I so looked forward to this ARC as I love most of Kate White's work. However, I was disappointed.

It had potential and started strong. By 30% in I had predicted the ending and the rest of the book dragged till the very anticlimactic finish. I still gave it generous 3 stars because I did enjoy the beginning and the characters - and not everyone may see the end coming like I did.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC - but this is a thumbs down for me.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
Kiki is going to a party where her ex fiancé will be. She is nervous but when everything goes good visiting with him she feels relieved until at the end of the party there is a gunshot and Jamie is dead. They say suicide but no way does she believe this. She begins asking questions which leads to a car following her, strange things happening in her apartment. It seems someone doesn’t want her to find the answers- and maybe this is the person who murdered Jamie??

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: May 14. 2024
Since former Cosmo editor-in-chief, Kate White, turned to suspense writing, she has dazzled me with her books, especially “The Second Husband”, “The Fiancée” and “Between Two Strangers”, so it didn’t take much convincing for me to agree to read and review her newest adventure, “The Last Time I Saw Him”.
After breaking off her engagement to her fiancé, Jamie, Kiki Reed just wants to focus on her job as an online job coach. But when friends in Connecticut invite Kiki to a house party to celebrate a book launch, Kiki doesn’t want to turn it down- even if it means that she will run into Jamie. Kiki’s run-in with Jamie is more civil than expected and they part ways amicably after a few short conversations. A few hours later, gunshots go off and Jamie is found dead in his car, leaving Kiki devastated. But when the police begin to speculate that Jamie committed suicide, Kiki can’t accept it. She decides to stay on in Connecticut and investigate for herself what really happened to Jamie, even though his family is dead-set against it, and most of them blame her for his suicide.
“The Last Time I Saw Him” is narrated by Kiki (although there are a few small portions told by a character identified only as “Him”, which takes place four years before Jamie’s death), as she pursues her own murder investigation into Jamie’s death. I loved Kiki’s perseverance and resolve, especially when the reader gets a bit more background of what happened in Kiki’s past and how she rose above it. The “Him” who narrates could of course, be any of the male characters in the novel but White manages to shade his identity almost completely, adding another mystery to the plot.
Of course, White sets the stage to make a few characters plausible suspects but she keeps you guessing until the very end. I was not able to connect all of the dots in this mystery, but White not only made the ending surprising and unexpected, she also managed to make it satisfying and completely plausible.
White has been a writer most of her adult life, in some capacity or another and, although I have only recently experienced White’s more recent novels, I am thrilled that she has taken the leap into psychological fiction. She is a perfect fit for the genre, and I anxiously await more from her.

Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. Thank you Kate White, NetGalley, and Harper Perrenial and Paperbacks for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Kiki attends an event knowing she will run into her recent ex-fiancé, Jamie. At the end of the party a gunshot is heard and Jamie is found dead in his car. While Jamie's death appears to be death by suicide, Kiki is convinced that foul play is involved. Kiki can't kick the feeling that there is more to the story even though the police seem convinced otherwise, so Kiki decides to stick around a do a little digging of her own to see if she can find any clues. I love a good mystery and thriller novel and this novel did not disappoint. I look forward to reading more from Kate White in the future.

This was a fun, quick read, but it wasn’t my favorite of Kate White’s. The story fell flat for me - I believed Kiki that Jamie didn’t really kill himself, but found some of the other characters naive and irritating. It also felt convenient to work in the other murder and the ending felt too neat.

I hate to say it but this just didn't do it for me! I was really excited about the premise, and the cover is gorgeous, but somewhere in the middle I found myself wanting to skim and just wasn't invested in the main mystery. I also really disliked Kiki, making it hard to really remain interested in her character development.

This may just be a me thing, but just was not my favorite thriller at all.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Kate White is one of my authors that I look forward to reading ASAP. This book, however, was not one that I got excited about.

The story begins with Kiki attending a party knowing her ex-fiance would also be present. Though it was she that left him she still has some remaining feelings for him and is devastated when he is found dead at the end of the night.
While there were a few "twists" there wasn't enough there for me to consider it a thriller. The ending felt unresolved to me and left me with more questions than answers .

While this book wasn't for me, I will continue to look forward to Kate's next release.

I am a fan of amateur sleuth mysteries but this one fell short for me. In a typical amateur sleuth, the police are involved in some way, at the very least circling back to the sleuth at the end of the story to fill in any information gaps about the murder or the motive. In this book, the police knew less about investigating than Kiki, apparently, and the ending consisted of Kiki and Sam surmising and filling in their own blanks on what must have happened, which was not the satisfying conclusion I wanted. I also felt that while a few of the red herrings provided misdirection, they weren’t all that relevant to the story. The ghost angle was unnecessary—someone had obviously been in the house but that likelihood seemed to be the last thought in Kiki’s mind—and Jamie’s date to the party was another angle that had an unsatisfactory resolution—'she must have psychological problems’ seemed like a convenient and easy treatment of the character and her role in the story. I also felt that there was scant backstory about the murderer—I would have expected this character’s personality/attitude/behavior to have been woven into the story in a more consistent and intentional way. He was mentioned, then he wasn’t, then he was chasing Kiki through a field. The big pay-off at the end didn’t feel earned.

