Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the eARC of this book! Definitely recommend checking this one out when it’s published this coming week!

I was completely wrapped up in this one from start to finish. It started off super strong, had some lulls in the middle, but finished really strong. It was a quick read, and kept a good pace throughout the book.

“…we all have secrets we don’t share.”

Brief Synopsis: Before Owen vanishes, he manages to get a note to his wife Hannah that simply says, “Protect her.” Hannah knows immediately that he is referring to his daughter and her stepdaughter, Bailey. When the FBI, a US Marshal, and the media get involved, Hannah comes to the realization that her husband hasn’t been truthful about his past or present. Even his daughter has been in the dark. The book follows as Hannah and Bailey search for Owen and the truth. Who can they trust when everyone involved has a different motive to help?

Thoughts: This book grabbed my attention from the beginning. The narrative is told through Hannah’s POV, which I enjoyed. We uncover truths as Hannah learns them, as well as when she recalls conversations from her memories. The characters are realistic, and the twists are surprising. Also, the writing style is great, it’s not too wordy or repetitive. There’s not a ton of pre-story, so things get suspenseful quickly.

Thank you to Laura Dave, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for a copy of this book. It was a fast-paced, engaging read that I would recommend to anyone looking for a non-violent thriller.

This book a huge WOW, I am not going to lie, I shed a tear, Hannah is the best, she is just amazing. Anyway she is married to Owen, and he has a daughter named Bailey. He goes missing out of nowhere and the company that works for is being raided and the FBI is on to him. How well does she know her husband?

Good this book was a wild ride. Not only is Hannah such a strong character, she saw some red flags but brushed it under the rug, and everything started to resurface, as soon as Owen disappeared. All of this took her on a journey in finding out who really is her husband and finding out more secrets about his past. I seriously couldn’t put this book down.

The one thing that brought me to tears is how Hannah did everything she can in her power to protect Bailey. The end made me very emotional, this author is seriously great at doing this to me, lol.

Thanks Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I found this book an exciting and gripping read. It hooked me from the first few pages.

Hannah and Owen have been happily married for a few years, and Owen's daughter Bailey is not a fan of her new stepmother. When Owen disappears, telling Hannah nothing more than "Protect her", and news of irregularities at Owen's place of work start to surface, Hannah and Bailey have to work together to figure out what has happened to Owen.

As the FBI and the US Marshalls start to circle, Hannah and Bailey begin to realized that Owen was not the man they knew him to be.

Laura Dave wrote very realistic characters, and I felt that their behaviors and emotions seemed very true to life and authentic. The way they researched and dug out information made sense for people who are not professionals. The twists and turns of the book took their investigations, and the plot, in directions I didn't really expect. The ending felt satisfying, and yet not predictable.

This was the first of Dave's books that I had read - but it won't be the last.

This book truly took me by surprise. I was intrigued by the blurb, but didn't know if it would live up to my expectations. Well, it definitely did. I enjoyed this book a great deal and would have read it from start to finish if I didn't have to sleep and work. As it was, I still managed to finish it quickly.

I liked the way Ms. Dave dispersed information throughout the book. She would use flashbacks to help the reader get to know Owen and better understand his connections with his wife and daughter. You can also see how there were indicators that all wasn't normal with Owen. Things that his wife, Hannah chose to overlook at the time which would later come back to her and make her wonder "what if." "What if" I had pushed him to tell me more and so on.

I thought the character development was well done. You see a great deal of growth in Hannah following Owen's disappearance. In addition, you see the evolution of her relationship with her step-daughter, Bailey. There are a few things in the storyline that seem a little far-fetched to me, but it's fiction after all. It didn't keep me from enjoying the book. As a matter of fact, the reason I read it so quickly was because I needed to see how it ended.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

As domestic suspense, The Last Thing He Told Me starts out at a slow pace and gradually builds in tension as the story develops. Hannah is the first-person narrator who relates how she met and fell in love with her husband, Owen; Owen, who disappears on the day that the company he works for is raided by the SEC and the FBI for embezzlement and fraud; Owen, who defines himself by the statement, “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for my daughter.” Hannah is left to figure out how to come to terms with Owen’s disappearance while helping Owen’s daughter, Bailey, deal with her father’s sudden absence. Owen is not who he seems to be; he is running from his past, a fact that Hannah learns about as she searches for answers. Can Hannah, Owen, and Bailey find a way to reunite that won’t jeopardize their lives?

