Gripping. High voltage. Dark and heart-pounding. Summer and Leo are friends, soul sisters, grifters and thieves. Both abandoned by their families when they were teens, they meet each other years later and live life in a Land Cruiser going up and down the California coast looking for their marks. When Leo meets Michael Forrester, a young billionaire tech mogul, she thinks she’s hit the jackpot and readily accepts his invitation to his private island. What she doesn’t know is that Summer accepts an invitation from one of Michael’s business associates to attend a business retreat on the same island. When Summer doesn’t see Leo in the group gathered for the retreat, her concern leads to the dark mystery surrounding Leo’s disappearance.

Don’t let the cover of the book fool you. This is an intense, well written thriller that will keep you turning page after page. Thank you NetGalley and Bantam Dell for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
Publication date: June 13, 2023

This book was most entertaining and I could hardly put it down! Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC to read in exchange for a honest review.
Summer and Leo were most interesting characters - not my usual cup of tea for heroines but I found their back stories so compelling. They are con artists/thieves trying to make a living in the world on their own. They come upon a billionaire named Michael Forrester and Leo targets him. Michael owns an island off the coast of California which includes a secret research facility. When Leo fails to come home and Michael claims not to know where she is Summer finds a way to get onto the island to look for what happened to her friend. The action is non-stop. It is told in alternating perspectives (Leo and Summer) and includes flashbacks to their earlier lives. This was a very effective way to tell the story!
It was a little frightening to me to see how much power wealth brings with it.
The ending was satisfying if a little UBER dramatic. For once I did catch on to the big plot twist just ahead of its reveal.
The afterword was a little puzzling to me - not sure if it is an opening for the further adventures of Summer and Leo.

A pacey, engaging, well-constructed thriller featuring a compelling central friendship, a really interesting premise, and a good amount of well-laid clues: recommended, especially if you’re looking for an atmospheric and suspenseful beach read!

This book centered around two best friends, young women who make their living scamming rich Californians. when one sets her sight on a tech billionaire and disappears, the other charms her way into a date to the billionaire’s private island in order to look for her friend, getting caught up in the wild world of the obscenely wealthy along the way.

I really liked the commentary on wealth and privilege, and I thought the friendship between the two main characters was very well-done. the story’s beats felt a little predictable at times, but the writing was engaging and kept up an air of suspense throughout. The characters were interesting, and I especially liked the relationship between the two POV characters: I’m a sucker for found family.

All in all, very fun, and a great option if you want a fun summer thriller. Thanks so much to Bantam and Netgalley for the ARC!

Thank you kindly to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the gifted eARC!

This one definitely took me by surprise! It was an instant cover attraction that had me requesting this one from NetGalley and I have to admit—I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did!

I adored the sisterhood between these two women; Summer and Leo are kindred spirits and you can’t help but root for them every step of the way! They’re unapologetically bold and while their intentions are often sinister, their only true goal is surviving—together.

Read if you love:
✰ dual first-person POVs
✰ a touch of seduction sprinkled into your thrillers
✰ strong characterization
✰ stories that keep you guessing

𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙈𝙚 is out June 13, 2023 and you won’t want to count this one out on your summer TBR!

Amazing domestic thriller! Just the right amount of characters-you don't need a chart to keep up with them.
If you like fast paced reads with smart characters and lots of twists, then this book is for you. Excuse me while I download more of her books@!!!

A page turner! I couldn’t put this one down and ended up finishing it in one day. Two friends as close as sisters - one goes missing so the other ends up on a mysterious island with a bunch of rich people trying to track her down. The authors’ descriptions of the island and the characters were so interesting and detailed, it was easy to visualize and become immersed in the story. Loved it!

Giving You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard a solid 3.5 ⭐️!

This book started out a little slow, but quickly picked up and hooked me! I really liked the friendship between Summer and Leo and I enjoyed the flashbacks to see what exactly happened to get them where they were present day in the story.

There was definitely a clear point in the book where it fell a bit apart for me and I won’t say where to not spoil it. The story fell off track, but then I think it quickly came back together and I was pleased with the ending.

I can see this being a popular book, as I think it should be! I will look forward to reading future Wendy Heard books!!

Thanks to NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this ARC!

Summer and Leo are inseparable.. Joined together by dark pasts, family that has--in one way or another--checked out of their lives for good, and the fact that in California, there's no shortage of the 1% to pickpocket when their bills come due, they spend their days traveling the open road in Summer's Land Cruiser. Part con-artists and part free spirits, the girls are more than happy roaming nightclubs and cocktail hours to relieve L.A.'s wealthiest of a bit of weight from their wallets. Together, Summer and Leo just work.