I did not mind the romance with Kiki and Sam, but I felt that if the hint of romance was going to be introduced, then the author should have fully committed to it. This wishy-washy attraction, acting on it, not sure about it so I’ll walk away kind-of romance wasn’t worth introducing into the story and the chemistry between Sam and Kiki just wasn’t there. It was more filler than credible story element and I think the story would have been stronger if they remained antagonists to one another—it would have created more tension and conflict in figuring out if Jamie had been murdered and who may have done it – OR – it could have been an effective source of story angst if they became a true item and threw Jamie’s family and friends into turmoil over their relationship. The romance could have been a real tension builder but as told it missed its potential and did not add heft to the story.

I didn’t much like Kiki, but there were some secondary characters I liked and would have enjoyed more story with them—Ava and Sam come to mind. I thought the bucolic setting of Litchfield county made for a good backdrop for a murder mystery. I did find myself wanting to get back to reading the story when dealing with real life, so there is a want-to-read-what-happens quality to the book. Given my want to read the book, however, I was disappointed I didn’t enjoy it more.

Thank you to and Harper Collins and NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book primarily is from the point of view of Kiki, who used to date Jamie and left him at the altar. There is a party, and Jamie ends up dead. Kiki is determined that it wasn’t a suicide as everyone thinks, and as they ruled. Kiki’s going to do whatever it takes to figure out what really happened.

This book was a fairly easy read, but I struggled a bit to keep track of all of the different characters and the roles they played since there were so many characters involved.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

This was an interesting read. I was thinking it might be similar to a Sally Hepworth or Megan Miranda novel, and it was, but also different. I would consider reading another book by Kate White in the future.


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Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

The story intrigued me so much but the execution fell flat. Kiki was so irritating and did the most unbelievable things.

There were some twists and turns that caught me off guard (in a good way) but overall this could have definitely been better.

It is a fantastic story, exhilarating plot, well developed characters, and a well executed shocking ending. I read in one day, unputdownable and very addictive. Recommend to every thriller reader.

A woman is attempting to solve the mysterious death of her ex-fiance. I so love a who dun it mystery
The characters are very like able and a few I did not care fore. There was beautiful Connecticut scenery are the backbone but also includes a mini romance and great food. Oh and that adorable dog, I loved it. The was a great book. .there were some tense areas and lots of surprises and chaos.
Thank you NetGalley for my advance readers copy.
I will be rewriting a full review in a few weeks.

Kiki Reed has recently broken up with her fiance, Jamie. He was a terrific guy, but just not the right one for her. She is going to see him at a party and dreads how the encounter might go. To her surprise the encounter is pleasant. AS the party is winding down a noise rings out and people rush outside.. They find Jamie dead in his car from a gunshot wound. The police believe it is a suicide, but Kiki know better and is determined to find the truth. So begins another great thriller from Kate White that will keep you turning the pages and staying up all night.

An average thriller about a woman whose ex-fiance is murdered, but under suspicious conditions. The main character takes it upon herself to meddle in the investigation and seek the truth. It limps towards the end with an unsatisfying conclusion and unresolved side romance.

**Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.**

I have mixed thoughts on this book. This was my first Kate White book and I thought it sounded interesting. The prologue was a great beginning, but somewhere along the way, I completely forgot about that part of the story. The book was a quick read and it moved at a decent speed, but I feel like there was too much thrown in without any real solutions or answers. There were a couple of times I thought that parts could have been left out and it would not have mattered. Overall the book was okay. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Paperbacks for a digital arc of this title.

This one was a little difficult to get into. Kiki wasn't a very interesting character, the cops are basically nonexistent. Everyone believes that Jamie committed suicide but Kiki refuses to believe this and has the faith in herself to find the "killer". Overall the plot was good but could have been a bit more straight to the point and not clustered at times.

This book was not for me unfortunately. While i felt it was easy to read and it did move fairly fast I found myself not interested. I was not a fan of Kiki at all and that made it hard for me to be in tune to the story.

Great thriller that is perfect if you need a weekend fun read. So many twists and turns in this one that you never see coming.

Thank you, NetGalley for letting me read this one early. I wish I had a better review to share but unfortunately, this one was a miss for me. I had a really hard time getting into it.

The author could have done a better job with this one.

I wanted to like it so bad because I've loved other books she's written.