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kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
5.0
Shortlisted for the 2018 CWA Debut Daggar, TRUST ME, I'M DEAD, is the first crime novel from New Zealand born, Australian resident writer Sherryl Clark, best known for her children's writing, although I understand there's now a sequel to this novel planned for this year. Any possible sequel should be regarded as a very good thing, whenever it is released.
Judi Westerholme leads a secluded life, out in a rural area, working her vegetable patch, and mostly minding her own business, she's a woman with a past of her own. She hasn't seen her brother for years, having been heartily disappointed with his drug addiction and life choices, so she's surprised to find that it looks like he turned his life around. He's been holding down a job, bought a house, got married, they had a baby. Which makes the fact that he was shot dead in what looks like a drug deal gone wrong, his wife gone missing, seem even more inexplicable.
As their mother lives in a nursing home and isn't quite with it anymore, Judi is called back to Melbourne, to arrange his funeral and sort out his affairs, hoping that his wife will turn up eventually. Only to find a weird set of circumstances involving their grandmother's home, a missing toolbox, questions about his lifestyle, and a policeman investigating his death. To say nothing of a baby that his will has left in Judi's care - the last thing in this world she thought she'd be lumbered with.
There is so much potential in this novel it's hard to know where to start. I did see a summary somewhere where the author has great fondness for the character Judi Westerholme, a wonderfully grumpy, matter of fact, determined, bloody minded sort of a woman, secretly modelled on a young Judi Dench, and it's not hard to see how you could have enormous time for that person. She's resourceful without being super-woman, she's flawed without wallowing in it, she's strong and grumpy and knows how to take bloody minded to the edge of bloody annoying without tipping over. Even a bit of unresolved sexual tension with the investigating police officer manages to avoid the dreaded inevitability.
Alongside good characters, there's a good sense of place, with most of the action taking place in inner Melbourne suburbs, although a brief visit to a medium sized town that I know pretty well these days made me laugh at the observations of lack of activity after dark. There's a good, clever, plot at the heart of everything, and pace is never sacrificed to personal or character development. There's menace aplenty and it's a real page turner.
TRUST ME, I'M DEAD was sadly one of those books that I'd missed much commentary about when it was shortlisted. Hope that changes, and I hope we're not waiting too long for the sequel.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/trust-me-im-dead-sherryl-clark
Judi Westerholme leads a secluded life, out in a rural area, working her vegetable patch, and mostly minding her own business, she's a woman with a past of her own. She hasn't seen her brother for years, having been heartily disappointed with his drug addiction and life choices, so she's surprised to find that it looks like he turned his life around. He's been holding down a job, bought a house, got married, they had a baby. Which makes the fact that he was shot dead in what looks like a drug deal gone wrong, his wife gone missing, seem even more inexplicable.
As their mother lives in a nursing home and isn't quite with it anymore, Judi is called back to Melbourne, to arrange his funeral and sort out his affairs, hoping that his wife will turn up eventually. Only to find a weird set of circumstances involving their grandmother's home, a missing toolbox, questions about his lifestyle, and a policeman investigating his death. To say nothing of a baby that his will has left in Judi's care - the last thing in this world she thought she'd be lumbered with.
There is so much potential in this novel it's hard to know where to start. I did see a summary somewhere where the author has great fondness for the character Judi Westerholme, a wonderfully grumpy, matter of fact, determined, bloody minded sort of a woman, secretly modelled on a young Judi Dench, and it's not hard to see how you could have enormous time for that person. She's resourceful without being super-woman, she's flawed without wallowing in it, she's strong and grumpy and knows how to take bloody minded to the edge of bloody annoying without tipping over. Even a bit of unresolved sexual tension with the investigating police officer manages to avoid the dreaded inevitability.
Alongside good characters, there's a good sense of place, with most of the action taking place in inner Melbourne suburbs, although a brief visit to a medium sized town that I know pretty well these days made me laugh at the observations of lack of activity after dark. There's a good, clever, plot at the heart of everything, and pace is never sacrificed to personal or character development. There's menace aplenty and it's a real page turner.
