TLC Book Tours – The Last Thing I Told You by Emily Arsenault

Time to kick off the month with a TLC Book Tour slot 🙂

Thanks to William Morrow and TLC Book Tours for the free advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

THE LAST THING I TOLD YOU – Emily Arsenault (out now!)

Book Description:

From the acclaimed author of The Evening Spider and The Broken Teaglass comes this psychological thriller about the murder of a psychologist in a quiet New England town and his former patient whose unreliable thread will keep readers guessing until the shocking end.

I hear myself whispering. Not again. Not again.

Why did I ever come back here? Surely because of you. Because I thought of something I’d always meant to tell you. Because you were the only one I ever really wanted to tell it to…

Therapist Dr. Mark Fabian is dead—bludgeoned in his office.

But that doesn’t stop former patient Nadine Raines from talking to him—in her head. Why did she come back to her hometown after so many years away? Everyone here thinks she’s crazy. And she has to admit—they might have good reason to think so. She committed a shockingly violent act when she was sixteen, and has never really been able to explain that dark impulse—even to Fabian. Now that Fabian’s dead, why is she still trying?

Meanwhile, as Detective Henry Peacher investigates Fabian’s death, he discovers that shortly before he died, Fabian pulled the files of two former patients. One was of Nadine Raines, one of Henry’s former high school classmates. Henry still remembers the disturbing attack on a teacher that marked Nadine as a deeply troubled teen.

More shockingly, the other file was of Johnny Streeter, who is now serving a life sentence for a mass shooting five years ago. The shooting devastated the town and everyone—including Henry, who is uncomfortable with the “hero” status the tragedy afforded him—is ready to move on. But the appearance of his file brings up new questions. Maybe there is a decades-old connection between Nadine and Streeter. And maybe that somehow explains what Nadine is doing in Fabian’s office nearly twenty years after being his patient. Or how Fabian ended up dead two days after her return. Or why Nadine has fled town once again.

But as Nadine and Henry head toward a confrontation, both will discover that the secrets of people’s hearts are rarely simple, and—even in the hidden depths of a psychologist’s files—rarely as they appear.

My Thoughts: 3.5/5 stars!

More psychological thrillers for the summer TBR! This was my introduction to Emily Arsenault and I was not disappointed. This was an incredibly atmospheric read and has a slow build that keeps the tension throughout. That opening chapter will pull you right in!

Dr. Mark Fabian is dead. He is found bludgeoned to death in his office. As Detective Henry Peacher begins his investigation he discovers two patient files that Dr. Fabian had recently pulled. One for Johnny Streeter and one for Nadine Raines – both of these people, ironically, have links to Peacher. I don’t want to give away too much more of the plot – I feel like all that you need to know is within the synopsis!

Dr. Fabian specialized in mental and personality disorders. This is an element that I love to see incorporated into psychological thrillers because there are so many unknowns when it comes to what makes a person tick. With a character like Nadine, a woman that suffers from multiple personality disorder, her chapters were always interesting to read because she is still talking to Dr. Fabian in her mind.

We alternate between Nadine and Peacher throughout the story. Arsenault does an incredible job weaving these characters and stories together. Equal parts psychological thriller and police procedural, this slower build will keep you sucked in from start to finish as you try to unravel the web that Arsenault so expertly wove for us.

About the Author:

Emily Arsenault is also the author of The Broken Teaglass, In Search of the Rose Notes, Miss Me When I’m Gone, and What Strange Creatures. She lives in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, with her husband and daughter.

Find out more about Emily at her website and connect with her on Facebook.

Where to Purchase a Copy: