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Tessa Daly #2
Trust Her
Two sisters find they can't outrun their past in the riveting new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Northern Spy
Three years after they narrowly escaped the IRA's worst punishment for informing, Northern Irish sisters Tessa and Marian Daly have built a new life in Dublin with their young children. Though Tessa is haunted by the abrupt and violent end to her old life, she does her best to immerse herself in the joys of Finn's childhood and the rhythms of her new job at the Irish Observer .
It's a small island, though, and just as quickly as they disappeared, figures from the sisters' past surface to drag them back into the conflict. Tessa is told she must track down her old handler from MI5, Eamonn, and attempt to turn him into an IRA informant, or lose everything.
Tessa's reunion with Eamonn revives a host of feelings she has long attempted to bury. As their relationship intensifies and the pressure mounts, long-held secrets rise to the surface, and Tessa must navigate a treacherous landscape of shifting loyalties, all while trying to protect her beloved son.
With her signature hair-raising suspense, razor-sharp prose, and rich emotional depth, Edgar Award winner Berry has crafted both an unforgettable portrait of two fierce women in the Daly sisters, and her most spellbinding thriller to date.
Three years after they narrowly escaped the IRA's worst punishment for informing, Northern Irish sisters Tessa and Marian Daly have built a new life in Dublin with their young children. Though Tessa is haunted by the abrupt and violent end to her old life, she does her best to immerse herself in the joys of Finn's childhood and the rhythms of her new job at the Irish Observer .
It's a small island, though, and just as quickly as they disappeared, figures from the sisters' past surface to drag them back into the conflict. Tessa is told she must track down her old handler from MI5, Eamonn, and attempt to turn him into an IRA informant, or lose everything.
Tessa's reunion with Eamonn revives a host of feelings she has long attempted to bury. As their relationship intensifies and the pressure mounts, long-held secrets rise to the surface, and Tessa must navigate a treacherous landscape of shifting loyalties, all while trying to protect her beloved son.
With her signature hair-raising suspense, razor-sharp prose, and rich emotional depth, Edgar Award winner Berry has crafted both an unforgettable portrait of two fierce women in the Daly sisters, and her most spellbinding thriller to date.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published June 25, 2024
372 people are currently reading
20184 people want to read
About the author
Flynn Berry
8 books1,514 followersFlynn Berry is the New York Times bestselling author of Trust Her (out June 2024), Northern Spy, A Double Life, and Under the Harrow. Northern Spy was a Reese’s Book Club Pick and chosen as one of the ten best thrillers of the year by The New York Times and the Washington Post, and Under the Harrow won the Edgar Award for best first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 429 reviews
June 8, 2024
4.5 stars, rounded up
Trust Her is the follow up to The Northern Spy. It begins three years later. Tessa and her sister Marian are now living in Ireland under new names, having escaped Belfast and the IRA. And no, this isn’t an historical story. Unbeknownst to me until reading The Northern Spy, the IRA is still active in Belfast and still extracting revenge against informers.
The story begins when Tessa is kidnapped and told she must find a way to turn her handler into an IRA informer or watch the IRA go after all her family, even cousins. It’s something that will involve a slow process of luring him in. But while doing that, her whole relationship with him becomes complicated. Tessa is walking a tightrope between the two sides, along with her own moral compass. It’s a situation where there are no good choices. But Tessa is a mother and at heart, she must protect Finn. Berry does a great job of putting us into Tessa’s head and I felt all of her confusion, including her feelings about her mother and sister.
This isn’t a book with a lot of action, but there’s a great underlying sense of tension throughout. It’s proof that you can have a great thriller without going overboard on the OTT exploits. And the ending was just perfect. I didn’t see any of the twists coming.
Berry’s writing is concise yet perfectly descriptive. Scenes were extremely easy to envision.
I highly recommend reading The Northern Spy before reading this.
My thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group for an advance copy of this book.
Trust Her is the follow up to The Northern Spy. It begins three years later. Tessa and her sister Marian are now living in Ireland under new names, having escaped Belfast and the IRA. And no, this isn’t an historical story. Unbeknownst to me until reading The Northern Spy, the IRA is still active in Belfast and still extracting revenge against informers.
The story begins when Tessa is kidnapped and told she must find a way to turn her handler into an IRA informer or watch the IRA go after all her family, even cousins. It’s something that will involve a slow process of luring him in. But while doing that, her whole relationship with him becomes complicated. Tessa is walking a tightrope between the two sides, along with her own moral compass. It’s a situation where there are no good choices. But Tessa is a mother and at heart, she must protect Finn. Berry does a great job of putting us into Tessa’s head and I felt all of her confusion, including her feelings about her mother and sister.
This isn’t a book with a lot of action, but there’s a great underlying sense of tension throughout. It’s proof that you can have a great thriller without going overboard on the OTT exploits. And the ending was just perfect. I didn’t see any of the twists coming.
Berry’s writing is concise yet perfectly descriptive. Scenes were extremely easy to envision.
I highly recommend reading The Northern Spy before reading this.
My thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group for an advance copy of this book.