That is, until Leo sets her sights on tech billionaire Michael Forrester. When Michael convinces Leo to accompany him offshore to his own private island, Summer is of course just a few steps behind. But, when Summer arrives at the island with her own unsuspecting date, Leo has vanished into thin air, begging the question: has something terribly wrong in their latest scheme, or is Leo following the tug of wanderlust and finally going her own way?

From the very first chapter, "You Can Trust Me" is so much more than I expected it to be; in so many ways, this is more than just a con artist story. Perhaps more than anything I've read so far this year, it is made for the big screen. The story unfolds with heart-pounding suspense against the glittering backdrop of a billionaire's private island, and even as the narration flits from Summer to Leo and back again, readers are left wondering until the very end who they can trust.

For lovers of Layne Fargo's "They Never Learn" who want an action-packed thriller for this summer, look no further than "You Can Trust Me." A breeze of a read that packs a punch, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing me an ARC of this book for my honest review.

This is a must-read thriller; I have a feeling this book will be a hit this summer. This book has all the vibes for a great beach read. If you like edge of your seat psychological thriller, this is it. I am usually very critical and do not give out 5 stars, unless I could not put a book down and I read this in one day. So happy to have an ARC of this book, I feel like this will be a re-read for me. Rich people drama, paired with savvy women. I enjoyed both Summer and Leo, both strong likable characters even though they are con artists. I have a feeling this will be in my top ten of the year! I will be sure to check out this authors backlist.

Thank you to Random House - Ballantine for allowing me to read an ARC of this book!

This is quite literally everything I want in a thriller. Glass Onion meets Ready or Not meets...Captain Fantastic?

Summer and Leo are two best friends who survive off pickpocketing and scamming, living in a Land Cruiser and borrowing identities along the way. Leo chooses the next target of her ruse, billionaire philanthropist Michael Forrester, but after landing a date with him on his private island, she disappears entirely. After being brushed off by the police, Summer chooses to infiltrate the island herself, and I refuse to spoil anything further!!!

The setting all throughout this book is incredible. I mean, a gigantic high tech mansion on a private island? That's obviously hard to beat, but even the imagery of the characters' normal lives back in California felt distinctly easy to visualize, with writing that painted a vivid mental picture.

As much of an exciting page-turner as the story was, it was also surprisingly touching and emotional. I loved the bond between Summer and Leo, and really felt like rooting for both of them throughout the story. I was also continually impressed with Wendy Heard's ability to make each of their perspectives feel distinctly different, something that I've seen many books struggle with when it comes to multiple POVs.

Super excited for this one to officially release!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was a phenomenal read! I never wanted to put the book down.

Her writing style was so effortlessly easy to read! I got hooked immediately, needing to know what happened next and getting connected to her characters. The scenery was beautiful, she wrote sounds and the scenery so well, I could picture exactly what the author was talking about as she wrote.

It gave me a mix of “Glass Onion” and “White Lotus” vibes. Which I loved every second of! If you like either of those, this is the book for you! If you love strong female leads who have a deep bond like sisters, then this is also the book for you!

I had such a tense feeling the whole entire time while reading, especially when they got to the island, scared of what would happen to these girls. The POV switches was perfectly done, so you didn’t figure out too early what each of them were doing. Almost every chapter left on a cliffhanger and just when you think you’ll discover what’s going to happen, it switches POVs.

Summer was an icon. I loved how cool she was and how confident. Summer hating men as much as she did gave me life. But it’s always sad that women have to be against men for their own protection. She was so powerful and self assured. Despite life beating her down, she was a survivor, and I loved that about her.

Leo was naive throughout most of the book. I didn’t like her as much as I liked Summer because she frustrated me at times. I totally understand where she’s coming from in wanting to branch out more than the life they currently lived, but I felt for Summer when she acted that way.

I was screaming at Leo to get out of there for most of the book. You should always trust your gut, but she was so blinded by him! I started to like her by the end though. She was a victim of her past life as well, so you can see where she is coming from in her motivations.

I was never bored while reading their plot lines. I loved these ladies a lot and was rooting for them to come out victorious in the end.

One complaint I did have was that, in my opinion, the book ended a little too quickly for me. I wish the ending was fleshed out more and some loose ends were tied up better. But I enjoyed the rest of the book enough that it didn’t ruin it for me overall.

