Trust Me, I'm Trouble

August 1, 2015
Quick-thinking grifter Julep Dupree, introduced in Trust Me, I'm Lying (2014), returns for a second round of high-stakes intrigue. With a few snappy lines, readers who have forgotten or missed the details of Book 1 are up to speed. Strong-willed and eminently resourceful, Julep has taken down Ukrainian mob boss Petrov and gained the protection of Dani, a former enforcer for Petrov's organization. When a distraught woman comes to Julep claiming her husband has been manipulated by a cultlike "leadership and personal development organization," a possible connection to her mother's disappearance convinces Julep to take the case. The action moves as quickly and crisply as the dialogue, and the author nimbly juggles interconnected subplots, double crosses, and hidden identities. The plot advances more often through timely disclosures than by particularly clever investigating, but Julep isn't a detective. She's a grifter, and the fun here is watching her scheme and manipulate her way out of a sticky situation. Julep's tender, sarcasm-laden relationship with her FBI-affiliated foster parents provides an emotional center-as does a potential romance with Dani, where Julep's bisexuality (she had a male love interest in the previous volume) is, refreshingly, almost a complete nonissue. A clever romp that keeps readers guessing. (Thriller. 12-18)

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September 1, 2015

Gr 8 Up-In this sequel to Trust Me, I'm Lying (Delacorte, 2014), Julep Dupree, the skilled teenage grifter, is back. Still mourning the loss of her friend Tyler and her father's incarceration, Julep is living with the FBI agent tasked with arresting her last year, and fighting for her own life as she tries to uncover who wants her dead badly enough to hire a hit man. And it is not just her living situation that has changed. Sam, best friend extraordinaire, has transferred to a private school and is ignoring every text and email Julep sends; Lily, a transfer student to St. Agatha's, has joined their motley investigative crew; and Sister Rasmussen, St. Agatha's school president, has taken an unnatural interest in Julep's summer internship assignment. The only constant in her life is Dani, a 19-year-old Ukrainian mob enforcer who has taken it upon herself to play the part of Julep's personal bodyguard. Add to this mix a distraught wife hiring the protagonist to discover her husband's connection to "the blue fairy," which just happens to be a euphemism for Julep's long-lost mother, and readers will be in for an action-packed crime caper. The pace keeps readers wholly involved while successfully delivering a multilayered story line. The heroine continues to evolve as she struggles with her identity within a family, as well as her need to feel loved despite her incredible drive to survive on her own. VERDICT Summer does not disappoint in delivering Julep's second adventure.-Colleen S. Banick, Westport Public Schools, CT

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