Very good book. The main character, Marian, is a bit too innocent but the story is complex and moves well. ( )

A bit of a slow start for me, but then it took off and kept me up reading late into the night. Really enjoyed the dog action and being in the great outdoors. I'm reviewing it for Criminal Element and will post a link when it's live.

Marian Engström loves working with rescue dogs to help protect endangered wildlife. In a new assignment to northern Alberta, Marian is assigned to work with Tate, who she eventually falls in love with. But months later on a different assignment, Marian is blindsided when she learns Tate has been killed in a bear attack. In her grief, Marian begins to question the man she loved. There are inconsistencies in his life and she starts to wonder if he could be the man responsible for four women's brutal murders...

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Marian loves her job. She works as an orienteer and dog handler on a wildlife conservation project in Canada. She even falls in love with a man she she works with. Tate quickly becomes everything to her. After a few weeks, they are placed on separate assignments and Tate is killed. Only then does she discover that he lied to her about his background, his family and childhood, nearly everything about himself. Even his story about finding a woman's dead body in the wilderness seems off. That particular lie makes Marian think that perhaps Tate may have been involved in the murders of at least four women in the area. Did she really know the man she loved? She reaches out to a forensic profiler who worked on the original investigations. The truth will either clear Tate's name or prove that he was a dangerous killer.

This story mixes the beauty of the Canadian wilderness with the horrific violence of a serial killer. I can only imagine what it would feel like to wonder if a loved one had killed multiple people. It would be devastating to discover after a death that maybe you never really knew the person at all. Marian is a strong and intelligent main character. She doesn't just slough off her suspicions and fears after Tate's death but calls Nick Shepard to ask for help unraveling the truth underneath all the lies.

This story builds slowly but definitely kept my attention from beginning to end. The plot is dark and twisty. Each time I thought I knew where the story was going, it zigged off in a new direction. The ending was definitely twisted, but perfect. Loved it!

I will definitely be reading more from this author!

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from Berkley via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** ( )

The Last Woman in the Forest Diane Les Becquets is a 2019 Berkley publication.

A beautifully written, purely intellectual, psychological thriller!

Marian Engström works with rescue dogs to help protect endangered species. Stationed in Alberta, she falls in love with Tate, her mentor. However, her happiness is short-lived when Tate dies tragically.

Her grief soon turns to fear, as evidence surfaces that suggests Tate could be a serial killer. Torn between needing to know the truth and needing to believe Tate is the man she thought him to be, she seeks advice from retired Forensic Profiler, Nick Shepard.

Is it possible the man she loved was a murderer? Was Tate guilty?

I found the book to be very suspenseful, just not in the traditional way most thrillers are designed. In many ways this plot device reminded me of ‘The Pilot’s Wife’, where after a significant other becomes a possible suspect, scenes from the past suddenly develop new connotations. Memories surface in which the clues one should have picked up on, are either explained away, ignored, or passed by unnoticed. It’s an effective approach, if done with careful planning and in moderation.

Marian is looking back over her relationship with Tate, seeing things through a different lens, that of hindsight. No, this is not an action- packed nail biter, with loads of plot twists. It’s more subtle, cerebral, and psychological. Marian and Nick are both analyzing Tate- but from different angles. Nick is experienced, clinical, and is not as emotionally invested in the findings the way Marian is.

Marian, however, is relying on her personal experiences with Tate, looking at possible alternate suspects, while questioning her own judgment.

Adding to the story is the atmosphere that the landscape and vivid scenery provide. It’s invigorating, but very dangerous, and makes the perfect backdrop for this story. I was able to put myself in this environment, which helped me experience things the ways Marian did.

It was quite unnerving, to be honest. I couldn’t imagine being in her shoes, thinking I had been close to such a cunning, cold blooded murderer, and might have narrowly escaped the same fate as Tate's alledged victims. I’d also want to find some evidence that my suspicions were wrong, because the alternative is too horrible to contemplate.

As Nick’s insights penetrate, so do questions about Nick, his health, his past, and his ability to read Tate. His findings are interesting, and as Marian's awakening slowly mounts, so does the suspense.

While I was busy thinking and rethinking all the angles, a huge turn of events in the last few chapters of the book took me completely off guard!!!

Once I finished the book and my pulse returned to normal, I had one more surprise in store, via the author’s note at the end. Be sure to read that note because it explains some things in the book, once again causing one to reflect on things in hindsight.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. While I wouldn’t want ALL of my books to use this format, it was a nice change of pace.

4 stars ( )