BOOK REVIEW: Tell Me You Trust Me by Elle Owens
A missing husband, an overbearing family and one shared playlist....
If you read a lot of sports romance, then you have probably heard of Jaqueline Snowe, and now you are probably wondering why I would mention a romance author in a review of a thriller. Well, Elle Owens is the new pen name for the author who writes under the name Jaqueline Snowe. I personally would never be able to keep my real name straight with not one, but two pen names. Needless to say, she is way more talented than me!
We recently welcomed Elle onto our Speaking LITerally podcast to discuss her transition from romance to thriller as thriller debut, Tell Me You Trust Me, just released on February 11. If you have never met her or heard her speak, she is a very witty and intelligent person IRL. Those traits translate straight into her writing.
Quick overview: On what was supposed to be a normal morning, Marissa’s husband leaves for work with an ominous, “Tell me you trust me,” and then he fails to come home. Marissa now must sort through secret lives, hidden clues and a overbearing and oppressive family to figure out what happened while trying to keep herself and her toddler safe. All she has to go on is a shared Spotify playlist which allows her to communicate with her missing husband through song titles and vague clues that he has left for her to find and decipher.
Thrillers are not one of my go to genres, but while I don’t read them often, I do enjoy them when I do. Probably because I read them in moderation. But, I am so obnoxiously picky and always tell my bookish friend and podcast co-host, Liz, that I feel that I’m too opinionated leading me to be more harsh than I should be in my reviews. Regardless, all I really need to say is that I thought this book was fantastic!
I will admit that it may have taken me a few chapters to really get hooked and connected, but once I did, I found it hard to put down. I had to know how everything fit together and, if by the end, her husband was legit and was the one to be trusted. It ended up being a pretty quick and easy read. It wasn’t hard to follow the clues as they were presented in a logical order with logical processing. Marissa’s progression was basically one step in front of the other, and each chapter had a time stamp which allowed the pacing of the events to remain clear and focused.
I think I struggled at the very beginning because I hated her family so much. Like, oh my God. I wanted to punch her mother, father and brother in the face. Repeatedly. They were literally ALWAYS there! I felt that if she was walking down the street on a normal day they would be the creepers that would pop up from behind a bush as she walked by. But, I was also a little annoyed with how Marissa dealt with them in those first few chapters. Again, I get it. Her character arc is wide and her development as an independent thinking came with time as she experience one thing after the next. She had never before had to be independent. She was always sheltered, protected. As a result she was very naive, but she had a trust in Ethan and an overlooked intelligene.
She reached for it. “Let me see.”
“No. no.” I backed up a step and ran to the bathroom. Her voice carried through the door, but I blocked it out. It could be a message from Ethan, one I didn’t want my mom seeing.
However, even though I felt so strongly about the characters, the fact remains that I felt strongly about the characters. This was because how Owens wrote them into this web of distrust and secrecy. She did too good of a job creating them to hate! And of course, Marissa’s husband, Ethan, who is barely seen on the pages of this books, is one of the most important characters of the book. Kudos, for the attention to detail it took to create well developed characters with the challenges the structure of the book placed on them.
So, the actual mystery/thrilling aspect of the book? Well, I have always been a fan of puzzles and riddles and clues. If there is one thing I can share about Elle Owens (as I do know her in real life) is that she has a knack for music. She has assisted in creating some of the best playlists which are absolutely perfection for the situation. That talent is what allowed the playlist feature of this book to be so fantastic. The playlist was my favorite aspect of the book.
Through a combination of the hidden messages, clues, the knowledge that Ethan had that Marissa didn’t, the songs, the mystery of what was going on, where Ethan was, why he disappeared, and why her parents were the absolute worst created building tension that keep the pages turning. It was a race against the clock, and naturally as the pressure of people closing in gets stronger, those responsible get more desperate and begin to make mistakes. Why did Ethan disappear? Why are her parents being so weird? Why are the clues leading to more lies and secrets?
At the end of the day, I thought the mystery was well done. I feel that the people involved and some of the pieces were a little predictable, but there were twists that I didn’t see coming. I loved how it all came together in the end. And, have I mentioned that Marissa’s clue and puzzle solving was highly successful in creating an engaging story?
Where does this land on my bookshelf?
Top shelf! Lies upon lies upon deceit topped with secrets and a sprinkling of more lies. Tell Me You Trust Me is an extremely well thought out thriller. The clues weave a thread throughout which leads Marissa to the final climatic moments where she has to make a heart wrenching decision. Who do you trust? In the end, it really does make you question just how much of our privacy technology can take away. I highly recommend adding this to your TBR.
A sampling of some of the songs included throughout the novel:
“How Could You Leave Us” - NF
“Trust Me” - Jorge Aguilar II, Elizabeth Ann
“You Need to Calm Down” - Taylor Swift
“Soon” - Loe Vida
“We are Being Watched” - Empire One
“I Can’t Do That” - Nate Bargatze
“I Can Help” - Charley Crockett
“Now or Never” - Kendrick Lamar
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