August 14, 2024
You might want to read the first book "The Northern Spy". I didn’t realize this was a sequel and wished I had. It is about the IRA in Belfast and how two sisters escaped their fate. Tessa and Marian leave their old life behind and have moved to a small island, until Tessa is captured by the IRA. She is given a choice to help turn around one of her handlers, Eamonn, or lose everything she has worked for.
The story is tense with a great deal of suspense and twists. Tessa and Marian decide to use what they know to turn them against each other and play both sides. A lot of moral lines are crossed and it becomes quite emotional, but they are tough women. Although this is fiction, the IRA is still active in Belfast.
Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Viking for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The story is tense with a great deal of suspense and twists. Tessa and Marian decide to use what they know to turn them against each other and play both sides. A lot of moral lines are crossed and it becomes quite emotional, but they are tough women. Although this is fiction, the IRA is still active in Belfast.
Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Viking for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
July 8, 2024
For Their Causes
It is not always easy keeping faith in your side when war is on. Lines are crossed and you might have to grit your teeth and close your eyes in order to believe the “ends justify the means.” In “Trust Her” by Flynn Berry, we have two sisters caught up in The Troubles of Northern Ireland. Set in a possible near future time, Tessa and Marian Daly are building new lives and new identities in Dublin, three years after escaping the IRA justice for being informers in a previous novel, “Northern Spy.”
Now Tessa is discovered and captured by an IRA agent. She is told she must contact her old MI5 handler, Eamonn, and get him to turn IRA informant. Tessa was never willingly part of either side’s spy network and wants nothing to do with it now– but faced with threats to her family she sees no way out. Tessa and Marian create a plan to play both sides against each other, but the plot is compromised by romantic feelings for Eamonn and an over-ambitious detective inspector who is almost drooling over the prospect of uncovering an IRA sleeper cell.
In 2023’s “Brotherless Night,” V. V. Ganeshananthan presents warring sides in Sri Lanka who will stoop to any evil to further their just causes. Sashi wants to do everything she can to help her brothers in their rebel cause… but is torn when she sees the atrocities her side is capable of. In this novel, Flynn Berry illuminates the unscrupulous sides of the players here. There is no romanticization of the IRA, the Loyalists, or MI5. The judgments and the condemnations are on the deaths and sufferings of the victims involved… and how low groups will sink in the name of the cause.
The suspense is tight as the two sisters try and wriggle out of what looks to be an unwinnable predicament. Secrets are revealed, the biggest from within their own family. There is also a nice twist toward the end I never saw coming. A nice thriller, trust me.
Thank you to the Penguin Group / Viking Books and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. #TrustHer #NetGalley
It is not always easy keeping faith in your side when war is on. Lines are crossed and you might have to grit your teeth and close your eyes in order to believe the “ends justify the means.” In “Trust Her” by Flynn Berry, we have two sisters caught up in The Troubles of Northern Ireland. Set in a possible near future time, Tessa and Marian Daly are building new lives and new identities in Dublin, three years after escaping the IRA justice for being informers in a previous novel, “Northern Spy.”
Now Tessa is discovered and captured by an IRA agent. She is told she must contact her old MI5 handler, Eamonn, and get him to turn IRA informant. Tessa was never willingly part of either side’s spy network and wants nothing to do with it now– but faced with threats to her family she sees no way out. Tessa and Marian create a plan to play both sides against each other, but the plot is compromised by romantic feelings for Eamonn and an over-ambitious detective inspector who is almost drooling over the prospect of uncovering an IRA sleeper cell.
In 2023’s “Brotherless Night,” V. V. Ganeshananthan presents warring sides in Sri Lanka who will stoop to any evil to further their just causes. Sashi wants to do everything she can to help her brothers in their rebel cause… but is torn when she sees the atrocities her side is capable of. In this novel, Flynn Berry illuminates the unscrupulous sides of the players here. There is no romanticization of the IRA, the Loyalists, or MI5. The judgments and the condemnations are on the deaths and sufferings of the victims involved… and how low groups will sink in the name of the cause.
The suspense is tight as the two sisters try and wriggle out of what looks to be an unwinnable predicament. Secrets are revealed, the biggest from within their own family. There is also a nice twist toward the end I never saw coming. A nice thriller, trust me.
Thank you to the Penguin Group / Viking Books and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. #TrustHer #NetGalley
February 10, 2024
4.5 stars. LOVED IT.
August 6, 2024
Trust Her by Flynn Berry is a thrilling speculative spy drama that picks up three years after Northern Spy. I didn't expect a sequel, but I'm so glad Flynn Berry brought back Tessa Daly. Tessa is even more determined and fierce this time around. She and her sister Marian now live in Dublin with their young kids—Finn is four, and Marian has a six-month-old daughter.
The story, told from Tessa's perspective, kicks off with her being kidnapped and beaten by Eion from the IRA. She's forced to connect with Eamon, her MI5 handler, and try to turn him into an informant. The pace is super fast and addictive; it pulled me right out of my reading slump. I love when a sequel tops the original, and this one definitely does. The action-packed, tense moments are balanced with Tessa's mothering duties. Her interactions with Eamonn bring up some undeniable feelings, and there are well-plotted secrets and revelations. With beautiful prose and a captivating story, I absolutely loved it.
