Laura Dave’s Eight Hundred Grapes was one of the first books that I read when getting back into reading six years ago, so when I saw she had a new book coming out I knew I needed it. I didn’t even read the premise (per usual I guess). Y’all. Five big amazing stars to this book that is going to be produced by queen Reese and staring Julia Roberts. So yeah, with that alone I’d say pick this one up.

Oh you wanted a review too? Okay here we go. Hannah is newly married to Owen and has moved to California to live with him and his daughter, Bailey. One day, Hannah gets a note that simply says “protect her”. Soon after, it comes out that Owen’s tech start up is in some serious trouble with the FBI and Owen has fled, no where to be found. As the days go on, secrets from her husband’s past start to unfold. Hannah and Bailey set out to figure out the truth and the real reason why Owen went into hiding.

This book was a fresh take on the mystery genre as well as a family drama. I loved how the focus of the book was more so on the relationship between a step mother and step daughter (which I’m quite familiar with) and less so on the husband and wife. Hannah is a better woman than most, stepping up when it definitely would have been easier to run. The secrets that were uncovered were wild and I could not turn the pages fast enough to try and figure out what was going on. While I was reading it, I was thinking about how good of a movie or TV show it would be, so I’m excited to learn that it’s in the works!

I really enjoyed this suspenseful book. It was good to finally see the lengths a dad would go to protect his daughter and to see the relationship grow between step-mom and stepdaughter. Even though it wasn't the ending I wanted, I know it was the ending that made sense. Loved it!

Heart-racing, hold your breath, unputdownable adventure of a story! I absolutely loved this one! This felt like an original mystery - one that I haven't stumbled on to lately so it felt refreshing. A missing spouse, just up and gone, with an ominous note "protect her." Because he didn't just leave behind his wife, he also left behind his daughter. As each turn reveals the layered parts of the story, it was such a race to try to understand what was really going on. As memories surfaced, it was amazing to read as Bailey and Hannah tried to find a common ground to search for answers. This was so well done, I loved everything.

<i>A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.</i>

When Hannah marries Owen, she knows that his 15 year old daughter Bailey is his sole focus. When Owen goes missing one day, coincidentally his boss and business are investigated by the FBI. Hannah is convinced that Owen is innocent but instead running from his secret past.

I had mixed feelings going into this book. I had read and liked Dave's previous book, Eight Hundred Grapes. I had also started and did not finish her next book, Hello Sunshine. I had Dave pegged as a women's fiction author. This book, however, is what I would categorize an Easy Thriller. There's action and mystery, but not enough to make you uncomfortable or keep you up at night. I did have somewhat low expectations at the beginning of this book and it did exceed those expectations. I liked this book and think it will be a good film adaptation (Julia Roberts is attached). I hope I can remember it by then because I'm worried that it is kind of forgettable.

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy for review.

A missing husband, a cryptic note, a duffel bag of cash given to your stepdaughter, and a U.S. Marshal that's NOT from around here...

I absolutely LOVED the first half of this book. It was so incredibly fast paced, and there was so much to unravel that I was HOOKED. I love a good mystery and this gave me all the great thriller vibes without being super dark or disturbing (thank you!). I was able to sleuth my way to figure out what was going on...kind of...but that didn't take away from my enjoyment one bit.

The second half of the the book (or really the last quarter) I loved less. I felt like once the big mystery was solved, the story was just not very exciting and I also could not get on board with the characters' decisions. It felt a bit anticlimactic and was just not at all the ending I was hoping for.

I'd still highly recommend this book as it was a wonderfully written, and very original mystery. I just wish I could pick an alternate ending for the last 75 pages...

Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Hannah's entire life is turned upside down one day when a random girl delivers a note to her door. It's a hand-written note from her husband that simply says: Project her. From that moment on, everything she thought she knew about her husband comes into question. Does she know him at all? And, how will she project Bailey, her step-daughter? And, what do they need to be protected from? What follows is a wild, thrilling ride with lots of twists and turns. I really enjoyed it.

This book started off slow, but eventually it grabbed me in the best way. It become a whirlwind, gripping story that I couldn't put down. I was actually crying at the end because of the emotional & heart-wrenching love story. Be patient with this book, but I promise you won't regret reading it. Make sure you pick up a copy on May 4th!!

Hannah receives a mysterious note from her husband of two years, Owen, saying simply “Protect her,” meaning her 16 year old step daughter Bailey, who has found a duffel bag in her locker with a undisclosed ton of cash and a note from her father. Then Owen disappears and his business is raided by the FBI, but that’s not the problem...Owen isn’t really Owen and stepmother and daughter are off to figure out who this man really is. Pretty good storyline and character development, I just couldn’t care enough for the main characters and the plot just dragged a bit for me.

This was a great plot and I didn’t want to put it down. I loved the relationship that developed between Hannah and Bailey as they worked to discover who Owen really was. There were twists and turns that kept me guessing and I found it to be an enjoyable read.
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow. All I can say is wow. Five stars hands down. One of my favorite books so far this year.

The story follows father and daughter Owen and Bailey Michael’s who live in Sausalito. Owens life is changed when he meets the love of his life, Hannah. But what Hannah doesn’t know is that Owen hasn’t been telling the truth about his past. Or Bailey’s past. Owen has tried to keep his daughter safe her entire life. And when something at Owens job could possibly lead to the endangerment of his daughter, Hannah must step in.

