From the TBR Pile: Blog Tour: The Last Thing I Told You by Emily Arsenault

Author: Emily Arsenault

Puiblisher: William Morrow

Date of publication: July 2018

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.

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.

The Last Thing I Told you opens with the death of a psychiatrist and a former patient fleeing the scene. Detective Henry preacher is assigned the case. The story is told through alternating chapters between Nadine and Henry's perspective.

I was looking forward to reading this one since I have enjoyed this author in the past. I know I will be in the minority when I say that this book just didn't do it for me. Honestly, I did not find it all that thrilling. There is something to be said for a slow burn book but this one was almost too slow. I didn't like Nadine's perspective and found myself skimming a few times. Henry was mildly more interesting. The nice thing was that the chapters were short, so the book was relatively quick to read. It's not badly written and has received good reviews, so give it a shot. It just wasn't for me.

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About Emily Arsenault

Photo by Ross Gram

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.

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