Ok this book was the perfect end of summer thriller, mystery, rich people drama and death vibes read!

I think that going in fully blind is best with most thrillers and especially with this one. So many of the twists and turns were wildly surprising to me and caught me fully off guard. I enjoyed the pacing of this story, especially the pacing of when we got flashbacks and learned more about the girl's past.

I don't think this book did anything ground breaking that has never been done before, but it was a quick and enjoyable read that I would recommend!

A sharp and sizzling thriller!!

Summer was born in the back of a van. As a young child she drifted from campsite to campsite with her mother. Summer thinks she’s around thirty-two-years old but she doesn’t know for sure. She doesn’t have a birth certificate. She doesn’t know her real last name. She doesn’t know her mother’s last name either and she has no clue about her father. She once asked her mother what her birth date was, but her mother admitted she forgot.

“as far as the world is concerned, I don’t exist”

Summer hasn’t seen her mother in about fifteen years. She left when Summer was somewhere around age seventeen.

Summer had been on her own for around ten years when she first met Leo (short for Leoneli) when Leo was panhandling on the street. Leo is about six years younger than Summer.

Summer and Leo have a very tight bond. They are as close as sisters. They’ve been travelling together for five years. They live in Summer’s van. They have found non traditional ways of making money to survive.

“Get money, spend money, hide money, repeat”

Then Leo vanishes without a trace.

Where was Leo? Did she leave of her own free will?

A fast paced and intriguing story!!

I really enjoyed this book! After some of the emotional reads I’ve read lately this was a nice change. An exciting read with great characters. I flew through this novel in just a day. I did guess a few things but there were still many surprising revelations.

I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from Wendy Heard!

I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel. All opinions are my own

You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard is a thriller about Summer and Leo, two friends that are traveling together and conning rich men. Leo is invited to a billionaire's private island, but then she disappears. When Summer makes it onto the island, she soon realizes that some really shady things are happening there. And there are some major twists. This book was a fun read. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard
My rating:
4/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Leo and Summer both live in the back of a Land Cruiser. They both have a particular skill in being able to con someone, which they learned overtime in order to survive. When they have their sights on a specific target, they both attend a party that will change their lives.

I went into this one completely blind because I was emailed an invitation to read this on netgalley. I accepted and I am so glad I did! I really enjoyed this thriller.

I had a feeling that the story would go in the direction it did, and figured out the big twist rather early on. With that being said, I really loved the main characters and their sisterly type of bond.

I would absolutely recommend this one. This is the first time I have read anything by the author but this won’t be my last!

I loved the short chapters and how it was told in both Summer and Leo’s point of views.

Thanks netgalley and Random House Publishing for the invite to read this one! You can read this one now!

You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard is a fun, readable thriller with two strong female leads that I. really enjoyed and never found insufferable. Leo and Summer are two women with traumatic pasts who form a bond in the form of conning and stealing. They do what they need to do to survive by scamming and stealing, often setting their sites on rich men.

Leo and Summer were written so well, I enjoyed both characters immensely. I loved the mystery surrounding the island they both found themselves on, and the cast of uber rich characters really filled out the story. There were a few things that I predicted pretty early on, none of which took away from the enjoyment of the ride.

I loved this book! I will definitely recommend it. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

You can trust me is told from the two perspectives of two best friends who work the streets of L.A. as con women. When one goes missing during a con, the other goes in search of her. What’s happened to her best friend? What’s going to happen to her? Loved the fact that both of the main characters are powerful women who have survived their trauma and kept kicking butt along the way!

Two young con artists go for the ultimate long con when they encounter a wealthy and handsome billionaire in You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard.

Summer and Leo have been on their own for a while, and they manage to live within their means out of their car amidst the beaches and forests all across California. Part of the way they manage is by stealing and conning others out of money and then disappearing. It's an understatement to say they live an interesting life. But they're looking for the big win when they meet up with Michael Forrester. Will the win pan out?

I never read this author before, so I was interested to see if this thriller matched up to my expectations. It's different from many of the thrillers I've read before because you're approaching the story from the con artists' perspectives. You wonder if they will be outwitted for once yet you're rooting for the girls all the way, especially after you hear about their past lives and how it prompted them to embark on this peripatetic lifestyle.

I found the story intriguing and the pace rolls along at a good clip. You're given just enough back story about Summer and Leo to understand their motivations but not too much. I enjoyed their friendship, which seems more like two sisters against the world. You can sense the strong bond between these two throughout all the pages. I liked the back stories, too, and it made them more empathetic.

The glitter and glitz in the worlds in which they infiltrate were alluring, too. Once you get to the island, you're wondering what secrets and glamor could be awaiting everyone at Michael's island. The descriptions of the island are pretty incredible and really made me want to visit. It sounded like the ultimate pleasure resort that happens to be Michael's home.

