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Let the final act begin…

The thrilling conclusion to the bestselling Emma Holden suspense mystery trilogy. Emma Holden, now happily married, hopes that the nightmare is finally over. But the biggest danger is yet to come. Sinister accusations and shocking revelations sow mistrust, threatening to tear Emma and her friends apart. Soon, Emma must fight for her life as the horrifying truth behind Dan’s kidnap is revealed.

Packed with Paul Pilkington’s trademark twists, turns, and cliff-hangers, The One You Trust is a full length novel of 70,000 words.

Expect the unexpected in a gripping finale to the trilogy that has topped charts on both sides of the Atlantic and been downloaded over two and a half million times.

If you think you know the truth, then think again.

236 pages, ebook

First published September 10, 2013

368 people are currently reading
874 people want to read

About the author

Paul Pilkington

18 books254 followers
Paul Pilkington is a British author of mystery, suspense and thriller novels.

He is best known for his Emma Holden Suspense Mystery series, which follows the story of a young actress named Emma Holden who is thrown into a world of danger and intrigue after the sudden disappearance of her boyfriend. The three novels of the trilogy - The One You Love, The One You Fear, and The One You Trust - have gained thousands of five star reviews worldwide.

Pilkington has also written several best-selling standalone novels, including For Your Own Protection and the Kindle Number One Someone to Save You.

His highly rated Detective Paul Cullen mystery series, featuring a dedicated and determined british transport police detective, is currently at Book 4.

Paul's new novel, You Must Remember Everything, is a psychological thriller about a woman who wakes up in a sealed room, unable to remember who she is or how she got there. To escape, she must face her darkest memories and fears.

Paul Pilkington's writing style is fast-paced, suspenseful, and character-driven. His novels explore the most human of themes and issues, such as love, loss, family, and redemption, in a way that keeps those pages turning.

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5 stars
1,132 (35%)
4 stars
1,080 (33%)
3 stars
742 (23%)
2 stars
176 (5%)
1 star
55 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
Profile Image for Catherine.
27 reviews1 follower
August 20, 2014
The final instalment of this crime thriller trilogy. It has a cliff hanger at the end of every chapter which keeps you turning the pages but I found the resolution disappointing. The characters were not further developed and I found the writing style simplistic and awkward. However, the trilogy makes for an easy and absorbing 'holiday read'.
Profile Image for Diane.
365 reviews10 followers
December 31, 2013
I find that this trilogy fell apart for me in the third book. By the end of the trilogy it was all pretty much very predictable and the characters were boring and also too predictable. I will read another book by this author because he can tell a story, but this may have been better it he stopped after book one
Profile Image for Vikki Vaught.
Author 12 books160 followers
August 7, 2018
While I enjoyed this book, it isn't quite as good as the first two. Happy reading/listening!
Profile Image for Judy McCarver.
164 reviews1 follower
June 23, 2024
This is three books and about three hours of my life I’ll never get back. All the way to the end I thought the main characters were going to be depicted with a little common sense and smarts. But it just got worse and worse. More and more unbelievable. So long Mr. Pilkington.
1 review
April 16, 2022
Excellent book! Hard to put down!! Love the writing style.
Profile Image for Meg Bates.
35 reviews1 follower
January 28, 2023
Title: The One You Trust
Author: Paul Pilkington
Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Themes: Murder/Love/Accusations/Revelations
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This is the final book in Paul Pilkington’s Trilogy: Emma Holden Suspense Mystery Series, and my word did I enjoy it! If you haven’t read this trilogy yet, and you’re a lover of mysteries and thrillers, please give them a read! You won’t be disappointed.

The trilogy covers all basis – a murder mystery, a love story and a family with dark secrets. You can’t really ask for more!

From book one, Emma Holden’s life keeps circling back round to Nightmare Street, the poor girl cannot catch a break! Her fiancé vanishes, her brother is left badly beaten in their London flat, she has a stalker, and her family have been keeping secrets. Emma has no choice but to turn detective with her nearest and dearest to uncover the truth to keep everyone she loves safe and alive.

