Member Reviews

Multiple Personalities Complicates Finding The Predator

This novel opens with the psychiatrist, Dr. Caroline, giving her introduction to a new patient concerning what she wants to be told and what will require her to contact the police. Soon, her new patient challenges her interpretation of the latter part of the previous sentence. He expresses the desire to kill someone. He has even selected the victim, and she knows her. He tells her that he is going to starve the victim to death. She reads more as a fanboy than a psycho to her. With this misdiagnosis, this novel begins.

The main storyline consists of three subthreads. The first is Dr. Caroline’s story of the events that she narrates. The progress of the investigation is provided in this thread through repeated detective interviews with Dr. Caroline. She is their primary suspect. The abduction victim, Ellen Garcia, narrates the second thread. She is being starved to death, which provides tension in the novel as she needs to be rescued soon. The third thread starts 600 miles from the first two threads. The connection soon becomes apparent and is a significant source of Dr. Caroline’s early background.

As Dr. Caroline does not have much faith in the detectives’ ability to find her patient, she tries to find him. Her thread becomes quite complicated as her patient appears to be showing multiple personalities, one of which is toying with her. The pace is non-stop, and it is an easy read. I finished it in half of my median read time for a novel of this length. This demonstrates how well this novel captured my attention.

The background of Dr. Caroline is extensive. Most of her personality is provided at the start of the first chapter when she explains what her patients need to tell her and how she describes her patients. She describes them all in a derogatory manner, with a derogatory adjective before their names to remember their fundamental problem. Throughout the novel, she doesn’t comprehend the possible consequences of her actions. She believes that the lead detective sees her as a Karen. Dr. Caroline is a very unsymmetric protagonist, but it is needed to make this novel work.

Some aspects that can cause some readers to stop reading are present in this novel. While there are no direct intimate scenes, there are some strong inferences. I have a high tolerance for vulgar and rude language, but the level here was reaching my limits. Violence is described as occurring but not more than what is on prime-time police procedurals. Lastly, this novel appears to be a stand-alone, so there are no issues with not reading previous novels in a series.

The aspect of this novel that I found to be not a plus was the strong adult nature that approached my trigger level, and I fear it might exceed that level for some readers. I found a cute twist in that Dr. Caroline does not believe that multiple personalities is an actual condition, but the detectives suspect she suffers from the same condition. As I mentioned before, I finished this novel in record time. This is the fourth novel by this author I have read. The previous three novels were from her Alice Vega series. This author is in my Will-Read category of authors and will stay there. I do recommend reading this novel but with the caution mentioned above. This novel earns my caveat: let the reader be forewarned about possible objectional content. I look forward to reading more novels by this author. I rate this novel with four stars.

I received this novel's free prepublication e-book version through NetGalley from Farrar, Straus and Giroux. My review is based solely on my own reading experience of this book. Thank you, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

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This was a weird one. It was full of completely unlikable characters. There was no reason to care about almost any of them. The main character is absolutely horrible. Whether or not she did or did not do something in her past, she is just really bad. Everyone is. The plot was OK but it was impossible to find it at all believable or relatable. And no one calls Jack Daniel’s “bourbon”.

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Childhood, chilling, and challenging.

There are sever storylines here to keep you on your toes. One is a woman is kidnapped and trapped in a room. The other, Dr. Caroline (a psychiatrist), decides to take the matters of the missing woman into her own hands and tracks down one of her patients in connection with the kidnapping.

Who’s responsible for the trapped woman?
Who is Dr. Caroline?
Why is there another man’s perspective as well?
…the puzzle pieces fall, as you just wait to slowly put them into place.
What do all of their pasts have to do with the current cat and mouse game?

This has taken me some time to get into, but the second half was really good. The internal monologue of the characters was something different, that seemed to go off on tangents. By the end I was questioning everything, this needs to be published, so I can talk this through with other readers!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the Publisher Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. You can find this Mystery & Thriller, General Fiction (Adult) story published June 4, 2024!

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Dr Caroline is a psychiatrist and meets with a new patient who tells her he’s thinking about killing someone and that he knows who she really is. He then leaves her office and doesn’t return. Her next visit is from the police to ask if she knows anything about a missing woman.

This was a quick read and a good way to spend a summer afternoon. I’m not sure it’s one that will stick with me or felt particularly different from other books I’ve read - but sometimes it’s fine for a book to just be a good time for the moment!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook and audiobook to review.

