In The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave, woodworker Hannah is settled into a pretty good life. She has a wonderful, loving husband, and if her relationship with her teenaged step-daughter isn't the best, at least she's working on it. But when husband, Owen, disappears leaving only a note that says "protect her", Hannah knows that she will need to earn her step-daughter's trust and soon. The two of them search for clues to Owen's whereabouts, and discover who he really is in the process.

This looks like Laura Dave's first outing to hardcore thriller, although the book has still retained much of the heart one would expect based on her previous titles. The story delivered is full of twists and turns and characters that may or may not be safe to trust. And at the centre of it is Hannah's relationship with her step-daughter, Bailey -- a relationship that may be familiar to many in a similar position. Their growing trust and sudden contradictions really make this story. As the reader discovers each reveal along with the characters, it is their reactions and the way they build their relationship around these unveiled secrets that really makes this book enjoyable.

The Last Thing He Told Me will be a good read for fans of Ruth Ware or Lucy Foley, and I hope we will see a lot more thrillers from Laura Dave in the future.

With thanks to the publishers and NetGalley.com for granting an e-advanced review copy.

Lots of twists and turns in this book that kept me turning the pages.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his new wife, Hannah: protect her. Hannah knows exactly who Owen needs her to protect - his sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. And who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.

As her increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered, his boss is arrested for fraud and the police start questioning her, Hannah realises that her husband isn't who he said he was. And that Bailey might hold the key to discovering Owen's true identity, and why he disappeared. Together they set out to discover the truth. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen's past, they soon realise that their lives will never be the same again...

'The Last Thing He Told Me' is domestic suspense of the highest order, it's intense, quick-paced, thoughtful and moving. I was unable to put it down. Unlike many other thrillers out there, it manages to be thrilling and comforting - a real trick to pull off.

The characters are beautifully imagined, making them truly memorable. This novel is a meditation on the ties that bind us; trust, love and honesty - and what happens when those values are called into question. Dave's beautiful prose is yet another reason to pick up this novel.

'The Last Thing He Told Me' is a thriller that gives you all the feels.

Brilliant, I loved it!!!!

What would you do to protect your family? Would you be prepared to walk away forever in order to save those you love the most. That is the obstacle facing one man when his life starts to unravel. His past returns to haunt him but he must make the right decision for the daughter he would do anything for.

Married to Owen, Hannah is the one who has to figure out how to hold her family together and make impossible choices. Bailey, Owens daughter, needs to be protected from her fathers legacy but how can Hannah keep her safe when she doesn’t know what from?

A twisty page turner that kept me reading until the final line. This summed up the whole book for me and whilst bittersweet, proves that love can conquer all.

Never had I read a book that so profoundly moved a part of my heart that is protected by sky-high walls. I bounded with Hannah quickly, without realizing that the excellent prose of the author had created a bridge between us.

Hannah is strong but fragile, her past left her with no real map or manual on families. Yet, she is now in love, married, and a stepmother. Not all is well under the blue sky of Sausalito, California, though. Her relationship with Bailey, her husband’s daughter, is strained. It felt strangely natural to relate to her story. I do not have a sixteen-year-old teen to take care of, neither do I have a lovely hubby called Owen, but something in Hannah triggered something in me. Her urge to create a connection with Bailey was sincere, pure, and echoed through the pages as much as her love for Owen…

Owen, or the man who disappeared, leaving behind a cryptic note “Protect her” Despite the suspicions raised by his sudden departure, I never really believed Owen to be a bad guy. In all honesty, I did believe that living this story through Hannah’s point of view was bound to taint my opinion, yet… Yet my guts were screaming that things were not black and white. And they are not.

Laura Dave beautifully threaded a story of love around a heart-breaking mystery. I was intrigued, obviously, but the fuel that kept me reading came from the characters themselves. My connection to Hannah, my hope for answers and a happy ending, left me with no other choice than to forget everything else and absorb this piece of fiction that deserves all the praise it is getting.

The accuracy of the exploration of three relationships moved me deeply. They tugged at my heartstrings and gave me hope. A father with his daughter, a husband and wife, and a stepmother and stepdaughter. Can a father put his daughter first? Can true love still be found? Can love be built by two people only united by the love they share for the same person?

The intensity of the plot, both in terms of feelings and intrigue, make this novel the most delicate, strong, and taut thriller I have read. I have a new favorite. It’s The Last Thing He Told Me. It’s more than another thriller, more than a new piece of fiction. It’s the adrenaline-fuelled blood sent to your heart with dizzying speed, pushing the emotional resonance of each word to the edge.

Can Hannah and Bailey find the answers they need? And face the questions that await them? I won’t give anything away, but this vital relationship gave me hope in so many ways.

I can’t wait for the movie adaptation, but I’ll cherish the novel forever.

This has been a read filled with tension and suspense and I have been completely hooked. I have adored the way this has been written and fully engaged in this novel.

I immediately loved Hannah, she’s written in such a way that you empathise with the position she finds herself forced into. With short chapters that pull no punches, I sat helplessly watching her whole life as she knew it implode.

