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You Can Trust Me by Miranda Rijks
Yoga vibes with a side of betrayal, social media scams, and friendships so toxic they deserve their own true crime docuseries.

Amelia, a yoga instructor, barely recovers from an online scam when her colleague Paige swoops in — wise, warm, and always ready with a spa-day invite. Their daughters, Marnie and Taryn, become inseparable, and just like that, Paige has woven herself into Amelia’s life. Too well, as it turns out.

Paige isn’t just being supportive — she’s methodically worming her way into Amelia’s finances, relationships, and sense of self, all while playing the perfect friend. By the time Amelia notices the cracks, Paige’s agenda is fully in motion: stolen money, sabotaged business, undermined marriage... and that’s just the start of the drama.

What Made My Spine Tingle

Creeping betrayal: Paige is the friend you love to hate. Charming, helpful... until she’s cutting your lifelines one by one.

Mom drama on steroids: The kid connection—Marnie and Taryn—is adorably innocent. Their budding friendship adds a chilling mirror to the impending parental storm.

Fast-rolling tension: There's never a dull moment. Every friendship milestone masks another betrayal, and it kept me turning pages like a crazed night owl.

Highlights

Amelia’s trust list goes from top-tier to dumpster level in record time. Watching her blink at Paige’s million-dollar smiles while her business tanked? Chef’s kiss level irony.

Paige is so sweet — doctors prescribe her as a cure for anxiety. Until she’s the cause.

Their yoga retreats? Blissful. Their emotional manipulation? Messy AF. Two very different pregnancy outcomes.

Minor Gripes

A few reveals felt too neat, like Paige had the foil-wrapped villain instructions in her back pocket.

Some supporting characters arrived with dialogue tags like, “Hi, I’m here to stir the pot!” A little more subtlety, please.

Final Verdict

4 stars — for the drama, the chaos, the toxic friendship vibes that stung so good.
It’s not flawless, but it delivers. If you love a slow-burn betrayal dressed in yoga pants and salon hair, this one hits the mark. Just don’t trust Paige. Seriously — don’t.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and Miranda Rijks for the ARC, all opinions are my own, I was under no obligation to review.

3.5 stars — “This book has more red flags than a toxic group chat.” – Me

As a longtime fan of Miranda Rijks, I was excited to dive into her latest—and while the story had plenty of strong moments, parts had me scratching my head.

The premise is deliciously tense: Amelia, a yoga instructor trying to rebuild her life after being scammed online, leans on her friend Paige for support. But Paige’s “help” quickly veers into something far more unsettling. As their daughters, Marnie and Taryn, become fast friends, boundaries blur, secrets bubble up, and it becomes clear Paige is hiding way more than she lets on.

The pacing was solid, and the final act really delivered—with a satisfying, twisty ending that totally stuck the landing.

Where I struggled was the writing in the beginning. The dialogue felt oddly juvenile, like something pulled from a middle school group chat. (“Rizz,” “delulu,” and “bussin”? Please make it stop.) I get that it was trying to sound current, but it was jarring enough that I double-checked the author. And while the two-family dynamic was compelling, Amelia’s choices were baffling at times for someone painted as intelligent and capable. Marnie, her daughter, was painfully gullible—but hey, that’s teenagers. Paige and Taryn? Absolutely unhinged in the best/worst way. Also, the repetition about how Taryn was “so much smarter” than Marnie got old fast.

That said, watching the psychological manipulation play out was entertaining. It was a roller coaster of “Amelia, noooo!” and “OMG Paige WHAT.” And again—the ending? Chef’s kiss.

In You Can Trust Me, by Miranda Rijks is a fast paced psychological thriller that I just couldn’t put down. A story that deals with the dark side of friendship, trust, and betrayal.

Yoga teacher Amelia is blindsided by an online scam, but when her supportive colleague Paige steps in to help, Amelia feels saved. Their daughters become inseparable, the two women grow close, and Paige seems like the best friend anyone could ask for. But Paige isn’t who she appears to be.

Paige’s is calculated and she begins to manipulate Amelia into both financial and emotional attacks. Amelia thinks she has a trusted friend in Paige little knowing that she is killing every part of Amelia’s life, her business, her marriage and her sanity while wearing appearing to be her faithful friend.

Fast paced, excellent characters and lots of twisty action. A plot that shouldn’t be taken too seriously as it stretches belief with the amount of deceit and crime taking place.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Inkubator Books for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Drama drama drama these characters were not likable at all but I loved every minute of it this story it kept me engaged and I was at the edge of my seat thank you

I really enjoyed this book by Miranda Rijks. She never fails to write a great story and this was no exception. I was hooked from the beginning So many different twists.
Highly recommended!

This was a great book with lots of twists - i hated to read all the crazy things happening but was engrossed at the same time. This author never disappoints and can't wait for her next book.

Miranda Rijks, You Can Trust Me, Inkubator Books, July 2025.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

Mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, friends – all are dancing around each other in this novel of twists and surprises, comic moments, and nefarious activities. Relationships are duplicitous, criminal activity is rife and lies are an integral part of the friendships and partnerships. None of the characters is sympathetic. However, at the same time, their various manipulations are intriguing enough to encourage reading to the end of the novel.