The Last Thing He Told Me is full of characters and relationships that are believable and real. There are unexpected twists and turns and red herrings along the way. Hannah’s strength of character and belief in herself, in Bailey, and most of all in Owen, provides the measure by which this novel can best be appreciated.

Cryptic and dramatic domestic thriller. A page turning story that's difficult to pull away from. A missing husband, an FBI raid, family drama- this story checks alot of boxes for everything that's good about a well paced thrill ride. The characters are believable and well developed, the focus on the relation between stepdaughter and stepmom was engaging. Great book, can't wait to see it hit the big screen

Wow! This book pulled me in from page 1.

Hannah thought she found her Prince Charming in Owen and embraced his teenage daughter Bailey despite Bailey’s reluctance to accept Hannah as her stepmom. Things in Hannah’s life take an unexpected turn when Owen disappears leaving only a note behind to Hannah with the words, “protect her” along with a duffel bag full of money left for Bailey. But why?

This was thoroughly entertaining and I would definitely recommend this book. Rumor has it, it could be the May pick for Reese’s Book Club... 🤞🏻

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 big stars!

Clear your schedule and prepare to be sucked in! This fast paced, gripping mystery/thriller never let’s up.
Great storytelling, twists and turns, and characters whose relationships feel authentic make this a standout.

The story begins with Owen Michael’s disappearance after having a cryptic note delivered to Hannah, his wife. The only thing the note says is “protect her” yet Hannah instantly knows that he is referring to his daughter Bailey ( her stepdaughter). They soon learn that the FBI has arrested Owen’s boss and Hannah is approached by agents questioning her about her husband’s whereabouts. Searching for answers, Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the real truth. Their journey however, leads them to danger and long buried secrets. Love and loyalty is tested as the reader discovers how far one will go to protect their child.

Don’t miss this satisfying read!

What if the person you married was not who they claimed to be? THE LAST THING HE SAID TO ME is a domestic suspense novel that hits the ground running and just doesn’t quit. The story follows Hannah Hall, wife of software engineer Owen Michaels, and step-mother to his teenage daughter Bailey. Their lives are upended when Owen suddenly disappears leaving only a bag of cash and a cryptic note with the words: “PROTECT HER.” Hannah and Bailey are left bewildered and in desperate search of the man they love.

While the search for Owen is propulsive, the dynamics between the characters is what truly kept me turning the pages. I was constantly switching allegiances and weighing who could be trusted. @lauradaveauthor offers no gimmicky/contrived plot twists; the story felt authentic as secrets from Owen’s past slowly unfolded.

Ultimately, this is a story of fierce familial bonds and sacrificial love. The theme of “choices” was prevalent throughout the novel and forced me to consider what I would do if faced with dire circumstances. There weren’t cut and dry solutions--every decision was nuanced and the story realistically could have played out in a number of different ways. Each reader will resonate with the character’s choices differently making this an excellent book club pick!

RATING: 4.5/5 stars rounded up

Noteworthy: @JuliaRoberts will be starring in this upcoming series produced by @reesewitherspoon and @hellosunshine on Apple TV+. The book is also rumored the be a May selection for #BookOfTheMonthClub.

A big thank you to @netgalley and @simonbooks for providing me with an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

Hannah Hall has married Owen, a man that walked into her 'woodturning" shop and swept her off her feet despite her resistance, due to having just broken up with her fiancée. Owen's sixteen year old daughter, Bailey, despises everything about Hannah but Hannah is determined to win her over someday. Life is good for Hannah, she loves her work, she loves both Owen and Bailey, she finally has a family after suffering for decades over feelings of abandonment because her parents left her when she was young. 

Then one morning, she kisses Owen as he heads to work and that's the last she sees of him. She gets a note, delivered by a little girl, that says "protect her". The FBI arrests his boss and shows up on her doorstep. Bailey's dad has left a HUGE puzzling gift for her in her locker at school. Things are falling apart and what Hannah knows about Owen is no longer adding up. 

Rather than waiting to see how things unfold, Hannah takes action. Based on a picture and very unreliable memories from when Bailey was less than 4 years old, they are off to a distant city to try to find out Owen's true identity. Is Owen who he says he is and if he's not, what does that mean for Hannah and even more so, for Bailey, his daughter? It's hard to imagine that I would make the choices that Hannah and Bailey make throughout the book but the good thing that comes out of all of this is that they both realize that they have each other through whatever is going on in their lives. 

What I was drawn to in this story is less the mystery and more the growing relationship between Hannah and Bailey. I think their reliance on each other and Bailey's change as she opens up to Hannah, while she convinces Hannah to be open with her, too, is what makes the story work for me. Their world has become a different, scary place and I enjoyed watching them work through the realization that their lives would never be the same again. 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this ARC.

This book has been defined as a thriller in some online reviews and synopsis, but it is definitely a domestic thriller with lots of family drama. It's a bit of a slow burn, just because there is a lot of building up of the characters and their relationships. I think the character development is truly what shines in this novel. A really great choice for a summer read.

4.5

This was a surprise and a good one! I've been reading a string of mystery's on my iPad lately and it was nice to still be reading a mystery, but not have it be so dark. The pace was quick, but never flashy or gaudy and there were plenty of twists that were believeable and well executed. This was my first Laura Dave book and I will definitely look into her future work.

I'm also excited to see how the Julia Roberts/Apple TV adaption turns out. I think this will translate to a limited series well.

Thanks to Netgalley, Simon & Schuster and Laura Dave for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review.

Review Date: 04/28/2021
Publication Date: 05/04/2021

This book was amazing. The kind of story you want to reread as soon as you are finished. I had already preordered this book before I had the opportunity to read it through NetGalley because I love Laura Dave's books! Now, I can't wait to actually hold the book in my hand, and page through it rereading as I go. Just WOW, I loved this book!

Hannah and Owen have been married for a year. His sixteen year old daughter, Bailey, isn't a fan. Hannah has been working hard on building a relationship - nothing works until Owen disappears.
A knock on the door changes their lives - a young girl delivers a note from Owen. Protect her.
Owen's software company is under indictment- the CEO escorted in handcuffs. Hannah and Bailey know Owen would never participate in shady dealings - so why did he run?
A US Marshall from Austin arrives - adding more confusion and frustration. But he gives Hannah a starting point.
After she learns Owen and Bailey Michaels didn't exist - until 10 years ago.
I couldn't put this book down. I stayed up past my bedtime to finish. Great writing. Excellent mystery. Loved the characters.

This is the 3rd novel I have read from Laura Dave and this book was a totally unexpected surprise. Dave does a complete 180 with a mystery that grabbed me for the very first page.

Hannah is married to Owen, and step-mother to Bailey. At the start her marriage appears to be idyllic, but not so, with Bailey. When her husband’s company is taken down by the government, Owen goes missing, and leaves Hannah a message, protect her. Bailey receives the other half of the message with an absurd amount of cash.

When Hannah starts digging in to find out what happened to her husband it leads them on an unexpected path to Austin, TX, based on a memory Bailey had when she was very little. What Hannah uncovers is startling and unexpected.

First, I want to say being from Austin, TX myself, Laura Dave nailed Austin. Everything she wrote was so precise I could visualize exactly every location she noted. It was such a thrill to know an author captured Austin so perfectly. Additionally, this was such an awesome ride. It was fast paced, perfectly timed, guided by just small hints of the past, that help Hannah solve this puzzle. Bonus, we end up with just a really lovely Mother/Daughter story.

There is not a lot to say, but that I loved this book so much. Just read this one, it is short, and I promise you will not be disappointed.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Buckle up...When Hannah opens the note & sees "Protect Her" in her husband's handwriting, you know things are about to get interesting.