Her husband Owen is at the epicentre of a scandal and FBI investigation involving fraud and embezzlement at the software company he works for and has gone on the run leaving only two notes and a duffel bag full of cash. Friends, who could have helped her, have turned their backs after they had invested in the company and now look set to lose large sums of money.

With her note saying only “protect her” she is now all that her teenage stepdaughter Bailey has. Bailey was frustratingly snide at times towards Hannah but after losing her mother and now her father doing a disappearing act you understand her animosity and I loved how they were forced to come together to figure it all out. With a US Marshall and the FBI asking questions Hannah herself doesn’t know the answers to, it’s now time for them to find out.

This may be a thriller with a captivating mystery but to me the core of this book is about relationships. Between parents and children, husbands and wives, step children and a new person stepping in and the importance of grandparents and family.

“Maybe we are all fools, one way or another, when it comes to seeing the totality of the people who love us—the people we try to love”.

Clear your diary and remove all distractions as once you start this you aren’t going anywhere.

I was very happy to join in the blog tour for this!!!

I really enjoyed this book, the story kept me interested, and I really wanted to know what happened to Owen. I felt really bad for Hannah and Owen’s daughter Bailey. I can’t imagine waking up to find your husband is gone, with no other explanation except a note saying ‘Protect Her’. This had me intrigued as to why he would leave his wife and daughter, unless he was in serious trouble. And what did he mean by protect her? Protect her from what? Or who?

We see and feel how Bailey feels about Hannah, and it’s understandable when a new woman comes along and takes away the only parent you have. I felt for her, I really did. But it was lovely to see the relationship between step mother and step daughter grow, and yet still have it’s problems.

The book passes between now, and Hannah and Owens past, where we see how they met and how their married life started. We get small clues as to what May have happened in the past, and why Owen has hidden things from his wife.

A great book with a great storyline, I was hooked to the end. I’d definitely recommend this one. 4 - 4.5 stars for me!

Thank you to Viper books for my advanced ebook for review!

I really enjoyed this book. An apparently perfect relationship is torn apart one evening when Hannah, Owens new wife receives a note from him saying "protect her".. She cannot reach him and is soon contacted by the authorities as they investigate a major fraud at the company which employs Owen. Assuming that the note refers to her stepdaughter Bailey, Laura is determined to find out for herself, who her husband really was, and why he disappeared. This is a page turner with interesting, engaging characters and a good quirky ending.

A very slow storyline, Owen goes missing leaving a note to take care of Bailey his daughter.
Then things start to unfold with Owen not being who he said he was.

I enjoyed the storyline with Hannah bonding with her stepdaughter and her love of woodwork, the rest I found very slow and waited for the twist that didn`t come.
So would definitely not call it a thriller.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Couldn’t put this down one I started! A fast paced, gripping page turner! It has a lot of twists and turns. Can’t wait for when it comes to screens!

Like everyone, Hannah had experienced many changes over the course of her life so far. Being abandoned by her mother, the death of her beloved Grandfather, meeting, falling in love and marrying her beloved husband Owen and suddenly finding herself in the role of stepmother to his daughter Bailey. All perfectly normal changes in the unpredictable journey called life. But I don't think that many people could predict that their lives would be changed forever by the suddenly appearance of a young girl on their doorstep. Someone who insisted that she had been paid twenty dollars by Owen to deliver a note to Hannah's address, a note bearing only two words Protect her. Hannah instantly knew who the note referred to, Owen's beloved daughter Bailey but she had absolutely no idea what or who she was supposed to protect her from. Hannah suddenly finds that her life has turned into the plot from a action movie, Owen has completely disappeared, the boss of the tech firm that Owen worked for has been arrested for fraud and embezzlement and law enforcement agencies keep turning up and asking Hannah questions that she has no idea how to answer. Overwhelming with conflicting emotions and with no idea who she can trust, Hannah decides that the only way that she is going to learn the truth is by digging into her husband's life but she swiftly discovers that Owen wasn't the man she thought he was. She finds herself battling to save her family and facing tough decisions and all the while the last thing that he told her is at the forefront of her thoughts and actions.

This gripping story that slips back and forth in time is told entirely from the perspective of our main character Hannah as we follow her quest to discover the truth behind Owen's disappearance. I thought that Hannah was a really likeable, strong willed,feisty individual who I found easy to connect to and experienced feelings of anxiety about as her story unfolded and she came into contact with some untrustworthy, dubious characters. Her attempts to forge a connection between herself and Bailey who was a believable mix of conflicting emotions and raging hormones were so sweet. They were both so different character wise and yet their circumstances were strikingly similar, both had lost their mother's and now the man that they both loved had disappeared and they were learning that he had hidden secrets and wasn't the man they both thought he was. Could they find a way to work together? What were Owen's secrets and why had he disappeared? WHat will Hannah have to sacrifice in order to protect her family and keep them safe from harm?