The story, told from Tessa's perspective, kicks off with her being kidnapped and beaten by Eion from the IRA. She's forced to connect with Eamon, her MI5 handler, and try to turn him into an informant. The pace is super fast and addictive; it pulled me right out of my reading slump. I love when a sequel tops the original, and this one definitely does. The action-packed, tense moments are balanced with Tessa's mothering duties. Her interactions with Eamonn bring up some undeniable feelings, and there are well-plotted secrets and revelations. With beautiful prose and a captivating story, I absolutely loved it.
August 25, 2024
4.5
Trust Her follows the plot and characters of Northern Spy-
So it helps to have read it first. There is enough of a recap if you haven’t
This was so informative about the Troubles so it could be classified as historical..
But it was truly about the love of family and what you will do to preserve it.
With a complicated love story thrown in.
Flynn Berry can write and I can’t wait to see what comes next.
Trust Her follows the plot and characters of Northern Spy-
So it helps to have read it first. There is enough of a recap if you haven’t
This was so informative about the Troubles so it could be classified as historical..
But it was truly about the love of family and what you will do to preserve it.
With a complicated love story thrown in.
Flynn Berry can write and I can’t wait to see what comes next.
July 19, 2024
I really loved Northern Spy but this one was just meh for me. Firstly, this book needs to be properly advertised and marked as a sequel to Northern Spy, you really can’t read this without reading that first and I don’t know why the book isn’t properly labeled as such.
The writing was good but it really bugged me how hard she tried to infuse Irish dialect into it without being from Ireland herself. It felt inauthentic and added to my disappointment about reading a story about the conflict in Ireland not written by someone who lived it. I also have a huge issue with her taking this part of history and writing about it as if it’s the current situation. She gave a little heads up with a note at the beginning that it’s a work of fiction set in a near future Ireland, but she should’ve made it very clear that she was kind of imagining a modern Ireland as if the Troubles were still going on in a way.
The plot moved at an ok pace, but I felt like it was insubstantial and at points not believable. There was one twist that I appreciated, but otherwise this one felt unfocused and not as purposeful as Northern Spy. It was fine, but I don’t feel I gained a whole lot from reading it. I absolutely rec Northern Spy but you might be fine skipping this one.
The writing was good but it really bugged me how hard she tried to infuse Irish dialect into it without being from Ireland herself. It felt inauthentic and added to my disappointment about reading a story about the conflict in Ireland not written by someone who lived it. I also have a huge issue with her taking this part of history and writing about it as if it’s the current situation. She gave a little heads up with a note at the beginning that it’s a work of fiction set in a near future Ireland, but she should’ve made it very clear that she was kind of imagining a modern Ireland as if the Troubles were still going on in a way.
The plot moved at an ok pace, but I felt like it was insubstantial and at points not believable. There was one twist that I appreciated, but otherwise this one felt unfocused and not as purposeful as Northern Spy. It was fine, but I don’t feel I gained a whole lot from reading it. I absolutely rec Northern Spy but you might be fine skipping this one.
July 2, 2024
Trust Her
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Flynn Berry
I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Penguin Group and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.
Synopsis: Three years after they narrowly escaped the IRA's worst punishment for informing, Northern Irish sisters Tessa and Marian Daly have built a new life in Dublin with their young children. Though Tessa is haunted by the abrupt and violent end to her old life, she does her best to immerse herself in the joys of Finn's childhood and the rhythms of her new job at the Irish Observer .
It's a small island, though, and just as quickly as they disappeared, figures from the sisters' past surface to drag them back into the conflict. Tessa is told she must track down her old handler from MI5, Eamonn, and attempt to turn him into an IRA informant, or lose everything.
Tessa's reunion with Eamonn revives a host of feelings she has long attempted to bury. As their relationship intensifies and the pressure mounts, long-held secrets rise to the surface, and Tessa must navigate a treacherous landscape of shifting loyalties, all while trying to protect her beloved son.
My Thoughts: This is a follow up to Northern Spy that starts three years after that book ends. Even though this sounds like historical fiction using the term like “IRA”, it is not historical and the IRA is alive and well in some parts of the world. Three years after escaping the IRA, two sisters (Tessa and Marian) have built a new life in Dublin with their children. Tessa is especially haunted by her old life but does her best to be in the moment with her child, Finn, and her job at the local newspaper. It’s a small island and it is hard to escape the conflict. After Tessa is kidnapped by the IRA, Tessa is informed that she must contact her old handler from MI5, Eamonn, in attempt to turn him into an informant on IRA. Consequences for not turning him will put her whole family, even extended in danger by the IRA. Feelings that Tessa has tried to bury come to the surface while she navigates shifting localities, all while she protects her son, Finn.
Tessa is shifting her loyalty to the IRA (even though she really does not want to be loyal there), her loyalties to her handler, Eamonn, her own moral compass, and finally her loyalty as a mother to her son. The tightrope becomes thinner and thinner with a spark lit in the middle. Berry does a phenomenal job at putting the reader into the head of Tess, her inner monologue and internal struggles, the confusion that she feels, and how she feels about her own family, her mother and sister. This is a slow burn, low action, but tense building throughout the storyline. The characters were well developed with mystery and were intriguing. The author’s writing style was complex, multifaceted, concise, extremely detailed, and keeps you engaged. I really loved how the author shows that one generation’s actions can impact the next, or even the next generation with consequences that the first generation could not even imagine. The character backstories were continued to build, the plot was delivered in twisty layers, and the ending was perfect.
