
The Book:
Tell Me You Trust Me by Elle Owens
Published February 11, 2025 by Thomas & Mercer
Date read: October 3, 2024
Find more February 2025 releases here.
Tell Me You Trust Me spoilers can be found below, but they’re hidden under a spoiler tag so you’re safe to keep scrolling if you’d just like to read my review.
The Characters:
Marissa
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The Plot (from Goodreads):
When her husband goes missing, Marissa Creighton fears the worst. Tell me you trust me was the last thing Ethan said to her, and she’d shrugged it off. Now she can’t get those words out of her head.
Marissa’s family has always been her rock. But when they come to help her with two-year-old Logan, their overprotectiveness borders on oppression—occupational hazard of the family’s surveillance business, or is it? Seeking comfort in the playlist she and Ethan share, Marissa is shocked to find a new song “Trust Me.” She’s certain it’s a message.
Using song titles as code, she and Ethan start communicating back and forth. But she still doesn’t understand why he left. While his messages point to incriminating documents, her family uncovers evidence of an affair. But their discoveries come with their own baggage, including personal threats, secret bank accounts, and dusty surveillance devices. All the while Marissa wonders whether she’ll ever learn the truth—or see her husband again.
Tell Me You Trust Me Spoilers
The Review:
This book gave me so much anxiety! I couldn’t stand how Marissa’s parents belittled and gaslit her. I was so eager to get to the part where she finally stood up to them.
I loved the way the characters used Spotify to communicate. Such a clever means of passing messages and very unique to this book. I enjoyed following all the clues Ethan was leaving that only Marissa would understand. Clearly my husband and I need more inside jokes, because if he tried to leave a trail like this I definitely wouldn’t follow.
Marissa’s character arc is the best part of the story. I mentally cheered for her when she finally escaped her parents and went to a hotel, and was crushed when they found her again. How suffocating!
I will say we could have used some more misdirection and red herrings–I’ll go into this more on my blog to avoid spoilers here!
Overall a strong debut and I’m looking forward to seeing what else this author publishes.
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