Trust Only Me by McGarvey Black

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Trust Only Me by McGarvey Black

From her home office in rural Connecticut, self-published thriller author Jillian Samuels dreams of writing a bestseller.

Her tall, dark and handsome chef husband Teddy, and her BFF, Natalie, a glamorous PR woman always in six-inch heels, cheer Jillian on when her new book, The Soul Collector, is accepted by a New York agent.

By night, she writes about serial killers. But then her stories begin to come true.

#TrustOnlyMe @mcgarveyblack @JoffeBooks @Zooloo’s Book Tours @zooloo2008 #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour

Not long afterwards, crimes from her old thrillers start to really happen — two bodies are found covered in silver paint — one unconscious, the other dead.

Some people on Twitter notice the eerie similarities to Jillian’s previous books. Jillian’s book sales are rising — but the police are asking questions . . .

My Review

Jillian has written three serial killer thrillers. She self-published all three and has only sold a few of each – mainly to friends and family. Her fourth novel The Soul Collector is going to be different. She’s going to get herself an agent and a publisher and get the book promoted. It’s going to be a bestseller – hopefully.

Her husband Teddy, a glamorous, celebrity (almost) chef, and her even more glamorous best friend Natalie, are both rooting for her. After concentrating on their own exciting lives, that is.

Finally her book is accepted by a New York Agent, but it’s going to be a long road. And will involve a lot of self-promotion, particularly on social media. Not Jillian’s forte, she has a go mainly at Twitter, but it’s not proving to be a huge success. She’s out of her depth.

Until her stories begin to come true. Life imitating art maybe? It certainly boosts her online profile and her books start to sell. Teddy thinks it’s all a coincidence, her agent thinks it’s manna from heaven and Natalie is too absorbed in her own love life. The police, however, are very interested. They don’t believe in coincidences. Especially when two men turn up covered in silver paint (just like in one of Jillian’s books) and one of them happens to be dead.

I really didn’t like Natalie one bit. What a ghastly woman. Red lipstick, six inch stilettos, a real man-eater. Two or three men on the go at once and all of them rich. Then throwing them out like so much garbage after a few weeks. The only good thing about her is that she gets some of the best laughs.

‘I’m serious,’ she said…’the only men I meet are perverted losers.’
‘They can’t be all that bad.’
‘Oh yes they can. The last guy I went out with brought his pet hamster on our first date. We met in Central Park…the whole time we were walking he kept fussing with something inside his jacket. After fifteen minutes, he asked me if I’d like to meet his little friend. The next thing you know he’s holding a big (hamster? big?) brown rodent in his hand and introducing me to Pablo.’ Well it could have been so much worse.

This was a very entertaining book and that ending was inspired. It’s very witty and observant. I loved it.

Many thanks to @zooloo2008 for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the Author

McGarvey studied voice at Manhattan School of Music and was later a theatre major in college. She pursued an acting career but later moved into a magazine and digital media career. During that time, she sold advertising and managed sales teams for companies like Conde Nast, WebMD and worked for brands including GQ, Travel + Leisure, and Allure. In between, she took a year off and backpacked alone around the world. Later, after having two children, she left media and became an executive recruiter for internet companies. In 2017, she began writing full time and has since published six novels.