Trust No One – Devlin & Falco #1

Author: Debra Webb
Genre: Crime Thriller
428 pages
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer, 2020

Synopsis
A double homicide and a missing woman lead a detective to unearth disturbing secrets in this gripping thriller from USA Today bestselling author Debra Webb.

It’s the worst possible time for Detective Kerri Devlin to be involved in an all-consuming double-homicide case. She’s locked in a bitter struggle with her ex-husband and teenage daughter, and her reckless new partner is anything but trustworthy.

Still, she has a job to do: there’s a killer at large, and a pregnant woman has gone missing. Once Devlin and her partner get to work, they quickly unearth secrets involving Birmingham’s most esteemed citizens. Each new layer of the investigation brings Devlin closer to the killer and the missing woman, who starts looking more like a suspect than a victim.

But just as answers come into view, the case twists, expands, and slithers into Devlin’s personal life. There’s a much more sinister game at work, one she doesn’t even know she’s playing—and she must unravel the truth once and for all to stop the killer before she loses everything.

My review
Trust No One by Debra Webb is a fun, entertaining crime thriller and one I thoroughly enjoyed reading. As a fan of police procedurals, I was eager to dive into this new series, and it did not disappoint. In Trust No One (and trust me, you definitely can’t trust anyone in this story!), Detective Kerri Devlin is juggling a lot. She has a new partner, a high-stakes homicide case, a 13-year-old daughter who’s pulling away, and an ex-husband threatening to take custody of her child. To make matters more complicated, Devlin is a meticulous by-the-book detective, while her new partner, Detective Luke Falco, is the complete opposite – a wildcard who’s sure to challenge her every step of the way.

Although there are a few clues sprinkled throughout the story, Webb successfully keeps the surprises coming with twists right up until the very end. The investigation doesn’t provide much to work with. Most of the people Devlin and Falco question belong to the privileged class and seem to be withholding information. Every time they find a lead, that person ends up dead too. It quickly becomes clear that someone is cleaning up the mess, but the real question is: who and why?

As the case unfolds, it becomes more personal for Devlin, with her friends and family getting caught up in a tangled web of conspiracy and cover-ups. Sela Abbott, still missing, may actually be more of a suspect than a victim. But don’t jump to conclusions in this twist-filled mystery.

While Trust No One is a well-written thriller, there were a few aspects that left me rolling my eyes. Coincidences, luck, and some rather improbable events didn’t quite hold up under scrutiny. As someone who tends to think critically about the plot, I found that much of what happened didn’t stand up to closer inspection. I won’t go into details to avoid spoilers, but there were a few moments that stretched my suspension of disbelief. I’m hoping the next book will tone down the overload of characters and events—there was a bit of a “kitchen sink” approach. A tighter focus on the mystery and the police work, with less emphasis on peripheral family dynamics, would have easily made this a five-star read for me.

Overall, Trust No One was an entertaining and well-crafted read. While it may not be the most realistic, gritty, or hard-hitting crime thriller, it still delivered plenty of excitement to keep me hooked right until the last page. I’ll definitely pick up the next book in the series.

My recommendation: worth the read!