Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in advance for an honest review. It has some twist I didn't see coming but it was a slow starter for me. about a 1.4 of the way through is when I started to get into it. You will be on the edge of your seat I promise!

This book was absolutely thrilling and Scandalous! The start was a bit slow until I realized it was a diary type book which in my opinion is the best type of method especially when it's a thriller. throughout the book I was glued to its pages I had so many questions and clues, but never did I guess the true outcome. The ending was the greatest mind blowing I've ever experienced.

I enjoyed the story as a whole. I wasn't expecting jillian to be behind some of the events that happened to help sell her own books.the only thing that bothered me was the fact sometimes a sentence would start then the end would be further down the page. Amazing plot on the whole.

Thank you to Netgalley and Joffe Books for this book.
The one complaint I have for this book is the fact that when we go back and forth between the past and present you have no idea until you started reading, I mean i get the backstory for the books for foreshadowing but you have no idea how long the events of the book take place. The main character is pretty much a unreliable narrator since she ends up being the killer. She sets things up in order to get more traction for her thrillers and in doing so gets more attention and ends up making her husband and best friend try to kill her for the money she will make once her book is released. I was really surprised by the main character actually being the killer and concocting the entire thing. Her husband and best friend trying to kill her while she was taking a bath ended up being the icing on the cake since her husband made them get security cameras and ended up getting filmed trying to kill her. It honestly goes to show the lengths some people will go in order to become famous even comment murder.

Original, Immersive..
Novelist Jillian Samuels has a dream - writing that one bestseller. When her new book gets accepted by a New York agent is that dream about to be realised? Things are about to get very sinister indeed - the murder scenarios in her books appear to be being replicated and people have noticed. Not least, the police. Sales may well be on the rise but at what cost? A well executed, original premise and deftly drawn credible characters populate an immersive and dramatic plot laced with dark humour. Will keep the reader guessing until the very end.

It is a thriller that probably will have you gripped and wanting to read what’s happening next, but I have to say it is very slow. It drags so much and there’s so many of the same scenes (the police coming to her door, her husband getting in late and exhausted, her best friend Natalie coming for a girl’s night) that sometimes I felt like I made a mistake and was reading the same page again.

Jillian, the main character seems so naive it hurts, her husband seems like a not very supportive man after money and the relationship with her bff very one sided. It is pretty clear from the beginning what the chute will be.

I am sorry but that wasn’t a masterpiece for me, I would say 2.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for letting me read an advanced review for an honest review.

Starts off a bit slow but does it ever pick up and has a bang to it!! Fast paced thriller at it's best.
Couldn't put this down.
New author to me will be definitely checking out more.

Thanks to the author ,the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

Fast paced thriller that I couldn't put down.

I loved how this book was told in past tense with the main character telling her story after it happened. Her end of chapter one liners about what she "should've known then" had me staying up late for just one more chapter. Which turned into many more and a very late night. I was shocked by the ending more than once. Great read, I loved it!

Thanks to NetGalley, McGarvey Black, and Joffe Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book starts a bit slow but it gets excellent fast. What a lot of twists and turns to the last paragraph. An up-and-coming author, she hopes, Jillian Samuels is trying to get an agent for her third book. She self-published her first two thrillers with less than exciting sales. If she can get an agent and publisher for “The Soul Collector” her dream of success can be realized. Jill's is married to the man of her dreams, Teddy, a handsome and successful New York City top chef. He has dreams of massive success. She has dreams of being an international bestseller with film rights. They will do all possible to reach their goals.
The problems start when scenes from her first book are re-enacted by an unknown source. Her dark and twisted previous books hardly sold but someone is copying damaging events. This is brought to the attention of the police because of the destruction done. With all the bad, there is some good and strangely enough, similar events to her books are noticed by social media, and sales start to increase. However, her greatest desire to get an agent is her current concern. As the book promotion progresses all could be realized but it's a roller coaster that might go off the rails too fast to survive.
The story is told by the story author Jillian in the third person with hints along the way as to what's unfolding. Not my favorite type of storytelling but McGarvey Black does a supreme job of keeping you involved and anxious to keep reading. Surprises along the way keep you guessing. Thank you, NetGalley and publishers Joffe Books for this delightful “Trust Only Me”. This is my own opinion I recommend this book I give it 5 stars.

The plot to Trust Only Me is very interesting. The actual execution was lacking for me. Within a few pages, I was worried that it would be a DNF. I kept reading and I’m glad I did because the story was good, but it was a struggle to get there. It is a very slow burn with a timeline that was all over the place. There were lots of unnecessary details added in that detracted from the story and several times I felt that I was reading the same things over and over.

The last quarter of the book, however, felt almost like a different book and was very well edited for content. I would have rated this book at a 2/5 stars but I really enjoyed the last part of the book and the twist at the end was fabulous so I rated up to a 3/5.

There was a slight formatting issue with the ARC digital version but I was able to read it without any issues and it didn’t affect my rating.

