She has every reason to hate her ex … it doesn’t mean she wants him dead.Every day on her way home from work, Dove Damiani drives past her ex-house, where her ex-husband lives with her ex-dog and her ex-yoga instructor, next to her ex-neighbors and the ex-life she once affectionately described as “frighteningly perfect.”To outsiders, Dove is bitter and resentful. The divorce left her alone, with … left her alone, with nothing but a set of car keys and 50% of a paltry savings account.
So when the lifeless body of her former husband is discovered in the birch grove outside Dove’s apartment on what would have been their fifth wedding anniversary, investigators waste no time making Dove a person of interest.
She swears she didn’t do it. She’s never so much as killed a spider in her thirty-four years.
But as evidence mounts against her, Dove finds herself questioning her memory, her sanity, and even—her innocence.
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What a freaking awesome book. I’m not surprised since it’s written under the pseudonym for Winter Ranshaw, one of my favorite authors. I really loved this book and the writing was phenomenal. It’s a gripping, edge of your seat book that leaves you wondering, how well you know someone. Great book.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.
What a great “who dun it” mystery! I went back and forth on who it was and came close! A twist at the end. A quick read kept me turning pages to try to fit together all the clues! A KU read where I am finding really great new to me authors.
BEWARE A WOMAN SCORNED! 4.5 Stars
To say that You Have To Believe me was a total thrill ride that twisted me up like a pretzel would be putting it mildly! Like any good recipe, Winter Renshaw (under a
different pen name) has given us a noteworthy whodunit with just the right ingredients, and the fantastic title YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE ME bleeds all the desperation reminiscent of cornered, tear-your-hair-out, prime suspects in 1940s’ noir films.
Divorcee Dove Damiani becomes the prime suspect in her dirtbag husband’s murder … and she has plenty of motives after being left nearly destitute by the divorce. Not to mention boiling over with resentment. What transpires is a cleverly plotted suspense mystery that constantly throws one off-track with spiraling clues and possibilities. There’s a list of red herrings a mile long … enough potential victims to pack a room … and an unreliable narrator in Dove who constantly makes us question her sanity and her viewpoint. Who, if anyone, is trustworthy because trust is a huge issue in the mystery.
This entertaining mystery suspensor will keep you questioning everything, including your own conclusions to the very end. Everything points to Dove … or does it? Just kick up your heels, relax into this mindboggling mystery and enjoy the ride all the way to an ending so surprising that you won’t believe it. Beware a woman scorned …
It has been ages since I read a suspense novel and I’d forgotten just how much I enjoyed them.
From the start we are thrown into the mystery of Ian’s death and how Dove’s life has imploded. I was carried along with Dove as she attempted to unravel Ian’s secrets and find his murderer.
I really enjoyed the book. The author kept me guessing trying to work out the clues. Whilst I felt for Dove I wanted her to fight back harder to assert herself a little more. Overall a well thought out book that kept me invested in the story.
Reviewed by United Indie Book Blog
This was such an intriguing, keep you guessing tale. A whodunnit that will have you change your mind frequently on who you think did it. It starts with Dove, the ex-wife who still loved her ex and hoped they would get back together. Until he’s murdered. Then she’s all about finding out who did it. As her theories change, and she finds out more, she starts losing a bit of herself (for many reasons). This keeps you on your toes, and keeps you constantly questioning who you think did it. Right up until the very end. Ya gotta love a book that keeps you that engrossed!!
Oh. My. God. I just didn’t see it coming. I doubted every single person that Dove came across, every motive, I even doubted Dove. I mean maybe her meds didn’t work like we thought, maybe they mess with her sleep and memory. I doubted Ari & Noah & Kristen & Lori & Micheal and then I started all the way back over to Dove. This book keeps you in suspense and wonder from the very beginning till the big reveal and then, AND THEN it throws you a few more curve balls you didn’t think were coming. Amazing! I’m usually the person that guesses who done it from their first appearance but never would I have imagined! This is a must read.
