#BookReview ‘You Can Trust Me’ by Emma Rowley

About the book…

YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HER.
BUT SHE KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU.

Olivia is the domestic goddess-turned-internet sensation who has won millions of followers by sharing her picture-perfect life online. And now she’s releasing her tell-all autobiography.

Nicky is the ghostwriter tasked with coaxing out the full story – including details of the tragic accident that blighted Olivia’s golden childhood.

But, as she delves into Olivia’s life, Nicky discovers cracks appearing in the glamorous façade. From money worries to Olivia’s strained relationship with her handsome husband, the truth belies her perfect image.

As Olivia becomes increasingly hostile to the woman she’s let into her life, Nicky becomes ever more relentless in her hunt for the truth.

Has Olivia really escaped the ghosts of her past – or will Nicky find there are more sinister reasons she wants to leave an old tragedy well alone?

Huge thanks to Alex Layt of Orion for asking me to participate on the blog tour for ‘You Can Trust Me’ by Emma Rowley which is out on September 3rd…go grab a copy!

The book is split into 2 narratives, the first half told by Nicky and the second by Olivia. How much you align with, and take the side of, either woman depends on the convincing threads of their personal history.

Nicky, the ghostwriter, is a woman who tells the stories of others for a living, moving through the background of individuals who live their life in the public eye, tempering reality with the persona that each of them carefully cultivates.

Olivia, meanwhile, lays her life bare on Instagram, buidling a carefully curated image and ‘brand’ as an up and coming influencer. She has no issues letting Nicky peek behind the curtain as long as it is a curtain of her choosing, and only reveals a picture perfect lifestyle.

As the women spar with words and actions, they begin an intricate dance around each other’s truths, edging closer to the heart of each of them. Olivia, with her stately mansion, handsome husband and adorable child is a diametric opposite to Nicky with her hand to mouth existence, her livelihood deoendant on how well she can spin a yarn.

It’s almost a modern retellign of Rumpelstilskin where Nicky is trying to guess Olivia’s true name and nature, and you are with her every step of the way as she digs deeper into the house, the village and the past which Olivia has worked hard to hide.

And then, like pulling a rug out from under the reader, Nicky vanishes.

Everything you thought you knew was turned on its head as what started as a simple expose/celeb memoir/lifestyle guide turns into a blistering attack on family mores, expectations of working mothers, artifice and reality.

The insidious nature of fame,notoriety and needing to be adored turns it’s sharp knife edge on the woman who thinks she is skillfully wielding it.

It’s an intriguing and deceptively simple tale well told, executed brilliantly .

When I finished, I went straight on to download ‘‘Where The Missing Go’. I like to be kept on my toes and feel satisfied with the books I read , and I expect the same of this one, that I got with ‘You Can Trust Me.’

About the author…

Emma Rowley is a writer, ghostwriter and editor with a background in journalism. A graduate in Classics and English at Oxford University, she trained as a journalist at City University. Emma has spent considerable time in the courts and covering major crime stories. Her first novel, Where The Missing Go, is a 2020 Edgar nominee for The Simon & Schuster Mary Higgins Clark Award. She lives in London.

Twitter @emma_rowley @orionbooks

Links-https://www.emmarowley.co.uk/