so many highs and lows and shocking revelations the pit in your stomach will not go away until you are finally off the island…I mean, the ride! Grab this exciting nail biter of a book as soon as you can. I’m not trying to trick you!

Thank you #NetGalley #Bantam #WendyHeard #YouCanTrustMe for the advanced copy.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!! From start to finish, it was a roller coaster of emotions! Kudos to the author for giving me a chance to read this ARC. I promise that you will NOT be disappointed when you read this fantastic book!!!

An entertaining thriller with just the right amount of twists. The storytelling is engaging in the way the POV changes between the two main characters, but not always on the same timeline. Kept me interested and I read it in just a few days.

This book took a different set of characters than usual for a thriller and asked the reader to root for two women who were criminals. This worked for me, particularly because we were let into their nomadic existence and learned why they lived the way they did.

Another reason this book worked for me was because it showed the difference between having nothing and having everything. And if I had to pick a side, I’d always pick the have-nots.

Some parts of the book lost my interest, but for the most part, it was a solid effort. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

3.5 stars - You Can Trust Me is a quick beach read thriller about two best friends who are living the van life and scamming people along the way. When their sights get set on a billionaire, the two of them find themselves in way over their head while trapped on a private island.

I enjoyed the juxtaposition of Leo and Summer’s points of view and subsequent history, although I found the characters to be very similar in personality. I do not know if this was intentional since the two of them were so close, or if there was just not enough time to fully develop them as individuals.

The pacing of the story was superb and kept the pages turning, however I found the twist ending to have jumped the shark a bit. There were just too many coincidences and further loose ends, that left me unable to suspend disbelief.

Overall, a fun escapism read, but nothing that completely wowed me. Recommended for fans of thrillers with twisty endings and strong female friendships.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bantam, and Wendy Heard for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great summer thriller. It's face paced with fun twists and pretty dark. I really enjoyed getting the 2 POVS but wish we knew more about Leo's sister since the ending felt rushed

3.5 stars

There were many things I liked about this book (like that gorgeous, eye-catching cover), as well as many that really didn't like as well.

First off, female besties that double as drifters and grifters-- gotta love the wanderlust bohemians, with a simple lifestyle and fierce loyalty to each other.

The story, as far-fetched (and let me tell you-- you had to reeeeeeeally suspend belief) as it was, was still creative and the pacing was kept throughout the story. Even the flashbacks didn't feel too intrusive and were used sparingly so as not to slow the story down.

As much as I didn't care for the seedy decisions that the characters chose to partake in, I did actually like the Summer character, as she struggled with her immoral choices while simultaneously trying to survive as essentially a homeless person (not that I condone her or Leo's decisions).

What I didn't like was how dark the storyline went. It makes you feel icky and also not like Leo (in my opinion) based on her reckless decisions that ultimately (and unsurprisingly) put her in harms way. I did not care for the language or the violence.

Although you, as a reader are satisfied with the outcome of the story, I do feel that it was tidied up a bit too nicely with a big bow on the top. And that there was a contrived loose thread left for the reader to wonder about (that I do not feel fit at all).

I don't want to go into specifics to reveal spoilers, but there were a few things that didn't seem plausible at the end, but if you believed the premise, then those little hang ups won't bother you at all.

If I had to grade it, it would be: A for creativity, B- for believability, D for the heavier and darker parts that I skimmed through.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked most of this book! I loved how it was told from Leo and Summer’s POV, two nomadic women living the hustle. We have the story of girl tries to con a wealthy man, but she gets the surprise of her life towards the end! I loved the bond between these women and their loyalty to each other and their survival. The last 10% didn’t really do it for me, it was cheesy and meh. But the other 90% was pretty fantastic!

Fast , easy , fun(?) Read .
In the beginning I didn't like Leo & Summer.. they both came across as your typical California scanner but mid way I was praying for them . 😂
I thought I knew where this book was going but quickly learned absolutely not .
A typical the grass isn't always greener read .

Leo & Summer are friend goals & I love it . 🖤

Thank you #Netgalley for the ArC. 🤘

Two nomadic young women get in over their heads with a billionaire target more dangerous than anything they've taken on before.

The pacing to this started out so strong and I really enjoyed the characters of Summer and Leo. But around two thirds of the way in, the plot seemed to develop too many holes and just got so unbelievable that I started to enjoy it a little less. The only big reveal/twist also became very apparent about a third into the novel and took away a little of the thrill. Overall this was a fun and fast-paced read, I just wish the plot could have kept up!

Great story full of so many twists and turns. I was captivated by the entire story and couldn't put this one down.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat for hours. It follows two young drifters in southern California, and they get involved in a billionaire's life on a private island. One ends up missing, and now the other woman is determined to find her. I could not turn the pages fast enough! Need a thriller to race through this is the book for you!

Spending a luxury weekend with a billionaire on his private island, what could go wrong? It took me a while to get through the book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love spy thrillers and this had the feel of one, so I was hooked.

I've read Wendy Heard's horror before, and I was excited to dive into a thriller by her. I was happy to find it was just as exciting as I expected. The characters were well developed and the story line, while predictable, was engaging and interesting. This was an ARC I found myself staying up late to finish, which is unusable for me nowadays. If you're a fan of Heard's writing style and her ability to write complex female characters, and you love thrillers where you know who dun it, but you don't know the how or why, this is definitely a book for you.

This was a very fast-paced and engrossing book, and I finished it in one day. I liked the two primary characters, and enjoyed the shifts between their points of view. This will be an easy recommendation to fans of this genre. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book that you'll want to read in one sitting. I wish I could have but this thing called work got in the way. This is about best friends Summer and Leo. Both women have had some pretty traumatic things happen in their lives but they know they always have each other. So when Leo goes missing after hooking up with a tech billionaire to fund their next few months Summer knows things are not right. What happens next is a series of events that will have you hanging on to the edge of your seat.

I have been in the biggest reading funk of my life lately and I feel like I barely trudge through books most weeks. This book here I just could not get enough. I loved how the timing and pacing were spot on, there was zero lag or added fluff just to add words to the word count. Such a fantastic read!

**Received ARC through NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed*