I liked this one. Definitely not a thriller, but a slow-burn family drama. It was similar to The Last Thing He Told Me, and I was more invested in the side plots than the actual cause of Liam's death. I found Nora relatable and her grief was well-done throughout. Sam was abrasive at first, but he grew on me. The romance elements were heart-wrenching and there definitely was a somber feeling throughout. I'm not sure I found Liam and Cory's love story epic by any means, but was still rooting for them. It's a fairly quick read and the writing is well done!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. Review live now on GoodReads and TheStoryGraph

Family Drama x Romance
Thank you, Simon and Schuster, for the gifted copy of The Night We Lost Him {partner}

Genre: Fiction
Format: 🎧📖
Pub Date:  9.17.2024
Pages:  320
Star Rating: ☆☆☆

"Liam Noone's death is ruled accidental, but his daughter Nora is skeptical. Her stepbrother Sam shows up, and soon Nora finds herself pulled into uncovering her father's illusive past."

I always struggle with the sophomore novel after a big hit. The Last Thing He Told Me is one of my favorite books, and I flew through it — but for some reason, The Night We Lost Him wasn't the same for me. 

I anticipated a story that would keep me eagerly flipping pages, but I found a prolonged story that sometimes gravitated more towards a romance or a family drama than a mystery. Don't get me wrong, it was interesting, and I liked how it was told with glimpses of their father's past, but it didn't do enough to keep my attention. I wish I had read this through the audiobook narrator (Julian Whelan narrated it, by the way), as I think it would've been narrated in a way that kept me interested.

The most enjoyable part of the story was seeing the estranged siblings come together while figuring out what happened to their father. As I mentioned before, we, as the reader, were privy to their father's past and how his relationships impacted his future and, ultimately, his death. 

Read if you enjoy:
😅 Complex family dynamics
✌🏼 Dual timeline
🐌 Slow burn
🗣️ Character-driven novels

I recommend reading The Night We Lost Him if you're looking for more of a family saga than a domestic mystery.

A heart wrenching family drama about loss, grief and secrets. A sister and her half brother search for answers to their father’s tragic death. I really enjoyed this one!! Though more of a drama than a traditional thriller, the mystery kept me engaged and I was able to binge this short novel quickly.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Element for a copy of this book!

This is more of a novel about loss and grief than a thriller. While incredibly well written is it a slower pace character driven story - both of which I love.

The Night We Lost Him will pull at your emotional heartstrings while exploring how well we know the people we love. More of a family drama unearthing secrets and betrayals. it definitely held my attention, especially after the half way mark.

Great setting and told from past and present timelines we slowly see the unraveling of the story.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Simon Element and S&S for an advanced ebook.

More of a 2.5. This book is…okay. I wouldn’t really consider it s thriller or a mystery, there’s more drama than anything thrilling.

The book starts very slow with nothing much happening until about the 80% mark.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for a copy of this ARC.

Laura Dave is becoming one of modern literatures best thriller crime writers. A story of a father and his estranged children. They try to find answers after he has unexpected and accidentally meet his end. But there is more to the story and the family’s history as well. A quick thrilling read that keeps you guessing until the final chapter.

Laura Dave is a second time read for me and while her books are never really anything super unique they are a fun time. I really liked the book, but it was not something that will stick with me for a while.

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for my early arc copy of this!

In my opinion this was not a thriller, but was a family drama with a splash of a mystery. With that said I liked it, it wasn’t necessarily what I was looking for, and I probably wouldn’t have picked it out if it wasn’t marketed the way it is, I enjoyed the story.

We are in 2 different timelines Liam’s(the dad) history and “modern day” with our main character trying to solve her fathers mysterious death.

Liam Noone is a successful hotelier with a portfolio of luxury properties, a number of ex-wives, and three adult children. When he falls to his death, his son Sam suspects foul play and convinces the protagonist, Nora, to help him investigate. As they question the adults close to him, Nora and Sam must figure out how to unravel their grief from the facts as they find out they may not have known their father as well as they thought they did.

I read a number of other reviews where readers contested that this book is more of a family saga than a mystery/thriller, and while it had elements of both I think it was a bit too muddled to firmly fall into either camp. The characters were a bit too flat to make up for the slower pace of the plot, and since their development wasn’t robust I didn’t get emotionally invested in anyone. The big reveals didn’t have as much weight as I hoped for, probably due to this lack of investment. However, Dave’s prose is extremely readable and while this does not have the same appeal as The Last Thing He Told Me it is still enough of a page turner that it will appeal to her fans.

The Night We Lost Him is a character driven mystery following a pair of siblings after their father died from a fall at his cliffside home. I struggled a little with pacing, but really enjoyed the dynamics of family relationships. The main character is an Architect, and there are many nods to different architectural styles, elements, and design.

Perfect for people who love architecture and enjoy a slow paced mystery.

I received an ARC from Simon Element | S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a quick read that keeps the pace up and keeps you guessing to the end. I enjoyed this story of two siblings searching for answers to their father's sudden death. For a short concise book, I felt that the characters were well developed and excellently written.

