Tell Me Who You Are by Louisa Luna

Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux/MCD on June 4, 2024

Most psychological thrillers fail to take a deep dive into psychology. Tell Me Who You Are features a psychiatrist who lectures the reader about various psychological maladies, including dissociative personality disorder — commonly referred to as a multiple or split personality disorder — the existence of which is controversial. Certain characters in the novel — maybe all the important ones — might be delusional or deranged. The ambiguous truth that underlies their apparent maladies supplies the intrigue that engages the reader's interest.

Caroline Strange is a psychiatrist. Her patients call her Dr. Caroline. A local online rag published a story that included her on a list of the ten worst doctors in Brooklyn. The story was written by Ellen Garcia. It didn’t take Caroline long to find out where Ellen lived.

Some of the story is written from Caroline’s point of view. It quickly becomes apparent that she might not be a reliable narrator. Nor is she anyone a reader would want to know. She’s self-absorbed and self-important and scornful of her patients — the kind of therapist who probably belongs on a Ten Worst list. She doesn’t want to be burdened by her sons or her mother, making her self-indulgent both as a parent and as a child.

Some of the story is narrated by Gordon Strong. He was Caroline’s next-door neighbor when, as a child, she gave him some disturbing news. Not long after that, Gordon killed everyone in his house, except Caroline, who was staying overnight. Or did he?

Gordon is the most convincing character. Gordon was laid off from his job. He drinks too much. He’s portrayed as a man who is disintegrating, who has turned to alcohol to cope with his vanishing self-esteem. It doesn’t help that his father belittled him while he was growing up. Gordon progressively demolishes the hedge he’s trying to trim, the hedge perhaps serving as a symbol for his life.

Several chapters are narrated by Ellen as she’s being held captive. After a few days of captivity, Ellen launches into a monolog that amounts to “It’s hard to be a woman.” It’s well-written but too well-written to be the delirious rant of a water-deprived kidnap victim. For a woman who is starving and dehydrated, she’s way too chatty.

The meat of the story begins with a walk-in patient who tells Dr. Caroline that he thinks he’s going to kill someone. Then he says, “and I know who you really are.” The man, who calls himself Nelson, does seem to know something about Caroline’s past.

After Ellen disappears, the police question Caroline on the theory that she might resents Ellen’s unkind article about her. Caroline points the police toward Nelson as a more likely suspect. As the story unfolds, the police are more focused on Caroline than Nelson, whose existence they can’t establish. Caroline decides to track down Nelson herself.

It isn’t clear whether Nelson is in fact a criminal or the subject of Caroline’s warped delusions. I could have gone either way on that question for most of the novel. While the story is a bit farfetched, the clever plot kept me reading with interest. The story ends with a mild surprise that reflects Louisa Luna’s willingness to take chances. She understands that novels can be good even if the key characters are unlikable. Because Luna pulls off a difficult plot and fills it with difficult but carefully developed characters, Tell Me Who You Are stands apart from run-of-the-mill farfetched thrillers.

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