Review of You Can Trust Me

I have enjoyed Wendy Heard’s YA books, so I was excited to try her adult debut. This gave me vibes of a popular streaming show. What did I think? Yes, it’s also an Island Thriller. But please check out my review of You Can Trust Me.

You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard

To be published on June 13, 2023 by Bantam

Plot Summary for You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard

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.

What Else Has Wendy Heard Written?

I didn’t realize that Wendy Heard has moved back and forth between adult thrillers and YA.

Her first published book was an adult title, Hunting Annabelle (2018). She followed that with another adult thriller, The Kill Club (2019)

She moved to YA with She’s Too Pretty to Burn (2021), which I read and enjoyed.

Review of You Can Trust Me

Even though She’s Too Pretty to Burn is a young adult book, I feel like it and You Can Trust Me and are in similar lanes.

Both books deal with female friendship and with young women caught in some sort of sketchy circumstances. You Can Trust Me also reminded me a little of The Guest by Emma Kline, which is also about a female grifter. But I enjoyed You Can Trust Me more.

The story focuses on Leo and Summer, on how their lives got them to this point, on their friendship, and on what happens after Leo’s “date” with a tech billionaire goes terribly wrong.

Like all books, You Can Trust Me is not going to be a book for everyone. It does get pretty suspenseful but doesn’t have the pace of a thriller until the very end.

It’s vibe-y like The Guest but develops the characters of Summer and Leo more, while The Guest (to me) spent most of its time on satire of grifter Alex’s victims.

There was a twist that I thought was pretty obvious, but maybe it was supposed to be.

Overall, I enjoyed You Can Trust Me and remain a Wendy Heard fan!