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The story is told from thr POV a brilliant psychiatrist who had a traumatic childhood. This psychological thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat. If you enjoyed Gone Girl you will absolutely love this book

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This was pretty good. As a thriller, it was a bit of a slow burn, and not nearly as twisty as I expected, but it still moved quickly and had an exciting ending. 
*
Basically, therapist Dr Caroline has a new patient, who says he's planning to kill someone that she knows. Later the police show up and reveal that a journalist is missing, and they suspect Caroline because the journalist included her on a "Top Ten Worst Doctors" list. Dr Caroline decides to take matters into her own hands to find the missing woman. 
*
This felt like it moved pretty quickly, but I kept expecting more out of it. There were twists, I guess, but nothing too shocking, or honestly even all that relevant to the story. And Dr Caroline is not exactly a character you want to root for, and I think some actually concerning things about her were glossed over. 
*
The ending is exciting, and the final bit is interesting, so overall I'd consider this fine, a decent choice for a basic thriller.

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Tell Me Who You Are is a compelling if improbable story of childhood trauma, revenge, conniving, overblown sense of self, multiple personalities, and more, told by three narrators and in two timelines. Louisa Luna's writing propels the plot forward and around its many twists and turns with ease. The book is all about the plot; character development and setting necessarily take a far back seat to it. Without adding a spoiler, I will say only that the book kept me on the edge of my seat and kept me guessing about the perpetrator until almost the end. Too many coincidences and improbabilities keep the book from rating 5 stars, but fans of this genre will be eager to read it and will enjoy the ride.

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An absolute thrill ride. No one is who they say they are and I loved every word of this twisty thriller.

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I enjoyed this book but then I read another review where the person said they were never sure if the male patient was real or not and then I felt like I read a different book. I thought it was pretty explicitly clear he was but that the doctor was also an unreliable narrator. So if there was supposed to be any doubt about that, it sounds like a flaw in the book.

I did find it a little odd that they bothered to have Dr Caroline have a husannd and child. The child was away the whole time and her husband had basically nothing to do with anything at all. He was there. It seemed weird she'd date and marry him (or anyone) and I think if he had to be in the book, they should have fleshed that relationship out. It added nothing that she was a mother since we never "saw" the kid. Any mention of them seemed like a waste of time.

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Look, maybe it's the psych major in me, but I love thrillers that feature therapists and psychiatrists. I was so excited when I read the blurb for this book, and I really wanted to love it....

But I just couldn't.

Don't get me wrong, there is a lot that is good here. I like the idea for the story. I really enjoyed Gordon's character and POV, and felt it was easily the most entertaining narrative in the book. The story was fast paced and kept me interested. But then comes my issues.

First off, there is so much jumping to conclusions and lucky guessing going on in this story. Caroline just continued to make wild assumptions (and be right) and managed to track down a murder. And the storyline with her past seemed really contrived. I feel like I don't know anything about Caroline as a character, or why she did the things she did. She just kind of acts better than everyone, and is rude to everyone around her, but then in the end she's going on about how she is a therapist because she wants to help people. She doesn't develope whatsoever as a character. In fact, all of her attitude just gets justified when she ends up solving the kidnapping case instead of the police!

Speaking of contrived, I could not for the life of me discern what Will Wall was trying to achieve. All we really get in way of explanation on this is Caroline's best guess, which is basically that this guy is obsessed with her because they both 'survived' family annihilations, researches her online, gets a job at her mother's nursing home to get information about her, then kidnaps a journalist who wrote about her to lure her in?? I understand he's supposed to be mentally unwell, and that his plan is meant to be ill conceived, but that's just a lot for me to swallow. Also, I feel like the writing of Will's character is extremely villianizing of the mentally ill, and all of Caroline's commentary on DID not being real felt very odd.

And of course there is the past storyline in which the reader finds out the Caroline, a thirteen year old girl, drove her neighbor to killing his entire family by showing him a picture and telling him a few lies. Why does she mess with her neighbor? Good question. Unfortunately Caroline is an entirely hollow character with no realistic emotions or motivations, so I can't answer it. Like I said before, I enjoyed Gordon's POV. I thought it was the most well written, and watching a man who recently lost his job descend into madness was surprisingly, fun. But the end just didn't feel justified. Honestly I'd say that was the case for both plotlines, they just didn't come together in the end. It felt like there was a lot missing.

There are several points in the plot that don't ever feel like they have a solution or reason to exist in this story, such as when Caroline gets upset at her husband for not telling her about her kid getting in trouble at school. Overall the plot felt full of holes and odd little offshoots. There are also a lot of instances where the author choice to use pop culture references that felt extremely out of place to me.

For me, that bad really outweighed the good in this one. I had far too many issues with the story and the writing to enjoy it fully.

