Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Trust No One

by Gregg Hurwitz

     

Gregg Hurwitz's latest novel, Trust No One, brings political intrigue into the life of Nick Horrigan, a teenager who followed his hormones to a late night tryst, leaving his home vulnerable to intruders, an act that eventually led to his stepfather's murder. Horrigan spent nine years running and another eight trying to make sense of his guilt and that awful night. When a SWAT team comes crashing through his apartment, whisking him away to a nuclear facility to meet with an alleged terrorist who asked for him by name, Horrigan is soon pulled into a cat-and-mouse game with the Secret Service and finds himself between two presidential candidates, and feeling uncertainty about his own past and those he trusts.

Once again, Hurwitz serves up a complex plot and characters I really found fascinating, not only Horrigan and his small circle of friends and family, but a homeless alcoholic he befriends, an immigrant locksmith, and a number of agents. But as the title says, it is hard for Horrigan to determine who to trust, even his own family. The twists and turns in this one were enough to keep me rapidly turning pages until I sat back with a thoughtful Hmmm.

Trust No One has an echo of Hurwitz's last work, The Crime Writer (also reviewed on Myshelf): told in the first person (which is something new in the Hurwitz cannon), begins with a bang, and deals with a suspect solving his own mystery. However, while The Crime Writer often commented on life in Los Angeles and slipped into some of the most exquisite prose Hurwitz has ever written, Trust No One is bare-bones thriller writing at its best, with enough introspection to give Horrigan depth without having him wallow in the various dilemmas in his life—and there are plenty, especially when he (and the reader) come to realize he isn't safe anywhere and that there really isn't anyone to trust.

It is, however, a departure from some of Hurwitz's previous crime novels, revolving around Deputy U.S. Marshal Tim Rackley, a series that has resulted in four novels to date. Still, each of those prior novels had an underlying social premise. Last Shot (also reviewed on Myshelf) took on drug companies and research, The Program (also reviewed on Myshelf) tackled mind-control cults, Troubleshooter (also reviewed on Myshelf) got down with motorcycle gangs, and  The Kill Clause examined law enforcement. Even his intricate  Do No Harm  portrayed a physician and maniacal killer from separate points of view and revealed the underbelly of medicine. So it isn't surprising that Hurwitz decided to move into yet another realm in Trust No One, whose premise could easily come from news headlines in the past decade and serves as an interesting commentary on politics, no matter which side of the Red or Blues states you are on.

Trust No One is an exceptional read. Highly recommended.

The Book

St. Martin's Press
June 23, 2009
ARC of Hardcover
0312534892 / 978-0312534899
Thriller
More at Amazon.com
Excerpt
NOTE:

The Reviewer

Janie Franz
Reviewed 2009
NOTE: Reviewer Janie Franz is the author of Freelance Writing: It’s a Business, Stupid!and co-author of The Ultimate Wedding Reception Book and The Ultimate Wedding Ceremony Book.
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