Unpredictable and very tense
4.5
I found this thriller, which makes you doubtful from the beginning to the end, very exciting, with the thrilling story that follows the murder of the perfect man, Ian, whose assassin is being sought through the voices of his ex-wife Dove and of his new woman, Kirsten. But chapter after chapter, the reality of who he was is revealed. The end is rather unexpected.
I really liked this story, but sometimes Dove’s inner speech with his ex-husband, in a one-way speech, and blinded by the love she had for him, annoyed me. Despite of this, it’s a great story.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book
You Have to Believe Me
By Sunday Tomassetti
Main Characters: Dove and Ian
I voluntarily and honestly reviewed this book without bias or persuasion from the author.
5 out of 5 stars
I thought this book was a great suspense/thriller. Very good writing and a lot of twists and turns. It kept me guessing until the end. It had a couple of real shockers in it. Dove spent a lot of time talking to her dead husband whom even though he divorced her 6 months ago, she was still in love with. I started out believing Dove was innocent of Ian’s murder right outside her apartment on what would have been her 5th wedding anniversary but had to start wondering what with all the other characters it could have been. Great who done it!
Dove Damiani looks a little guilty when her ex-husband, Ian, is murdered and left right near her place. It also doesn’t help that she continually drove by their old place where he was now living with his new girlfriend and Dove’s ex close friend Kirsten Best.
Yet Dove knows she is innocent and goes out to prove her innocence yet in doing so she makes herself look more and more guilty.
Can Dove figure everything out before she is charged with his murder?
This book was so good and filled with so much mystery that you keep wondering who is actually behind it all!
I knew Dove was innocent but she really put herself in a bad light with constantly driving by her ex’s place so it looked like she was stalking Ian and Kirsten. Then the whole B & E thing was just the icing on the cake. I was laughing but at the same time I knew this was really not good for Dove trying to prove that she was innocent.
There was so much finger pointing in the book that caused you whiplash as you tried to figure out who was guilty and killed Ian. When the “phone” was located it opened up a whole new world of possibilities and then to have someone from Kirsten’s past be a possibility as well.
There was one character that seemed to help out a little too much and I wondered what was behind it but as things began to fall into place everything became clear!
The end totally shocked me as I wasn’t expecting that person to be the killer although it did make sense.
I was proud of Dove at the end of the book and I would love to have another book where she gets her happy ever after!
A whodunnit that will keep you guessing…
What did I love most about the book? I was surprised by the ending. And that rarely happens.
It’s a great story with plenty of twists and turns to keep you interested and the characters were just as carefully written as the story. Every character is suspect, including Dove who talks to her dead ex. You’re in the mind of someone who is slowly unraveling while still having clarity without the fuzziness of her medication. Maybe. I loved not knowing what would happen next. I didn’t always agree with Dove’s action. There were times where she grated on me, angered me. But then there were times where I sympathized with her, felt the sting of her betrayal and the dull ache of her deep rooted pain. Sometimes I wanted to shake her for not seeing beyond the spur of the moment and doing something reckless. That irrational desperation drove her actions on more than one occasion.
This was a great whodunnit story filled with tons of twists that kept me guessing and turning the page.
/I received an early edition of this book. This did not affect my opinion of the story or content of my review./
When Dove’s ex husband is found murdered outside her apartment on what would have been their 5th wedding anniversary, she immediately becomes the prime suspense; scorned wife and all!! Dove is determined to investigate for herself as to who would have murdered Ian. As she delves deeper though she is left questioning whether she ever knew this man at all. This is a well written story which is unique, and with secrets and twists, which had me on tenterhooks throughout. I highly recommend for all readers who enjoy a murder mystery story.
Do You Ever Really Know Someone?
This suspense will keep you constantly guessing! I read it in one sitting because I just had to know the ending. Everyone is a suspect. Things aren’t what they seem. People let you see what they want you to see.
Finding your ex-husband’s dead body in the wood’s behind your home, on what would have been your fifth wedding anniversary, was not something that you ever expected would happen. Dove is the most likely killer or is she?
Do you ever really know someone? Once Dove decides she’s going to find out who killed Ian, everyone becomes a suspect. She’s determined to find the truth even if it’s hard to hear.
