Book Review #86: Trust Me by T.M. Logan

I'm a huge fan of T.M. Logan. So much so that I pre-ordered this book based on my love for the three of his that I've already read. I loved the premise, but had no idea where it could go. 

When a stranger on a train asks for a favour, Ellen thinks nothing of holding a baby for a busy mother trying to make a phone call. But when that mother exits the train at the next stop, leaving her baby behind, Ellen discovers that the baby in her arms holds the key to a crime. A crime that Ellen is now involved in.

This book had a complete 180 U-turn for me. For the first 50 pages, I didn't think I'd like it at all, but I kept reading to find out what would happen next. But for the last 250 pages, I was enthralled and couldn't put it down.     

Even in the beginning when I was unsure about the book, I knew that I would keep reading because I absolutely love Logan's writing style. It is the reason why I have loved all the books of his that I've read. Even if I didn't like the premise, Logan is an amazing storyteller.

In the beginning, the things that took me out of the story were the amount of coincidences. So many unrealistic things happen in such a short space of time that it feels too difficult to believe. Some of these things made sense by the time the story was concluded, but there are other things that I'm still wondering about. Some things seem way too far-fetched to be real.

I also never really got on with the character of Ellen, who is our protagonist. She was an okay character, but I never felt a connection to her, and I never particularly enjoyed being in her head, as a reader.

But having said that, I also didn't love the point-of-view switching, which was quite frequent towards the beginning of the book and slowed down the more we got into it. I could see why it was necessary, and it definitely made the events of the book more mysterious, but I would have liked to either see everything from Ellen's point-of-view, or to have the whole story told from third person, rather than an arbitrary mix of the two. 

Having said all of that, once again I'll say that this story is written so well. I couldn't put the book down and quickly became addicted to it. I had to know what was going to happen, and would have gone without food and sleep to find out if I could.

This book is completely shrouded in mystery. Things are expertly teased throughout, but you don't learn anything useful, or have any way of putting things together, until everything is close to concluding. To me, this is the best kind of mystery. I had guessed some of the fundamental aspects of the story, but I also guessed things that were completely wrong, because there are so many facets to this story.

The thing that we learn from the blurb of this book, which is echoed throughout, is that no one can be trusted. This leaves the reader viewing everyone as a suspect. And as effective as this is, it also leaves the ending open to be easily guessed. I won't say anything to give it away, but if you can't trust anyone, then one of your guesses is always going to be right.

What was good?

The lead-up to the conclusion of the story was done so well. There were things that I could guess, and other things that completely shocked me. You can tell that all of the events were planned and thought out really well.

What was bad?

Again, the only criticism I have is that the first 50 pages feel really far-fetched. Even knowing how the book ends, they still feel unrealistic. This doesn't take anything away from the story itself, but 'this would never happen in real life' was a constant thought while reading those pages.

Overall

This was a really successful thriller. Logan is an amazing writer, and this book is no exception. There are twists around every corner, and once you really get into the story, it will be hard to put it down.

4/5 Stars