Trust Me - TM Logan

Published by Zaffre/Bonnier Books UK: London, 2021.

Another book from my parents' book-swap library, this one is outside my usual genres of interest, but it still gripped me. I suppose that makes sense, as the genre in question is thriller.

The set up is great. In the first chapter, our main POV character, Ellen Devlin, is sitting on the train when a woman with a baby asks to sit in the empty seat next to her. Before too long, the woman has to answer a phone call, and asks Ellen to look after the baby for a few minutes. The woman then gets off at the next station, and Ellen is left with the baby, and a note that says: Please look after Mia. Don't trust the police. Don't trust anyone.

I mean, what would you do?!

Ellen is a complicated character, something that we learn more about as time goes on. She is recently separated, and her ex-husband is expecting a child with his new partner. Ellen, who is barren, has wanted a child for years, and is drawn to looking after Mia, even though she knows she should go to the police. She also has a history that explains some of her more out-there decisions. However, refreshingly, for the most part Ellen does do things that you could imagine a normal person doing in the same situation. Sometimes she delays doing those things so that she can - for example - spend a little more time with Mia, but even then, we understand her motivation and realise she is still going to do the 'right thing' eventually.

As the mystery deepens, we also get four main suspects, and the book does a good job of making all four seem suspicious at different points. Our allegiances shift along with Ellen's, and we also struggle to know who to trust - appropriately for the title! Although I did start suspecting a certain character before they were 'unmasked', I wouldn't have been surprised if any of the other suspects turned out to be the main villain, and that seems to be the mark of good writing for this genre.

Parts lagged a little, but other parts had me turning the page frantically. I think I also gasped audibly at a few moments.

Not 'revolutionary', but a solid thriller. Recommended.

Completed 10 June 2026.

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