I love a good con story, however, I could not get into this one.

I think the issue I had was not connecting with the brother/sister duo.

Unreliable characters/narrators are difficult to write and while I thought the both of them being terrible adult children was refreshing, they were unredeemable to me.

I never found myself rooting for them.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for an e-copy of TRUST ISSUES to review.

I rate TRUST ISSUES two out of five stars.

A fun thriller from 3 different perspectives - all unreliable narrators. I felt that it could have been a bit shorter and kept up the pace a bit but still really enjoyed it. The ending was fairly predictable but still a good read.

I am not quite sure what I feel about this book. I liked it but the characters were very difficult to read and feel for as the story was unfolding. I wasn’t sure if it was just the way I was reading them or if it was meant to be like that. The plot was executed well and the story progressed perfectly as well. Overall I liked it though. I would recommend it. I read a NetGalley copy of this book.

Wasn’t able to read this one digitally but I do have a physical copy of the book so will be reviewing it after I’ve read it. I’m really excited for it as I’ve only heard great things about it.

Siblings Kagan and Hazel Bailey are almost uniquely 21st-century failures. Born into inherited wealth on their mother Janice’s side, their little family endured the abuse of patriarch Charles until he keeled over from a massive heart attack at the age of fifty-eight. No one was particularly sad to see him go, but Janice subsequently took the opportunity to remake herself as an independent woman.

At first, Kagan and Hazel were thrilled to see their mother come out of her shell. But as her interest in independence spread out to interrogate their lives too, they became increasingly uncomfortable with her scrutiny. Displeased with their inability to manage money sensibly, she stopped giving them more, which did little to encourage familial closeness. Her remarriage, to the seemingly unremarkable but otherwise entirely unobjectionable Perry Walters, only drove the wedge in further.

So when Janice suddenly dies from a fall, it’s a terrible shock to her children. Hazel, especially, takes it hard:

QUOTE
[S]he’s been toggling between cognitive dissonance and emotional lows she hasn’t felt since she was a teenager. She rolls through hours of feeling immobile and heartsick, wishing for her mother. Beyond that painful vulnerability, she experiences a slight detached appreciation for the practical opportunities stemming from her mother’s fall. In a distant crook of her mind, Hazel realizes Janice’s passing will resolve the problems accumulated over the past couple of years, particularly the financial struggles[.]

Of course, she didn’t want Janice to die, but getting out from under her crippling debts could allow her to stop living the lifestyle that Janice disapproved of. Becoming the woman her mother hoped she’d be, or rather ceasing being the woman her mother didn’t want her to be, felt poetic.
END QUOTE

Ever since her mom cut her off, Hazel has been making a living by posting questionable videos on the Internet. She’s addicted to the validation of likes and comments, on top of needing the tips and subscriptions to maintain the lifestyle to which she’s grown accustomed. Kagan, on the other hand, has adjusted better to his new income level, even if he spends more time scoring drugs than looking for work. While they’re both saddened by Janice’s death, they’re both optimistic about what it might mean for their financial solvency.

Until, that is, they discover that their mother left everything to Perry. Their stepfather wants nothing to do with them, telling them quite frankly that any estrangement between them and their mother was entirely their own fault. But Kagan and Hazel haven’t been struggling to survive in the gig economy for as long as they have without gaining an instinct for when something feels suspect. When they learn that Janice was actually murdered, they know that they might be the only people capable of getting justice for their late mom… and hopefully getting back the inheritance they deserve.

This cat and mouse game of conniving and often endearing scoundrels is both witty and suspenseful. The siblings must recruit unlikely allies in the course of avenging themselves against those responsible for their mother’s death and, perhaps just as importantly to them, their lack of inheritance. In the process, they’ll have to figure out their own complicated, often combative relationship with one another. As Kagan is chatting up an old friend who asks about his soon-to-be ex-wife Bethany, he can’t help but look at the failed relationship through the lens of his sister’s not entirely unwarranted criticism:

QUOTE
“Uh, we’re taking some time apart right now.” Kagan’s immediately hit with the impulse to kick himself for letting that cliched–and not exactly true–bit of explanation tumble off his tongue, but he’s been feeling too self-conscious and defensive about the situation to properly delve into his emotions around it.

For years, Hazel had taken some not-so-subtle shots at Bethany, insinuating that she was greedy, opportunistic, manipulative, and uncaring. “Most men marry their mother,” Haze once proclaimed during a particularly savage tear, “but you went and married Dad. At least that’s original.” He would steadfastly shield his wife from the charges, but lately it’s occurred to Kagan that his sister might have had a point all along, which pisses him off.
END QUOTE

Elizabeth McCullough Keenan and Greg Wands do a phenomenal job of getting to the nuanced, complicated hearts of these less than ethical people. While Kagan and Hazel have definitely been cheated of what’s rightfully theirs, it’s hard to feel completely sympathetic to their woes: these are people who were born with and have squandered more money than most will ever see in their lifetimes, after all. The denouement of their quest thus feels both fitting and wry. Everyone gets what they deserve, more or less, in this twisty twenty-first century morality play that eschews easy answers for realistically complex endings.

