2.5
She accidentally lets the bad guy's identity slip super early on, so the suspense is more like reinforcement, which is...not ideal. Also, there's a seemingly random romance subplot that not only doesn't really fit but doesn't resolve in a satisfactory way either.

I found myself staying up way too late to finish this one because this author has a way with words and really painting a picture on a story. I felt like I knew the ending but I was surprised to find out that I was wrong. Definitely adding anything else as author writes to my TBR. What a fantastic book! If it was not an e-book I would be loaning it to my friends right now!

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

Such a disappointment after the author’s earlier books—could not wait for it to end!

With thanks to NetGalley & Harper Perennials and Paperbacks for this e-ARC.

𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕.

This was a quiet, intense thriller with hints of romantic suspense that I thoroughly enjoyed. Kiki has ended her engagement to Jamie, and though she felt safe and secure in their relationship, she came to realize that there was no passion and that he just wasn't the one. That revelation didn't take away the intense guilt she felt as Jamie took the news hard.

When Kiki accepts an invitation to a party at a friend’s Connecticut home, she knows Jamie will be there as well, but she's eager to face him for the first time since the broken engagement. To her relief, the exchange is brief and neutral. Finally, Kiki feels like she can close that chapter and move on. But a shot rings out as the party is winding down, and Jamie is found in his car, inexplicably dead from an assumed suicide.

The rest of the book's focus is on two things; one, what really happened to Jamie, as Kiki is adamant that he would never take his life. Did the sullen mystery woman introduced as his date have something to do with his death? As Kiki investigates, the second focus becomes clear, and that's the quiet grieving process that she is going through. Even though she has said goodbye to Jamie, seeing his empty apartment and thinking of the plans he had that will never come to fruition was a jarring aspect of this book. It really centered me and made this entire situation so relatable.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the early copy. This book will publish May 14, 2024.

Kate White never disappoints and her new novel, "The Last Time She Saw Him" was a quick, suspense filled read!

I am not even sure where or how to start this review….. because my honest review is this book was … not good , to put it mildly.
It is supposed to be a psychological thriller about the main character, Kiki, who is about to come face to face with her ex fiancé, Jamie, she left because of her love for someone else at a party. As Jamie is leaving the party shots are heard and Jamie is dead in his car. The cops INSIST (quite annoyingly) that it’s a suicide, but here comes over the top, should be soap opera star, annoying, Kiki to stop at nothing to prove he couldn’t have killed himself …. And cue *dramatic soap opera music*

I could not get into this book at all. I disliked Kiki so much I found myself annoyed with everything she did. Also right at the beginning of the book you are hit with a plethora of characters all at once who are all intertwined it was too much. Andddd add in the absurd romance, I was rolling my eyes way too often. The pace was very slow, the “twists” were predictable, as well as the ending. This was absolutely a romance suspense novel to me and one that I couldn’t get interested in at that. I think the premise and idea of this book sounded good, but the execution fell flat.

Thank you to the Author, Netgalley, and Harper Perennials for the ARC of this book.
2.5??

there is a party at a country estate, as they are getting ready to leave, they find a dead body. the police think it was suicide but was it? it will keep you guessing.

This was an ok thriller about a woman who refuses to believe that her ex-fiance killed himself. Believing he was murdered, she sets out to solve they mystery. There was not a lot of suspense and I feel like the conclusion wasn't well developed (although I didn't see it coming--I thought the plot was going to go in another direction). However, if you're looking for a quick read that lets you escape for a few hours this book fits the bill.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc of this book. I thought this was a very good story but the ending was flat and disappointing. I liked the characters and the suspence throughout the book but the ending could have been much better. The Last Time She Saw Him by Kate White comes out in May. 3 stars

This twisty thriller will keep you turning the pages. A party at a country estate and someone is found dead; was it murder or suicide?
Book clubs will enjoy discussing this one.

3.5/5 stars. This book was a decent mystery thriller! I did find Kiki a bit off-putting and found the way she constantly ran with her theories as if they were the absolute truth unrealistic and annoying. The book was also a bit slow until the last few chapters, but those chapters had me unable to put the book down until I finished it. I feel the book did provide a neat ending, but I had trouble keeping track of all the characters mentioned throughout, as some were only briefly mentioned, and then when they were brought up again later, I had forgotten who they were. Additionally, I felt a lot of loose ends were left without closure and I felt that the ending was fairly predictable and a bit cliché. However, I enjoyed the setting of the novel and thought this was a fun little book. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers for this ARC.

This was a solid three star thriller for me. While I liked it overall, I don't think there was anything particularly memorable here. Side note - I feel like maybe Kiki needs to reevaluate her career coaching job because she didn't seem that great at it or invested (and yes I know she's a little preoccupied with finding out who killed Jamie, but still).

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kiki Reed runs into her ex-fiance at a party. Later Jamie, her ex, is found shot dead in his car. The police believe it to be a suicide but Kiki doesn't believe that to be the case. Kiki sets out on a mission to find the killer.

I really liked this book! I do feel at times we were rushing through the story and I wish we could have gone a bit deeper into some of the investigation. I also wish we got a little more insight into Kiki and Jamie's relationship prior to their breakup and his death. I do think we developed good characters and I honestly thought Kiki had discovered the killer multiple times before we found out it wasn't them. I wish we would have also gotten a bit more flashbacks to Jess Nolan's death, we only got the prologue and then 2 additional small chapters. It seemed the author wanted it to be slightly significant in the book but then didn't bring it up too much.

