Suspense

I’m waffling between 3 and 4 stars for this one. It was enjoyable, but some things were maddening and there were so many twists I feel like it was a little disjointed. ( )

This was my first book by Hank Phillippi Ryan and I can’t wait to read more, especially her series. Absolutely loved the characters and the plot development. Though predictable at times, overall a surprising, tense read. ( )

This one kept me on shaky footing! At times I didn't know what was going to happen, or even what was 'real'. Juicy plot and crafty characters! ( )

Hank Phillippi Ryan’s newest book TRUST ME is a psychological thriller in the vein of THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN only with a much more sympathetic narrator/protagonist.

I confess when I started the book, I was distressed by the topic. A young journalist who has lost her husband and daughter in an accident is assigned to write a true crime book about a woman on trial for killing her own three year old daughter. Echoes of a real crime too much like the story haunted me so much that when I finished part one I stopped to look up the Bella Bond case. In the book the body of an unknown “Baby Boston” is found off Deer Island in Boston Harbor. In the Bond case “Baby Doe” was found off Castle Island in South Boston. But the rest of the fictional story is different and echoes other famous cases where a young mother was tried for the death of a child.

Besides, who am I to object to the use of real events in fiction? I write historical mysteries and I have even used real murderers in two of the books, adding fictional bodies to their counts. I can hardly criticize exploitation of real events just because the ones I use took place a century ago.

Reassured, I started part two and was almost put off by the twist that happens there. I was annoyed with the story until about halfway through when I realized it was really about how the story is told. The action is the journalist trying to write a crime story. As a journalist she doesn’t do it like a police detective or a lawyer. The way she thinks is like a mystery writer but she’s not writing fiction. With all the discussion of “fake news” it’s fascinating to watch how she struggles to tell the story and the dilemmas she faces. How she gets her information and the choices she has to make in framing the story are believable, especially from a long time investigative reporter like Hank.

I’m glad to say the story has a satisfactory ending as well. That can be hard to achieve but the author does it. So if you like psychological suspense, this is a smooth and, in the end, fascinating read.
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