😵‍💫 T R A I T O R T U E S D A Y review 😵‍💫 featuring “Tell Me You Trust Me” by Elle Owens!

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

Marissa Creighton has had a weird morning. Her husband Ethan’s last words to her were TELL ME YOU TRUST ME before he left for the day. But he never took his keys, wallet or car with him and he doesn’t come after work. Or the next day …

Marissa can’t stop thinking about Ethan’s last words to her and then she starts noticing that their shared playlist has been updated by Ethan using song titles to try to warn Marissa about her family. Ethan keeps dropping cryptic bread crumbs for Marissa to follow and this adds a cat and mouse element to the storyline! But Marissa’s family is also desperate to find what Ethan has on them and will do anything to destroy their daughter’s marriage and villainize her husband! WHO can she really trust??

👏 BRAVO to Elle Owens on an outstanding debut thriller! My god I was SHOOK by this family dynasty! The playlist being used as a secret form of communication between Marissa and Ethan was unique and brilliant and had me downloading so many songs!

Thank you kindly to @elleowenswrites @amazonpublishing @netgalley for my #gifted advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on February 11, 2025!

2.75 stars rounded up. I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. While Marissa was a sympathetic character, the rest of her family was absolutely horribly evil. Misogynistic and stuck in the 1950s gender roles. It made reading the book difficult. Maybe the timing of reading it this weekend didn't help.

Marissa's husband, Ethan, goes missing after saying, "Tell me that you trust me." He left bread crumbs for her to follow, but using song lyrics and very complicated clues with unanswered questions made me impatient to finish this book. While part of the book was fast-paced and hard to put down, Marissa's parents were so awful. Her mom popped up everywhere she goes-, constantly putting her down and demanding she fall in line. I could tell that they were gaslighting their own daughter to save their own hides. It was just do convoluted at times, with unresolved loose threads.

While I enjoyed some of the music selections, especially Glass Animals, they both had questionable taste in music and poor communication skills. Why didn't Ethan get a burner phone? Why did Marissa go along with her parents when they were so awful? She constantly tried to break free, even saying she was planning to cut them out of her life, but then she gave in, untol she finally sees them in a way that she never had before. The ending had put Marissa and her young son in danger. Something that Ethan or her brother should have prevented. I think she should have trusted her instincts and left with a new identity.

2.75 stars, release February 11, 2025.

Loved it. Read it in one day. At first, I wanted to take Marissa by the shoulders and shake her, but she really came around!
Ethan and Marissa have a great life. Until Ethan disappears. Marissa can’t understand what could have happened. Her family rally around her, slowly turning on Ethan. But Marissa knows better. And then she sees songs added to their playlist, songs that tell a story, if she can only figure out what those clues mean.

This one was fine, but not entirely for me.

One day Marissa's husband disappears, and the last thing he does is asks her to trust him. The book is then one big cat and mouse, corporate espionage thriller, involving Marissa's family.

The book is basically about Marissa's parents coming over and immediately trying to control the situation and discounting Marissa's concerns. You get immediate weird vibes from her family. Marria tries to solve her husband's disappearance while avoiding her family and quasi-working with the police.

I don't quite know what it was about the book, but it didn't hook me. I found the plot to be entirely obvious, and I was annoyed how long it took main girl Marissa to figure it out.

Overall, it wasn't bad, just not my cup of tea.

This thriller had me immediately hooked. "Tell me you trust me" was the last thing Marissa's husband said to her before leaving that morning. He didn't take his car, didn't go to work, is nowhere to be found. Her loving family is absolutely everywhere, determined to take care of her. They're in the security business, after all, and they want to help her. What they won't give her is a moment to herself, a moment she desperately needs to figure out the message her husband seems to have sent her through a song title that's just appeared on their shared playlist.

I read this through one one sitting. Marissa's desperation to figure things out kept me turning pages and the author tells the story of their marriages through the messages they're leaving one another. It's a suspenseful read that had me on the edge of my seat and trying to figure things out until the very end.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded interesting to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance reading copy.

When I initially started reading Tell Me You Trust Me, I felt a bit hesitant to continue after the first chapter. The absence of dialogue and the way Ethan’s disappearance was presented left me feeling somewhat confused. I thought there needed to be additional context before jumping into the narrative. However, as you progress, you begin to understand the story better, and by around chapter four, I was thoroughly engaged.

I do think the storytelling could have been much more descriptive, because this is a very captivating novel as I found myself not being able to put it down. I did, however, find it quite predictable and lacking the unexpected twists commonly found in thrillers, instead, it was packed with continuous suspense—which I actually did not mind at all. There were several aspects that I thought were not explained and I found some sections a bit hard to believe.

Owens has done a commendable job on their debut thriller novel, and would recommend to anyone after something fast paced filled with suspense. The story was a fun and exciting ride and I thought the ending was wrapped up quite nicely.

This was a wonderful thriller! It’s under 300 pages, so a nice, quick read. And I love the modern twists in a husband gone missing story. I am definitely excited to read more by this author!

Tell Me You Trust Me by Elle Owens is a highly recommended debut mystery/thriller following a woman's search for her missing husband.

As he was leaving in the morning her husband Ethan implored Marissa to trust him. Now Ethan has disappeared, leaving Marissa and their eighteen-month-old son Logan behind. She contacts the police and her family is there to support and help her, but they are more demeaning to her than comforting. When she turns to the playlist she shared with Ethan, she sees a new song added by Ethan, "Trust Me," and the two begin to communicate through song titles.

