This totally had me fooled right up until the end - I was sure the bad guy was someone else. At the same time, the tension wasn’t quite there the way it has been for me in Luna’s other books, and Caroline was just SO unlikable and unreliable that I almost wanted things to end badly for her. Definitely a solid thriller.

Book Review: Tell Me Who You Are by Louisa Luna

For fans of…
•Twisty, psychological thrillers
•Unreliable narrators
•Multi POV

Dr. Caroline Strange has it all: a successful career as a psychiatrist, a Brooklyn brownstone, a hot hubby, and a dark past she's worked hard to forget. When a new patient expresses his desire to kill a mutual acquaintance, Dr. Caroline once again finds herself at the center of a police investigation…

Luna expertly crafts suspense…

From the atmosphere: set in Brooklyn in spring 2021, the backdrop of the pandemic (vaccines were new and mask-wearing the norm) created immediate tension and discomfort…

To the characters: complex, secretive, morally ambiguous…

Luna kept me guessing until the end.

I have been a fan of Luna’s since her Alice Vega series (still hoping there's a fourth🤞🏻), and Tell Me Who You Are did not disappoint.

TW: violence, mentions child abuse, disordered eating, fat-shaming

One readers "meh" book is another readers delight. That is this book for me. I absolutely loved this!

Dr. Caroline Strange is a Brooklyn psychiatrist. She's meeting a new patient and what he says is as shocking as can be: "I am going to kill someone, and I know who you are." Before she can inquire more he gets up and leaves meanwhile leaving her to think, plot, and scheme. She will find him and she will get to the bottom of this. What is it that he thinks he knows? And who exactly is he planning to kill?

Dr. Caroline, as she prefers her patients to call her, doesn't get rattled easy. Having bared witness to her best friends entire family getting murdered by their father when she was just 13 years old, she's learned to be quick on her feet and she's able to adapt to any situation at a moments notice.

Then a local woman disappears, Ellen Garcia, and the police set their sights on Dr. Caroline. Just recently Ellen wrote a newspaper article claiming that Dr. Caroline was one of the top 10 worst doctors in the area. Certainly that gives Dr. Caroline motive but is every thing as it seems?

Of course not! Where's the fun in that?

Oh, how I loved being in the mind of Dr. Caroline. She's intelligent, acerbic, and maybe a little unhinged. My favorite kind of fictional character.

We have alternating chapters between Dr. Caroline, Ellen Garcia as she's being held in captivity, and Gordon Strong.

Ellen's chapters could be a little difficult to read if you're a sensitive soul so tread carefully. She was also an amazing character who you can't help to root for. Even with the dire straits she finds herself in she maintains a bit of thoughtful humor which I found refreshing considering her circumstances.

Gordon Strong, you may be wondering who he is and why should we care, but I assure you this will all come full circle in the end so just be patient.

I have heard high praise for Luna and her Alice Vega series but because I tend to prefer standalones I never gave her a try. Until now. Let's just say she has one very excited new fan. Heck, I may even break my *no series* rules for her and that is something I don't say lightly. All. The. Stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book was entertaining and odd. I like quirky characters and stuff like that. I also enjoyed the Milwaukee references like Cousin’s Subs, Mayfair Mall and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. It reminded me of my teen years.

Dr. Caroline Strange is an accomplished, Brooklynn therapist with a picture perfect life - nice home, handsome artist husband, and two beautiful kids. One day she is visited by a new patient who knows all about her secret past. The patient confesses that he’s kidnapped a woman and plans to unalive her by starvation.
From there, the book takes off at a dizzying pace.
The story jumps timelines and is told from multiple points of view. We learn more about the horrifying incident that takes place in Carolyn’s childhood and the present day struggle to survive by the captured woman. And all of that is wrapped up in a race- against -the -clock plot to find the missing woman.
I’m a huge fan of Louisa Luna’s books. Her thrillers always leave you on the edge of your seat and you find yourself rooting for even her most insufferable characters (cough, Caroline). I love the psychological aspect of this book but I didn’t love the ending. It was well written just not what I was expecting. I recommend this one to anyone who is looking for a page- turner that will keep you guessing.

The book starts off well with catching you right into the story but does too many twists to keep straight as the book progresses. Would have liked the story to be more linear

Psychiatrist Dr. Caroline Strange is a Type A Personality. She is a driven overachiever, seeking perfection in all she does until a new patient arrives and throws everything out of balance.
As always, Louisa Luna does not disappoint. I devoured this book and loved every minute of it!

A solid psychological thriller that is grittier than most. Dissociative identity disorder otherwise known as multiple personality disorder (MPD) is explored without the reader feeling a shortcut has been taken and it plays well into the unreliable narrator trope.
From the wealthy psychiatrist, Caroline Strange, with snarky nicknames for each of her patients to the no nonsense Detective trying to locate a missing journalist that just so happened to have written an uncomplimentary story on the worst psychiatrists in the area to include Dr. Caroline, there is a cat and mouse feel to their interactions. Written in multiple POV's the reader has to decide which narrator is unreliable, if any.
Told in dual timelines, Dr. Caroline is as odd as her last name but her past informs her present and with a healthy sense of her abilities and intellect, she knows she will find the journalist before the police do. That is, if she isn't arrested for the crime herself.

