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Trust Her

Review

Trust Her

Flynn Berry seems to have her finger on the pulse of the political climate in Ireland. Her latest novel, TRUST HER, puts two sisters right in the middle of the ongoing conflict between MI5 and the IRA.

The action begins immediately as we see Tessa Daly, a young Irish mother, driving one night when she is accosted by two men who force her vehicle off the road. She is apprehended and taken to a cottage in the middle of nowhere and subsequently cuffed to a radiator. Her captors proceed to interrogate her, and she recognizes one of them from her youth. Eoin Royce is aware that Tessa’s sister, Marian, had worked with the IRA before becoming an informant for MI5. Tessa assisted Marian by passing on messages between the two groups.

"The resolution of TRUST HER is satisfying and packed with surprises. Not everyone is who they appear to be, and the tension mounts as you read with fingers crossed that Tessa can end up having a happy, uneventful life with her son."

The sisters are now focused on raising their children. However, Royce seeks to pull them back into the game and insists that Tessa make contact with Eamonn, her old handler from MI5, so they can turn him into an IRA informant. All Tessa cares about is keeping her family safe. She is set free so she can discuss the matter with Marian and determine the best way to reconnect with Eamonn.

Tessa plans to use a special gift card that would notify Eamonn where she is based on the purchase. He then would reach out to her. This is exactly how it all goes down, and the two meet at a safehouse. Tessa makes small talk with Eamonn before telling him why she needed to see him. However, meeting the IRA’s demands is not as easy as you would think, especially when the IRA and the loyalists are currently negotiating for a ceasefire. Royce continues to push and declares that the Irish prime minister is only pretending to be a hard-liner when in reality he is not at all sympathetic to any cause or the possibility of peace.

Tessa further complicates matters by making Eamonn think she is back in the fold with MI5, while Royce is convinced she is fully supporting the IRA initiative. When Marian goes missing during a hiking expedition, Tessa contacts the authorities and Eamonn since she believes the IRA must be behind it. Now, with the local Gardai detective involved, Tessa and Marian are painted as spies who are not to be trusted. Thankfully, Marian is eventually found. She had fallen and sprained her ankle but was never in any political skirmish or danger.

The detective remains interested in the case and informs Tessa of some things about Marian that she has never been aware of. The many conflicts between political ideologies and even loved ones create a spider’s web of intrigue that reaches back into their own family. Like any great spy novel, readers will get to a point where they don’t know what to believe anymore.

The resolution of TRUST HER is satisfying and packed with surprises. Not everyone is who they appear to be, and the tension mounts as you read with fingers crossed that Tessa can end up having a happy, uneventful life with her son.

Reviewed by Ray Palen on July 13, 2024

Trust Her
by Flynn Berry

  • Publication Date: June 25, 2024
  • Genres: Fiction, Suspense, Thriller
  • Hardcover: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Viking
  • ISBN-10: 0593490320
  • ISBN-13: 9780593490327