Ethan worked for her father, who subsequently presented her with evidence that Ethan was having an affair. Marissa doesn't know what to believe, after her brother Peter privately pointed out that their father has fabricated videos before. As her parents become increasingly controlling and dismissing of her capabilities, Marissa manages to slowly uncover the incriminating documents Ethan was hiding from her as well as the surveillance devices installed by her family.

Once I started reading Tell Me You Trust Me it was impossible to stop. Communicating through song titles was unique and the mystery was increasingly interesting as the plot unfolded. Following Marissa as she discovers new clues held my complete attention. There are a whole lot of hidden clues and evidence along the way.

Admittedly, you have to suspend some disbelief, which I easily did, and the identity of the antagonists is clear early in the novel. Don't expect any shocking twists. The fast pace along with the amount of clues and evidence she discovers will hold your attention, which makes up for the lack of twists.

Marissa does experience growth in the novel and manages to care for and protect her son through the whole ordeal. It is satisfying to see her finally get a backbone and stand up for herself, however some of her cluelessness can be challenging to understand.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Tell Me You Trust Me then disappears, it is up to Elle to figure out what he means.

Communicating through Spotify was a trip!

Marissa couldn’t think straight, she was concerned: did his car break down, was he having an affair, did he choke, dead in the hospital, or even kidnapped so many thoughts going through her mind.

Finding someone through Spotify was crazy, I never would’ve thought.
I would’ve loved hearing this on audio, so once it’s ready on Audible I’ll be sure to revisit this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer Publishings for this arc

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer Publishings for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

From the start of the book jumps into action with Ethan going missing and Marissa and her family trying to find him. I really enjoyed how we immediately got right to it but because of that I feel like the story was lacking a little. The whole finding him through music was unique as hell but that was about it I wasn’t even surprised to find out what actually happened overall I think this is a good fast paced read for someone who wants to start reading thrillers.
Rating 3⭐️

When Elle's husband says these words to her "Tell Me You Trust Me" then disappears, it is up to Elle to figure out what he means. With their only communication through their joint Spotify list, they begin communicating through song titles unbeknownst to anyone else. Can Elle work out what Ethan is telling her and will she be able to trust him after what is revealed?

This book started out really well, I was hooked from the start and needed to know more. There were so many twists in this story though that I did kind of feel it was a little over the top and unrealistic. I was happy with the ending but wonder if I was in the same position, whether I would act the way Elle did at the end. I enjoyed this author's writing style.

I hadn't read a good thriller in a while so was so excited when I got this ARC. This was such a twisty story of Marissa, a woman whose husband went missing and as the story unfolds, just like her, you have no idea who to trust. Couldn't put this down, would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a novel that will hook them right away!

This one was easy to figure out. I’ve read a lot of books about family business crime. They always end the same. But I did like the character development on this one.

Marissa Creighton is enjoying another pleasant morning with her young son and ready to send her husband, Ethan, off to work for the day. Strangely, Ethan is not dressed in his usual work attire and as he lingeringly says “goodbye” for the day, his final words, before stepping through the door are, “Tell me you trust me”. “Of course I trust you” she exclaims! And he disappears through the door for the last time.

When Marissa realizes her husband is missing, her parents and brother come over to offer help and support. But something is off about her family. To add to the mystery, Ethan works for Marissa’s father. But she doesn’t even know what they do, not really. To deal with her anxiety, Marissa seeks out her music and discovers that Ethan has added a new song to her playlist titled “Trust Me”. She quickly realizes that her husband has left secret clues and messages for her to find to explain his absence. But, instead of finding answers, she begins to uncover a web of lies, secrets and deceit. And she has no idea who to trust.

This was fast paced and easy to read. The plot line was mysterious but the ending was a bit of a letdown and I never really connected to the characters. Nevertheless this was a pretty good debut and I would read this author’s next book.

Thank you Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on February 11, 2025

I enjoyed this book! I love the plot and was able to follow along even in the middle of the night! It was fast paced and had a twist that I did not see it coming!

This book is absolutely PHENOMENAL!! I had a really difficult time even putting it down haha as it was a very busy week in my life

this book started on a downtick for me. the writing is loose, there are fundamental grammar mistakes (I vs me), but in Owen’s’ defense I read an uncorrected ARC.

the story is entertaining & a very quick read. would recommend to fans of the genre!!

I really enjoyed this and I had trouble figuring out what was going on. It’s an easy read and the writing flows well. I enjoyed the main character and her growth throughout the novel a lot. I think that this is a great debut and I thought the Spotify tracks was an interesting thing to use in the plot. I definitely recommend adding this one to your list!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. This will be out in February of 2025!

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

I can't remember the last time I was so frustrated by a character that I wanted to reach into the book and shake them. That's what Marissa made me feel. I couldn't get over how unbelievably clueless she was about everything in her life. She doesn't know what her father's company does. Her husband works for her father, but she has no idea what his job entails. She has no idea about the finances within her own marriage. She doesn't know anything about her husband before they met. She's a complete doormat for her parents and brother to walk all over her. I thought the premise was good but the Spotify playlists quickly became redundant and took me right out of the story. I didn't care about a single character and found myself skimming way too much early on. DNF at 25%.