A struggle to make sense of what and why is going on for well over half the novel.
The opening scene of Trust Me is probably the most believable part of this idiosyncratic novel as it lurches into seriously far-fetched territory and didn’t make a great deal of sense to me for well over a quarter of the novel.
Forty-one-year-old project manager, Ellen Devlin, is returning home after receiving disappointing news at her fertility clinic appointment and is just a few stops away from Marylebone when a young woman with a baby sits opposite her. A brief conversation with the woman, who appears distressed, reveals her name is Kathryn and sees Ellen agreeing to hold three-month-old baby Mia whilst she makes an urgent call. But as five minutes pass and the train pulls into a station Kathryn disembarks, mouthing ‘sorry’ at Ellen and leaving her to discover a note in the baby bag asking her to protect Mia and trust nobody, police included. And with one shifty man following Ellen off the train and an entirely different one attempting to abduct her less than an hour later she takes Kathryn’s warning seriously. Even the police, in the shape of DI Stuart Gilbourne and jumped-up DS Nathan Holt of the Major Crimes Unit aren’t entirely reassuring. The novel is primarily told from the perspective of Ellen and gives the reader direct access to the rationale behind her thinking and the actions she takes. Several other perspectives occasionally feature including those of the two detectives and one of Ellen’s pursuers, with his motivation gradually revealed.
There is an awful lot of time spent groping around in the dark without knowing where the novel is going and because of this I found it a pretty unstimulating read. Whilst there is plenty of action with dubious characters all telling Ellen to trust them, the whole thing makes no sense until the identify of baby Mia is revealed well over halfway through. I was frustrated as one inconceivable situation after another played out for a substantial period of the book but given the reader does not know why I struggled to care. Ellen is a smart and incredibly resourceful character who takes responsibility for ensuring the safety of Mia and is remarkably tenacious which all rings true when her fifteen year naval career is revealed. I found her incredibly relatable and was pleased that the author doesn’t linger on the possibility of Ellen’s infertility clouding her judgment with regards to Mia. The supporting characters, in particular Ellen’s pursuers and the police, are sketchily characterised and never feel remotely real and this was certainly a factor in how ludicrous I found much of this story. I had worked out the bad guy from pretty early on, largely because of how heavy-handedly the author tries to point readers in a different direction, and when the reveal finally comes the novel finishes abruptly and the perpetrator never really felt credible to me. The brief concluding snapshot three months on from the denouement leaves far too many unresolved questions to satisfy.
A disappointing and not always coherent novel that is more thriller than mystery but a standout protagonist in ballsy, resourceful Ellen which almost made up for some very daft moments!
Forty-one-year-old project manager, Ellen Devlin, is returning home after receiving disappointing news at her fertility clinic appointment and is just a few stops away from Marylebone when a young woman with a baby sits opposite her. A brief conversation with the woman, who appears distressed, reveals her name is Kathryn and sees Ellen agreeing to hold three-month-old baby Mia whilst she makes an urgent call. But as five minutes pass and the train pulls into a station Kathryn disembarks, mouthing ‘sorry’ at Ellen and leaving her to discover a note in the baby bag asking her to protect Mia and trust nobody, police included. And with one shifty man following Ellen off the train and an entirely different one attempting to abduct her less than an hour later she takes Kathryn’s warning seriously. Even the police, in the shape of DI Stuart Gilbourne and jumped-up DS Nathan Holt of the Major Crimes Unit aren’t entirely reassuring. The novel is primarily told from the perspective of Ellen and gives the reader direct access to the rationale behind her thinking and the actions she takes. Several other perspectives occasionally feature including those of the two detectives and one of Ellen’s pursuers, with his motivation gradually revealed.
There is an awful lot of time spent groping around in the dark without knowing where the novel is going and because of this I found it a pretty unstimulating read. Whilst there is plenty of action with dubious characters all telling Ellen to trust them, the whole thing makes no sense until the identify of baby Mia is revealed well over halfway through. I was frustrated as one inconceivable situation after another played out for a substantial period of the book but given the reader does not know why I struggled to care. Ellen is a smart and incredibly resourceful character who takes responsibility for ensuring the safety of Mia and is remarkably tenacious which all rings true when her fifteen year naval career is revealed. I found her incredibly relatable and was pleased that the author doesn’t linger on the possibility of Ellen’s infertility clouding her judgment with regards to Mia. The supporting characters, in particular Ellen’s pursuers and the police, are sketchily characterised and never feel remotely real and this was certainly a factor in how ludicrous I found much of this story. I had worked out the bad guy from pretty early on, largely because of how heavy-handedly the author tries to point readers in a different direction, and when the reveal finally comes the novel finishes abruptly and the perpetrator never really felt credible to me. The brief concluding snapshot three months on from the denouement leaves far too many unresolved questions to satisfy.
A disappointing and not always coherent novel that is more thriller than mystery but a standout protagonist in ballsy, resourceful Ellen which almost made up for some very daft moments!