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 … 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.
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In this psychological thriller, Dr. Mark Fabian is found murdered in his office. The case is handled by Detective Henry Peacher, lifelong resident of this quiet town in Maine. Henry discovers that shortly before his death Fabian, a psychologist, had pulled the files of two of his former clients – Nadine Raines and Johnny Streeter. The story alternates between Henry’s investigation in the present and Nadine “talking” to Fabian – in her head.
At sixteen, Nadine had committed a shocking, violent act upon a teacher. Henry remembers Nadine quite well – she was a former classmate of his. Streeter is now in prison serving a life sentence for a mass shooting five years earlier at Brookhaven Manor Retirement Community. Henry muses upon why these two files were pulled. Is there a connection between them? Why did Nadine recently return after having been away for many years? Why did Nadine see Fabian again after nearly twenty years? Henry zeroes in on one thread that seems to connect Nadine, Johnny, and Fabian.
Arsenault writes unflinchingly of the struggle Nadine, mentally ill, deals with on a daily basis. She had a difficult childhood and strives unsuccessfully to understand her dark impulses. After the incident with her teacher the entire town thinks she is crazy, a stigma she cannot escape. But does it mean she is killer?
Overall, the book is fast-paced but did begin to lag a little over halfway through. Some of the chapters seemed to repeat themselves, adding no new information. But by that point I was intrigued and wanted to know how it turned out. Arsenault’s skillful use of red herrings along the way kept me questioning the conclusion.
Thank you to William Morrow Books for the advance reading copy.
The Last Thing I Told You by Emily Arsenault is a tale of murder of a psychologist in a sleepy New England town and his former patient, who may or may not be involved in his murder. I really enjoyed this slow-burning, character driven suspense. I found both main characters, Henry, the cop investigating the murder, and Nadine, psychologist’s former patient and one of the suspects, complex and very interesting. I liked the alternating POVs between Henry and Nadine and I liked short chapters that kept me turning pages. Even though the story was unfolding slowly, at no point I was bored, I flew through the book in less than two days. I would recommend this book to suspense and police procedurals lovers.
Psychiatrist Dr. Mark Fabian is dead—bludgeoned in his office.
Detective Henry Peacher investigates Fabian’s death and finds that shortly before his death, he pulled the files of 2 former patients. One file is of Johnny Streeter, a man now serving a life sentence for a mass shooting. Ironically, Peacher is the cop who shot him before he could kill anyone else.
The other file is of Nadine Raines. Again, there’s a link between her and Peacher … he was in the same classroom when she attacked the teacher with a box cutter. She’s been gone many years ..so why has she come back now? And why would these files be pulled when neither of them had been patients for 20 years?
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.
This is an amazing psychological thriller. The story kept me glued to the pages anxiously awaiting what would come next. This thread attaches to that thread that affixes itself to yet another thread.
I love how this book is cleverly written. Alternating chapters are told in turn by Nadine and Peacher. Nadine is still talking to the doctor in her head … but did she kill him? There were things she never told him …
Peacher tells the story of how he got to be the hero-cop, a moniker he doesn’t really like. His personal life is also talked about .. mainly about his twin daughters. It’s a police procedural in how investigations should be run and how the clues start coming together with a lot of door-knocking and asking the right questions.
All in all, a terrific book that kept me guessing until the very end.
Many thanks to the author / William Morrow Books / Edelweiss for the advanced copy of this psychological thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
With the passing of her old therapist Nadine isn’t quite sure who to turn to, he tried to help her through the darkest time in her young life, but she struggled to find a way to understand and talk about what she had done with him. During their conversations she left out some of the important details and now her head and her heart are telling her that she needs to come clean to him, but that isn’t really an option now that he has passed. Then he starts talking to her, she hears his wisdom floating around in her head, which not only starts to confirm everyone’s thoughts about her that she is a little off her rocker, but it also gives her a weird sense of comfort.
Then a former classmate, now town detective Henry Peacher discovers some interesting events that took place before the doctors death, and it leads him to Nadine, and the source of another disturbing event that took place in town five years ago. He thinks there is a connection between them and he will stop at nothing to get the answers he wants…
The Last Thing I Told You is a shocking psychological thriller that will have you breathless and second guessing yourself at every turn… hold on tight be prepared to be awed! This was quite the read, it was suspenseful, mind twisting, slightly weird, but it all gelled together nicely and made for an enjoyable read, it made me continually question everything I read! Definitely a impressive first read, had everything I look for in a thriller, and made me just curious enough to come back for more! Highly recommend!
I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, via Edelweiss, and voluntarily read and reviewed.