Publication Date: 23rd Feb from Harper Collins (Killer Reads)
Source: Netgalley
When she arrives at work to discover every trace of the company she was working for has disappeared, Jessica’s life spirals into freefall.
Her romance with Michael, a celebrated criminologist is already in trouble. He is sick of the unpredictable behaviour caused by her ADHD and is convinced she is a fantasist. When his flat is burgled and precious belongings that remind him of his dead wife are stolen, he blames her.
Forced to prove her innocence, Jessica sets out to unravel the events of the last few months. But when she stumbles on a dead body, the lies, deceptions and betrayals that have dogged her whole life come back to haunt her.
Can anybody trust her?
HA. No way I can give this anything less than 5* because whatever I thought I was going to get going into this book I actually got pretty much the opposite. Don’t Trust Me lives and dies on the back of it’s main protagonist Jessica (although we do get other points of view) and she is more than up to the job let me tell you. Witty and wise despite her mental health issues, realistically portrayed, this is cleverly plotted, extraordinarily engaging and yes even the mystery element gave me a run for my money.
Psychological thriller yes but with a difference and I kind of hope this is not the last we hear from Jessica.
The story is intriguing – Jess comes to work after a rather divisive holiday with her boyfriend to find the place deserted and shut down. He doesn’t believe she ever actually had a job and Jess starts to doubt herself but sets out to prove that it wasn’t all fantasy – in doing so she opens a whole can of worms and we are off on a twist fueled journey that is highly addictive, often ironically funny and genuinely riveting.
I love a main character you fall in love with and that’s what you get here – Jess is extremely clever underneath her slightly hectic outer personality and is intuitively aware of her own shortcomings, even as she is making bad decisions she understands the fundamental flaws in those decisions – as such she is really easy to follow along with, it is as much a journey of understanding for her as it is for the reader. Add into that an honestly unpredictable mystery element, a brilliantly eclectic supporting cast and a real sense of reality and there you have a winner.
I love the way Joss Stirling plays with your perceptions, not only of the people involved but of the actual events, you really are not sure where it’s all going to end up and the writing has an edgy, vibrant touch to it that just immerses you into Jessica’s world.
Overall I loved this. Can I hope for a sequel? Yes yes I can but either way Don’t Trust Me really is one of the best psychological thriller debut’s you’ll probably read in 2018 – put “Quirky” in front of “psych thriller” and go in with no expectations and I reckon you’ll love it.
Highly Recommended.
Happy Reading!
