Disagreed with the bad reviews until the last 80% of the novel where everyone made terrible decisions and the "twist" literally came from nowhere.

Really enjoyed this - will definitely be recommending and looking forward to the next one by this author!

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

I had problems with this book, started, put down, started, put down, started again and eventually finished.
For me it was just too slow and didn't really grip me.

A solid mystery/family drama.

This is about a stepmother and and her stepdaughter, and trying to keep family together....when they are newly family.

This is not a fast-paced thriller but a meandering river with some rushing bends.

Everything flows so smoothly - you aren't flipping the pages from the thrill of the mystery but the tension of the relationships, and flow of words, the clues that stumble out of nowhere. Prepare yourself to be along for the ride and you'll have a good time.


3.5 stars.

Firstly, this is more family drama than mystery.
Husband Owen goes missing, while tasking his new wife Hannah to take care of his teenage daughter Bailey. As the relationships between the stepmother and her hard-headed stepdaughter are complicated (mostly on the side of the teenager), this task is not one of the easiest, but Hannah is a fighter. She decides to uncover the issue of her husband missing - and she is even stronger in her decision to protect Bailey at all costs.

The start is strong, but the more the story evolves, the more the tension fizzles into the thin air. At the end, there is only one question - why do you love such an irresponsible, weak person?

"IT WAS THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME: PROTECT HER
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."

This was a thriller with lots of twists and turns and I was gripped from page one but then it all fell a bit flat in the middle, and never really picked up and got going again.

The plot revolves around a missing husband, but it is the women and their relationships that are portrayed.
This was a gripping tale that left me thinking, what would I do?

This book had me hooked immediately and I couldn’t believe how quickly I was getting through it. It may be a thriller but it is more than that. It’s about what a man who is father would do, what a man who has found the love of his life would do. And when he’s running out of choices he always tries to make the right one. Whilst this is about Owen Michaels he never really captured my imagination
, like a distant memory of someone. Hannah and Bailey are a great duo and their emotions make it feel very real whether it be finding their way round each other, their own lost mothers or their shared person. I think I was always waiting for something more dramatic or action heavy but it never appeared so the dire situation they were in didn’t seem so scary but also didn’t feel like a woman and teenager were suddenly able to thwart the FBI, criminals and the US Marshall’s service so within the realms of reality.!

So worth a read and no doubt a quick one as you won’t be able to put it down

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley for free in exchange for an honest review.

This one started off strong but unfortunately I was a bit disappointed overall. I finished it feeling a little let down by the predictability and absurdity around the main character and the plot. I know many have loved this but unfortunately it was just not for me.

Thanks for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was full of suspense, drama and intrigue and I can see why there are so many good reviews of this book. A great thriller that I would recommend

I really enjoyed this book. The way the process draws the characters closer together and creates a bond is beautiful.

Most people loved this book but I really struggled with it, I was so excited by the blurb but it didn’t live up to the description sadly and I had to make myself finish it!

Not a bad read but not a particularly memorable one either.

I found that I wasn't picking this up that often as I wasn't really bothered about the outcome of the story and the characters involved. For me this not a thriller but more of a mystery/drama so if you are into that then you'll be fine. I just prefer a thriller that makes me wanting more and this certainly didn't do that.

I like the where has the missing man/woman gone to troupe but this just didn't hit the mark for me.

I wouldn't recommend this to thriller loving readers.

The Last Thing He Told Me is definitely a page-turner. From the very first chapter, I was completely engrossed in the storyline as we follow a woman whose husband has gone missing following revelations of a FBI fraud investigation into her husband's company. Hannah is left only with a note to 'protect' her husband's daughter, Bailey. Obviously this mysterious note confuses Hannah and she resolves to get to the bottom of this, leading her to question the very basic facts of her husband's life.

Going into this novel, I thought this would be more of a thriller/mystery but I would actually categorise this as more of a domestic mystery. While I found storyline deeply engrossing, it did lose points for me at parts with what I felt was an unrealistic depiction of the characters. I was not entirely convinced sometimes by the choices made by a lot of the main characters. Nevertheless, it's a lovely portrayal of a step-mother trying to look after her husband's daughter no matter what the cost.

I am excited to see the screen adaption for this; I think this novel will really come alive on the screen.

This one started off really well with a good enough mystery to keep my mind around, but then it slowly started getting downhill with its boring narrative and pretty average plotline and twists.

The writing was pretty easy to read which I am most thankful about, but had such a cheesy ending! Wouldnt recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. I was so excited to read this one but unfortunately it didn't grab my attention . I tried hard to get into the story but didn't finish it in the end.

I thought this was great. A domestic thriller, which maybe is a little slow for some people, but I really enjoyed the mystery and I was kept guessing right until the end. So happy to see this will be a TV series too!

I was on the edge of the seat the whole time reading this book and stayed up all night to finish the story.
When Hannah Hall receives a note from her husband stating nothing more than “Protect her”, her whole world shatters. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah knows exactly to whom the note refers: Owen's daughter Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her stepmother. Despite their complicated relationship, Hannah and Bailey begin to investigate Owen's secrets leading them to danger.
Despite the fact that the plot wasn't something extremely unique and the main character Hannah was boring at times, I was still really engaged in the story. Author did a great job at keeping the reader entertained.
And I, actually, really enjoyed the ending which was kind of a cliffhanger.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

The description and multiple accolades for The Last Thing He Told Me enticed me to request it, but I think this book was oversold from multiple angles. It started off strong, but both the writing and the plot were underwhelming, The pacing was slow, the plot twists were unlikely, and the characters were annoying. Hopefully it makes for a better movie/series