Kelly Irvin’s Trust Me–Reader Friday

Patricia Bradley Reader Friday 51 Comments

Kelly Irvin’s Trust Me is this week’s Reader Friday book. Here’s the first line: The cloying stench of pot told the same old story.

But first the photo by Cheryl Meints and Scripture. The photo was taken on Cheryl’s trip to Bryce Canyon with her husband. You can see her amazing photos at her Corinth Rose website, and I believe her husband, Don, has a few there as well. Doesn’t the verse fit beautifully!

Now onto Trust Me by Kelly Irvin.

Here’s the cover and back copy:

Her best friend is murdered the same way her brother was years ago. Is there anyone she can possibly trust?

A decade ago, Delaney Broward discovered her brother’s murdered body at the San Antonio art co-op he founded with friends. Her artist boyfriend, Hunter Nash, went to prison for the murder, despite his not-guilty plea.

This morning, Hunter walks out of prison a free man, having served his sentence.

This afternoon, Delaney finds her best friend dead, murdered in the same fashion as her brother.

Stay out of it or you’re next, the killer warns.

Hunter never stopped loving Delaney, though he can’t blame her for not forgiving her. He knows he’ll get his life back one day at a time, one step at a time. But he’s blindsided to realize he’s a murder suspect. Again.

When Hunter shows up on her doorstep asking her to help him find the real killer, Delaney’s head says to run away, yet her heart tells her there’s more to his story than what came out in the trial. An uneasy truce leads to their probe into a dark past that shatters Delaney’s image of her brother. She can’t stop and neither can Hunter—which lands them both in the crosshairs of a murderer growing more desperate by the hour.

In this gripping romantic suspense, Kelly Irvin plumbs the complexity of broken trust in the people we love—and in God—and whether either can be mended.

Praise for Trust Me:

Trust Me is an apt title for Irvin’s new suspense novel. Kelly Irvin is a master at spinning a complex story web with surprising twists and relatable characters. Highly recommended!” —Colleen Coble, USA TODAY bestselling author of A Stranger’s Game and the Pelican Harbor series

“I found I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough in Kelly Irvin’s latest novel, Trust Me. I promised myself just one more page and I’d stop reading for the night…just one more…just one more. At times I could barely breathe. What a fabulous story! I loved it!” —Carrie Stuart Parks, award-winning author of Relative Silence

  • Clean romantic suspense novel
  • A stand-alone novel
  • Book length: approximately 101,000 words
  • Includes discussion questions for book clubs
My Take:

I finished Trust Me at midnight Tuesday night when I desperately needed to be asleep but couldn’t quit reading until I saw how it ended. I figure other readers will be the same way. Delaney and Hunter were really likable characters, and I wanted it to work out for them.

I wasn’t sure they could get past her brother’s death–Delaney because she believed Hunter killed him, and Hunter knowing he didn’t and Delaney not believing him. But Kelly Irvin did a great job with this.

Kelly Irvin really captured the setting and the mindset of the characters ten years prior to the story. Hunter had come a long way in those years. The secondary characters were strong and added to the mystery. And she did a great job with red herrings, too. 🙂 I wasn’t sure who the killer was until the end.

This is a story I believe romantic suspense readers will love. It has it all. I hope Kelly Irvin writes a sequel to Trust me

Kelly Irvin's Trust Me is my Reader Friday blog. Her best friend is murdered the same way her brother was years ago. Is there anyone she can possibly trust? Leave a comment and I'll enter you in a drawing for a book from my library. Share on X

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Comments 51

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  1. Tim Johnson

    Kelly is one of my favorite authors, and guess what? I’m reading “Trust Me” right now. It’s a longer novel, but Kelly has a way of drawing me into the book, and I’m desperately trying to find more time to read it. Although I’ve never been to San Antonio, I am getting a good feel for the city thanks to this book. I’ve noted other authors like to set their stories in San Antonio, too. Makes me want to visit it myself.

    When I saw your blog photo, I immediately thought of Bryce Canyon. What a beautiful photo! I think it was Bryce himself who said it was a h… of a place to lose a cow. Having been there a few times, I concur. You chose a fitting Scripture to go with it.

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      Patricia Bradley

      I love the quote from Bryce, Tim! Although I’ve never been there, just looking at the photo tells me he’s right. And Kelly makes me want to visit San Antonio, too! I’ve never met a book of hers I didn’t love.

  2. Paula Shreckhise

    Hi Pat,
    I finished Trust Me a few dats ago. Wow! Pretty brutal at the beginning but it kept me turning pages because , I too, wanted to see it play out! This was the first I had read of Kelly Irvin but I have another on my shelf and will read more by her when I can fit it in.

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  3. L. Murphy

    Yes, San Antonio is a great place to visit! So much to see and do! In fact, my husband and I went this year for Valentine’s.
    I’ve never read anything by Kelly Irvin, so I’m off to discover a new author!

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    2. Kelly Irvin

      So glad you like both genres, Lucy. I have more Amish romances coming later this year. I enjoy writing in both genres because they’re so different and help me stretch my writing skills!

  4. Barbara Diggs

    The majesty of God really wows you when open the blog and see that photo! The Scripture is perfect, because it reminds of who I am in Christ and not who I was. To God be the glory!

    Kelly’s book, Trust Me, is on my “to be bought” list. I usually order a bunch of books at a time. However, after reading the reviews and hearing about this book for many weeks now, I may not be able to wait much longer. Great review, Pat.

    I definitely recommend visiting San Antonio and the river walk!

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    2. Kelly Irvin

      I hope you enjoy Trust Me, Barbara, when you do get a chance to read it. San Antonio has so many great places to visit, downtown, and then the Botanical Garden and the Japanese Tea Garden. So much fun, so little time!

  5. Gloria A

    Great photo and scripture! I enjoyed Trust Me, as I have other of Kelly’s books. Lots of action, suspense, and emotion with a little bit of a surprise ending in Trust Me.

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  6. Delores Topliff

    I’m totally loving this book and was going to finish rdg. on Kindle when (w/o me realizing it) it lost charge at around 5 a.m. Love Hunter’s character esp. but she’s a great, worthy, tenacious non-typical female counterpart. I loved the heart and details of the fight scene. Also a dear former student lives in S.A. so gave me a great personal tour that Irwin captures perfectly. I can almost smell the tacos 🙂

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  7. Edward Arrington

    Pat, there was a time when that verse would have fit that picture for me much better than it does now. Now, I would want guard rails, etc. And I would probably sit rather than stand. 🙂 That is a beautiful picture (even though I don’t want to stand there). The verse is a good one.

    I am getting ready to start Jody Hedlund’s book, Come Back to Me. The first line is: “Your father is in a coma.”

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      1. Edward Arrington

        I have always enjoyed heights. I enjoy getting up where I can see for miles and miles without my view being obstructed. It’s just that I no longer want to get so close to the edge that one slip would take me over. 🙁

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        Patricia Bradley

        That I totally understand. When I was a kid, I’d climb to the very top of a tree where I could see for miles. Not so much anymore…not even the tree climbing. 😉

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  8. Linda Reville

    I’ve read two of Kelly’s books, Tell Her No Lies and Over the Line, and really liked them. This book, Trust Me, sounds like another great read. I’m putting it on my TBR list.

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  9. Alicia Haney

    Hi Trust Me sounds very intriguing, after that , it would be very hard to trust anyone. Have a great weekend and stay safe.

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  10. Erika Luther

    Trust Me sounds really good. I requested it from my library. The picture is really pretty and fit’s the verse well. I’m reading A Heart Adrift by Laura Frantz. “Chocolate had been Captain Henri Lennox’s one weakness. Was it still “?

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