As a huge fan of author Louisa Luna's Alice Vega series, I knew the female main character wouldn't be a shrinking violet but a morally ambiguous kickass woman. I was not disappointed.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for access to an early e-copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This is my first Louisa Luna book. I had a challenge flipping back and forth between narrators at first so some of the beginning was a little lost but by 1/4 in i was hooked. I liked the development of Caroline’s character. It kept me trying to find ways to like her despite her judgmental and manipulative nature

I was very intrigued by the premise of this book but unfortunately it did not live up for me. I was not able to get into it and had to DNF.

I love Louisa Luna’s Alice Vega series so I was super excited to read her new stand alone novel. Dr. Caroline Strange is a psychiatrist in Brooklyn who has a large and successful practice. A new client named Nelson Schack arrives for an appointment and confesses to Dr. Caroline that he is going to kill someone and that he knows who she really is… after these revelations, he disappears. Soon after, Caroline hears of the disappearance of a journalist who had written an article bashing Dr. Caroline and finds that she is now the prime suspect being investigated by the police. Knowing that the illusive Nelson (who also goes by Billy) may be behind the journalist’s abduction, Dr. Caroline begins her own investigation into matters. Having a tragic past herself, the novel jumps between timelines to show what the young Caroline endured as a child and how it may figure into the events currently happening present day. This was a twisty read that kept me guessing as to the guilt or innocence of Caroline. Everything comes together with a frantic, climactic, and truly satisfying ending.

Tell Me Who you Are is my first Louisa Luna book and now I can’t wait to read all her books! Tell Me Who You Are is a phycological thriller that had me riveted and kept me guessing right until the end. Dr Caroline Strange is a psychiatrist with a dark past. A new patient says to Dr Caroline that he wants to kill someone and that he knows who she is, the thrill ride begins. Dr Caroline is peculiar and an unreliable narrator . This is not a run of the mill mystery.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Caroline who is a doctor, gives us insight into some of her patients. The police talk to her about a local woman who is missing. I liked this book, but I became bored at times.

I love Louisa Luna - ever since I got an earlier book of hers from Book of the Month years ago. I’ve been lucky enough to advanced copies of her last few and her latest is just something different altogether.

Told mainly through the lense of Dr. Caroline, a high priced psychiatrist dealing with a variety of patients with all levels of psychological issues - from the bored and lonely to the latest - a man who claims he’s planning on killing someone starving them to death.

A cat and mouse game to figure out who this man is, is the woman real and is Caroline telling the truth?

Thank you to NetGalley and MCD for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

Big fan of the Alice Vega series, not so much of this book. Tried several times to get into it without success and stopped at 30%. I was skimming way too often. Didn't like Caroline at all, and what was up with her husband only calling her Doctor? That was weird. I don't normally mind multiple POV but in this case I just kept waiting for someone to get to the point.

It was a rather interesting read. It did not completely pull me in unfortunately, and I can’t really explain why. I felt disconnected from the main character, but I still thought she was somehow intriguing. The plot is actually quite different from the kind of thrillers I usually read. And it was nice. I did guess most of the reveals and twists but it did not bother me at all.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

I was really intrigued when I read the premise for this book. The idea of the book seemed so interesting and I was ready to dive right in.
Dr. Caroline is a Psychiatrist when one of her patients (Nelson) says he knows her secrets and he is also going to kill somebody. Little did she know the police were coming to look at HER as the suspect of the crime. Things to me seemed to go off the rails. There are chapters from Caroline’s pov (which were my favorite), Ellen, and Gordon (a guy from her past). I couldn’t get on board with any of these characters to be honest. Buttttt Gordon’s chapters were so boring and repetitive I was starting to skim …..
Overall this book just didn’t do it for me. It was extremely slow, unlikable characters, and I wasn’t surprised or impressed by the ending.
Perhaps my expectations were too high going in, but the execution of this book wasn’t what I had hoped for..
Thank you to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus, & Giroux MCD for the ARC!

I was excited to read this as I had read Luna's Alice Vega series previously and really enjoyed it. This was a bit different- a stand alone thriller/mystery. Luna writes very well- definitely a cut above your standard mystery writing- and that was definitely the case here. I will say the story/mystery and wanting to know what was happening hooked me easily. I finished the book in basically a day and that is NOT common for me these days.
The story is told from some different points of view- I wouldn't say any of the characters grabbed me, or that the main protagonist, Caroline Strange, was likeable however that was kind of besides the point. It kept me hooked wanting to get to the end and find out what happened and how things tied together- there is a lot about Caroline's past, told through both her and another character's POV, and it gets into what kind of person Caroline is and questions what she may be capable of.
The downside for me was I found the end unsatisfying and anticlimactic- to me the payoff wasn't very good. However, a very readable, interesting read that definitely quickly hooked me and kept me hooked!

I would like to thank NetGalley and MCD for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it in your local and online bookstores and libraries on June 4, 2024.

Louisa Luna is a fantastic thriller writer so I was thrilled to read the ARC for "Tell Me Who You Are." This book is full of fantastic and frightening characters with a plot that keeps you guessing. Fast-paced, compelling, and unputdownable. Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.