I first want to say that I know other people will defiantly enjoy this book. The writing isn't particularly bad or anything, I just couldn't get into it. It didn't capture my attention right away and I mostly felt indifferent about the characters and what happened to them. I DNFed the book at 30%.

I wanted to read this after I read about it getting acquired by Hello Sunshine at Apple TV with Julia Robert’s starring. This is everything you want from a suspenseful read. It’s also beautifully inspiring with great pacing. I would recommend this for a 2021 book club selection. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5/5 stars

This book definitely exceeded my expectations. I was not expecting to get so invested in the characters and their relationships with one another.

The Last Thing He Told Me is about Hannah Hall, who is married to Owen and is the stepmother to his daughter, Bailey. When Owen disappears one day, he leaves behind a duffel bag full of cash for his daughter and a note saying “Protect her.” for Hannah. Hannah and Bailey put aside their differences and set out to find the truth about Owen, hoping it will lead them to wherever he is.

The heart of this book is the relationship between Hannah and Bailey. Laura Dave did an excellent job of developing each character and making the reader care about this relationship. She also makes Owen a very complex character and, using differing timelines, allows you to get to know and understand a character that’s disappearance occurs on page one.

With short chapters and multiple timelines, this is a very fast-paced read. It starts quickly and never slows down. The characters are what makes the novel as good as it is, but I really enjoyed the mystery and all of the twists and turns. Julia Roberts and Reese Witherspoon are developing this book into a miniseries and I could not be more excited. This should definitely be at the top of everyone’s 2021 TBR. I can’t wait to discuss it with others when it releases on 5/4/21.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Full review to be posted closer to release date.

Laura Dave is up there on my list of favorite authors - her last few books have really impressed me and drawn me in. The Last Thing He Told Me was no different! Although this one was more of the suspense storyline - and I liked that from her. TLTHTM tells the story of Hannah, who's husband goes missing when his company is in trouble for financials, and she must take care of his daughter from his first marriage, Bailey. But quickly she finds out everything is not what it seems.

I always look for an ending in a suspense novel that doesn't jump out to me from the beginning, but is not totally outlandish and I thought Laura really nailed that. I was relating to the characters, although Bailey seemed particularly angsty for a normal teenager, and Hannah did some things I would absolutely not do in her case - but that's why we read!

Overall, I definitely recommend this as a suspense (not thriller) book to pick up in 2021!

This was a book I could not put down. Well written, creative storyline, and love able characters. I wished for a different resolution in the end - but we don’t always get what we want. Read this in one day because I had to know what happened.

“PROTECT HER”

Owen disappears just as his boss is arrested by the FBI, but before leaving, he has a student deliver to his wife Hannah, a note, which says just those two words.

Hannah knows that he is referring to his 16 year old daughter, Bailey, from a previous marriage,but from WHO or WHAT must she protect her from?

She thought she knew her husband pretty well, but he was hiding more than a few secrets, and she will need her uncooperative step daughter to help her unravel the clues if she is going to figure out exactly what Owen would want her to do.

Laura Dave writes well developed characters and she does real life, messy relationships well!

I adored her 2015 novel “Eight Hundred Grapes” 🍇 🍷, a 5 ⭐️ love story based in California wine country, so I was eager to read this one, since it involved some suspense!

But, this is definitely DOMESTIC SUSPENSE, not a thriller, so expect this to focus on the relationships between the characters as they reveal their true selves, as much as it does the mystery.

Hannah is likable, Bailey is 16 through and through, and Owen?

How can he leave his daughter when she already lost her mother when she was just a baby?

I was fully engaged and interested in finding out, but wanted to feel more angst from Hannah and Bailey as they contemplated their possible future without Owen. Especially at the end.

An epilogue fills you in on what transpires, and it was touching, but maybe just a little TOO easy? 🎁

I would like to thank the Publisher for my gifted copy! It was my pleasure to provide a candid review!
Available May 4, 2021

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this novel! I could not put it down! Hannah is married to Owen and becomes a stepmother to his sixteen year old daughter Bailey. After he goes missing, she needs to protect Bailey and find out why Owen went into hiding. I didn’t predict any outcome, not that it was major twists and turns. But it was just a great novel with a mystery that gets resolved in the end. The only part I didn’t care for was the chapters that were in the past. They weren’t as helpful to solving Owen’s past as I wanted them to be.

Laura Dave explores a new avenue in writing by producing a thriller about a woman Hannah whose husband Owen mysteriously disappears after a scandal with the company where he works. His last words, written in a note, are: Protect her. Hannah immediately assumes this to indicate that she must shield his daughter Bailey from whatever harm may come to her as a result of anything he has done. After a few failed attempts to contact Owen, she and her stepdaughter embark on a fact-finding mission about what really happened.

