Don’t Trust Me

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.

I loved this book, Jess was a totally endearing, scary and perfectly flawed leading lady. I loved the humanity of her and even as she feels she's approached her own personal conclusions she then (as humans tend to do) still questions her own inner strengths and self belief. The story kept me gripped and although I did guess the twist at the end it was not blindingly obvious and I did second guess my own theory a few times. Overall huge thumbs up from me, for a really well written book with likeable and equally dislikable characters throughout. #teamdrew

With each page I was captivated from the start. It was like I was the detective trying to find the clues and answers. With each chapter came new twists and turns. In my mind I had already worked out whom the killer was, but was very surprised to find it was someone else! I would definitely recommend this as a must read to anyone interested in murder, mystery and suspense!