While this is a follow up book and could probably be read as a standalone, it would be better to read The Northern Spy first to get a better sense of character development, providing a better reading enrichment. This is story about the love between family, a mother’s love, and consequences. There were some plot holes left open and the ending was kind of abrupt, my only complaints for this story. Overall, I enjoyed reading. I would recommend to other readers.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Flynn Berry
I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Penguin Group and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.
Synopsis: Three years after they narrowly escaped the IRA's worst punishment for informing, Northern Irish sisters Tessa and Marian Daly have built a new life in Dublin with their young children. Though Tessa is haunted by the abrupt and violent end to her old life, she does her best to immerse herself in the joys of Finn's childhood and the rhythms of her new job at the Irish Observer .
It's a small island, though, and just as quickly as they disappeared, figures from the sisters' past surface to drag them back into the conflict. Tessa is told she must track down her old handler from MI5, Eamonn, and attempt to turn him into an IRA informant, or lose everything.
Tessa's reunion with Eamonn revives a host of feelings she has long attempted to bury. As their relationship intensifies and the pressure mounts, long-held secrets rise to the surface, and Tessa must navigate a treacherous landscape of shifting loyalties, all while trying to protect her beloved son.
My Thoughts: This is a follow up to Northern Spy that starts three years after that book ends. Even though this sounds like historical fiction using the term like “IRA”, it is not historical and the IRA is alive and well in some parts of the world. Three years after escaping the IRA, two sisters (Tessa and Marian) have built a new life in Dublin with their children. Tessa is especially haunted by her old life but does her best to be in the moment with her child, Finn, and her job at the local newspaper. It’s a small island and it is hard to escape the conflict. After Tessa is kidnapped by the IRA, Tessa is informed that she must contact her old handler from MI5, Eamonn, in attempt to turn him into an informant on IRA. Consequences for not turning him will put her whole family, even extended in danger by the IRA. Feelings that Tessa has tried to bury come to the surface while she navigates shifting localities, all while she protects her son, Finn.
Tessa is shifting her loyalty to the IRA (even though she really does not want to be loyal there), her loyalties to her handler, Eamonn, her own moral compass, and finally her loyalty as a mother to her son. The tightrope becomes thinner and thinner with a spark lit in the middle. Berry does a phenomenal job at putting the reader into the head of Tess, her inner monologue and internal struggles, the confusion that she feels, and how she feels about her own family, her mother and sister. This is a slow burn, low action, but tense building throughout the storyline. The characters were well developed with mystery and were intriguing. The author’s writing style was complex, multifaceted, concise, extremely detailed, and keeps you engaged. I really loved how the author shows that one generation’s actions can impact the next, or even the next generation with consequences that the first generation could not even imagine. The character backstories were continued to build, the plot was delivered in twisty layers, and the ending was perfect.
While this is a follow up book and could probably be read as a standalone, it would be better to read The Northern Spy first to get a better sense of character development, providing a better reading enrichment. This is story about the love between family, a mother’s love, and consequences. There were some plot holes left open and the ending was kind of abrupt, my only complaints for this story. Overall, I enjoyed reading. I would recommend to other readers.
July 23, 2024
Flynn Berry's Trust Her is a sequel to Northern Spy. Three years later, Tessa and Marian have settled into their new lives in Dublin. Both are mothers and appear to be living normal lives, but they realize the past has added an element of current danger. One of the few times Tessa fails to pay attention, she is involved in a staged auto accident, followed by her kidnapping and a deadly threat. If she fails to recruit her old MI5 handler Eamonn to spy for the IRA, they will start killing her family members. This demand is reasonable from an IRA perspective because sexual manipulation is seen as her special talent. Her sister's is bomb making. The book is similar to Northern Spy in creating a constant state of suspense without much action. Tessa seduces Eamonn and makes enough progress on establishing a relationship to stave off the IRA threat, but she senses more is happening than she realizes. In an echo of Northern Spy, all is not as it seems. Marian's hiking injury brings the sisters close enough to share hidden secrets, and their mother reveals more about her own past. Where does Eamonn really fit in? Are Tessa and Marian still at risk of violence from the IRA? So much of the political situation in Ireland comes down to issues of secrecy and trust. You don't need to read Northern Spy to enjoy this book.
September 22, 2024
Loved this duology. Clever suspense and beautiful writing about sisterhood and motherhood. The audio was fantastic!
June 24, 2024
3.75 stars - Sequel to “Northern Spy”
Thoughts: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTNF1PGsG/
Thoughts: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTNF1PGsG/
May 7, 2024
As a disclaimer…I won this in a Goodreads giveaway.
Trust Her is a story about consequences…and love. But not necessarily romantic love. Rather, it is the story of a mother’s love for her child…and the unique love between sisters.