TRUST ME, I'M DEAD was sadly one of those books that I'd missed much commentary about when it was shortlisted. Hope that changes, and I hope we're not waiting too long for the sequel.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/trust-me-im-dead-sherryl-clark
turningpagesmm's review against another edition
4.0
•| Trust me, I’m dead - Sherryl Clark |•
•
Is it possible to find a crime novel wholesome at the same time?
•
Is it possible to find a crime novel wholesome at the same time?
magicsarah's review
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
vickim's review against another edition
4.0
Thoroughly enjoyed this - couldn't wait to find the odd half hour in my day to keep reading. Living in Melbourne Australia, I could visualize the suburbs, the action and the intrigue. And the hint of romance was well done - but not overdone.
turningpagesmm's review against another edition
4.0
•| Trust me, I’m dead - Sherryl Clark |•
•
Is it possible to find a crime novel wholesome at the same time?
•
Is it possible to find a crime novel wholesome at the same time?
meggyroussel's review against another edition
4.0
Trust Me, I’m Dead. My first thought was “this should be on a t-shirt!” This efficient title hides a strong novel filled with small and big games, and the fact that no matter how great your sneakers are, you can’t run away from your past.
Judi hasn’t seen her brother in years, but the news of his death is a shock. The sharp contrast of Judi’s quiet live in the countryside and the awful truth that Andrew has been murdered made me extremely curious from the start. If the first chapter gives the reader a snippet of Judi’s recluse life, we don’t have time to get to know her nurturing her garden. Instead, we get swept away to the city, with a shocked and shaken woman forced to deal with matters she’d clearly could have done without.
Judi knew her brother as a clever boy, a target for an abusive father, and later, a drug addict. But the picture she gets from his life in Melbourne is completely different. A million years away from what I expected! A wife, a little kid, a respectable job, a nice house, and taxes paid on time. I had issues connecting Judi’s memories to the facts I was given, and Judi had the same problem! Murder rang well with his previous lifestyle, but didn’t fit the new portray of Andrew.
Judi is a really interesting character. Resilient, she can appear rude and hard, but it is easy to guess this is just a shell. A thick and heavy shell made to help her carry the weight of a lifetime of hardships. Her reactions sometimes took me by surprise, but old pains and grief are dealt with in a million ways. The more time I spent with Judi, the clearer I could see through her. She had retreated and somehow punished herself with a life of ‘keeping busy’, surviving rather than living. Now I sound very gloom, but she contents herself with gardening and movie nights with her friend Connor… until Andrew’s passing away forces her out of her bubble. Judi is witty, bold, with a heart of gold hidden beneath an armor. I rooted for her so easily I surprised myself! Her family history is not glorious and hangs over her head like an ominous cloud filled with eternal rain. But there is some beauty in the horrors Judi goes through, and the shackles she’s been living with get looser as she learns to get closer again to her dead brother.
But there is no time for bonding, as Judi meets the detective in charge of Andrew’s case, and what he thinks is “off” turns out to be wickedly off indeed. So off that danger starts springing from everywhere! Try keeping your mourning head cold with a two-year-old niece you have never met, the planning of funeral, and a search for the truth. I loved how subtle the plot is. Yes, drugs are quite the simple deal, but nothing is simple in this book! Relationships, memories, tricks and games sit one on top of the other, leaving Judi as the player of a puzzle with missing pieces and demons at her heels.
The writing is sharp, injecting tension, humor, bits of warmth cute moments, and scary moments. Judi’s shell’s cracks as the world grows darker and more dangerous. To solve the mystery around his death, Andrew takes her sister down memory lane, leaving clues behind him for her to decipher. As engrossed in the solving of the case as I was, what struck me the most was Andrew’s schemes. It broke my heart to see him bringing his sister to life via his own death. Well, she has to dodge many deadly traps to stay alive, for sure, but being pushed out of her routine sparks a light in her, a fire that the past had almost entirely extinguished. Andrew rekindles it from beyond the grave, and the story of those siblings is both complicated and beautiful. Don’t we love it when a gritty and compelling crime novel holds more than you hoped for?
