Trust Me

In this whirlwind romantic thriller from Irvin (Closer Than She Knows), a convicted murderer and his ex-girlfriend revisit the crime that tore them apart. Ten years earlier, Delaney Broward found her brother, Corey, murdered inside his art studio in San Antonio. Now, in 2020, her old love Hunter Nash is released from prison, having served his sentence for killing Corey, who was also his best friend. Delaney has moved forward with her life and runs a framing shop next door to her friend Ellie, who was once Corey’s girlfriend. But all the trauma rushes back when she walks into a scene that mirrors the circumstances of her brother’s murder, with her best friend Ellie now dead. Delaney escapes the attacker, who tells her to “stay out of it or you’re next.” Det. Andy Ramos considers Hunter the leading suspect, but Hunter approaches Delaney to try to convince her of his innocence of both crimes (“God, give me the words. Please soften her heart,” he prays). Ramos warn them away from each other, but Delaney begins to believe Hunter, and they start their own investigation, reexamining the past for clues. Irvin follows the characters through twists and turns, writing through the lens of faith and broken faith, while illuminating a bridge across shattered relationships to second chances. This one’s an emotional roller-coaster. Agent: Julie Gwinn, the Seymour Agency. (Feb.)