Historically, Hannah and Bailey do not get along in that Hannah tries to befriend Bailey whose mother died long ago and Bailey rebuffs any attempt at friendship. This makes their journey toward the truth that much more complicated. Through brief flashbacks on her marriage to Owen and present-day discoveries, her bonds to Bailey become stronger and what she finds out about her husband becomes more confusing.

The writing, as in Dave's other books, is very good and moves you through the story. Many clues involve you in figuring out just what is going on, but some storylines disappear without a trace, and the climax doesn't really give you any concrete or shocking answers. It's almost too easy how it comes about and how it's settled. And any repercussions that result from the discoveries are not explored enough and, while the ending is somewhat bittersweet, it's a resigned ending. Hannah and Bailey appear numb. The epilogue could have been a little more revealing, too. I mean, how do they cope after all of this turmoil? They cannot just be content with the results.

Anyway, this book did keep my interest and serves more as an exploration of a marriage. Can you love someone who has made grave mistakes and maybe isn't who he says he is? What will you give up to lead the life you want for you and your loved ones? Within the context of a mystery, these issues are brought up. I enjoyed reading it and think others will, too.

Having been a long time fan of Laura Dave's (Hello Sunshine, 800 Grapes anyone?!), I was definitely curious about her foray into more of a suspenseful novel and I was not disappointed. When Hannah's husband leaves a cryptic note and abandons her and her stepdaughter, the questions begin, and is Owen the man she thought she knew? Told in alternating timelines, we get glimpses of the early courtship between Hannah and Owen as well as the search for Owen. I heard this one is already being adapted for TV and I can't wait to see it come to life.

A solid, engaging read. Loved the pace and the depth of characters.

Thanks, NetGalley, for an advanced copy to read.

I don’t read a ton of mysteries, and every time I come across a book like this I wonder why.
This had me in suspense from cover to cover.
It’s obviously about a missing husband and father, but it’s really about relationships. Including a precarious relationship between a daughter and her step mother.

It was unexpectedly moving while still managing to keep you on your toes. I very much enjoyed it.

Also, I loved the inclusion of Austin, one of the best cities!

This book hooked me from the beginning! It was a well thought out story that kept me guessing. The theme of loyalty and family is spread throughout the book.

I love finding “new to me” authors and after reading one of their books, immediately adding their backlist to my TBR. Yep, now I need to read all the @lauradaveauthor books stat! ⁣
⁣
In The Last Thing He Told Me, Hannah finds Owen, the man of her dreams, but along with him comes a stepdaughter, Bailey, that wants nothing to do with her new mom. One day, her husband doesn’t come home but he sends her a note with just two words: PROTECT HER. Hannah knows exactly what he means. She must do whatever she can to protect her stepdaughter. The same stepdaughter who won’t give her the time of day and goes out of the way to make Hannah feel unwanted and unaccepted. ⁣
⁣
Hannah and Bailey go on a quest to figure out where Owen has disappeared to and why. As they dig deep and start following the clues, they quickly learn that the man they both love has a deep dark secret - he’s not who he says he is at all. ⁣
⁣
The suspense is palpable through every single word on every single page. It keeps building and building throughout the story. I really loved coming up with theories about who Owen was and why he had to run to protect his family. The outcome was satisfying and I grew to love Hannah, Bailey and their ever evolving relationship. ⁣
⁣
The Last Thing He Told Her will be released May 4, 2021 and is a fantastic suspense novel. I flew through it so quickly because I had to know how it would all play out. But, even more than that, it’s a story about a family and their struggles. It will break your heart and then just maybe put some of the pieces back together. ⁣

The first two words I said to myself at the end of the book were, “Oh, wow.” The novel has great writing, a great story, and excellent threads to weave a compelling tale.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was so good! There was so much mystery and suspense packed into this one that I just needed to get to the end! This was my first book from this author and I am hooked. I loved how unpredictable it was and it forced you to try to connect some of the dots yourself. If you have an idea of how it is going to play out you are probably wrong and that’s what I love about mysteries! I liked the format of the back and forth between the past and present because it gave all the extra details you needed to help solve the mystery of it all. Overall it was a big hit for me!

Thank you to both NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an advance copy of Laura Dave’s highly anticipated novel, The Last Thing He Told Me, in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Thing He Told Me is a fast-paced and entertaining read. I loved Dave’s Eight Hundred Grapes, but this felt more like a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel.

The story is told through alternating timelines by Hannah (i.e., the protagonist) and immediately opens with the central focus of the novel: Where is Hannah’s husband Owen Michaels? As Hannah and Bailey embark on a journey to find Owen, who is also Bailey’s father, their search leads them to Austin, Texas, where the “where” question quickly becomes a “who is Owen Michaels?”