There are so many twists and turns throughout this trilogy I honestly did not know where Pilkington was taking me, and I absolutely loved it. The suspense builds slowly as you get to know the characters, which are definitely the books greatest strength. The characters throughout are incredibly relatable, all with their normal human flaws, but endearing none-the-less. The timelines of sibling bonds, friendships and love run coherently throughout the book, showing that when you truly love a person, you will do anything to keep them safe. Even when you discover the unspeakable family secret.
37 reviews1 follower
January 30, 2014
Far-fetched

The author should have considered stopping at the second book. The storyline was forced and felt like it was created for the sake of finishing the trilogy. This time I felt it was harder to accept the total fantasy of the storyline. Entire thing was "far-fetched" and a waste. I'm happy that Emma and Dan finally got a happy ending but I would've appreciated it in the second book. This book you can skip......add your own happy ending to book #2, save yourself some time.
Profile Image for Kim Moyer.
112 reviews6 followers
December 2, 2014
While I guess I'm glad I finished the trilogy, Book #1 is by far the best of the 3 and I may have been better just stopping there. The second and third books just started feeling really repetitive. This story often felt forced and even concluding the trilogy, there are still loose ends that never get explained.

It is still an easy read with some suspense and would make a decent, light holiday read.
Profile Image for Courtney(Bring on the Suspense).
134 reviews9 followers
August 8, 2016
A lot of build up and.....

Well the ending was not truly as exciting as I'd hoped it would be. All of the twists and turns and then that ending? I guess it was just a little too simplistic for me. I am glad I finished reading it but I'd hoped for a more powerful ending. I just feel like I had to see how the story ended after reading the first two books. I'm not sure it needed to be seen out so much. But overall I liked it.
Profile Image for Julie.
102 reviews
September 14, 2014
I found the first two books in the trilogy easy holiday style reading with some suspense and even enough tension to keep me reading into the night. I felt the final story was very drawn out and although the who dunnit was kept to the very end is was a rather disappointing finish. I overall enjoyed the trilogy.
Profile Image for moxieBK.
1,763 reviews4 followers
July 23, 2018
The One You Trust — Paul Pilkington (Prologue + 48 chapters + Epilogue) July 21-23, 2018

I read this mostly between July 22-23. Unfortunately, this span started in the evening and it was so good I didn’t want to stop! Very page turny and suspenseful and some twists and turns. I thought I knew how it would turn out, but there were some curveballs thrown in.

If you have read the first and second books in this trilogy (and I hope you have, because the story reads better when read in a row,) this book is written suspenseful like the first book. The characters have grown, but there are still some very human moments in the story that makes for very engaged reading.

I’m kind of sad to see these characters go. From going from hesitant to reading this series to looking for to the last two books in the series, I came to love this delightful tail.

It feels realistic. The twists and turns were just right. It wasn’t scary suspenseful; it was written timed right and logically. Mistaken identities was a main theme in this book, and it ended (last chapter, not the epilogue,) exactly where it should have.

1/2 star taken off for epilogue. It wasn’t needed (unless I missed a significance there.) Otherwise, a very well edited (mostly) and written book.

High four stars.
Profile Image for Judy.
34 reviews
January 22, 2018
This is the final book in the Emma Holder trilogy and I have enjoyed every one of them. They tell a tale so gripping that I have lost sleep because I simply could not bring myself to turn off my audio device. The characters are endearing though not without human flaws, which makes them more likeable to me. The narrator, Fiona Hardingham, does an excellent job of giving recognizable voices to each of the characters and brings the story to life. I recommend this trilogy, starting with The One You Love, and I will be checking out other books by Paul Pilkington.
264 reviews2 followers
May 16, 2020
Here’s the thing... it reads more like a movie script than a book. I do believe that was intentional, but I didn’t like it. I don’t want to be told; I want to be shown. There was a chapter or two close to the end that held my undivided attention, but I was 100% disappointed with the outcome. I’m just neither here nor there on this book because it was a good story, but... A for effort; F for execution.
24 reviews
February 19, 2021
Long & Dragged Out

It was good enough to finish, but way too long.