So this is hard for me to write. I honestly love the storyline. It's nothing I've ever read before. While I say this, there are some things about this book that drive me nuts. Now, some of the things may be just from getting the book from netgalley and it not loading correctly for my tablet. The Formating of pages is beyond weird. Sentences have lines of empty spaces in the middle of sentences. Chapters start randomly on pages, and it's confusing. I also have an issue with the time references in the book. There is a lot of jumping from way back, like several years to then it jumping to only a year back to then the present she is talking about, then back way back. It really doesn't give you a lot of information on when things are. You just simply have to piece them together. The characters are very real. You like some, you hate some, and you are even creeped out by some. The plot again is something I've never heard of, and it was a different story than I've ever read. I think with some edits on formatting and giving actual timeline dates, the book could be amazing.

This feels like a hard review for me to articulate. I finished this almost a week ago but have been taking time to actually best describe my thoughts.
First let me say that the premise of this story is fantastic. I did not actually see the way this book ends coming and the last 30% of the book was quite enjoyable.
As for the story itself, this book is written from the perspective of a Jillian - a self published author when the book begins. We shortly into the story meet Teddy and Natalie. Teddy being a tall, dark, and handsome up and coming Chef who ends up being Jillian's husband. Natalie - a very well known PR woman who is all about looks and is always well put together.
Jillian has two self published books and decides that once her husband, Teddy, is in need of more money to open his new restaurant that she will take her newly written book to find a publishing agent. Meanwhile, within their city crimes are taking place that mirror the crimes in Jillians self-published books. When Jillian lands an agent, things seem to heat up and the police are trying to tie all of these pieces together.

Now as for why this is a 3.5 star read for me.
The writing in the beginning is very... repetitive. I consistently read what felt like the same sentence on every other page. It feels as if the author knew that there was certain information that needed to be provided to the reader but didn't quite know how to place it in the story.
The formatting almost needs some help - not sure what the issue is there but it was hard to follow -- hopefully Kindle will be able to fix it up before the official release.

Overall, the story itself is good, just feel like the delivery could have been better.

When Jillian gets a call from her best friend Natalie telling her people on Twitter or discussing her first book she doesn’t know what to think but once she goes to Twitter and sees a warehouse has burned down and it was set on fire the same way it happened in her first book she doesn’t know what to think. she has had mediocre success with the first independently published books and now that she has a new book coming out call sole collector she really hope this will be the one to make her a household name. As days go by more and more things happen that or taken from one of her books. Jillian has a good life just being a successful author has alluded her she has a good husband Terry who is a popular chef at a local fancy restaurant and her best friend Natalie who does public relations all the people closest to her she has a few fans who she appreciates but like most authors want a book seen by a massive audience. it seems with all these new crimes and all this new publicity she’ll get what she wanted as a culprit eludes the two detectives on the case Jillian will learn things she wasn’t supposed to know and like most authors it would help her write a great ending. This was really a great book with a great wow and OMG moment and I loved it. I love this authors books and she has yet to disappoint me and seems to just be getting better. If you love a good thriller and mystery with wow moments and no eye rolling you need to read trust only me by McCarthy black there is so much more to this book I found it hard to write a good summary but trust me when I say this is such a great book! I received this book from NetGalley and a publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Book Title: Trust Only Me
Author: McGarvey Black
Publisher: Joffe Books
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: January 28, 2023
My Rating: 4+ Stars

Jillian Samuels is a self-published author of three thrillers –all were purchased by relatives and friends needless to say Jillian’s career is having some struggles.
She is excited when her manuscript “The Soul Collector” has being accepted by an agent! She is convinced her struggles are finally paying off and is sure this book will be a success and put her name of the ‘thriller’ map.
Her best friend Natalie Bloom calls her to tell her that there is ‘something weird on Twitter’. @Aussiegirl9876 is tweeting that a copycat is using Jillian’s first thriller “A Burning Desire’ to commit the same disasters.
An explosion occurs at a warehouse just as a min-Superman was seen flying over the building. Others on Social media have noticed the similarities and are speculating that Jillian’s book is being used for inspiration like a blueprint! – Yikes Jillian life is becoming a nightmare!

Story started off VERY interesting and had my attention then switched to slow back-story info.

Jillian’s husband Teddy is a chef-described at one of the “Top 100 Rising Culinary Stars”. He wants to open his own restaurant but needs a lot of financial support. He has been able to secure a fifty thousand load but it isn’t close to what is needed. Both he and Jillian are hopeful her book will do well and bring the financial backing needed.
Her mother has memory issues and many times believes Jillian is her sister Camille – who had a troubled life.

This part of the story is kind of interesting but is long and drags! It is similar to when one wants to paint a room- the prep work is long and boring.
TRUST me ~ hang in there! The ending had my head spinning.

In Ms. Black’s Goodreads Bio, she states –“My stories are character driven and I try to throw in lots of twists and turns to keep the reader interested and guessing. Most of my writing is inspired by real people or events that get my imagination going”.~

I always love reading the “Author’s Notes’ and was sooo curious of Ms. Black inspiration – since she mentioned she is inspired by real people; however it wasn't included in this early eGalley. I will be sure to check into it when released. 😀
I want to know how in the world she thought of this!!!
True McGarvey Black has a very vivid if not wicked imagination; additionally has a fab sense of humor –found myself laughing out loud several times.