Trust Her shows the intricacies of a modern day, war-torn Ireland. The struggle between the IRA, UVF, and MI5 to wrest control of Ireland from the British is one I personally do not know much about, but it is devastating to read. Each group believes their cause to be just…but so many people get caught in the crossfire. Each has valid opinions…but who is right? For the main characters, Tessa and Marian, they once sympathized with the IRA, but turned into informers as they realized maybe they were not on the right side. When a handler from MI5 approaches them…they take the offer. Secrets abound…and nobody is ever who they say they are.
This book had some really good bits of fast-paced action that had my heart pounding. I feared for Tessa and Marian’s lives on multiple occasions. There were also bits of it that felt quite slow moving, but in the end, it was all very important for the story. I particularly love the full circle approach. Where everything begins…it also ends. The story did an excellent job of showing that our actions have consequences, and sometimes we are not the ones to personally be impacted by those consequences. Sometimes they have ripple effects through generations. Once we make a decision…it can have an impact that we can’t even fathom.
I didn’t give this a full 5 stars because there were some slow moments. While most of them were important for the story, or set up some background information…some of it had a slow build, only to have a very abrupt ending. I also would have liked to have more clarity on what happened to the handler…and the detective. That part felt a bit unfinished to me. All in all, it’s a very good book, and I enjoyed reading it!
Trust Her is a story about consequences…and love. But not necessarily romantic love. Rather, it is the story of a mother’s love for her child…and the unique love between sisters.
Trust Her shows the intricacies of a modern day, war-torn Ireland. The struggle between the IRA, UVF, and MI5 to wrest control of Ireland from the British is one I personally do not know much about, but it is devastating to read. Each group believes their cause to be just…but so many people get caught in the crossfire. Each has valid opinions…but who is right? For the main characters, Tessa and Marian, they once sympathized with the IRA, but turned into informers as they realized maybe they were not on the right side. When a handler from MI5 approaches them…they take the offer. Secrets abound…and nobody is ever who they say they are.
This book had some really good bits of fast-paced action that had my heart pounding. I feared for Tessa and Marian’s lives on multiple occasions. There were also bits of it that felt quite slow moving, but in the end, it was all very important for the story. I particularly love the full circle approach. Where everything begins…it also ends. The story did an excellent job of showing that our actions have consequences, and sometimes we are not the ones to personally be impacted by those consequences. Sometimes they have ripple effects through generations. Once we make a decision…it can have an impact that we can’t even fathom.
I didn’t give this a full 5 stars because there were some slow moments. While most of them were important for the story, or set up some background information…some of it had a slow build, only to have a very abrupt ending. I also would have liked to have more clarity on what happened to the handler…and the detective. That part felt a bit unfinished to me. All in all, it’s a very good book, and I enjoyed reading it!
September 11, 2024
The book was nicely written, however I’m still trying to find the point as to why I read it. I guess there may have been a story there, and I missed it.
December 1, 2024
I wasn't aware there was a first book so I spent a great deal of time trying to work out where we were on some sort of time line. To be honest, I grew up with the IRA on the news every night and I could never understand how religion was such a marker for violence. I thought the whole thing was done, but that only shows where I am in world.... Now I have to find the first one..
One of the sisters, Tessa who was less involved with the IRA than her sister is kidnapped and treated as a traitor. Fearful that she would be killed she agrees to contact her handler from the old days and see if she can turn him. If she can't her family, her cousins and aunts will be killed, all of them, and Tessa believes them.
And so the story begins.. the plot is tightrope taut, with layer after layer and lots of critical thinking about how to make this work and live. Tessa has a small child and is terrified that something will happen to her son or her sister's three children. She has to start a relationship with her ex handler, all the while handling her accuser and threatener... what a mess.
For a book that has little action, much of which is watching out the window or car lights on the wall in a dark house ... I never lost interest and I admired both of the sister's loyalty to each other and how they stood up under such a tough situation.
Looking for the first one now..
5 stars
Happy Reading!
June 16, 2025
I didn't give this sequel to the brilliant Northern Spy a five, because I thought the pacing was a little slow for the first two hundred pages and then all of a sudden went at breakneck speed for the last sixty. This sequel felt a bit unnecessary, yet I have to say the story was still interesting. I think this one picked up on the themes of the first book in the sense that it felt like Tessa still never truly saw Marian-- nor her mother either, or herself really I think. I think Eamon's reappearance was interesting and well-handled and I did really enjoy it. The writing was excellent, though I felt it was a bit repetitive how important it was to Tessa that she was a mother--yet she didn't always make decisions that way. The ending was very good and I liked the role the mom played in the resolution of the conflict.
September 2, 2024
Trust Her by Flynn Berry is a followup to Northern Spy. I didn't know she had a new book out until Susan at The Cue Card mentioned it. Then I read an interview in Bookpage here about books Flynn likes and her latest publication.
The sisters Marion and Tessa Daly are the main characters in Northern Spy and they are the stars in this book. There were some nice surprises near the end of this one. If you have any interest in this story you ought to read Northern Spy first as the background is important. Just read Netflix is going to make a movie of the Northern Spy.
You get inside Tessa's thoughts as she faces complex choices, moral choices, in an impossible situation. She and, unbeknownst to them, her family are in danger walking a tightrope between the IRA, MI5 and loyalists.