This was a fantastic book. A page turner that I devoured in one day. I couldn’t put it down. Although a thriller/mystery, I found myself in tears at the end. The only thriller that has made me feel happy, scared, and sad all at the same time.

My fist one by this author but it won’t be my last. Thanks NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the eARC.

Out May 4th

This book was very engaging and I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened. I really enjoyed the descriptive writing and felt like I was truly in the story with the characters. I will definitely read another book by this author!

Laura Dave, in the Last Thing He Told Me, tells the story of an ordinary woman, who in the face of great difficulty thrust upon her, shows remarkable qualities of selflessness and loyalty. In this way, the author shows us the outer limits of the human experience, how love can be a complicated, yet at the same time profoundly simple experience.

I raced through this book. I was immediately drawn to all of the characters, and loved reading the before chapters to see Owen through a new lens and each chapter was a fantastic way to get to know the relationship between Hannah and Owen better. And then we learn the after and Hannah and the read are privy not just to new facts, but to the thoughts, deepest fears, and secret motivations that Owen has for what he did.

The Last Thing He Told Me unwinds in such unbelievable, unbearable suspense, and I could not put it down until the last page. This is a story that rewards the reader, it's as if Laura Dave sensed my weariness of all the formulaic, predictable thrillers, and wrote this book as a tribute to what crime fiction can be when it's done really well.

Now while I agree not everything is exactly plausible in this story, the fact that I couldn't stop turning the pages and I felt the suspense right along with the characters makes me feel it is deserving of four stars.

This is a passionate story of lost identities and the lengths a step mother and her husband's sixteen year old daughter will go to start anew. Who can you trust and how far do you want to know the truths. Suspense is clearly rampant throughout and until the end. I couldn't put it down, great story. Thank you #NetGalley#SimonSchuster

At first when Hannah can't reach her husband Owen on the phone, she doesn't worry, but keeps trying through the morning. And leaves message after message. Her teen step-daughter Bailey can't reach him either. Then there is a knock at the door, and one of his students gives her a folded note from him that says only "Protect her." Now she's not just worried, she's scared. Bailey is the most important thing in Owen's life. What could possibly keep him from being the one to protect her himself?
Thus begins and intense and smoothly written thriller that asks the questions: How well do you really know your loved one? How far can you trust them? How far can they trust you? How much are you willing to sacrifice for them? How much are you willing to give up? Hannah and Owen have only been married for a year, so their relationship is fairly new, and Bailey still looks on Hannah as an interloper, which make communication and trust serious issues at the beginning. Watching them work this out while trying to figure out what is actually going on with Owen is fascinating and beautifully handled. Their character development is outstanding and totally believable, a teenager and a new mom making it up for the first time in the middle of a crisis. A great read that just goes whooshing by.
My copy was an ARC from NetGalley

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read and ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's been a while since I read a book that I couldn't put down, but "The Last Thing He Told Me" was definitely one. Hannah is woman who married later in life after meeting who she thought was her true love, Owen. She thinks she knows him well, but he disappears after a scandal surfaces at the company where he works. She is left to grapple with questions about what he hid from her and why. To complicate matters, Owen has a teenage daughter named Bailey. Hannah has struggled to gain Bailey's acceptance, but now is in the position of being a single parent and helping Bailey process and grieve.

Hannah decides to use her intuition and what she and Bailey know to try to discover the truth. The more they dig, the more complicated the answers seem. In the end, Hannah and Bailey are able to understand what happened and forge a strong bond with one another.

Ms. Dave is a masterful story teller. I will look forward to reading any of her future work.

The disappearing husband with a secret life has become a familiar trope in fiction but rarely is it developed into a story as good as THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME. Dave shows us the story of Owen and Hannah, two people who fell in love quickly, who overwhelmingly feel like they have known each other forever. They have a happy workaday life only flawed by Owen's teenaged daughter's resistance to accepting Hannah. But when Owen disappears, just leaving a cryptic note that says "Protect her", Hannah is left to discover who her husband truly is and who needs protection and why. Great characters, good plot, intriguing read. I look forward to more by Dave.

Thank you to Netgalley for a precopy to review.

The book got my attention from the start. I liked that the book was fast paced and filled with unexpected turns. It is not just a mystery but it is more about the growth of Hannah and her stepdaughter Bailey, strength of motherhood and what you will do for love. I would of love to have more interaction between Bailey and Hannah. I am glad that Laura Dave had chapters of past of Owen and Hannah relationship but would of liked even more to truly get a sense of them both. Overall, very enjoyable read and definitely as the book went on I didn't want to put it down.

Laura Dave never disappoints! This page turner kept me up way past my bedtime. The premise of the book has been done before - disappearing husband and father - but not like this. Dave takes the reader on a mission to discover the truth like no other. Flip flopping from past to present she establishes the characters and back story so well you feel like an integral
part of the story. Without giving too much away, the wrap up to this book is realistic and leaves the door open for a sequel perhaps? Whether or not that was the intention, the book left
me wanting more! Thank you again for the advance copy!

This book is a good mystery. Owen disappears and his wife and daughter search fir him. I liked all the sleuthing. I liked how Hannah and Bailey worked together to piece the past in a picture they could find answers in. I thought they were both gutsy. I didn’t have a high regard for Owen. I thought the ending was appropriate. It really showed who the strongest characters were.