Want to thank NetGalley and Joffe Books for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 28, 2023

This is my first book by this writer. Honestly, it was kind of all over the place for me as it jumped around. The main character is an author who just got signed by a major publishing house, and they are worried about her book sales as she is an unknown writer. They need her to create buzz around her persona to amp up sales and increase her media presence. Her husband Teddy is a local well known chef with a rising star and his own ambitions that need money to fuel his dreams of owning his own restaurant.
Some of this was honestly easy enough for me to figure out, so maybe that's what I got frustrated waiting so long for the story to move forward. I would still recommend the book to others, as maybe when it is actually published there will be a few changes, such as the tense sometimes changes mid-story, and some of the story line wasn't needed, as it didn't tie into or make sense to the overall story.

I loved this book. After reading all of McGarvey Blacks books (starting with the runaway bestseller, The First Husband) I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. It certainly didn't disappoint.

Jillian Samuels, an aspiring writer, finally hooks a big agent and is dreaming of that blockbuster success. However, suddenly, the police are questioning her about strange incidents that are occurring linked to her earlier self-published books. When a murder takes place, she is seriously in the frame.

McGarvey builds the characters at a steady pace. Her writing is filled with wit and humour, and when the pace kicked in, it certainly didn't stop. I adore her style of writing, and was gripped to the end.

I would thank Netgalley, the author, and Joffe Books for allowing me the chance to get an early copy of Trust Only Me.

3.5 rounded up

Self published author Jillian Samuels is alerted by best friend Natalie about a Twitter storm concerning a series of explosions in Connecticut, eerily similar to the plot of one of her thrillers. The Medford police duly arrive at her door and from that point on a downward spiral ensues with life imitating art.

This is a bit of a “game of two halves”. It is very slow to get going as we seem to get every last detail on Jillian and husband Teddy’s life and I’m interested in what’s going on with the explosions! However, I like the premise, the plot is good, it’s creative and has some originality to it but that’s diluted at times by some repetition. The pace does pick up as the book progresses and you therefore become more immersed.

I really like the style it’s written in, it’s as if Jillian is relaying the story to us confidentially and I do like the use of humour. There are some good twists and I really enjoy the ending although there’s one aspect you can see a mile off even on a foggy day!! The characters are not especially likeable, but that actually adds rather than detracts from the enjoyment. Jill is so naive you want to shake her and tell her to wake up and smell the roses. Teddy is the most selfish blank (fill in your own choice of word), he’s a taker not a giver and Natalie is so up herself it’s not true!

Overall though, it’s an entertaining read though I do wish it had been quicker at the beginning.

With thanks to NeGalley and especially to Joffre Books for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed this. It kept me invested the whole way through and the plot was always moving forward. The big reveals were quite predictable so that was a shame and at a few points, the same thing was explained so it was like deja vous from the chapter before but never mind! It's not the most realistic.... I seriously doubt anyone would get away with those events and not be caught when you're leaving evidence behind and such. And the side plot of the missing person just seemed random and out of place. It's not a bad boom though. The characters are all immensely unlikeable but that seems to be by design. It kept my attention the whole way though and I flew through it in a day

First of all I would like to say a big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Joffe Books, for choosing me to read this ARC of Trust Only Me by McGarvey Black. The following is my honest review after completing this book.

Trust Only Me is a twisty, slow-burn thriller about a struggling author who starts gaining attention when the gruesome events depicted in her books begin coming true. This book started out on the slower side for me, but once I made it to the halfway point it really sucked me in, and ended up being a quick and enjoyable read.

While reading, I did find it strange that so many people, police included, were willing to just brush off the incidents as coincidences for so long. I found that a little unrealistic. I did also think that the story became quite repetitive in places; where certain things were explained multiple times. Not a deal breaker for me, but it almost seemed like something missed in editing.

All in all I'm glad I got to enjoy this story and I can see a definite future for McGarvey Black in this genre in the future. Can't wait to read more!

Tust Only Me follows the story of Jillian Samuels, a struggling writer who finally gets a book deal. One day a Twitter user starts posting conspiracies about her previously self-published books, and starts a spiral into what seems to be a string of copycats who replicate the murders in her novels.

Jillian becomes a successful author overnight who seems to have the perfect life, the perfect husband, and the perfect best friend who will join forces to help her when things take a downturn. Afterall, Jillian is the only one who came up with the stoylines and ideas about how to commit the perfect crime... so why would the police think she's innocent?

Tust Only Me is written from Jillian's POV, in first person, as she details her throughts along her journey towards discovering whether there's really a serial killer who's copying her book plots and if so, who is it?

This novel was a really good read although the pacing seemed a little slow in the beginning. I'm glad I stuck to it because it was a wild ride once the plot started to pick up. My copy had more than a few formatting issues but I trust I simply got an uncorrected copy. This was an easy read for me, one of those books you can read in one sitting.

goodreads.com/booksireadandliked
Disclosure: I would like to thank the publisher and author for my advanced review copy of the book. This is my honest review