More about this author HERE. I'm caught up on all four of her publications now and will be interested in what she comes up with next.
May 16, 2024
So good. I could not put this one down!
September 9, 2024
I really enjoyed the prequel Northern Spy and I had so hoped that Marion and Tessa could relocate and have happy lives for ever and ever. So I actually didn't want a sequel. The beginning of this felt like a lot of rehashing the first book but then BAM it got really good, really fast. I had no idea which way things would go and it was unpredictable in the best way. A great sequel, I will not say spoilers but I am very pleased. But I think this should be the end as much as I like Tessa!
March 5, 2025
Northern Spy was soooo good and this was a good sequel. I feel like they could’ve wrapped up Eamonn’s storyline a little better though
July 11, 2024
3.5
Thank you to @prhaudio for the gifted ALC of this book.
Audiobook was a great way to go because I loved the narrator with the Irish accent that was fitting to this Northern Ireland setting.
I thought the plot and concept was good, it dragged for me a bit in the middle, the ending was satisfying.
Thank you to @prhaudio for the gifted ALC of this book.
Audiobook was a great way to go because I loved the narrator with the Irish accent that was fitting to this Northern Ireland setting.
I thought the plot and concept was good, it dragged for me a bit in the middle, the ending was satisfying.
January 26, 2025
3.25⭐️
March 6, 2025
4.5. Even better than Northern Spy. The plot is tighter and the pace is quick while still leaving time to fully develop the characters, particularly Tessa. A few good twists.
April 30, 2024
Flynn Berry is back with another thriller set amid The Troubles. Trust Her picks up where Northern Spy left off, featuring Irish sisters Tessa and Marian and their entanglement with the IRA.
Some time has elapsed since the two escaped IRA militants determined to punish Marian's work as an informer. With new identities, the sisters are settled in the Republic of Ireland, raising their children and working.
But their peace is not destined to last. Militants find Tessa, kidnap her, and want her to turn Marian's handler with British security into an IRA informer.
Flynn deftly captures the sisters' panic at being caught in yet another trap where all the choices seem equally bad. I had to put the book down a few times to let my heart rate return to normal.
The twists are well executed – I didn't see them coming, but they made absolute sense.
I love it when you close a book and think, "That ending was perfect."
*I received an early review copy from NetGalley.
Some time has elapsed since the two escaped IRA militants determined to punish Marian's work as an informer. With new identities, the sisters are settled in the Republic of Ireland, raising their children and working.
But their peace is not destined to last. Militants find Tessa, kidnap her, and want her to turn Marian's handler with British security into an IRA informer.
Flynn deftly captures the sisters' panic at being caught in yet another trap where all the choices seem equally bad. I had to put the book down a few times to let my heart rate return to normal.
The twists are well executed – I didn't see them coming, but they made absolute sense.
I love it when you close a book and think, "That ending was perfect."
*I received an early review copy from NetGalley.
June 16, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for an eARC copy of Trust Her by Flynn Berry.
While you can certainly read Trust Her as a stand alone novel, it would certainly help to read the first book "Northern Spy" for an introduction the characters and more understanding of what is going on in their world. I was a bit thrown off as it wasn't listed as a sequel and listed as just a novel. The novel itself takes place three years after Tessa and Marian Daly escaped the IRA and have since resettled in Dublin, trying to forge new lives and make better ones for their children.
Flynn Berry does a wonderful job going straight into the action, which is what I really enjoyed most as some novels (especially sequels) tend to drag a bit to make up for the time between books. It also made for the tension and the danger more real, because even though it had been three years, they still weren't exactly safe per se. Their enemies were just biding their time. But, what I really wanted was to hear more of Marian's side, after looking up what happened in "Northern Spy" I feel like it would have been nice to see everything from her side as well.
Honestly, I got through it pretty quickly, but the ending left much to enjoy and I'd certainly let people know that this is a sequel.
While you can certainly read Trust Her as a stand alone novel, it would certainly help to read the first book "Northern Spy" for an introduction the characters and more understanding of what is going on in their world. I was a bit thrown off as it wasn't listed as a sequel and listed as just a novel. The novel itself takes place three years after Tessa and Marian Daly escaped the IRA and have since resettled in Dublin, trying to forge new lives and make better ones for their children.
Flynn Berry does a wonderful job going straight into the action, which is what I really enjoyed most as some novels (especially sequels) tend to drag a bit to make up for the time between books. It also made for the tension and the danger more real, because even though it had been three years, they still weren't exactly safe per se. Their enemies were just biding their time. But, what I really wanted was to hear more of Marian's side, after looking up what happened in "Northern Spy" I feel like it would have been nice to see everything from her side as well.
Honestly, I got through it pretty quickly, but the ending left much to enjoy and I'd certainly let people know that this is a sequel.
March 15, 2025
Note added upon reread:
This book is so much better if you’ve read Northern Spy and if you know something about the conflict in Northern Ireland. Read Say Nothing, read Northern Spy, then read Trust Her. But do that, because they’re all so good.
