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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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!

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.

Louisa Luna writes a strong concept for a psychological thriller. I thought the idea of a psychiatrist and patient worked well and was a terrifying concept. I thought the characters worked well in this universe and I wanted to get to know them in this story. I was never bored when reading this and thought it worked in keeping me guessing until the end. It had a suspenseful feel and was invested in everything happening.