Constructive Criticism: The author took too long getting to the point. I understand wanting to add suspense, but the method used to do so hindered my ability to thoroughly enjoy the book. I found myself skimming over sections that seemed to have no point...seemingly used to extend the length of the novel.

It wasn't bad, so it gets 3 stars.
Profile Image for Val.
681 reviews
August 29, 2024
The third book in the Emma Holden Suspense Mystery trilogy. Whilst Dan & Emma enjoy a well deserved holiday, Lizzie is checking the flat. When she starts receiving anonymous letters,addressed to her at their flat, it seems that the ghosts or recent pasts have returned once more.

Every now and then you read a book that on the one hand is so good you don’t want it to end, but on the other you can’t wait to see the outcome. Paul Polkington has managed to create a trilogy of them here.
Profile Image for Holly Kelly-Quick.
153 reviews
June 15, 2017
The final instalment of the Emma Holden series.

I have enjoyed the series, grown attached to the characters although they weren't really developed anymore between the books.

My one pet peeve is that Paul constantly reminds us about details from the previous books all the time and it kind of messes with the flow sometimes.
Profile Image for ileen lowery.
56 reviews
September 17, 2019
Suspicion

Great trilogy lots of twists and turns were you think you have solved the story line but then something else adds to the tale
Interesting throughout which keeps the suspense going at times a little slow but you want finish
You think st one point maybe Myers son isn’t dead
Profile Image for Thereadingbell.
1,433 reviews40 followers
October 15, 2019
I probably would have enjoyed this book more if I had read the two books before this one. i should have seen if this was a standalone or a book that had to be read in order. I did think the book was suspenseful and had some twists in it. I think with more back story this book would have come together better for me. I will go back and read book 1 and 2 and see how i feel about the series.
395 reviews2 followers
October 26, 2020
Murder, kidnapping, love, accusations and revelations come to light to bring about a good conclusion.

Emma and Dan think their married life will now be able to move forward and then Emma is kidnapped and the mystery continues. Excellent trilogy to keep your interest high through out.
Profile Image for Brenda.
48 reviews2 followers
August 1, 2023
Not too bad as an ending to the story (trilogy), but the ending seemed more abrupt than I would have liked. Almost as if the antagonist has spent three whole books wreaking havoc, and suddenly the whole crisis is conveniently resolved and wrapped up in a neat little bow. Mixed feelings about this series.
Profile Image for April Plovanich.
5 reviews
February 18, 2019
Finally the Ending

Great ending to the overall story. Held my attention through all 3 books. I like a storyline that plays with my emotions and makes me feel anxious or sad or scared. Books like that don't let me forget the power of writing.
2 reviews
October 14, 2020
Great book. Great ending to a captivating series

I loved this book and would reccomend it to anyone who loves suspense novels. It was engaging, had twists and turns that kept you reading. I couldn't put it down.
60 reviews
May 4, 2017
Probably would have enjoyed it more if I'd have read the other two first!
10 reviews3 followers
June 9, 2017
This trilogy is amazing!! Full of twists and turns!!
Profile Image for Connie Crawford-Koonce.
29 reviews1 follower
January 20, 2019
Fun read

I really enjoyed this fast paced end to the trilogy. I will definitely share with my reading friends. Look forward to more.
Profile Image for Kirsty.
375 reviews
March 2, 2020
I don't really feel like this book was necessary. It feels like things were dragged out and storylines are recycled.
Profile Image for Jennifer Bertelsen.
7 reviews
January 31, 2021
This series was suspenseful and kept me guessing. Some writing parts were "eh," but overall I enjoyed it. Quick reads.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews

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