Original review:
My one complaint about this book is that there wasn’t an author’s note giving me any further information about the conflict or suggestions of what to read to find out more. This was a great suspense story; I really liked the characters and was totally engrossed in this world I know nothing about. I have heard of the IRA, of course, but my knowledge of the Troubles and the continuing conflict is minimal.
This is a sequel. It can definitely be read on its own; I don’t feel like I lost anything from not having read Northern Spy. However, I don’t think these can be read out of order, so if you want to read Northern Spy, read it first.
This book is so much better if you’ve read Northern Spy and if you know something about the conflict in Northern Ireland. Read Say Nothing, read Northern Spy, then read Trust Her. But do that, because they’re all so good.
Original review:
My one complaint about this book is that there wasn’t an author’s note giving me any further information about the conflict or suggestions of what to read to find out more. This was a great suspense story; I really liked the characters and was totally engrossed in this world I know nothing about. I have heard of the IRA, of course, but my knowledge of the Troubles and the continuing conflict is minimal.
This is a sequel. It can definitely be read on its own; I don’t feel like I lost anything from not having read Northern Spy. However, I don’t think these can be read out of order, so if you want to read Northern Spy, read it first.
October 18, 2024
The sequel to Northern Spy is about sisters Tessa and Marian who are under the thumb of the IRA. When Tessa is ordered to turn her MI5 handler Eammon, things get complicated. The bonds of sisterhood and motherhood are stretched and tested in this riveting novel. I recommend reading Northern Spy before the sequel. It is equally good.
July 13, 2024
Flynn Berry seems to have finger on the pulse of the political climate within Ireland and her latest novel, TRUST HER, puts two sisters right in the middle of the ongoing conflict between MI5 and the IRA.
The action in this novel begins immediately as we see a young Irish mother named Tessa driving one night when she is accosted by a couple of men who force her vehicle off the road. She is apprehended and taken to a cottage in the middle of nowhere and subsequently cuffed to a radiator. The two men proceed with interrogating Tessa and she ends up recognizing one of them from her youth --- a man named Eoin Royce. Royce is aware that Tessa’s sister, Marian, had worked with the IRA and then turned informer for MI5. Tessa assisted Marian by passing on messages between the two groups.
Tessa and Marian had left this behind three years ago and now focused on raising their children. However, Royce seeks to pull them back into the game and demands that Tessa make contact with her old handler from MI5 so that they can turn him into an informer for the IRA. All Tessa cares about is keeping her family safe and young son Finn, so she is set free to discuss things with Marian and determine the best way of reconnecting with their old MI5 contact, Eamonn.
The quickest way to do this is for Tessa to use a special gift card that would notify Eamonn where she was based on the purchase. He would then reach out to her. She does this, and not too long after Eamonn contacts her to meet him at a safehouse. She makes small talk at first before broaching the inquiry made from the IRA about turning him. It’s not as easy as you would think, especially when the IRA and the loyalists are currently negotiating for a cease fire. Royce continues to push and declares that the current Irish P.M. is only pretending to be a hardliner when in reality is not at all sympathetic to any cause or the possibility of peace.
Tessa further complicates things by making Eamonn think she was back in the fold with MI5 while Royce is convinced she is fully supporting the IRA initiative. When Marian goes missing during a hiking expedition, Tessa contacts both authorities and Eamonn since she believes the IRA must be behind it. Now, with the local Gardai Detective involved, Tessa and Marian are painted as spies and not to be trusted. Thankfully, Marian is eventually found having fallen and sprained an ankle but never in any political skirmish or danger.
The local detective remains interested in the case and informs Tessa of some things about her younger sister, Marian, that she was never aware of --- like her involvement in a deadly IRA bombing. He then asks Tessa if she can really trust her. The many conflicts between political ideologies and even family members like Tessa and Marian creates a spider-web of intrigue that reaches back into their own family including their mother. Like any great spy novel, readers will get to a point where they don’t know what to believe anymore.
The resolution of TRUST HER is satisfying and packed with unexpected surprises. Not everyone is what they appear to be and the tension mounts all the while as you read with fingers crossed that Tessa can just end up having a happy, uneventful life for her son Finn.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
The action in this novel begins immediately as we see a young Irish mother named Tessa driving one night when she is accosted by a couple of men who force her vehicle off the road. She is apprehended and taken to a cottage in the middle of nowhere and subsequently cuffed to a radiator. The two men proceed with interrogating Tessa and she ends up recognizing one of them from her youth --- a man named Eoin Royce. Royce is aware that Tessa’s sister, Marian, had worked with the IRA and then turned informer for MI5. Tessa assisted Marian by passing on messages between the two groups.
Tessa and Marian had left this behind three years ago and now focused on raising their children. However, Royce seeks to pull them back into the game and demands that Tessa make contact with her old handler from MI5 so that they can turn him into an informer for the IRA. All Tessa cares about is keeping her family safe and young son Finn, so she is set free to discuss things with Marian and determine the best way of reconnecting with their old MI5 contact, Eamonn.
The quickest way to do this is for Tessa to use a special gift card that would notify Eamonn where she was based on the purchase. He would then reach out to her. She does this, and not too long after Eamonn contacts her to meet him at a safehouse. She makes small talk at first before broaching the inquiry made from the IRA about turning him. It’s not as easy as you would think, especially when the IRA and the loyalists are currently negotiating for a cease fire. Royce continues to push and declares that the current Irish P.M. is only pretending to be a hardliner when in reality is not at all sympathetic to any cause or the possibility of peace.