Overall, this book was great. It was thrilling, lavish, intense, and heartwarming. It got my heart racing so many times. I will definitely be reading more books by Wendy Heard!

I will be publishing my review on Goodreads on Feb 25, 2023 and review it on Amazon on the release date. I will attach the link when the review is posted.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5373655151?book_show_action=false

A narcissistic tech titan that's also a murderous psychopath? Imagine that! Not a new genre, but Wendy Heard weaves a tale that is captivating reading.

Summer and Leo are best friends that have both been through hard times. Summer's mom abandoned her when she was 17, and Leo left her family after the death of her sister. They both live out of Summer's truck and travel throughout the state of CA, hoodwinking rich men along their journey to fund their independent lifestyle. Each brings to the table a particular set of skills. Summer is an expert at relieving people of their cash, credit cards, and jewelry with minimal physical contact. Leo plays the long game, ingratiating herself into each man's lifestyle and taking advantage of the 'presents' she'll receive in return.
Leo's next target is Michael Forrester, a self-made billionaire dedicated to eradicating climate change with his windmills and cutting edge technology. She starts to really fall for him, then gets invited to his private island for an investor retreat, and never returns.
Summer is beside herself and is determined to find out, at all costs, what has happened to Leo. She gets herself invited to the island, and that's when the action kicks up a notch as she battles Michaels friends, and their wives to get to the bottom of what's really going on in paradise, risking her life and safety in the process.
The pacing never drags, and you get a view into more detail about the backstory of Summer and Leo, and learn what really happened to Leo's sister. That alone was a unique twist that took me by surprise.
Rich people are bad, poor people are good, and people in between are just trying to survive. You'll root for Summer and Leo's happy ending, and want to know what adventures they'll go on next. This book is also an homage to California's beautiful beaches, redwood forests, and rocky coastlines.
A great thriller!!

You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard will be this summer’s must read thriller. Grifters Summer and Leo scam and thieve their way up and down the California Coast, living out of Summer’s Land Rover surviving on swiped credit cards and stolen ID’s. When Leo meets tech billionaire Michael Forrester, the women begin a high stakes gamble…for their lives. Leo goes missing after accompanying Michael to his private island, and Summer must infiltrate her way into the secret world of the mega rich, a club run and controlled by powerful men.

For fans of Pretty Things by Janelle Brown and The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group Ballentine for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Loved this book! It had depth, a little bit of spice, and oh so many twists and turns. It took me no time at all to get through this book. It kept me engaged and at the edge of my seat.

Thank you again for the ARC - a review has been posted Goodreads.

You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard is an engrossing read.. A superb job with plot and characters. Well worth the read.

This was a pretty good book. I had a good time reading it. Thank you so much for letting me read this ARC. I am so grateful.

This book is about two girls, Summer and Leo, who live in their suv and scam people for a living. Each of them ended up in this lifestyle in different ways but forged a friendship that will last a lifetime.

This is a story about friendship, life in all its messiness, and the beautiful parts.

#NetGalley #YouCanTrustMe #RandomHouse

I am so incredibly impressed with this book. I have a lot of gripes about the mystery/thriller genre, and this book didn't fall victim to any of them. We have two beautifully complex characters who are heartfelt yet hardened, streetsmart and savvy yet humble and vigilant. Leo and Summer are fiercely loyal, and the fresh take in the novel's found family between female best friends warmed my heart. I loved the staggered, dual-timeline POVs of both characters because it was so satisfying to get immediate answers and overlapping locations so closely intertwined. This book really is a masterpiece. I will highly recommend this book to any mystery/thriller reader, and plan to share with my followers repeatedly!

This book was just too much fun! Never thought I would read a book that would make me want to quit my job and try bumming around in a van with a friend pickpocketing and scamming people, but this one is it! I loved Leo and Summer and their friendship! The story, about a scam gone wrong, so very wrong and how they get out of it was a blast! Fast paced and suspenseful. My only issue was the twist was extremely implausible, but don't let that stop you! This is the PERFECT beach-read! I hope this author writes some more adult novels. I might even check out her YA stories!

I really liked the premise of You Can Trust Me—a friend disappearing on a rich man's island, why not?—but the result didn't deliver for me. Actually, I just mostly found it slow and didn't really click in at any point like I usually hope to do when sinking into a book. I think this book will be a success with plenty of readers, but not really for me.