Review: Trust No One (Devlin & Falco #1) by Debra Webb

Print Length: 428 pages

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (August 01, 2020)

From Goodreads.com: 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 Rating: 3 stars out of 5

This book had it's moments. 

I particularly liked the partnership between Devlin and Falco, the way she goes from not trusting him at all, to realizing that he is a solid cop (even if she questions his methods now and then). I expect there will most likely be some romance between the two in the future, but for now it wasn't the focus of this book which honestly? Was refreshing. I hate when it's book one in a new series, and already an unlikely romance is being pushed on us without making sense.  Another point in Falco's favor was the way he was able to slowly win over Devlin's daughter as well.

Then there was the whole murder mystery - and the conspiracy that dates back YEARS. It seemed like every-time they peeled back one layer, there was another layer that they didn't know about. Yes, it was a little slow going at times, but on the whole the writing was engaging enough to keep me reading to find out what happened next. 

However, there were a couple of aspects to this story that I didn't enjoy. 

The first one is the fact that the people close to Devlin were also closely involved with the bad guys. Why I can't claim it was a conflict of interest (as she had no idea about two of them), the entire thing was just too damn convenient. Especially when she gets critical information that helps her fill in the blanks from two of those people.

The second being the fact that every single thing we know about Devlin's character as a cop is thrown out of the window in an instant. She claims she "didn't think that would happen", but she's been a cop long enough to know that it was at least a possibility. And then the fact that she was able to just walk away?

That was *almost* forgivable when you looked at the big picture. But then when the reader was presented with the neat and tidy way it was wrapped up? Well, that simply made me mad. It felt like we had all the pieces to the puzzle (even when some didn't make sense), but even knowing that, certain people weren't going to face judgement. And those people DEFINITELY needed to face it for their part in things. 

However, even with those things considered, I will definitely check out more from this author (and am looking forward to book 2 in this series just to see how the author chooses to address certain things). 

                                                              *******************

                               
                                                                   Trust No One is available from Amazon.com

                                                                        (for free if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited)