Write your own review!
Madeline (Florida)
What Do You Know for Sure?
This novel is both a heartbreaking, terrifying journey into dementia and a chilling mystery full of suspense and suspicions. I will definitely be reading more of this author's work.
Barbara E. (Rockville, MD)
A nightmare journey into forgetfulness
This is a riveting mystery. Paul Cleave takes the reader quickly into the disintegrating mind of Jerry Grey, a mystery writer who has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. Jerry keeps confessing to murdering women, but everyone tells him that he's confusing reality with the characters in his novels and that he hasn't killed anyone. But Jerry's not so sure about that and the evidence that he has in fact murdered several women starts to mount. The progressive disintegration of Jerry's mind is particularly well written. You really feel as if you are experiencing the disorientation of lost time and memories along with Jerry. Jerry's plight is heartbreaking and truly frightening and the toll on his family is particularly well written. I highly recommend this fast-paced and well-written mystery.
Mary M. (Dallas, TX)
Roller Coaster
"Trust No One" WOW - this is the best mystery/thriller I have read in a long time. The plot twists and turns in a roller coaster of a story that is impossible to put down.
Portia A. (Mount Laurel, NJ)
Did he or didn't he?
Jerry Grey has early onset Alzheimer's. And he is a writer of murder mysteries. He has started to believe he is a murderer, like the characters he wrote about. Is he, or is it the disease messing with his brain? Read this well written book and you will know.
Bill B. (Irvine, CA)
Trust No One
Trust No One
Paul Cleave has a great premise for a scary book.
A famous crime writer develops early Alzheimer's. He confesses to murders but did he really kill them or were they products of his fiction?
Now this is terrifying to those of us who have
put down our books,
got out of our chairs,
gone to the kitchen,
opened the fridge
........and then had no idea what we wanted or why we were there.
Dementia is really scary.
Cleave really does a good job building the suspense but when we start to learn more of what has been happening, the momentum slows and some of the energy disappears. That's what happens when the facts intrude.
Still this is a good, well paced, well written, interesting thriller. I think you will like it.
Barry E. (Margate City, NJ)
The Perfect Murder?
Who else should be able to plan a murder and get away with it but the mystery writer? Give that writer Alzheimer's disease and how could he ever be convicted. This is the recurring theme in this book and it does add an interesting twist to the genre. Jerry Grey, our protagonist, is a most successful murder mystery writer with stories described as often beyond the pale. Where does he get his material, how does he create his plot, and could these stories be based on real murders committed by the author himself? Then give Jerry a pen name, an alter ego, Alzheimer, and watch a most interesting plot develop. Sometimes one needs a guide to follow all the side twists, which the author provides conveniently every so many pages.
Vicki C. (Franklin, TN)
Trust No One
Being a fan of thrillers and mysteries, Trust No One was a complete pleasure to read! There was no way to 'see through' the narrative early on in order to anticipate the identity of the antagonist. Using dementia as a device in telling the tale was very clever!
I do recommend this book to all who like to be kept guessing until the end.
Vivian H. (Winchester, VA)
DancingWith Captain A
Trust No One by Paul Cleave is a fascinating journey into the disintegrating mind of mystery writer Jerry Gray aka Henry Cutter who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's at 49. He decides to keep a journal of his mental deterioration so he can read about who he was as he loses himself.
At times the narrative was challenging to follow. This felt a bit like "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" meets "Psycho" with a dash of the movies "Memento" and "Away From Her".
The story was creative and engaging, keeping me wanting to know what would happen next, what was real and what was imaginary. I felt compassion for Jerry Gray, but skeptical of who he was and who he had been.
There are twists and turns that I did not figure out until the very end. Then the pieces did seem to fit together.
I was not familiar with Paul Cleave until I read Trust No One, but I will look for some of his earlier works.