The Ones You Trust

The gripping new psychological thriller from top 10 bestselling author and award-winning journalist, Caroline Overington

Emma Cardwell is the top-rating host of a morning TV show, Cuppa, beloved by audiences and only occasionally stalked by crazy fans. She seems to have it all: fame, money, a gorgeous family, but then her tiny daughter disappears from day care, and Emma's entire life is turned on its head.

Is this a kidnapping, a product of her high profile, or is somebody out for revenge?

As the hours tick by and the pressure mounts, everything comes under scrutiny, including her own marriage, and Emma is forced to confront an aching question: can we trust the ones we love?

Booktopia Staff Review by John Purcell

Caroline Overington has really ratcheted up the tension with her new novel, The Ones You Trust. Page one begins with CCTV footage of a seventeen-month-old girl standing alone and in tears at the foot of a shopping mall escalator, and from that moment on it feels like the story is playing out in ‘real time’. The pace is unrelenting. We are forced to feel the anxiety of parents whose child has gone missing. Every minute counts. Will they find her?

This would be enough for me, but Caroline Overington adds layers of extra complications by making the mother of the missing child a host of the country’s highest rating morning TV show.

And this is where things get really interesting. Because now I am biting my nails worrying about the missing child and hoping the police solve the case quickly – because the alternative is unthinkable – while simultaneously trying to count the times Overington hits the mark when describing the modern media circus performers. Surely they can’t all be this awful? But it rings so true at the same time.

The Ones You Trust has all of the entertainment value of a cracking thriller plus the irresistible temptation of a gossip magazine with exclusive pics of a single celebrity’s baby bump, or a happily married actress kissing an unnamed new beau.

I read The Ones You Trust in two sittings. I just could not put it down. Caroline Overington has been on morning TV so she really knows these people – she knows the ins and outs of that world, and she has let rip. This is a highly entertaining read, perfect for a plane trip or a weekend away.

I can’t wait to see the fallout from Overington’s skewering of some of Australia’s biggest TV names. Ouch.

I also look forward to seeing Overington on morning TV some time soon. (Awkward!)