Two kids just find out their mother has passed away and she left all her money to her new husband. Something isn't adding up and the kids are going to find out what and why.
Hazel and Kagan both work to find out what really happened to their mother and where did their stepfather disappear with all their money. Along the way they discover they have a step sister and hope that she can spread some light on who their step father really is and how to catch him.

This book has an interesting plot and the speed of the book works well to keep your attention throughout. The ending was not what I was completely expecting and it was nice to see that little twist. The only issue I had with this book is that I didn't like the two main characters, Hazel and Kagan. They were spoiled and greedy adults that have always gotten their way until now. I do understand that was the authors point and tried to look past that, but it was hard to read in parts when I just wanted to smack the characters and yell at them to grow up.

Overall it was a good read and I would definitely read something from this author again. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Trust Issues by Elizabeth McCullough Keenan and Greg Wands follows Hazel and Kagan, siblings who wanted revenge when their mother unexpectedly died. A great psychological thriller.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC copy.

I enjoyed this fun, entertaining classic heist story. The siblings, Hazel and Kagan, are really horrible brats who decide to try and take back their inheritance money from their stepfather after their mother is murdered. Convinced that the stepfather, Perry is responsible for their mother’s death even though he has an alibi, they enlist the help of his natural daughter, Ava. There are several surprises as the three of them develop a plan to pursue and trick Perry. Although the siblings claim to have been close to their mother, they are actually very selfish and only interested in her money. Teaming up with Ava creates some great adventures and their plot makes for some fun reading.
All of the characters in this book were unlikable to me which made it easy not to care whether their plotting was successful or not. I felt like the conclusion was very predictable but the book was overall a fun read. Really different from what I am usually drawn to.

📖 Book Review 📖

📱 "Trust Issues" by Elizabeth McCullough Keenan & Greg Wands

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Published January 28, 2025

Two adult siblings mourn their mother as they track down the conman who stole their inheritance. Hazel and Kagan Bailey are not close, but their mother's mysterious death that they believe was a murder, makes them work together.
When Kagan finds out their stepfather, who married their mother less than 5 years ago, stole everything and ran, he convinces his sister Hazel they need to track him down. This was an enjoyable, fast read for me even though I found Hazel and Kagan horrible. They were selfish, spoiled and ungrateful and were not searching for their stepfather for the right reasons. Lots of twists and turns in this read, many that I didn’t see coming.


#somanybooks #readsomemore #audiobooks #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #booklover #bookishlove #readersgonnaread #bookishaf

Here we are again with yet another big nope of a book. NOPE.

This book was boring, the characters were all one sided and unlikable, and the ending was not climactic enough to save it. I need to stop picking up books about rich and spoiled brats. It never ends well.

I admit I skimmed the last 30% because if I had to sit through anymore of these characters boring nonsense I might enter a reading slump.

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy and remember folks that this is just my opinion so if you wanna form your own that'd be swell.

Oh how I love a ‘trust no one’ situation.

✦ Clever cons
✦ Rich people behaving badly
✦ Cat + Mouse
✦ A suspicious death
✦ Multiple POVs
✦ And so many characters shaded in grey

TRUST ISSUES by ELIZABETH MCCULLOUGH KEENAN & GREG WANDS is my kind of book!

Siblings Hazel and Kagan haven’t been close for a while. But when they get the news about their mother’s unexpected death — and the suspicious circumstances around it — they are shocked. They’re also wondering where their inheritance is.

Over a lunch with their mother’s new-ish husband, Perry, they learn they were cut out of the will. After blowing through their respective trust funds apparently their mother cut them off. But Hazel and Kagan are convinced Perry had a hand in it.

The police come knocking, eyeing the siblings as suspects. They try to turn the attention to Perry but he has an air-tight alibi. Then he skips town…along with the family fortune. And the race is on.

I had such a fun time with this story, which I do think is best entered into knowing little. We get some wonderfully fun characters, with lots of secrets in their past and terribly fun motives in the present.

I do enjoy a con and had so much fun watching Hazel and Kagan try to catch Perry. They are out of their depths and enlist some help along the way. Help that also involves exposing past secrets and unleashes a bit of sibling rivalry.

