Trust Me by Brenda Novak

Title: Trust Me
Author: Brenda Novak
Series: #1 in The Last Stand series
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: MIRA; Reprint edition (January 13, 2017)(originally published in 2008)
Source: Purchased
Rating: ☕☕☕

Synopsis: Four years ago, Skye Kellerman was attacked in her own bed. She managed to fend off her knife-wielding assailant, but the trauma changed everything about her life. As a result of that night, she joined two friends—also survivors—in starting The Last Stand, an organization to help victims of crime.
But now, her would-be rapist is getting out of prison. Skye knows that Dr. Oliver Burke hasn't forgotten that her testimony cost him his reputation—and his freedom. Sacramento detective David Willis, who investigated her case, believes Burke is a clear and present danger—and guilty of at least two unsolved murders.
And now Burke is free to terrorize Skye again. Unless David can stop him. Unless Skye can fight back. Because Oliver Burke has every intention of finishing what he started. And that's a promise. Trust me.

My Thoughts: A great suspenseful read with an unfortunate romance that didn't work well.

The Good: I loved the suspense of this story. I really like when victims of horrible crimes fight back. With The Last Stand ladies we have women battling back for themselves and for other victims. With Skye, she fought back after being the victim of a serial rapist and then helped establish TLS with 2 other women. I'm looking forward to reading their stories as well. One of them has some psychic ability which is right up my alley.

If you've read any other thrillers by Brenda Novak (I'm thinking specifically the Evelyn Talbot series) you know she has a knack for creating diabolical villains. In this case Burke certainly fits the bill. He is so smart and evil I loved each page featuring him.

The Bad: Ugh....the romance. The problem lies mostly in the "hero" David. He was the lead detective on Skye's rape case so four years ago Skye was obviously off limits but he was attracted to her and now is pretty much in love with her. The problem? His two times ex wife. That's right folks, he married her, divorced her, married her again, and divorced her again. Now he's trying to "make it work" because she has been diagnosed with MS and they have a young son. What this translates to is he ran hot and cold with Skye throughout the book. He pulled her close then pushed her way. Rinse. Repeat. Also, just a note...public restroom sex is not sexy. It's something young people do. Not full grown adults with the kind of experience they have.

Oh and one more little irritant for me was Burke was really the main villain in this story and by introducing additional bad guys and multiple murder attempts muddied the story bit.

In a Nutshell: Overall, not a bad book but it really could have been better especially with the romance but I will continue with the series because The Last Stand women are pretty intriguing. And just a disclaimer if blood and rape storylines are hot button topics this might be one you should probably avoid.