This story will have you questioning everything and everyone. The man she thought she married had secrets. Now Dove is on the police’s radar for his murder. It’s up to her to prove she’s innocent. Nothing is cut and dry. Even friends begin to look like they may have had a motive.
Don’t try to guess. You’ll never be able to figure it out. Get sucked in to the story and let it lead the way.
This was an excellent suspense that kept you guessing until the end. Ian Damiani’s murder rocks the small town of Lambs Grove. In a place where most people don’t lock their doors, who could possibly want him dead? This story is told in dual POV by those closest to him. Was it the ex-wife that couldn’t seem to move on or is there something more sinister going on? I don’t read suspense/thrillers often because I get disappointed if I can guess the mystery easily. You Have To Believe Me did not disappoint! This is a voluntary review of an advance reader copy.
Loved it – kept me guessing until the end!
Dove Damiano-what a great name for this stellar character! When Dove’s ex is murdered outside her apartment on what would have been their fifth anniversary, it looks like someone is framing Dove. Dove had always hoped Ian would come back to their perfect life, but was it really that perfect? Dove doesn’t know who to trust and uncovers things about the duplicitous Ian he never intended anyone to know. As her own mental health is under stress, the reader is left to wonder how reliable Dove’s thoughts are. I enjoyed the tension of this murder mystery, the fantastic cast of characters, and Dove’s beautiful soul.
I received a copy of this book. My honest review is voluntarily provided.
What a great suspense book. I was on edge the entire time to try and figure out who the guilty person was. Was it actually Dove and since she was strung out on meds she doesn’t remember killing Ian, was it her best friend Ari who has always hated Ian or so she says, was it her boss Noah because he is secretly in love with her, or was it her former best friend, now live in girlfriend, Kristen? Ride this out till the end, don’t peek. This book is full of surprises and unease but oh so good.
I received an early copy to read and review and give my honest opinion. I LOVED IT!!! This is far removed from my go to read but I am so glad I read it. Fantastically written, makes you think and keeps you guessing the entire time. I highly recommend this book.
Super suspenseful and has you wondering if everyone is a suspect! I loved Dove’s slightly unstable but still kind hearted character. The story went back and forth between Dove and Kristen’s POV and I enjoyed the look into both their minds. It really was such an back and forth who dun it story that kept me on my toes always guessing and my interest riveted that I read this book in a few hours! Really great read!
” You Have To Believe Me” – words of desperation. Let me tell you; there is a combination of psychological, physical, and heartbreaking desperation going on throughout the pages of this dark, mind whirling, thriller of a mystery.
So many captivating characters, and a stellar plot it- I was all in- theories came and went, wanting to scream at characters to “stop acting so crazy” and others to “get their heads out of the sand.”
It is one helluva ride I almost did not want to see end!
If you enjoy a thrilling “who dun it,” then this is the book for you!
I love a good mystery. This one goes above and beyond. The plot twists are incredible. Dove went through a traumatic divorce and her former husband ends up with her best friend. That is a great plot to start with. The ex-husband ends up dead near her apartment. Hand on for an incredible ride as Dove tries to sort this out. She learns a lot about him, about her former best friend, and herself along the way. I didn’t see the end coming and I bet you won’t either. This is a page-turner that you won’t be able to put down!
Such an intriguing mystery that will having you guessing until the very end. It has a darker vibe, but not in a evil/sinister way. Just the overall feel of the book. It’s written in a way that the Protagonist is mentally talking to to victim (her ex-husband,) in a diary sort of way. Narrating the story. There are many suspects and every time you think you know who dun-it, another person with even more motive pops up. You’ll be constantly second guessing yourself. It does alternate POV’s but it is primarily that of the ex-wife of the victim. For the most part it is a clean read. No sex and very minimal violence, but there are some heavier and more sensitive subject matters splayed throughout the book. It is a well written and beautiful in a poetic way. The characters themselves are well written as well, thus never knowing who or what to believe, aiding to the guessing game. My only ‘complaint’ was the ending, after all was said and done. It wasn’t a bad ending at all, quite nice actually, but it leaves you wondering.
*I received a ARC of this book.