I absolutely loved this book & it was my first time reading anything by Laura Dave. A husband who isn't who he said he was + a moody stepdaughter = one hell of a mess that leaves Hannah picking up the pieces of her just-shattered world.

Everything from the plot to the characters pulled me in from right from the very beginning of this domestic thriller. While this was clearly about the missteps & wrongdoings of Owen, I was most pleased with how The Last Thing He Told Me focused on the relationship between Hannah & Bailey, an unlikely pair who now have a story they will never forget.

Laura's writing was exceptional & gave me Harlan Coben vibes...definitely add this one to your collection when it is published on May 4th, 2021.

This book was so much fun and a slow read thriller. I enjoyed the suspense throughout the book and slowly putting the pieces together. I couldn’t put it down and read in one sitting as I waited for the story to come together.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy to honestly review.

Laura Dave has written several novels, but TBH I’d never heard of her before I got an advance copy of her latest, The Last Thing He Told Me, from Simon & Schuster and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review. The premise sounded like it had the potential to be either ho-hum or terrific: husband disappears, woman left behind begins investigating his disappearance, spends a few hundred pages in danger…

In this fun, twisty, and surprising novel, a woman named Hannah Hall finds a cryptic note from her husband of just one year, Owen Michaels, saying only “Protect her.” Hannah assumes it must refer to her teenaged stepdaughter Bailey. Owen’s wife was tragically killed when Bailey was a small child, and Bailey isn’t thrilled to have a new stepmother. Hannah is wanting to get closer, but she is treading lightly: “I recognize in her that thing that happens when you lose your mother. My mother left by choice, Bailey’s by tragedy, but it leaves a similar imprint on you either way.”

Hannah happens to hear on the news that the office where her husband works as a tech wizard has been raided by the FBI, with his boss arrested on financial fraud charges, and indictments of other corporate officers to come. Including Owen? Is that why he disappeared? Hannah is understandably freaked out, and a duffel bag full of cash left for Bailey, ostensibly from Owen, is just one of several things that Hannah finds totally inexplicable. Before long, she realizes Owen isn’t who he told her he was...and may not be who Bailey thought he was either.

Together, Hannah and Bailey start putting together pieces of the puzzle, trying to figure out Owen’s past -- and their future. I admit I read this quickly, partly because it was so compelling, I just HAD to keep reading.

Lately, it seems like I have read several books where I just wasn’t wild about the end...but I am not able to articulate what exactly the author might have done differently that would not have been either contrived or just weird. This is another one. The ending was a bit of a surprise, and there is one tiny thing that bugged me enough to drop it from 5 stars to 4, but overall this is a solid book, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

The Last Thing He Told Me, by Laura Dave, starts with Hannah, a furniture maker/woodturner, recently married to Owen, single dad to teenager Bailey. Hannah and Owen meet in New York, and begin a relationship, eventually leading to marriage and Hannah moving to Sausalito, CA to live with Owen and Bailey. The relationship between Bailey and Hannah is strained, and Bailey wants nothing to do with Hannah. This strained relationship is put to the test when Owen disappears, leaving both Hannah and Bailey cryptic notes. All Hannah's note says is "Protect Her". She assumes that the note means Bailey.

The rest of the book is told alternating between the present, and the search for Owen, and the past. First, the flashbacks are focused on the time Hannah and Owen spent dating, and then as the story progresses, stories that pertain to the drama that is building in their lives. Law enforcement becomes involved, but Hannah does not entirely trust the investigators that are also trying to find Owen. She and Bailey take off, on a hunch that the truth lies in Austin, Texas. They hit the ground running, trying to find Owen on their own.

The end of the book is surprising, and overall I really enjoyed reading this. The plot was engaging, the writing style was easy to read, and the characters were relatable. I have not read a book by Laura Dave before, but I would definitely check others out. This is a domestic suspense book, and perfect for those who love the mystery genre, but with a mix of family dynamics and contentious relationships. I loved the writing style, and would highly recommend this book!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!