I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with a free ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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I liked this book but I couldnt say I loved it. I found it hard to connect to the characters apart from that everything was ok. Connecting to the characters is hugely crucial for me in connecting with a book.

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Title- Tell me who you are by @louisalunawriter
Rating-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This thought-provoking psychological thriller explores the human psyche with depth and intelligence, providing a gripping and intense drama that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. The unique storyline is told through the perspectives of three people over two timelines, slowly building tension and suspense. With a therapist with secrets, a kidnapped woman, and the therapist’s former neighbor all bringing their own complexities to the table, this is a disturbing and very interesting ride that will keep you guessing until the end.

Synopsis:

Brooklyn psychiatrist Dr. Caroline Strange is certain she knows what’s best for her patients, her family, and pretty much everyone else, but that all changes when a troubled young man arrives for his appointment and makes a pair of alarming confessions: I am going to kill someone, and I know who you really are.

Dr. Caroline is accustomed to hearing her patients’ deepest, darkest secrets, but it seems Nelson Schack may be one step ahead when detectives show up later that day, inquiring about a missing woman. It looks like Nelson has made good on his threat—yet somehow it’s Dr. Caroline who becomes the prime suspect.

Convinced the police are incompetent, Dr. Caroline takes matters into her own hands, chasing down the elusive Nelson and running headlong into a past she has spent her entire life trying to forget. As she closes in on her target, all the polished pieces of her manicured life splinter when people begin to question who she really is.

The Silent Patient meets Gone Girl in this sharp psychological thriller about a psychiatrist with a shocking past and her dangerous new patient.

Add this one to your tbr as it comes out June 4th✨

QOTD-do you believe in therapy? Or what’s something that interest you about the human psyche?

Thank you @netgalley and @louisalunawriter for this advanced copy.

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Thank you NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the copy of Tell Me Who You Are by Lousia Luna. It’s always hard for me to love a book when the characters are as reprehensible as they are in this book. There wasn’t a single likable character! I hated how Dr. Caroline had nicknames for her patients because it was mean and unprofessional and had nothing to do with the story. The story was intriguing and I never knew what would happen next. If you’re looking for a fun, well-written thriller with a surprising big reveal, this is the book for you.

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Wow, what a good book! The story is a slow burn, very compelling. I really enjoyed Luna’s writing style, which was witty and full of dark humor. Most of the characters are not very likable, but they are interesting. This is the first book that I’ve read by this author, and I will definitely be reading more. Highly recommended!

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4.5 Stars

I loved this book full of unlikeable characters and unreliable narrators. Dr. Caroline treats a new patient who leaves halfway through their first session after professing he’s going to commit a murder. Before he parts, he tells her he knows who she really is. Thus begins this twisty novel told from three POVs: Dr. Caroline and two other people connected to her. I fear to say much more as I loved going into this novel blind and trying to figure out the truth.

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Tell Me Who You Are is the fourth stand-alone novel by award-winning American author, Louisa Luna. During the twenty years she has been a psychiatrist, Dr Carolne Strange’s patients have confided many unusual things in the safe space she provides in the basement of her Brooklyn Brownstone, but what her newest patient, Nelson Schack tells her is certainly unique: in virtually the same breath, he says that he is going to kill someone, and that he knows who Caroline really is.

It's not until Detective Makeda Marks and her sidekick, Detective Miguel Jiminez come to her door to question her about the disappearance of journalist Ellen Garcia that she decides it merits breaking patient confidentiality to mention part of Nelson’s statement. Ellen Garcia included Dr Caroline in a highly critical article on doctors, and any of those targeted might hold a grudge. Some days after putting out her recycling on the kerb, Ellen is very surprised to come to in a dark basement, thirsty, hungry and afraid.

Dr Caroline (as she likes patients to call her) doesn’t reveal the extent of her communication with Ellen. Nor does she mention a well-publicised incident from her youth: Caroline really wants the police to focus on Nelson, rather than looking at her, as they seem to want to do…

In 1993 in Glen Grove, Wisconsin, Gordon Strong has just lost his brewery job, something that contributes to a downward spiral that involves drinking to excess and a paranoid delusion that his wife is having an affair with their neighbour, Chuck Strange. When his control finally breaks, and he murders his family with a pair of garden shears, then hangs himself, the only survivor is the neighbour’s teenaged daughter, on a sleep-over with her best friend.

Luna easily evokes her era and setting, and the reason that her main protagonist seems initially to live up to her name becomes clear as the story progresses. It is told over two timelines and from three perspectives: Caroline Strange, Ellen Garcia and Gordon Strong.

