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Trust No One by Paul Cleave

Trust No One

A Thriller

by Paul Cleave

  • Critics' Consensus (3):
  • Published:
  • Aug 2015, 352 pages
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  • Mary O. (Boston, MA)
    Riveting
    A brilliant novel with twists and turns that make it hard to put down. It is a perfect summer beach read. The addition of the backdrop of early onset Alzheimer's adds another dimension to this murder mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!!! Highly recommended
  • Sherri A. (Westbrook, CT)
    the terror of forgetting
    I love when a well-known, respected author of the thrillers/crime/mystery genre writes a standalone. They get to flex their literary muscles without depending on familiar characters. Such is the case in the brilliant novel Trust No One. Imagine a man, confessing to his crimes as a serial killer(in great, realistic detail), who also happens to have written novels along the exact same line as the crimes that he is confessing to, except that he cannot remember any of that, because he also has early-onset Alzheimers...WOW. Did he? Is he? Paul Cleave confessed in an interview recently that this is his favorite novel(not because it is his newest) and I can absolutely see why--riveting from the early pages on.Absolutely original. Bravo!
  • Rosemary C. (Austin, TX)
    An engaging story
    Mr. Cleave has implemented a clever plot idea and executed it well. He's an excellent writer and I enjoyed the gallows humor throughout.
  • Joan N. (Evanston, IL)
    Rubic's Cube of a Thriller
    From the very first page I knew I was in the hands of a master. This story of a crime writer and his increasing memory problems because of early-onset Alzheimer's Disease is a real page-turner because of the heightening suspense: Did he kill those women? Why doesn't he remember? Or was the murderer his alter ego, Henry Cutter, his pen name? Fiction, memory, and reality are mixed in the deteriorating mind of the narrator Jerry Grey. What could have been a maudlin story about the increasing isolation of the disease becomes instead a many-faceted puzzle that kept me guessing and trying out solutions, like a maddening but addicting Rubic's Cube. I couldn't put it down
  • Judy G. (Carmel, IN)
    Captain A
    I loved this book! Twists and turns in memory and reality within the traumatic world of an Alzheimer's patient made this not only a thrilling read but also yet another insight into the world of patients with "Captain A" in charge of their lives.
  • Carole P. (Framingham, MA)
    Trust No One
    I cannot say I liked this book, but I could not put it down. It is one of the most intense and unsettling books that I have read in a long time. Jerry Grey is a successful mystery writer. Sadly he has developed Alzheimer's. When his dementia begins to take over his life, everything falls apart. He has written twelve books about twelve violent murderers. Now he confesses that each murder was real and that he is the killer. What really is true? Is he a killer who can no longer hide the truth? Is the confession really caused by his confusion brought on by the Alzheimer's?

    Paul Cleave is a gifted writer. He draws you into his story , even if you don't want to go there. Did this book bother me? Yes! Would I recommend it? Absolutely!
  • James R. (Cohoes, NY)
    Slip Sliding Away
    When it comes to the "unreliable narrator" genre, it would be hard to top someone with early onset, rapidly progressive Alzheimer's disease. Make that individual a renowned crime writer who may or may not be living out the stories he wrote, add a constantly shifting time frame, and you have the formula for either a very confusing storyline or a great psychological thriller. In this case, it is clearly the latter. Fluid timeframes, fact v. fiction, all combine in the first two-thirds of the book to give a real sense of the shifting sand that any Alzheimer patient experiences. One almost has the sense of sliding down that slope with the main character. The last third of the book accelerates the pace to the point where I couldn't put it down. A great read … I loved it.

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