TESSA TALKS BOOKS

Book Blurb:

Summer and Leo would do anything for each other. Inspired by the way each has had to carve her place in a hostile and unforgiving world, and united by the call of the open road, they travel around sunny California in Summer’s tricked-out Land Cruiser. It’s not a glamorous life, but it gives them the freedom they crave from the painful pasts they’ve left behind. But even free spirits have bills to pay. Luckily, Summer is a skilled pickpocket, a small-time thief, and a con artist—and Leo, determined to pay her own way, has learned a trick or two.

Eager for a big score, Leo catches in her crosshairs Michael Forrester, a self-made billionaire and philanthropist. When her charm wins him over, Leo is rewarded with an invitation to his private island off the California coastline for a night of fabulous excess. She eagerly anticipates returning with photos that can be sold to the paparazzi, jewelry that can be liquidated, and endless stories to share with Summer.

Instead, Leo disappears.

On her own for the first time in years, Summer decides to infiltrate Michael’s island and find out what really happened. But when she arrives, no one has seen Leo—she’s not on the island as far as they know. Plus, there was only one way on the island—and no way off—for the coming days. Trapped in a scheme she helped initiate, could Summer have met her match?

What’s it about (in a nutshell):

You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard is a psychological thriller full of danger, secrets, and cons that create such a mind-blowing story that it is impossible to put down.

Bullet Point Review:

• I loved the Most Dangerous Game vibes. It goes in a different direction than the Most Dangerous Game, but it gives off those vibes. I would go so far as to say that it has the same essential core.
• I also loved that the main characters are morally grey and that I rooted for them regardless. They are entirely relatable and sympathetic characters and have one quality that makes them highly redeemable – their dedication to each other and the found family they created with each other.
• I loved all the twists and turns in this crazy story, and I can’t mention, even vaguely, any of the ones currently running through my head for fear of spoiling.
• I think what makes this story a five-star read for me are the characters. They are so intricately developed with layer upon layer of a lifetime of overcoming challenges that would have brought most people to their knees.
• Summer and Leo (short for Leoneli) have formed a sisterhood bond and become as important to each other as any family by blood. Summer was born to a free spirit and didn’t have a birth certificate or any additional identifying information, which led her to the life of a con woman to survive. She runs across a recent runaway Leo on the streets of LA and takes her under her wing. It quickly becomes Leo and Summer against the world, each finding something they desperately need in the other. When Leo goes missing, Summer refuses to stop looking for her until she finds her, but will she find her in time?
• The story is told in the first person through the two main characters, Summer and Leo.
• The pacing is incredibly fast. The chapters are short, and the action is frequent, and those two things work together with the first-person narration to create a rapid pace.
• You Can Trust Me is set in California – partly in LA and a more significant part on a private island near Catalina. The setting is not only well-utilized, but it’s also almost another character in the story.
• Read if you’re in the mood for:
  • A mysterious, dark, tense, and adventurous story
  • A thriller with strong character development and a fast pace
  • Morally grey characters that will win your heart

Rating: 5

Thank you to the publisher for the free digital copy of this book to read and review.

Book Blurb:

When twelve-year-old Esther disappears on the way home from school in a small town in rural Australia, the community is thrown into a maelstrom of suspicion and grief. As Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels arrives in town during the hottest spring in decades and begins her investigation, Esther’s tenacious best friend, Ronnie, is determined to find Esther and bring her home.

When school friend Lewis tells Ronnie that he saw Esther with a strange man at the creek the afternoon she went missing, Ronnie feels she is one step closer to finding her. But why is Lewis refusing to speak to the police? And who else is lying about how much they know about what has happened to Esther?

Punctuated by a Greek chorus, which gives voice to the remaining children of the small, dying town, this novel explores the ties that bind, what we try and leave behind us, and what we can never outrun, while never losing sight of the question of what happened to Esther, and what her loss does to a whole town.

What’s it about (in a nutshell):

Dirt Creek is a modern Greek tragedy-style thriller about the dying small towns in the outback of Australia and the case of a missing 12-year-old girl.

Bullet Point Review:

• This is one of those stories that I more appreciate the incredible talent shown in the storytelling rather than love as a reader, but only because that is how I look at literary works unless they speak to me on a personal level. And I would consider this mystery/thriller literary quality.
• I found the Greek tragedy angle, complete with the traditional Greek chorus marked by “We” in the chapter headings, to be an interesting take on storytelling in a thriller. It adds more to the emotional and atmospheric aspects but doesn’t help the mystery/thriller component.
• I enjoyed the poetic nature of the Greek chorus chapters. They were some of my favorite chapters except for the one I mentioned below in trigger warnings.
• I found the mystery incredibly clever and the reveal completely surprising. I didn’t even suspect it for one minute, but it is very much in keeping with the story, and I could instantly think back to the clues that were most definitely there.
• I loved how many secrets the townies harbored too. This town needs a whole-town intervention by mental health workers to help them get everything out and start the healing process. There were that many dire secrets.
• There are a lot of characters in this story, and they share the spotlight. But if I had to name the main character, I would say Ronnie – the missing girl’s best friend. Ronnie is the only character that I liked in the story. She is a free spirit in the making, has a beautiful heart and soul, and is incredibly brave and independent for one so young.
• The narration by the Greek chorus of the town’s kids looking back to 2001, two of Esther’s (the missing girl) friends – also 12 years old, the detective investigating the murder, and the friends’ mothers provide a complete story for the reader. It’s a little confusing, especially telling the difference between the mothers, but I thought the children’s perspective was fascinating.
• The pace is medium at best. The incredible atmosphere slowed it down for me, as I often experience, so it wasn’t my favorite part of this story.
• The story is set in a small agricultural town in the Australian outback. The atmosphere was oppressive and worked exceedingly well for this story.
• Read if you’re in the mood for:
  • A medium-paced atmospheric story
  • A mysterious, dark, emotional, and tense thriller
  • A modern Greek tragedy
• Trigger Warnings: Child and Domestic Abuse and Child Death, plus there is a chapter with horrible animal cruelty concerning a kitten. The reader can easily skip it, though, since I’m warning you, and it’s the only time a kitten is mentioned. (This is one of my triggers, and it caught me off-guard. It still haunts me.)

Rating: 4 stars

Thank you to the publisher for the free digital copy of this book to read and review.