None of the characters are particularly nice people: Caroline’s nicknames for her patients seem to contradict the care she professes to feel for them; Gordon is clearly a lazy, entitled chauvinist, a toxic male; and, while she’s an innocent victim who in no way deserves what happens to her, Ellen does lack journalistic integrity. It gradually becomes clear that the reliability of at least two of the narratives is questionable, which serves to keep the reader thoroughly invested in the outcome. Often blackly funny, Luna’s latest is a cleverly-plotted page-turner.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Farrar, Strauss & Giroux.

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First of all, most of this story is based directly following the highest points of the Covid-19 pandemic - approximately June 2021. With this book being released in 2024, it doesn’t exactly spark good memories, nor is it something I want to read about 3ish years later. It feels like had this released in 2022, it’d make much more sense than now. People are over it, and we don’t wanna go back. Ahh, that is just the start of the laundry list of issues I had with this book. 😫

Our FMC takes bluntness to an extreme, and the MMC is a raging misogynistic drunk. In fact, nearly all of the main characters are so unlikeable and bordering on intolerable that I debated multiple times about quitting this book (and seriously I wish I would have!). I caught myself skimming so much of the second half because I could not handle the writing anymore but was too stubborn to quit and just wanted closure.

The way the author portrayed mental health issues physically pained me, and the deplorable, judgmental thoughts Dr. Caroline had about her patients is enough to scare people (who could probably benefit) away from therapy. I really hoped the ending would make up for all the issues in the book (it didn’t unsurprisingly), but I cannot in good conscience promote a book that so negatively portrays mental health professionals.

Overall, this was the most convoluted mess of a book I think I’ve ever read. After just finishing it, I’m still in shock but not in a good way. I really didn’t think it could get worse, but I was wrong. So very wrong. Typically, I’m a rather gracious reviewer, but there is so much wrong with this book. I think it genuinely makes my top 5 worst books ever list.

There’s a lot of triggers in this book so please note the warnings if you’re considering reading. Although, I sincerely really would not recommend reading it.

TW: intense mental health disorders, eating disorders, fat-shaming, implied non-con/gang rape, domestic violence, sexual abuse involving minors (including rape, sodomy, etc), alcohol dependency

And also many cringeworthy scenes such as: eating garbage and drinking urine

My gratitude to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Luna weaves another psychological thriller web that becomes more twisted with every page and will keep the reader engaged until the end. Thanks for the advanced read!

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Dark, intense, fresh, unique and binge worthy! I loved every word of this one! Dr. Caroline Strange, a psychiatrist, has her life well under control until Nelson Schack walks into her office and announces that he is going to kill someone and she knows who it is during his first visit. Before leaving her office, he leaves Dr. Caroline with one last bit of ominous information by announcing “he knows who she really is”. With the possibility of someone’s life on the line, Dr. Caroline will have to dredge up her sinister past and figure out who Nelson really is and what motivates him to want to commit murder. This story is told in 3 points of view and I enjoyed each one. Generally, I have a favorite POV but this story is written so well and so tightly plotted that I looked forward to each new chapter equally. I loved all the dark humor and snarky inner thoughts of each of the characters. I hope this book hits the mainstream and many get to enjoy it. This is EVERYTHING a thriller should be and thriller lovers are going to eat this one up! Thank you Netgalley, Farrah, Straus and Giroux, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on June 4, 2024

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This was my first time reading Louisa Luna, but after reading Tell Me Who You Are I’ve got all her books in my TBR list!
This fast paced thriller is unlike any thriller I’ve read. Confident, fabulous psychiatrist Dr. Caroline Strange is a badass. She’s super smart and great at her job, with a hot husband, two sons, a gorgeous house and very successful practice. Nothing rattles her, until she meets a new client who says he’s going to kill someone AND that he knows who she is. She’s puzzled by this client, but he leaves before the session gets started. She’s not surprised when the police show up asking her about this client in reference to a woman disappearing. With no way to contact the client but determined to find him and save the kidnapped woman, Dr. Caroline jumps into action, putting herself in dangerous situations to find him when it becomes clear that the police consider her a suspect. She believes that she is smarter than the detectives and launches her own investigation. Told in multiple POVs, we learn about the trauma she suffered as a child; the secret she hasn’t shared with anyone in her life - and the connection between her and her disturbed client.

It’s a fast paced race to figure out who the client is and find Ellen Garcia before her kidnapper kills her. Full of dark humor and some gory violence. I thought I had everything figured out but I was wrong about Dr. Caroline. I’d love to read more about her! Great thriller and twisty mystery!

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