A lot of action takes place, and, again, it moves at the right pace. You'll feel on edge as both girls encounter more than they bargained for. It's not terribly creepy but more puzzling and disturbing. I will say, though, that a few of the plot points I figured out before they were revealed. I kept reading because I enjoyed the writing, liked the characters, and wanted to see if I was right about the twists.

An issue that dissuaded me from giving the book five stars was the motivation behind one of the character's actions. I felt that could have been more developed. The ending wrapped up well, but I was looking for a little more intrigue on that front. Overall, I highly recommend this book and am looking forward to reading more from this author. It's definitely different from many thrillers I've read lately, so pick it up if you need a new spin on an old favorite.

You Can Trust Me is my first book by Wendy Heard and this book was definitely intriguing enough for me to want to read anything she’ll publish next. The story is about Summer and Leo who are scamming their way throughout California until one day it doesn’t work out so well. Leo gets tangled up with a billionaire and goes missing.

The premise of this story is so interesting to me. I love summer stories especially one with mixed together with crime. This book had me on the edge of my seat. I had no idea how it was going to turn out and I was surprised!

If you were a fan of Mia and Lucia in Season 2 of the White Lotus, this is your book. Two bohemian con artist women who only have each other to rely upon find themselves in a dangerous situation, and their unique skill set just might be key to their survival. Fast paced, thrilling read. I would recommend it to someone looking for a page-turner.

Woooowwww, I didn’t see any of that coming!

I’ve been in such a reading slump and haven’t been reading at a speed that I would like but this book was a good one o get me out of a slump. The mystery, thriller, and suspense were all done with equal precision.
I enjoyed following both Summer and Leo’s stories and the dual POV.
I definitely recommend you read this before summer officially ends!

I’ll be looking into reading more by this author.

There were a couple of things that bothered me in this book, but in the end it was a very fast paced thriller and I enjoyed my time reading it.

Summer and Leo are the best of friends, as close as sisters. They live life unencumbered by any ties, operating out of Summer's car..flitting from place to place, stealing from people and running cons. Until one day, Leo catches the eye of a reclusive billionaire and decides to try for a bigger score than the girls have ever had. But both girls are in for the shock of their lives when they're trapped on his private island and realize they are the ones caught in the trap.

Love, love, love, love, love this! I cannot say how much I loved those. There’s nothing I love more than two strong girls having a bad ass look out for each other never turn their backs on each other relationship. Who would do anything for the other. And it all has nothing to do with men, well, except snatching a few little things I’ll never notice missing

I have loved Wendy Heard's books in the past so I was so excited to get approved to read this one!! The cover is chill but also SO GOOD. This book was so easy to binge and I read it in two days! The setting was so much fun being on a private island and the mystery was exactly what I look for when picking a mystery/thriller. This was one of my first reads about a con artist and I may have found a new favorite!!!

This book!! I read it in one sitting (thank goodness I started it on a weekday morning). It centers on a pickpocket, Summer, and her best friend, Leo, both living out of a car and hustling to live a good life. One day, Leo is trying to meet a billionaire tech genius so he'll buy her fancy gifts and they can get some big money. She goes out with him, and then Summer can't find her. The book follows the two of them as Leo gets to know the billionaire and Summer hunts for her. The voice here was really strong, and I was so invested in what happened to the women. To be honest, the premise hadn't appealed to me THAT much, but I loved this!

The following quote from "You Can Trust Me" by Wendy Heard goes a long way to describe this novel about two grifters, Summer and Leo:
There's always one friend who cares more, who tries harder. That's why female friendships are doomed.

Intense, twisty, set on an island, this mystery was a great vacation read and made me think twice about getting off my cruise ship to explore "paradise". Told in alternating POV and ranging "before" and "after" time shifts. Overall, ths is typical fodder for chick-lit/thriller, but this one is pretty good and delivered a few juicy surprises. Suggested for fans of Shari Lapena, Liv Constantine, and Sally Hepworth. I would read more by this author.

Summer and Leo set out for the summer of a lifetime. Loving the ability to do what they want when they want, the girls set off on an adventure neither knows is coming. Between Summer's skills and Leo's own tricks, the two manage to make it work.

Leo catches what she considers her biggest score- until she disappears. Now Summer has a choice- to let it slide or set off to find her friend- and whatever became of her.

4.25 stars

This book caught my attention right from the very beginning. It wasn’t necessarily a complex or thematically-deep text, but the plot had layers, the characters were multi-faceted, the relationship dynamics were intriguing, and all together it made for a compelling, dramatic, and fast-paced thriller. I really enjoyed reading it, I thought the cover design was well done, and I will be looking for future books from the author.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel. I could not get into the narrative so I DNF. I'm putting it aside for now.