I really liked the premise of You Can Trust Me—a friend disappearing on a rich man's island, why not?—but the result didn't deliver for me. Actually, I just mostly found it slow and didn't really click in at any point like I usually hope to do when sinking into a book. I think this book will be a success with plenty of readers, but not really for me.

This was so fun! Smart, scrappy women conning rich men out of their money will always get my attention, but add in a major twist and tons of action on a billionaire’s remote island research facility and I’m fully seated. Definitely one of my favorites so far this year! Heard never disappoints!

If the scammers from the White Locus got to be the main character instead of set decor.
The perfect summer book for when you want to support women’s wrongs.

I loved this one, and it makes me want to go and read all of Heard's back catalog. A twisty, found-sister story about two scammers who paired up years ago and now face a challenge neither of them anticipated. My heart was pounding during the last third of this book. You can trust me that this one is worth the read.

I was around 40% through this one when I thought I had it all figured out. And when I got to around the 60%-70% mark I found out that I was WRONG 😂 this thriller took me on an absolute wild ride and I loved every second of it! Summer and Leo are officially one of my favorite book duos. Their relationship is so warm, fun and everything I imagine a sister relationship would be like. I don’t want to spoil anything but all I’ll say is… good for her.

You Can Trust Me is about two young female con artists grifting their way around California and trying to strike it big. The description made me think of The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark, which was a book I really enjoyed.

Pros: There are strong themes of sisterhood, resilience, and general badassery. The lead character lived an unsual childhood, one that I would view as traumatic, but never seems to view herself as a victim. The girls are resourceful and intelligent.

Cons: About midway through I felt the book lost momentum. I did finish, but did some speed reading to get to the end. There were numerous flashbacks, which can be a love it/hate it type thing. Also there was some suspension of disbelief required, for me at least, about some of the connections that are made at the end of the novel.

In summary, this book hits the usual thriller genre high notes, without doing anything particularly exceptional. The best part of the book for me was the relationship between the girls and the lengths they go to fight for one another. I don't think this will be a memorable read of the year, but I'm not sorry I took the time to finish.

Thanks to Netgalley, Wendy Heard, and Penguin Random House for providing the copy for review.

Hold. The. Phone. I LOVED this! I was hooked from the very beginning of this book. I loved how fast the chapters were. The multiple POVs. The time jumps. Everything. Just when I thought I figured out the twist (which I did, the big one) there were a couple more! It was perfect. Summer and Leo were such amazingly strong and reliable main characters. Reading about the struggles and upbringing of both women helped tie the whole story together. And honestly, even when I figured out the twist, I was still so captivated and shocked when things came together. And fuck Michael 😂

This book was an emotional roller coaster. Suspenseful and thrilling! A great quick read that I couldn't put down!

Review of uncorrected ebook file

In her unconventional upbringing, Summer learned her pickpocketing skills as a child. Now best friends, thirty-two-ish Summer and twenty-six-year-old Leo [Leoneli] Ramirez, travel up and down the California coast in Summer’s decked-out Land Cruiser. After five years together, the two are best friends.

Both young women, products of severely dysfunctional families, use their expert skills for grifts and cons and manage to support themselves reasonably well. Hoping for a big score, Leo sets her sights on entrepreneur Michael Forrester, a self-made technology start-up billionaire. Charmed, Michael invites Leo to his private island.

When Leo fails to return, Summer sets out to find her. But the island holds unexpected secrets . . . and Leo may be gone forever.

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With chapters bouncing between Summer and Leo, the narrative tends to lose some of its suspense, keeping the reader from becoming fully immersed in the telling of the tale. But Summer and Leo, the protagonists of this grifter tale, are well-defined and believable; the friendship between the two women is a highlight in the telling of this unique, intriguing tale, especially in light of their difficult growing-up years.

There are some unexpected plot twists in this unique story; readers should expect some surprises as the unfolding narrative conveys some unforeseen revelations. However, astute readers may figure out most of the story long before the satisfying denouement.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam and NetGalley
#YouCanTrustMe #NetGalley

I wasn't sure by reading the blurb what this book would be like, but if you love psychological thrillers this book is one you should put at the top of your list. It is fast paced, the characters were fascinating, the setting was exotic and the plot was unique and riveting. Leo and Summer were free spirited con artists who traveled and practiced their cons on unsuspecting victims to make a living. They lived in Summers' truck and perused for victims whenever they could find them. One night when both girls were both out searching for victims Leo never returned home. Summer knew instinctively something happened to Leo and was going to search for her. What she didn't know was that she would uncover frightening secrets that someone was willing to do anything to keep buried.

Soooooo good! I found myself flying through this story unable to stop even while making dinner - I was stirring spaghetti while reading it! These two women have such a great friendship and the whole premise is amazing. This is one of those books where you make a note of the author’s name and watch for the next gem to come from her.

Summer and Leo were fun characters to get to know. I thought the story line was unique enough to hold my interest but it got a bit slow in the middle. I loved the relationship of the women the most.

You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard falls perfectly into one of my favorite psychological suspense subgenres: Con Artist novels. And this author is absolutely brilliant. She's created a twisty, sun-drenched vacation-that's-not-really-a-vacation story. But it's the powerful friendship between Summer and Leo that I most appreciated. Highly recommend!!

a fast paced thrilling read. With multiple POV, you fall in love with both characters and empathize with the lives they have lived. When they think they have found an easy way to "get rich" they realize it is too good to be true just a little to late.

I found this book to be full of suspense and thrill. At times it was confusing between the different timelines, however I could not bring myself to put it down! I would say I felt like there were points that I had to reread due to feeling lost. The book is full of twists and turns that you wouldn't see coming. I would recommend this book to others!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Parts of the plot were a bit confusing and jumping back and forth between time periods, and characters, made my brain hurt. But overall, the premise was unique and unlike anything I’ve read before. I was already a fan of Wendy Heard and this solidified that I will continue to read more of her books.

This reminded me of a Courtney Summers novel, like this could be cousins with I’m The Girl.

Two women, are they con artists? Or just surviving.

This book has a billionaire island, white old dudes who get played, creepy art, and two friends who would do anything to keep each other safe.

Gosh I gotta say this book put me on an emotional roller coaster. Summer and Leo are two friends who had opposite upbringings but were brought together after both of their lives took a devastating turn with Summer’s mom abandoning her and Leo’s sister dying. Their unbreakable bond had a hold on my heart throughout the whole book. This fast paced thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat and should be added to your future TBR! Thank you Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for this ARC!
Pub Date: June 13, 2023

Short version: I loved this book.

It's a story about best friends Summer & Leo, who live a non traditional life in their Land Cruiser in California. They survive by pick pocketing and manipulating rich men.

The author does a great job telling the story between the two narrators while on different timelines. One big twist I saw coming but didn't mind because of how it was revealed. I truly enjoyed all the characters and felt it had a great pace. It was an enjoyable read.

As I was reading this book, I could picture myself and my best friend as Summer & Leo. This is a perfect book for besties to read together and enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

Synopsis: Summer and Leo are con women, each with particular strengths. Summer is an expert pickpocket, while Leo pulls off the “long game” with rich targets. Leo sets her eyes on billionaire Michael, and all appears to be going well until she disappears. Summer begins to worry that something went wrong and goes to great lengths to learn the truth of what happened to her best friend.

Thoughts: Although only 300 pages, this book packs in a lot of action. It gets to be a bit over the top at times, but I binged this in a day and was continuously entertained. Some aspects also felt pretty predictable, but again, I was racing to see how it would end. Overall a solid 4 and just what I needed for a beachside read.