I can fully understand why this beautifully written,captivating story had been be commissioned for a tv adaptation and I really hope they do justice to the gripping story and the intricacies of the plot. It's a story about families, acceptance, love and revenge that hooks the reader in from the first page, keeps you guessing and frantically turning the pages. It has a cast of vivid, realistic characters and a heart warming, satisfying conclusion. I thought this was a very enjoyable, entertaining thriller and would happily read more of this author's books in the future.

This was a brilliant read. The writing jumps off of the page and into your mind. The ending I had some issues with as I think that there should have been a bit more closure to the story, but that is just personal preference. The whole set up from the beginning was crazy and reminded me a lot of MR Robot. This is a perfect read for anyone who enjoys a book that sweeps you up and won't let you go until you finish it.

Definitely a page-turner! Easy to read, fast-paced and well written. Looking forward to seeing the series.

Compelling Domestic Noir....
Compelling domestic noir, well written and thought provoking with a credible cast of characters. Suspenseful and engaging from first to last page.

If you love a domestic style mystery then this is the book for you.

Hannah is married to Owen Michaels and stepmum to Bailey. The relationship between Hannah and Bailey is strained and avoidance is definitely a key part of the relationship from Bailey.

Suddenly their lives are turned upside down when Hannah receives a note from Owen, saying ‘Protect her’, and he disappears. Hannah can only conclude that he means Bailey and she vows to do everything in her power to do as Owen has asked.

When a US marshal and FBI agents turn up at the house Hannah realised that her husband is in trouble and he may not be who she thinks he is. Not one to sit back and wait Hannah and Bailey decide to do their own investigation work.

Can Hannah and Bailey work together ? Will it bring them closer or will it tear them further apart ? Who is Owen ? And will the pair find the truth ?

This is a great mystery based around the relationship of Step-Mother and Daughter. Both Hannah and Bailey are great characters that really come alive within the pages.

Thank you to Serpent’s Tail and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

I couldn’t put this book down when I started reading it! Loved the play out of the story and narration. The mystery and the thriller part of the novel was well written too. Looking forward to the tv Series too.

I found this book had a slow start but warmed up after a while and I enjoyed the storyline and the relationship between Hannah and her stepdaughter, Bailey. Owen, Hannah's husband, goes missing after a raid on the company he works for and we are left to imagine how much he knew about the improprieties there.

As Hannah digs a bit deeper to try to work out why Owen has disappeared, all is not as it seems and his story starts to unravel.

Once the book got going, it became one I didn't want to put down.

I found the writing very pedestrian. There was a good story in there but I found it too difficult to get invested in it or care for the characters. I ended up skim reading which I rarely do.

The Last Thing He Told Me is a riveting and enthralling mystery thriller about the disappearance of a devoted husband and father inspired by the Enron scandal. Hannah Hall believes she has finally found her soulmate in husband of one year Owen Michaels and they live a seemingly happy life. Hannah is a craftswoman who makes handmade furniture for elite clientele. Together they live on a beautiful houseboat in Sausalito in Marin County, California alongside Owen's 16-year-old daughter Bailey, who is far from overjoyed with her father's new wife/ her stepmother. A computer coder for a prominent and successful technology start-up known as The Shop, Owen vanishes just before the company's CEO is arrested and taken into custody by the FBI after a year-long investigation into suspected fraud and corruption. They had apparently put some new software on the market way before it was fully functional and then cooked the books when it came to their finances. Both Hannah and Bailey are in total shock but before he skedaddled he left a note written to his wife with the words "protect her", delivered to them by a neighbourhood teen. She knows it refers to Bailey as she lost her mother tragically when she was young. The message is a simple one but Hannah knows she must find out what Bailey needs protection from and her motherly instincts kick into high gear. So amidst the fear, confusion and worry they know they must stick together. Bailey soon discovers that her father has left her over half a million dollars in cash bundled into a bag and placed into her locker at school.

She tries everything to contact him but to no avail and refuses to believe her husband, the man she thought she knew inside and out, was involved in serious criminal activity so when a US marshal and federal agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced Hannah realises what she believes about Owen is in direct opposition to what the world is trying to tell her. Convinced of his innocence Hannah and Bailey work tirelessly to uncover what it was that made Owen run, where he is and if he's ever coming back. Their search leads them to Texas even though Owen had claimed when they had first met he was from the East Coast. As they decipher the clues and go deeper down the rabbit hole, they both realise that there is no Owen Michaels, he was merely a character played by a man with another name. Devastated Hannah and Bailey discover that the one good thing to come from this hideous betrayal is the close bond they now have with one another. This is a compulsive and enthralling thriller with a real mystery at its centre and not only does the author place many blindsiding plot twists and dizzying red herrings within the pages but her characters, namely Hannah and Bailey, are emotional and compelling too. It's a blisteringly paced, evocative domestic drama and you can't help but feel heartbroken for those left behind. Alternating between past and present, with suspense and tension in abundance and a poignancy about it, The Last Thing He Told Me asks the question: What happens when we trust the people in our lives despite all evidence to the contrary?