It’s a grifter-thriller, wrapped in some family drama, with shifting locations, sharp writing and some comical moments. I particularly enjoyed Kagan’s inner dialogue and was so interested to see where this story would go.

I also really enjoyed the overall exploration around “trust”. How much can we trust what we see, what we hear, what we read? The facades people put up and how often we convince ourselves of our own truths.

And be sure to check out Liz & Greg’s previous books written under the pen name E.G. Scott.

Trust Issues is a book about siblings, but it is not a typical story, as the tenuous family relationships lead the reader to see the flaws of the characters. The adage "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" comes to mind when thinking of this book.

The pacing of this book can feel uneven, but there's enough suspense to keep readers motivated to see what happens.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

There’s something about a con story that just calls to me! Congratulations to writing duo @lizandgregwrite on Trust Issues, out today. Trust issues follows two adult siblings from New York City, who are reeling from the suspicious death of their mother and beginning to suspect their stepfather swindled their inheritance. The novel is a cat and mouse chase across state lines as the siblings interact with people and attempt to shed light on the true identity of the con man. I thought this one was interesting because the siblings themselves are quite untrustworthy. They’re both at rock bottom in terms of their personal lives and really not very nice to each other or to their family members. I heard @carinnjade say this on @popfictionwomen podcast interview with the authors, and I agree that I wasn’t necessarily rooting for the siblings to win. But I was rooting for the truth to come out. Not only is this a suspense but a deep dive into several characters povs and an exploration of their flaws. You as the reader get to decide, do they have any redeemable qualities? What is justice in this situation?

Reading this makes me wanna go back and read others by this duo. They shared on the podcast how they met an acting school and it was fascinating to learn how they write together.

With over the top characters lending a sense of humor, while this book has sad events involved, it still feels like a very entertaining caper throughout most of the story. I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending, but the story was fun.

I really enjoyed this story of two spoiled (and suddenly disinherited) siblings who have to band together to beat a con artist who was also married to their late mother.

All the Succession and First Lie Wins vibes!

A twisty domestic thriller from a new to me author that features a pair of unlikable heirs, a suspicious stepfather who turns out to be a skilled con artist and a sizeable inheritance. This suspense story is sure to keep readers guessing as they try to figure out who is responsible for the suspicious death of the matriarch. Good on audio and recommended for fans of authors like Shari Lapena. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

This story is about siblings who try to get their inheritance they believe they are rightfully owed after their mother dies. They team up to find the man who they believe stole their money and killed their mother. I did enjoy the subtle twists but it was REALLY hard to like the siblings or root for them but overall enjoyed the book.

Trust Issues by Elizabeth McCullough Keenan and Greg Wands opens with Perry finding out that his wife had an unfortunate accident and passed away, which leaves him to tell his estranged stepchildren, Kagan and Hazel, what happened. When Kagan and Hazel offer their help with settling the estate, Perry turns them away and absconds with everything, but not before charming a wealthy widower in hopes of conning her out of money. Will Kagan and Hazel be able get their inheritance back and stop their stepfather before he takes advantage of yet another lonely woman?

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for approving me to read an Advanced Readers Copy ARC of Trust Issues. I received a copy for free in exchange for my honest review.

Hazel, Kagan, and Perry have to be the most unlikable characters in the history of books. There is absolutely nothing redeeming about them. In fact, I disliked the characters so much that I considered not finishing the book. The only redeeming character in the whole story was Ava. At one point in Ava telling her story about staying with her Aunt Constance, it reminded me of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I didn't trust Ava entirely and expected her to be in cahoots with Perry. Was I right? That's for me to know, and you to find out.

I didn't care for the writing style of the authors at the beginning, but the writing did get better once Ava was introduced. It still was hard for me to get through the story, but the last twenty-five percent of the book was enjoyable, which led me to give Trust Issues four stars out of five stars instead of three stars.

Trust Issues by Elizabeth McCullough Keenan and Greg Wands wasn't exactly the book for me, it may be perfect for someone else. Give it a whirl and make up your own mind.

Trust issues
Rating 4.5 stars 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 rounded up
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Janice is dead. Someone may have pushed her over the wall. That doesn't stop Her son and daughter, who haven't spoken to her in years, and come running for their share. They want to point fingers at Perry, Janice's husband, and excuse him of Janice's death when they find out they have been cut out of their mother's will.
But this isn't right, and the siblings know in their heart that Perry had something to do with their mother's death.
They start digging, and they find out he's a con man who has certainly done this before to other women
Hazel and Kagen find Perry's long lost daughter and together they stop at nothing to prove Perry is indeed a killer and most certainly a con man who is already onto another victim before Janice has even been buried yet

This was an enjoyable read. The trope is kind of overplayed but this gave new life and a new spin on it.