Tessa further complicates things by making Eamonn think she was back in the fold with MI5 while Royce is convinced she is fully supporting the IRA initiative. When Marian goes missing during a hiking expedition, Tessa contacts both authorities and Eamonn since she believes the IRA must be behind it. Now, with the local Gardai Detective involved, Tessa and Marian are painted as spies and not to be trusted. Thankfully, Marian is eventually found having fallen and sprained an ankle but never in any political skirmish or danger.
The local detective remains interested in the case and informs Tessa of some things about her younger sister, Marian, that she was never aware of --- like her involvement in a deadly IRA bombing. He then asks Tessa if she can really trust her. The many conflicts between political ideologies and even family members like Tessa and Marian creates a spider-web of intrigue that reaches back into their own family including their mother. Like any great spy novel, readers will get to a point where they don’t know what to believe anymore.
The resolution of TRUST HER is satisfying and packed with unexpected surprises. Not everyone is what they appear to be and the tension mounts all the while as you read with fingers crossed that Tessa can just end up having a happy, uneventful life for her son Finn.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
May 24, 2024
When I finished “Northern Spy” back in 2021, I was left with a feeling of unease even though I felt it was a brilliantly written book that totally immersed me in the modern day horror that is still present in Ireland. I was happy that the sisters made it out. “Trust Her” brought back that psychological tension. Instead of being able to continue on with their lives, Tessa and Marion are violently drawn back into The Troubles. Three years later, the IRA is still out for revenge and now threatening their children. I wish the sisters had just totally left the island and found some nice Irish neighborhood in America where they don’t ask you what your religion is right away. This is a convoluted story of mothers and sisters love — walking the lines of blackmail and betrayal again. I think you really need to read “Northern Spy” before “Trust Her” and then make the decision “why do I want to experience this uneasiness in a sequel?” Again, this is beautifully written, but stories where children’s lives are in the balance are just too off-putting and depressing for me. 3.5 stars.
Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Only a detective’s eye color (“almost aquamarine”) are described.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO There are black yews mentioned (darker than common yews), prevalent in Ireland and a symbol of death.
Thank you to Penguin Viking and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!
Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Only a detective’s eye color (“almost aquamarine”) are described.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO There are black yews mentioned (darker than common yews), prevalent in Ireland and a symbol of death.
Thank you to Penguin Viking and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!
March 29, 2025
When strangers stop the two of us on the street, they look at my sister while asking for directions, not me, and at a party, whoever is telling a joke will often look at Marian, expecting her to laugh, which she does easily. People tend to tell Marian jokes, but they tell me what they worry about.The two sisters from Northern Spy carry on with their normal lives after escaping their violent backgrounds, but the IRA catches up with them with threats and blackmail. Some of the plot seemed overly simplified - I had difficulty believing it took 3 years for the IRA to find them even after changing their names - but some elements came right out of the news.
I start editing a piece for the news desk on a shooting in north Belfast last night. A Catholic solicitor was shot in retaliation for the kidnapping of a Protestant judge, who was taken in retaliation for the shooting of a Catholic teacher, who was shot in retaliation for the murder of two unarmed Protestants, and it goes back, on and on and on. The victims are like a strand of paper dolls, each one holding hands with the one before.Difficult for a North American to believe, but I’ve personally seen four Irish visitors to Canada turn pale, drop their coffee mugs in their lap and stare at each other in horror upon realizing they were sitting in the living room of a Protestant house. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but that’s the reality for people in Northern Ireland I guess. 4 stars
February 28, 2025
This was a fabulous thriller set in Northern Ireland by the talented Flynn Berry (the one small part of a small island taken over and still run by the British). Also the area that Kenneth Branagh and family lived in and moved out of because of all the vicious and non-stop fighting between the Brits and the IRA. Aka,The Troubles…which went on for far too long in the 1970’s-1980’s.
Flynn Berry knows how to create real tension and intrigue in a story. This was narrated by a female narrator who did an outstanding job as all of the female and male characters.
It focuses on two sisters who were involved previously with the IRA, had to assume new identities, move to another section of Ireland, and are each raising one young child.
I found myself unable to put this down so many times. It’s that good. Check on the rest of the author’s books as well. Her books feature strong women who are struggling in many ways in difficult situations. The detail is clean and direct and somehow intimate in the relationships and personalities.
Flynn Berry is someone I follow so I can make sure I read her latest novel/s.
Flynn Berry knows how to create real tension and intrigue in a story. This was narrated by a female narrator who did an outstanding job as all of the female and male characters.
It focuses on two sisters who were involved previously with the IRA, had to assume new identities, move to another section of Ireland, and are each raising one young child.
I found myself unable to put this down so many times. It’s that good. Check on the rest of the author’s books as well. Her books feature strong women who are struggling in many ways in difficult situations. The detail is clean and direct and somehow intimate in the relationships and personalities.
Flynn Berry is someone I follow so I can make sure I read her latest novel/s.
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