You Can Trust Me

Summer, a professional pickpocket, and Leo, a con artist, live and travel sunny California in Summer’s Land Cruiser. Both have painful pasts. Summer, because of a delusional hippy mother, doesn’t know her birthdate or last name and therefore has no legal ID.

 Her mom dumped her at age fifteen. Leoni, or Leo as she’s called, lost her sister when she was a teen, and then lost her parents to grief. She suffers guilt over her sister’s death for lying to her parents. For five years, Summer and Leo have been best friends, their relationship filling the void of family.

But Leo, the romantic of the two, is getting bored with the daily “jobs” needed to fill the gas tank and buy food. She wants more. Summer is scared Leo may one day desert her. When Leo meets Michael, a handsome, sexy tech billionaire who invites her to a party, she falls for him. Summer sees what’s happening and is afraid this may end their friendship.

But when Leo accepts Michael’s invitation to his private island off Catalina, Summer stops receiving texts or calls from Leo. At first, Summer is angry that she’s been abandoned. But their friendship is stronger, and in her heart, Summer believes Leo would not leave without a word. Certain her friend is in danger, Summer cons her way onto the island. Little does she know how much danger and depravity Leo has endured and what awaits her as she searches for her friend.

Told in the alternating voices of Summer and Leo with a few chapters filling in their backstories, Wendy Heard has written a modern feminist thriller that tackles the dark side of wealth and privilege and the price of unlimited freedom. This is no “Thelma and Louise” when it comes to characters making choices. Both, however, show the strength of female friendships.

As for thrill rides, the action begins immediately and doesn’t let up. Even the backstories add to the pace. Summer and Leo feel fully realized, while, comparatively, the male characters fall short and are close to stereotypes. As for twists? Watch out. Wendy Heard throws grenades of twists throughout and gives a firebomb of an ending. If you don’t need the plot and story anchored in realism, make this your sexy, crazy, escapist must-read for summer.

Thank you to the author and Bantam Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.