Trust Me, by Brenda Novak [Mira Books, 2008] 

David Willis: Caregiver

David Willis is part Best Friend, part Caregiver.  He’s continual friend to ex-wife Lynette, peripheral friend to Skye Kellerman, and caregiver to his son, Jeremy.  He’s an all-around good guy who has a deep sense of responsibility toward those he loves and to those he’s made promises to.      

STATS: David has been a cop with the Sacramento Police Force for thirteen years and one case has affected him more deeply than any other.  Oliver Burke, who is at San Quentin for the rapes and murders of several women, almost raped Skye Kellerman.  Had it not been for a pair of embroidery scissors, David never would have had the chance to know–and fall in love with–Skye.

THE LOOK:

He’s tall and lanky.  “We’re talking two hundred pounds of lean muscle, the tightest ass I’ve ever seen and the kind of lips that could keep a woman on her back for weeks.” 

LEADING LADY:

Skye Kellerman is one of three co-founders of The Last Stand, an organization to help victims of violent crime.  Her passion comes from her personal experience with crime–a near rape and murder by a man she helped to put behind bars.  

She and detective David Willis have a tortured love for each other.  Tortured because David has honorable intentions to keep his family intact for the sake of his son–at the cost of his own happiness.  He struggles with mending his broken marriage because of his promise to his son, Jeremy, that he’d move back in and be together again as a family.  He’s noble, almost to a fault, but nobility in this day and age is to be revered.

BOTTOM LINE:

David Willis and his nobility/honorability is a hero to love.  Despite his enormous internal conflict, he manages to stand by both his ex-wife [who has MS] and Skye Kellerman, the woman he truly loves.  

Though he’s a great hero, Trust Me is really Skye’s story.  She loves David, but is resolved to live her life without the man she loves because she won’t be his leftovers.  She knows she deserves more than that and she is ready to give him up because of her own sense of honor.

David and Skye compliment each other.  If they are able to outsmart Oliver Burke and survive his release from San Quentin, they just might have a chance at love.  You’ll have to read Trust Me to find out what happens to Skye and David.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Brenda Novak has created a unique setup for her Last Stand series.  The Last Stand is an organization that supports victims.  This premise itself is noble and gives Trust Me [and the other books in the series] characters who’ve legitimately suffered and who deserve happiness.  

Victims and victim’s rights are tough subjects to talk about.  What do you think of the way Brenda Novak handles a very difficult social issue?