Something that confused me was the fact that Liam would periodically be called Eric. I'm not sure if this is something that just needs to be edited to be fixed or if there was a hidden meaning behind it that I just completely missed.

A woman tries to prove her ex fiance's death was murder and not suicide. This was an easy to read thriller, a little disappointing as I went in with high expectations. I really liked the author's other books, this one was fine, just not as good and the ending was a bit flat. Maybe it was trying to be too many things, so it didn't quite hit the mark. It was still a good read.

Kiki Reed has recently broken off her engagement to Jamie, and accepts an invite to a party where he will be in attendance as well. At the end of the party, Jamie is found dead in his car and it’s determined to be a suicide. Kiki doesn’t believe he would have taken his own life, so she sets out to find the truth.
I really enjoyed the characters and twists and turns in this story. I didn’t predict the ending, which is always a plus.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy!

Kate White's newest thriller, The Last Time She Saw Him, sounded right up my alley. I've been reading this author for years, and love a good mystery. A broken engagement, an awkward post break-up meeting, and a suspicious death? Sounds promising. But it just kinda fell flat for me. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either.

We start off at a party where we're introduced to like 20 different people, all of whom are related to, dating, or previously engaged to the victim, and it wasn't even his party. I just didn't care about any of them, including the MC Kiki. She made weird decisions, and came to crazy conclusions (haunted house? really?), and didn't come across as overly likable. The added romance felt forced, rushed, and unnecessary. The reveal was a little underwhelming, and again felt rushed at the end.

All and all, it was just okay.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Paperbacks for the e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of The Last Time She Saw Him. Kate White’s latest thriller draws the reader in immediately. Full of twists, this book will keep you guessing until the final pages. This is definitely one to put on your TBR list.

Hmm... I have some conflicting thoughts about this book. I struggled to become fully immersed in the central mystery surrounding Jamie's fate—was it suicide, or was he murdered? From the onset, it was evident that suicide was an unlikely scenario, and the law officers' insistence on ruling it as such felt somewhat nonsensical to me.

Another aspect that bothered me was the book's inclination towards romance rather than focusing on the mystery at hand. The main character, Kiki Reed, grapples with the tragic loss of her ex-fiancé, whom she left before their wedding due to her platonic love for another man. The narrative delves into her intricate emotions about this other man, introducing elements of unrequited love or perhaps not (I'll refrain from giving away too much). I found myself rolling my eyes at various plot developments, questioning whether I was reading a second-chance romance with love triangles or a mystery surrounding a suspicious death linked to a young girl's murder in the same town—whose perpetrator was never caught, as witnessed in the prologue of the book.

Let's provide a quick recap of the primary storyline: Kiki Reed, recently disengaged from Jamie, her long-time partner, works as a career coach and strives to get her business book published. An invitation from her ex-colleague Ava to a celebration at her Connecticut home offers Kiki a chance to meet a potential agent for her new book. However, she discovers that Jamie will also be at the party and decides to clear the air by speaking to him beforehand. Jamie assures her there won't be any issues, appears to be moving on with his life, and even engages in civil conversation with Kiki before leaving the party. However, a few minutes later, he is discovered dead in his car.

Here's where my concerns intensify: There's no indication of suicide; a man is shot in the face with ample time for the assailant to escape. Despite this, it is inexplicably labeled as a suicide based on gun residue on the man's hands and the heartbreak from the breakup five months prior. I couldn't buy into this conclusion, and it perplexes me why the law officers did.

Kiki, unwilling to accept this verdict and grappling with additional guilt, embarks on an investigative journey, retracing Jamie's steps and staying at an Airbnb that may or may not be haunted by ghosts (yes, the genre shifts to paranormal romance in these chapters). Reluctantly, Jamie's best friend Sam teams up with her.

It remained a quick popcorn read, a blend of psychological thriller and romance mystery. While I didn't derive much enjoyment and found abrupt plot revelations with significant holes, I'm awarding it three solid stars for its balanced pace, quick trajectory, and subplot involving the intriguing young girl's murder.

At least I didn't find myself bored and reached the end easily. I'm hopeful that I'll enjoy the next work from this talented author a bit more.

The party slowly winds down late in the evening. All will go home happy and content …except for one.

Kiki left Jamie at the proverbial alter, and they’ve both somehow moved on. Tonight’s party will be their first time seeing one another since that painful day.

A few forced, awkward moments of obligatory small talk, and they can get on with their lives. But as Jamie leaves the party a gunshot goes off, leaving Jamie dead in his car.

Everyone, including or should I say especially the police call it suicide. But Kiki won’t accept that, refusing to believe Jamie would take his own life. She’s so convinced that she’ll do whatever it takes to find the killer.

Unfortunately, this turned out to be merely an average thriller. It was impossible for me to connect to Kiki and her quest. The police...well they were all but nonexistent.
And her declaration of love midway through the book, seemed to come out of nowhere and literally had me rolling my eyes.🙄

I’ve read and enjoyed previous books by this author, but this latest just failed to WOW me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks .