Rated 4.25

This book was wild. I really loved the characters and I could not put it down. You Can Trust Me follows two best friends Summer and Leo who live on the open road finding new opportunities where they land. Until Leo met someone who seemed too good to be true...follow along this crazy journey to see the lengths they go to save themselves.

This was a fun one. I have been loving the summer setting this year and I really felt myself drawn into this book for its setting, characters, and overall plot. Really fun.

"You Can Trust Me" by Wendy Heard is an intense and gripping novel that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The author's storytelling is masterful, delivering a rollercoaster of suspense and thrills that had me guessing until the very end.

The plot is cleverly crafted, filled with twists and turns that will leave readers second-guessing every character's motive. The protagonist's journey is both captivating and harrowing, as she navigates a web of lies and deceit, trying to uncover the truth.

Wendy Heard has a talent for creating complex and multi-layered characters that feel incredibly real. Each one is flawed and relatable, making their actions and decisions all the more compelling. The psychological depth in the novel adds an extra layer of intrigue, making it difficult to put the book down.

The pacing is relentless, building tension with every page, and the seamless shifts between multiple points of view add depth to the narrative. The story explores themes of trust, betrayal, and the lengths people will go to protect their secrets, making it a thought-provoking and immersive read.

"You Can Trust Me" is a thrilling and atmospheric novel that will appeal to fans of psychological suspense. Wendy Heard's talent for crafting an intricate and captivating tale of deception and survival makes this book a must-read for those who enjoy a compelling mystery with a dark and gripping edge. I highly recommend it to anyone seeking an adrenaline-pumping and psychologically intense reading experience.

I loved this one! Fast paced action, lots of twists and a plot that kept me guessing. Summer and Leo are a pair to be reckoned with! These modern day nomads are two characters that will stay with me for awhile. You definitely want them on your team to fight off the bad guys! 5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

You Can Trust Me is a popcorn thriller about two friends who con people-- one as a sugar baby and one as a pickpocket. This novel is very easy to get into which was nice since I was kind of in a slump. The writing was slightly silly and cheesy and it was predictable, but if you want a popcorn thriller this would be a good pick!

Okay, Wendy Heard, I see you! Wow, I really enjoyed this girl power thriller. Thanks for the publisher for my advanced copy.

This story revolves around nomadic BFFs Leo and Summer who pickpocket for a living and never spend too much time in one location. When Leo goes missing after meeting a handsome billionaire, Summer must use all of her skills to find her. The pacing of this book was excellent as the story unfolded, and I never really knew who to trust. I found the ending to be a bit over the top but it was still a fun ride. I look forward to more from Wendy Heard!

This was a good thrilling read and it now has me in the mood to ready more thrillers. This took me on a ride and even though at times I didn't know where it was going, I still enjoyed it and I was all for it.

This was a great vacation read - and a story of sisterhood and found family. Well paced and attention grabbing. Can't wait for more from Ms. Heard!

Thank you Random House ​and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.
An engaging thriller featuring pickpockets Summer and Leo, living in LA with troubled pasts. Leo's encounter with a billionaire tech genius leads to an exclusive island invitation. When Leo goes missing, Summer investigates, uncovering shocking events. The alternating perspectives, wild events, and dark twists keep you invested. Though some coincidences require suspension of disbelief, the plentiful thrills make it an entertaining, movie-worthy read. A fun summer thriller choice.

First, this cover is stunning!

I went into “You Can Trust Me” by Wendy Heard without knowing much about the plot and was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed the story and the main characters’ relationship. I would recommend “You Can Trust Me” as it was a quick thrilling beach read.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for my digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book on a lot of levels. A couple of female, grifters working together and living out of their van, one seeking easy pickpocket cashgrab, and the other searching for the white whale. Friends, but basically sisters, they stumble into a world where the men they are targeting aren’t quite what they seem, and soon they are entangled in a deadly web where they can trust no one but each other.

So this was a fun read, I finished it in one at night plus an hour this morning. However, a couple of issues that I had with it were the fact that these women were super smart and savvy, and yet they entered into this entanglement with almost a naïveté that seemed unrealistic for women in their position. And for women who had proven themselves to not really make mistakes and be able to see around the corner, they both did some really dumb shit.

However, I did enjoy it, and would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a fast paced thriller with female protagonist. Extra points if you like con women.

You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard is a psychological thriller about two women, Summer and Leo, living a nomadic lifestyle and making ends meet by stealing, pickpocketing and conning. When Leo thinks that she has finally landed a billionaire, Michael, who will give lavish gifts and set her and Summer up financially for a while– it all seems to be too good to be true. When Leo leaves with Michael to his own private island and does not seem to return back to Summer, Summer must figure out where Leo is. When Summer figures out a way to get to the island– she doesn’t know who to trust, who to believe, or where Leo even is. Did she come to the island at all? Or is something more sinister going on here?

I really, REALLY enjoyed this book. I was hooked from very early on in the story and was suspicious of many of the characters in the beginning. I enjoyed the setting of the story and it was interesting to see the inner circle of the tech elite. I really liked Summer and Leo. I thought that they were both two women, trying to make it in a world that has been very hard on them. I liked how they lived their lives as nomads and loved the bond that the two had created.

I liked the dual perspectives and slightly different timelines that happened in this book. You had Summer’s present time chapters weaved together were Leo who was a few days behind and slowly closing the gap and letting the reader know what really happened to Leo during her night with Michael. Even though the chapters were labeled with the day it was taking place, I think that the time of day may have helped in the beginning when trying to understand the two different timelines.

This book has many twists and turns throughout and I loved it all in the end. I would definitely recommend this book. It was the first book that I have read by Wendy Heard and it definitely will not be my last.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Two beautiful young woman who travel up and down the California coast picking pockets, when one sets her sights on a rich powerful man. Definitely an intriguing start to this book that drew me right in...it got a bit farfetched as it went on but still there was enough there to keep me turning pages until the end.

I couldn’t get into this book for some reason. I rarely DNF books but this was one of them unfortunately. I may try again in the future

(Actual: 3.5) This book was such a pleasant surprise! I requested it for the cover mostly to be honest haha, and then I decided to go in mostly blind (which is somewhat rare for me to do). In the end I really enjoyed it and found it to be the perfect, "easily accessible" thriller read for my summer holiday!

Oh goodness, this one started off with a bang but ended with a miss.

Slight spoilers ahead

In here we have Summer and Leo. Summer has no record of existing as her mother gave birth in the wild and did not believe that the govt needed to be involved. Leo ran away after losing her family member and was living on the streets.

They meet and live together while Summer teaches Leo how to steal, lie, and all that. After a bit of a dry spell money wise, Leo decides to hook up with a rich dude who takes her to an island. We all know what happens next, she does not get in touch with Summer and Summer launches into a devious plan to get on the island and see if Leo is ok.

I honestly like the way this story was unfolding until around the 80-90% mark. It went from just slightly letting certain things go because this is a work of fiction to what the actual heck??

Please go to goodreads to see the spoiler I have on here

You Can Trust Me, by Wendy Heard, is an undeniably entertaining thriller. It’s fast-paced, filled with twists and turns, shocks and surprises.

We follow Summer and Leo who are wandering, nomadic pick-pockets who are content to live out of the car and travel the coast of California. Summer goes for quick volume of cash and IDs and Leo specializes in the long-con. When Leo engineers a meet-cute with billionaire, tech mogul, Michael Forrester, she finds herself being whisked away to his private island for a corporate retreat. When Leo doesn’t show up for her planned pick-up, Summer gets worried, does some investigating of her own, and manipulates a trip to the island herself. The island is lavish and the accommodations are opulent, but something dangerous is simmering below the surface.

You Can Trust Me is a wild, dark, secretive story. It’s intense, incredible and a lot of fun! This action-packed thriller is the perfect summer read.

Just finished this one and I loved it. I read it in just a few sittings and it definitely kept me up late at night reading!

Summer and Leo are best friends who have lived tough lives and found each other after thinking they were alone against the world. Summer has become a skilled pickpocket and while they live a free-spirited existence, they still need money to survive. Leo has picked up a number of things during her time with Summer and is ready to show just how valuable she is to have around. Leo is about to hook the big one: Michael Forrester, a self-made tech billionaire. Leo and Michael quickly connect, and Leo can’t believe her luck when he invites her to his private island off the California coast. It seems almost too easy, until Leo disappears. Summer can’t believe that Leo would leave her high and dry and plans to infiltrate Michael’s island to find Leo. Once she makes it there, she realizes she stuck with no way off and no way to connect with Leo. Testing all the skills she’s honed over the years, Summer has to escape from a scheme she helped to hatch.

I knew part of the twist of this book pretty early on, but still found it to be an enjoyable and quick read. I loved the strong friendship between Summer and Leo and was rooting hard for both of them. The book alternated between Summer and Leo’s points of view which was a very compelling way for this story to be told. Thank you to Random House – Ballantine and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC.

I love everything I've read from Wendy Heard and this book was no different. I loved how real the characters felt and the story had me gripped the entire time.