Trust No One by Anthony Mosawi

If one looks at the Amazon listing for this title, it get’s surprisingly ambiguous reviews. At last glance it had 15% 5 Star reviews, 35% 4 Star, 39% 3 Star, and 11% 2 Star. I point this out because I don’t understand it, having considered gripping and great fun.

Trust No One can best be described as a sci-fi conspiracy thriller. The book blurb describes it as I Am Pilgrim meets Orphan X. I’m yet too read Orphan X but it’s bit more in the sci-fi camp than I Am Pilgrim which was straight up espionage thriller.  The protagonist of Trust No One is Sara Eden a woman who can remember nothing of her past. The book flips between timelines, Sara as a young girl where we see her in a dilapidated house in a sensory deprivation tank guarded by a drug addict, and as an adult where she tries to discover why her memories were wiped.

Throughout both timelines she’s chased by forces she doesn’t not understand, men who want to do her harm. As the narrative plays out we discover Sara has almost supernatural powers, speed, strength and combat abilities that make her a match for almost anyone, intuition that is almost psychic in it’s foresight.

A lot of people reviewing this title have argued that it’s chronology is confusing, the twin timelines are disjointed and that seemingly unconnected events take a while to fit in to the wider plot and the whole thing come together. Personally I didn’t find any of this a problem and felt it was incredibly well written. Some scenes, such as one with feral dogs (I’ll resist divulging spoilers) are jaw-dropping in their intensity and extremely cleverly put together.

Personally I found this a gripping read, a real rollercoaster of a ride. My only concern is that it is clearly meant as the start of a series and I’m not sure whether the concept can carry it. The ending of Trust No One in particular felt like a cop out and I fear as the series continues my ability to sustain disbelief will be stretched. That said, I enjoyed this so much I will certainly pick up any sequel with eagerness.

4 out of 5 stars