After successful hotel magnate Liam Noone suddenly dies, two of his estranged and grieving children, Sam and Nora, team up to look for answers. They find out more than they expected about their father's life as they try to determine if their father's death was an accident or not.

Different from Dave's previous book, this is a combination of literary mystery and family drama. It is character-driven, with lots of different relationship dynamics and emotions that play out in a dual timeline before the answer to what happened to Liam comes to light. Through flashbacks, we learn things that led to the crucial events of the night Liam died. We also see various relationship issues in the current timeline that mirror Liam's past.
I especially enjoyed the realistic way Nora and Sam work on their uneasy sibling relationship. Their dynamic became the one I was most invested in, and I was rooting for them to strengthen their bond. The characters are complicated, and there are themes of heartbreak, loss, and grief.

The descriptions of Liam's home on the stunning California coast are very atmospheric. The slow-burn mystery is intriguing, with some red herrings and one big twist I did not figure out that showed everything in a different light. I enjoyed this one!

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon Element Marysue Ricci Books for the gifted eARC!

I’ve really liked all of Laura Dave’s books, and this one is no exception! As many reviews mention, it is more of a family drama than a thriller. Nora, the main character, tries to figure out what really happened to her dad on the night he died. Alternating chapters tell the father’s backstory. It’s an engaging story that held my interest, and I thought the surprise twist and the ending were great.

Thank you to NetGalley and S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books for the advanced readers copy of The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave.

The premise of this novel really had me intrigued. Even more so after her last suspense/thriller novel. I was thoroughly intrigued from the beginning with the main character however not so much with the sibling. Laura Dave managed to wrap this one up rarely cleanly. I think just like her last novel, this one will make for a great movie or limited series on a streaming service.

This is my second novel by this author and unfortunately it’s another miss, I do like some of the writing but it’s just missing some spark to me. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Pub Date: 9/17
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Let me start off by saying, I loved this book. I devoured it in a few sittings and just loved where Dave went with this one.
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Fair warning, this is not a thriller, this is more of a family drama with a mystery thrown in there. And I ate it up so fast because, ya girl loves some drama… Anyways, this story is told in a dual timeline. The present - After the death of main characters’ Nora’s father dies and she is looking into his death; and in the past through a 50 year timeline of their fathers life and romances. Both timelines are equally captivating.
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I really enjoyed the characters. In both timelines I was invested in the story and to each of the characters lives. This is a slow burn but it has a great twist or two at the end which will have you pretty shocked.
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I listened to this via audiobook while reading my eARC and Julia Whelan absolutely killed this narration. It was phenomenal and I loved every single second of it. Highly recommend the audiobook if you want to check this one out.
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Overall, this is a great story. It’s again, not a thriller but a family drama / mystery. I thought it was original and it was exactly what I needed to pull me out of a slump. Highly recommend to my mystery fans! You’re not going to want to miss out on this one.
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Huge thanks to NetGalley, Simon Element, libro.fm, simon and schuster audio and laura dave for the ALC and the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I initially expected a mystery/thriller, but this turned out to be a captivating love story viewed through a mysterious framework. Laura Dave's sophomore novel is truly remarkable. I found it even more enjoyable than The Last Thing He Told Me. Thank you to Net Galley, Simon Element | S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books for the ARC. The Night We Lost Him releases Oct 11 2024.

Let me just say, Laura Dave nailed it again with this thriller novel!!!! 🙌🏼 This book is the definition of binge worthy! I finished it in one day. The adventures for untold secrets, the twists, the turns, the family bonding! Everything just came together so well. I absolutely loved the dialogue between the main characters. I loved the multiple POVs. The throwback timeline just set the tone and kept me wondering. This book was beyond entertaining and engaging. I just had to know what happened!
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book and if you have not yet go read Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me!
Thank you so much @netgalley and @_simonelement for allowing me the opportunity to read this ARC! I am beyond grateful 🥹 ❤️
RELEASE DAY IS SEPTEMBER 17th! Go preorder now!!! Also if you are a @bookofthemonth member this is one of the September Selections so make sure you get a copy!!!
Quick Summary: Nora and Sam, half siblings, found themselves reconnecting after a distant childhood, over their father’s death. Nora did her best to avoid the family after her dad died, simply because she had also lost her mom and it was just too much. This was until Sam showed up to see her. Sam went to Nora with what sounded like a crazy idea that maybe their dad’s death was not what it seemed.

I think that I was much better prepared for this after having read ‘The Last Thing He Told Me’ previously. Although marketed as a thriller, I’d really say that this author writes more of a slow burn mystery.

That being said, I did enjoy this book! The narrative is very character driven, and the unraveling of the plot was satisfying. Although slow in parts, I definitely would recommend to a friend.

3.5/5⭐️

I want to firstly say, thank you to the publisher and author for letting me read this free galley. I wanted to love this booo but had a very hard time getting through it. I think there were just too many characters for me. O found myself feeling confused often on who was who and just had a hard time keeping track.