Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for allowing me to have an e-arc of this domestic thriller in exchange for an honest review. Although it's not coming out until May you might want to put this outstanding story on your TBR.
Hannah's husband has disappeared. Her last message from him is a scrap of paper that say's "Protect her". She knows he means her 16 year old stepdaughter Bailey. This dual time-line story shares their journey as they desperately try to find out what happened. It is fast paced with characters that you feel drawn to. It's a story of love, forgiveness, and found families. I did not see the ending coming.

How much do I love Laura Dave? Let me count the ways....

1. Her characters always pull you into their story. Hannah is such a strong character. The way she fights to protect Bailey and still put herself into situations that might harm her, you immediately care for this strong woman.

2. She writes where there is no complete right or complete wrong. There is a gray area around each character. Are they completely bad? What are their motivations? As the story unfolds, you find yourself feeling for all of them.

3. I have never read a book by Laura Dave and not been completely satisfied as I closed the last page.

This book pulls you in from the start when Hannah's husband Owen disappears after the company he is working for is raided. She is left with his daughter Bailey, their relationship is a tough one, and a note that says "Protect her". Secrets abound, secrets unfold, and you are totally rapt.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for an advance copy of this fantastic book. It comes out May 4. Grab it.

I received this book "The Last Thing He Told Me" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. I really liked this book. It was so interesting and suspenseful. I could not put it down! Great amazing story! Read this one.

When Hannah met Owen she wouldn't have any reason to think he was hiding a secret. They had a good marriage and while it was a challenge to get his daughter Bailey to warm up to her, life was good. Then a young girl from Owen's school arrives at Hannah's home with a note from Owen which simply stated, Protect Her. A mysterious note and big bag of cash for Bailey sets us off on a mystery of sorts.

Hannah and Bailey find common ground while searching for Owen. They both love him but it's clear he kept a part of his life a secret from them both.

This story has multiple timelines which adds to slowly revealing the story. There is an FBI investigation, tensions and a slow develpment of the main characters.

This is more of domestic suspense, not an action thriller. I don't read reviews until I have finished a book but I see now most readers were very positive and seemed to love the storyline. While it was interesting to me I did not find myself all that engaged with the characters and would lose my train of thought. Clearly I am in the minority here.

Publication date is 4 May 2021; the genre is women's fiction. Much thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I was not compensated for my review and opinions are mine.

It's easy to see how this book was optioned for film - from start to finish it was a suspenseful and twisting ride and I never knew quite what to expect next. The drama of it was most of the fun and I'll absolutely be watching when it hits screens!

This is my kind of mystery—no blood and guts, no kids getting kidnapped, nothing to give me nightmares, but still engrossing and fast-paced. Hannah is recently married to Owen and a new step-mother to teenaged Bailey. Owen’s high-flying Silicon Valley company is raided and his boss arrested, but honest, upstanding Owen the coder just disappears. Hannah and Bailey are left some clues and quickly figure out how to work together to decipher the whole, much more complicated story.
The characters are a little one-dimensional sometimes—Hannah is sometimes too patient and understanding to be a real step-mom, Bailey fits the moody teenager stereotype a little too well—but I really liked those two. They make a good team as they figure out how to trust each other and work together. There were some interesting twists and surprises in the plot, and some fun supporting characters, but mostly it’s a story of these two women making the most of a bad situation and becoming a real family.

The ride that this story takes you on is AMAZING! I couldn't put it down. Laura Dave did a fantastic job of world and character building in a way that let me see this play out as a movie as I read it. Watching these characters make the choices they did as they saw how far they would go for those they love, and themselves.

The twists and mystery behind why Owen ran leaving you not only guessing but as truths come to light show how you really never know why a person makes the choices they make. I also really enjoyed seeing Hannah and Bailey's relationship evolve as they truly had to count on each other.

If you love a good mystery that moves at the perfect pace then this is for you!

3.5⭐!! This was my first book by this author. I thought it sounded really interesting so I was happy to get to read it early. Hannah's husband Owen, whom she's been married to for a year, disappears. But before he does, he manages to smuggle her a note that simply says "protect her", and nothing more. She knows that the note means his 16 yr old daughter Bailey who's mother passed away when she was young, and she also wants nothing to do with Hannah. The FBI is interested in Owen! Hannah and Bailey set out to find out who owen truly is. This was not a thriller, but a domestic suspense. You see the relationship between Hannah and Bailey develop through the story, and how they become closer realizing that they may have to live a life without Owen. I feel this was more of a character driven story. It was a quick read, and although it was a bit slow at times, I enjoyed the story.
Thank you netgalley and publisher for the gifted copy!

Protect her

That was the last communication Hannah received from her husband, Owen, before he disappeared. The note was delivered by a 12 year old stranger. Hannah knew that Bailey, Owen's 16 year old daughter, was the person she was supposed to protect. But how? From what?

Told in present day, with periodic flashbacks, we follow Hannah and Bailey on their quest to find the truth. As secrets are uncovered, Hannah questions if she really knew Owen at all.

This is a gripping story from the beginning and it never let's up. The pages fly by until the very end. I didn't want to put it down.

I found this to be a thrilling mystery as well as an emotional story. I enjoyed the relationship between Hannah and her step daughter. I can't wait to read more by Laura Dave!

Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I could not put this book down! I heard that it's going to be a TV series, and I could visualize it the entire time I was reading it - it will 100% be a great show filled with dimensional, lifelike characters because that's what the book was! Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!!

I certainly enjoyed this book. I started reading it last night, and simply couldn’t put it down. Just when you think you know where the plot is headed- it twists again

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!

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.