Carolyn Ruffles

Who to Trust Carolyn Ruffles

Who to Trust is a compelling romantic suspense novel.

It opens with the abduction of a baby from a hospital. The tension continues as romantic novelist, Anna Blake realises she is being stalked by someone driving a blue Peugeot. Then, three-year-old Maisie Matthews is abducted from a holiday resort in Spain.

Anna tries to discover the identity of her stalker. Suspects include: Damien Davies, who has a grudge against her; old flame, Ewan Jacobs, who wishes to resume their relationship; and Dan Foggity, boyfriend of her housemate Ellie, whom Anna has good reason to distrust. The narrative slowly unpeels Anna's claustrophobic relationship with her parents and her growing fear. She repeatedly notices a mysterious grey-haired man driving a black Range Rover. Is he the one following her? If so, why? Throughout her life she has suffered from anxiety and panic attacks and, increasingly, wonders if she is being paranoid.

Anna meets enigmatic newcomer to the village, Josh Fielding, and is instantly attracted to him. But there are things about Josh which don't add up and Anna wonders if she can trust him. Comic relief is provided through the description of their burgeoning relationship and by excerpts from Anna's novel in progress, where the main character also has trust issues. When she meets a lonely, older woman, Anna's life grows even more complicated and she becomes embroiled in the mystery of a missing child.

As events escalate and the search for the truth becomes a matter of life and death, Anna even doubts the people who are closest to her. Everyone is hiding something. No-one is quite what they seem.

How does she know Who to Trust?