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The First 39: TRUST ME by Jeff Abbott
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The First 39 is a review series that looks at the first thirty-nine pages of a book and decides whether it's worth it to keep reading. The latest book reviewed is Jeff Abbott's new thriller, TRUST ME.
Jeff Abbott is an internationally known bestselling author. With ten books to his name - two have been optioned for film - Abbott returns with TRUST ME, a tense thriller that tackles the troubling subject of terrorism. In TRUST ME, Luke Dantry seems at the start like a pretty normal guy, who just happens to 
have a secretive job, working to monitor and collect data to help identify possible domestic terrorists through their online activities. Luke spends his time infiltrating sites where people with dangerous views congregate, but when you're monitoring people who might cross the line and become violent what happens if they discover you? His job is to provide information to his stepfather, Henry, to help discover the next TImothy McVeigh before he strikes, but Luke is about to find out the sometimes, the greatest threats can hide in the most unexpected places.
When Luke is kidnapped he stages a brazen escape and is forced to run for his life while trying to piece together what led to his kidnapping, and who wants him dead.
TRUST ME is a taut thriller, written with breakneck pacing, and the pages fly by. I feared at first the book might go down a more predictable road, by focusing on foreign terrorists, but was pleasantly surprised when it became obvious the focus was on domestic terrorists. It's soon readily apparent that the book will hold many twists and turns, and therefore unpredictable, and even in the early pages we can see the layers to the story. The book broadly addresses terrorism on a national and international scale, but it also focuses on terrorism of an individual, what it can mean when your life is taken from you, when no place is safe and you can't hide. Through the horror of Luke's ordeal we get to confront terrorism in a different way - one where the individual can fight back, can try to outsmart the bad guys, and find within themselves the strength to survive and defeat their enemies. The first thirty-nine pages of TRUST ME hint at the promise of an engaging read with a captivating story that will intrigue and satisfy readers.
Verdict: Well worth reading. I couldn't put it down, and have actually already finished the book. Now I just need to finish a full-length review...
Look for my interview with Jeff Abbott Monday.
Sandra Ruttan can be contacted via Sandra@sandraruttan.com
