Trust Me
Book Summary
When Delaney Broward finds her best friend stabbed to death a decade after her brother suffered the same fate, she must confront her painful past in order unmask a killer who isn’t done yet.
How can this be happening again?
Delaney Broward has spent the last ten years rebuilding her life after finding her brother brutally stabbed to death in his art studio, leaving her without a single living family member. His death even took away her boyfriend, Hunter Nash, who was convicted of the murder. Convinced it’s too dangerous to trust her heart to anyone again, Delaney lives alone. She pours herself into her frame shop in the historic art district in San Antonio. She doesn’t have the husband and children she once dreamed of, but her heart is safe.
Until she walks into her best friend Ellie’s shop and finds she has suffered the same fate. Once again Delaney’s life is shattered by violence, tragedy, and loss.
Hunter Nash leaves prison a free man that same day. He’s determined to prove his innocence, win Delaney back, and restore her faith in God.
Delaney’s mission is to bring Ellie’s murder to justice while protecting her heart. They forge an uneasy alliance, both certain the truth will win out. Both are willing to accept the outcome—if they survive.
About the Author
Best-selling novelist Kelly Irvin's latest Amish romance, Love's Dwelling, debuted in July. The first novel in the Amish Blessings series takes place in Yoder and Haven, Kansas. The series takes a look at adoption in Amish communities. It follows the Amish of Sky Country series, which featured Amish communities in Northwest Montana affected by wildfires that destroyed thousands of acres in the state in recent years. The first book, Mountains of Grace, debuted in August 2019, and delves into the impact on not only an Amish man and woman, but also a smoke jumper, a sheriff's deputy, and a young English woman forced to confront her past because of the fires.
Kelly also writes romantic suspense novels. Her most recent forays into this genre include Her Every Move and Closer Than She Knows, both set in San Antonio and South Texas. Publishers Weekly says of Closer Than She Knows, "this brisk, smoothly written thriller from Irvin pits court reporter Teagan O’Rourke, a murder mystery lover, against a cunning and vicious serial killer. Fans of serial killer fiction with a Christian slant will be satisfied."
The Kansas native is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and the ACFW San Antonio local chapter Alamo City Christian Fiction Writers, as well as Sisters in Crime.
A graduate of the University of Kansas William Allen White School of Journalism, Kelly wrote nonfiction professionally for thirty years. She studied for three semesters at the University of Costa Rica, learning the Spanish language. As a journalist, she worked six years in the border towns of Laredo and El Paso, where she was exposed to culture and language that serves as fodder for her fiction writing. She has written hard news, features, entertainment pieces, restaurant critiques, editorials, and weekly columns. Writing awards include the Silver Star Award from the Texas Mental Health Association for articles pertaining to mental health and numerous awards in news, feature, and editorial writing from the Texas Press Association and Texas Press Women.Kelly retired in 2016 from her position of 22 years as public relations manager for the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department, where her duties included writing and designing an employee newsletter, writing news releases, collaborating on marketing campaigns, coordinating ribbon-cuttings and groundbreakings, coordinating press conferences, updating the web site, and acting as a media spokesperson.
Kelly has been married to photographer Tim Irvin for more than 30 years, and they have two young adult children and three grandchildren. In her spare time, she likes to write short stories, read books by her favorite authors, and visit the babies.
For more information, visit http://www.kellyirvin.com
My Thoughts
Hunter
Nash has just been released from prison after serving ten years for a murder he
did not commit. Circumstantial evidence
pointed in his direction, so he understands why he looked guilty. On the day of his release, a woman who dated
the first victim is found dead in a similar fashion by Delaney Broward. Delaney is the one who found her brother dead
all those years ago. Hunter wants to
prove his innocence and Delaney wants justice for Ellie. The two pair up and set out to get
answers.
Trust Me by Kelly Irvin is a
Christian suspense novel. I enjoy
reading Kelly Irvin’s Amish novels so I thought I would give her new suspense
novel a try (I love solving mysteries). I
started reading Trust Me and became intrigued by the murder at the beginning
involving Ellie. The story then became a
little too wordy and it moved at a sluggish pace. The book needed a faster pace that would have
kept up the tension and suspense that would have kept the reader on the edge of
their seat. Instead, Trust Me failed to
hold my attention. I thought the
characters lacked development. They came
across flat. I felt that the romance
between Delaney and Hunter eclipsed the mystery. I wanted more suspense (and mystery) and less
about feelings. Romance lovers, though,
will enjoy it. The mystery involves two
crimes that occurred ten years apart.
They are similar to each other. There
are evident clues that will help the reader solve the crime early in the
book. I kept hoping there would be a
twist so I would be surprised by the reveal.
Unfortunately, the whodunit played out just as I thought it would. Trust Me is a Christian novel so there are
references to God, faith, and prayer. I
like how faith was incorporated into the story.
The author captured the setting of San Antonio. She brought the city to life with her vivid
descriptions. Trust Me needed a little
more oomph. Readers who enjoy romantic
suspense (emphasis on romantic) will enjoy reading Trust Me. Trust Me transports readers to San Antonio
with a paroled prisoner, a confusing crime, a stricken sister, a determined
detective, seedy San Antonio, and a second chance romance.
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