The chapters are short and the plot speeds by in an instant, so I cannot say too much else without giving away all of the twists and turns. I will say that I wish we had gotten to know more about Jules and Jake. Although they were introduced as supporting characters, they ultimately became devices to move the plot along and I found myself wondering why we were even introduced to them in the first place.

Other than that and the ending, I would recommend reading this book; especially, if you want to get ahead of the Apple TV+ limited series, which is being adapted by Reese Witherspoon’s production company, Hello Sunshine, and will star Julia Roberts. Though I guess you will have some time before that happens since the book does not come out until May. Enjoy!

Oh you guys 😍 #thelastthinghetoldme #lauradave the author who I definitely want to see if she has more 📚. #netgalley #netgalleyreads we meet Hannah. She’s a wood turner. Falls madly in love with a single father named Owen. Owens daughter, Bailey, is your regular teenage a-hole 😂 one day Owen disappears in to the nothing leaving Hannah a note that only says “protect her”. The mystery that Hannah and Bailey unravel throughout this book is one you won’t be putting down. From start to finish I loved every about this book. She even had a killer ending. I love when it isn’t rushed or thrown together. This will be on shelves May 4, 2021. Definitely add this to that #tbrpile you will NOT regret it. #bookstagram #booklover #bookgoals #booksbooksbooks #netgalleyreview #netgalleyreviewer #weekendvibes #readingisfun #readingaddict #readingismyhappyplace

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This fast-paced thriller is the engrossing story of Hannah, a woodturner currently living in Sausalito with her step-daughter, Bailey. Discovering and unraveling the circumstances that led to the disappearance of Bailey's father, Owen, is at the center of this story. Hannah navigates Federal Marshals, the FBI and her husband's shady former father-in-law in order to unearth Owen's backstory, Hannah has to decide who to trust and how much she is willing to give up to protect Bailey.

Author Laura Dave has given us a great thriller with a compelling, unique storyline and gripping plot twists. I highly recommend.

This cover and premise caught my eye, and I was thrilled to be approved.

Hannah is trying to connect with her step daughter Bailey when they're thrust into an unthinkable situation. Her husband, Owen, is wanted for questioning in a fraud scheme and flees. Before he disappears, he leaves Hannah an ambiguous note, just two words: Protect her. What follows is a woman's quest to saving a husband with a past she knows nothing about and a journey into the complexities of blended families.

Oh, I loved this book.

I didn't expect to hit me the way it did, but the hope and resounding belief that love is possible outside of blood ties really struck a chord. Hannah's voice is compelling and fun in spite of the extenuating circumstances. She's self-aware and quietly respectful. Her budding relationship with Bailey is a carefully layered masterpiece in character building, and I loved seeing how each bit of mystery brought them closer or highlighted their differences.

This book is utterly un-put-downable. The plot is well structured, the pacing is spot on, and the characters are more than relatable. Yes, this is a suspense, but it's also a refreshing blast of optimism I didn't know I needed. It is possible to have a book with two characters who love each other. It is possible for a stepmother to not have her own biological children but love, nurture, and respect the relationship with her stepchild. What resonated most was Hannah's faith that she knew her husband. The trust and love they had for each other. The sacrifices they made. I can't remember the last time I read something without an automatic assumption of guilt or the overarching conclusion that one bad decision is enough to decide the entirety of their future.

Overall, The Last Thing He Told Me is a smart, electric, engrossing read with a big heart and reverberating consequences. I'd recommend to fans of Moriarty or quiet domestic suspense.

Big thanks to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

"The Last Thing He Told Me" is an upcoming suspense novel by Laura Dave (set to release 5/4/2021.) The storyline revolves around the main character, Hannah and her step-daughter, Bailey. Hannah's husband, Owen, mysteriously disappears when the company he works for comes under an investigation by the FBI. The only thing Owen leaves behind is a duffle bag full of cash and a note stating, "Protect her," which Hannah rightly assumes refers to Bailey.

As Hannah and Bailey attempt to figure out what has happened to Owen, they find that he is not who he said he was. As they persue answers, they find that Bailey's memories from her childhood may be the key that leads them to Owen's true identity.

I enjoyed this book from start to finish. In fact, I read the entire thing in two days because I just had to know how it ended. The writing is engaging, even if a tad bit repetitive at times. I appreciated the author's ability to write an engaging and suspenseful story without feeling the need to include an overwhelming amount of profanity or sex. The ending was not predictable, which helped keep me interested from start to finish.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exganged for my non biased opinion and review.