Although this was not my favourite of Miranda Rijks’ novels – the characters were all too unpleasant to feel empathy for any of them – as is usual with her work, it all held together well. None of the twists was implausible, although there were many; the reasons for hostile reactions to supposed friends or family members were well planned and believable; and the ending was satisfying.

Again, in You Can Trust Me, Rijks has produced a well plotted beach read that intrigues to the end.

You Can Trust Me by Miranda Rijks had me captivated from the very start, and kept me flying through the pages.

Amelia forms a friendship of sorts with Paige, a fellow yoga instructor. But Paige is not what she seems, and launches a vendetta to upend and destroy Amelia's life in any way that she can.

This is another spectacular domestic thriller from Miranda Rijks who, once again, hits every note exactly right. I could not put it down. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for an ARC.

Paige comes through for her coworker Amelia and their friendship grows closer. Unbeknownst to Amelia, Paige has an agenda to take everything and live the life that Amelia has. It gets crazy from here! This had a lot of going on; many POV characters, storylines, past/present concepts. Thank you to Boldwood for a copy.

Received this eARC from NetGalley

The twists and turns from this book had me wanting more! The end was a shocker and unexpected!

I was sucked into this book pretty early on. I love a story with scheming characters that you love to hate. In this thriller, we follow along as Paige befriends Amelia - and then tries to ruin her life. With multiple POVs, the pacing was great and I raced through it.

I did have a couple problems with it, though. The ending went into info dump territory - dropping the twists and resolutions quickly and with the characters just telling us things, rather than us discovering things.

And the bigger problem was the language and tropes used around certain groups of people, specifically Chinese people and the queer community. That was a bummer, and was not necessary to the plot, in my opinion.

Amelia appears to have it all but what is her close friend Paige's agenda? The plot expertly weaves a tale of intrigue and suspense. It is full of twists that kept me guessing.

What a brilliant read! Miranda Rijks has done it again she’s one of my favourite authors, and this gripping thriller had me hooked from start to finish.

Amelia appears to have it all: a successful career as a yoga teacher, a beautiful home, a devoted husband, and strong friendships in her community. She’s especially close to Paige, a fellow instructor and trusted friend. But when Amelia’s life begins to unravel, she starts to question whether Paige is truly who she seems or if she's been the cause of it all.

The suspense is expertly crafted, with clever twists that kept me guessing right up to the final pages. The characters feel real, the pacing is tight, and the tension builds beautifully. I was completely absorbed. A binge-worthy, twist-filled thriller I’ll be recommending to all my fellow psychological thriller fans. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this fantastic book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 — Unexpectedly gripping!

I went into this thinking it would just be a story about a mentally unstable woman (Paige) who’s insanely jealous, and a kind but naive yoga teacher (Amelia) who trusts the wrong person. But wow 😲 this book quickly turned out to be so much more than that.

Right from the beginning, the pace is lightning-fast. It’s one of those psychological thrillers that you could easily devour in a single day (and yes! I did.) Every chapter left me wanting more.

✨ What I loved:
* The shifting POVs between Amelia, Paige, and Marnie gave depth to the story, especially Marnie’s perspective, which added emotional tension beyond just the adult drama.

* Paige is the perfect antagonist: twisted, manipulative, and terrifying in the most chillingly calm way.

* The descent of Amelia’s seemingly perfect life felt both heartbreaking and suspenseful. You can’t help but root for her, even as everything starts to fall apart.

This book is a wild ride of friendship, betrayal, and slow-burning revenge. Big recommendation for fans of fast-paced domestic thrillers with complex female leads and deliciously evil intentions.

Amelia has a good life, a handsome husband, a beautiful home and is a successful yoga teacher. Amelia is friends with the other yoga teachers and particularly close to Paige- but can Paige be trusted? Suddenly Amelia’s world is crumbling around her and her trusted ‘friend’ might be the reason.

This book was so good from start to finish. It builds great tension and I felt quite sorry for Amelia, her life literally falls apart and she has no idea why. I did not see the twist at all. I’ve not read anything by this author before but I would definitely have a look at her previous books after reading this.

This was such a fun and entertaining psychological thriller. The revenge plot in this one was on point. It kept me glued to the pages from start to finish. Filled with suspense and thrills. I really enjoyed it.

Another fantastic page turner that had me hooked from the very first page! Full of twists and turns.

This is yet another fabulous domestic thriller by Miranda Rijks. It is packed full of twists and turns and comes with an amazing ending. Be warned, you won’t be able to put it down once you start it!

You can trust me, NOT! What a psychological thriller! This book will have you on a twisty turny roller coaster that you keep your eyes closed because you don’t want to see what is around the next corner

This dramatic story will keep you glued to the pages. Trust me, it’s about two women. One is seeking revenge. Amelia is your typical housewife, living in a big house with a loving husband and daughter. But she’s naïve. Page, on the other hand, is a crazy psychopath in a loving relationship with a great daughter. She has Amelia in her sights, determined to destroy everything she loves. This isn’t your typical fast-paced thriller. You know what’s happening, but you don’t know why. But it will definitely keep you wanting to read more.