Families… No matter what we say, they always have an impact on us. The author skillfully explores probes the wounds of a dysfunctional family.
Trust Me, I’m Dead is an intense, addictive read with enough action to get your heart beating for characters to die for.
Judi hasn’t seen her brother in years, but the news of his death is a shock. The sharp contrast of Judi’s quiet live in the countryside and the awful truth that Andrew has been murdered made me extremely curious from the start. If the first chapter gives the reader a snippet of Judi’s recluse life, we don’t have time to get to know her nurturing her garden. Instead, we get swept away to the city, with a shocked and shaken woman forced to deal with matters she’d clearly could have done without.
Judi knew her brother as a clever boy, a target for an abusive father, and later, a drug addict. But the picture she gets from his life in Melbourne is completely different. A million years away from what I expected! A wife, a little kid, a respectable job, a nice house, and taxes paid on time. I had issues connecting Judi’s memories to the facts I was given, and Judi had the same problem! Murder rang well with his previous lifestyle, but didn’t fit the new portray of Andrew.
Judi is a really interesting character. Resilient, she can appear rude and hard, but it is easy to guess this is just a shell. A thick and heavy shell made to help her carry the weight of a lifetime of hardships. Her reactions sometimes took me by surprise, but old pains and grief are dealt with in a million ways. The more time I spent with Judi, the clearer I could see through her. She had retreated and somehow punished herself with a life of ‘keeping busy’, surviving rather than living. Now I sound very gloom, but she contents herself with gardening and movie nights with her friend Connor… until Andrew’s passing away forces her out of her bubble. Judi is witty, bold, with a heart of gold hidden beneath an armor. I rooted for her so easily I surprised myself! Her family history is not glorious and hangs over her head like an ominous cloud filled with eternal rain. But there is some beauty in the horrors Judi goes through, and the shackles she’s been living with get looser as she learns to get closer again to her dead brother.
But there is no time for bonding, as Judi meets the detective in charge of Andrew’s case, and what he thinks is “off” turns out to be wickedly off indeed. So off that danger starts springing from everywhere! Try keeping your mourning head cold with a two-year-old niece you have never met, the planning of funeral, and a search for the truth. I loved how subtle the plot is. Yes, drugs are quite the simple deal, but nothing is simple in this book! Relationships, memories, tricks and games sit one on top of the other, leaving Judi as the player of a puzzle with missing pieces and demons at her heels.
The writing is sharp, injecting tension, humor, bits of warmth cute moments, and scary moments. Judi’s shell’s cracks as the world grows darker and more dangerous. To solve the mystery around his death, Andrew takes her sister down memory lane, leaving clues behind him for her to decipher. As engrossed in the solving of the case as I was, what struck me the most was Andrew’s schemes. It broke my heart to see him bringing his sister to life via his own death. Well, she has to dodge many deadly traps to stay alive, for sure, but being pushed out of her routine sparks a light in her, a fire that the past had almost entirely extinguished. Andrew rekindles it from beyond the grave, and the story of those siblings is both complicated and beautiful. Don’t we love it when a gritty and compelling crime novel holds more than you hoped for?
Families… No matter what we say, they always have an impact on us. The author skillfully explores probes the wounds of a dysfunctional family.
Trust Me, I’m Dead is an intense, addictive read with enough action to get your heart beating for characters to die for.
imanjamil's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
e_little99's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
amrap's review against another edition
5.0
A very engaging crime thriller by Clark featuring a strong and fearless protagonist. Loved reading a book set in Melbourne and am very pleased to see there is a sequel. Can't wait to read the second book in the series.
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