A griping tale of star-crossed lovers, a tangled family web, and loss. You may see yourself in some of the players. Great story. Don’t miss this one!

I believe this book might be even better than "The Last Thing He Told Me." The pacing was such that it kept me hooked, and I believe it will have the same impact on other mystery-loving readers!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. I thought this book was fine, but isn’t marketed properly. It is billed as a riveting page theme, a family drama, and an epic love story, but none of that came through all that strongly and it was hard to get into because of that. Dave writes really well, so I didn’t mind reading this one, but I don’t feel like it really delivered on the premise at all. The love story and the 50 year old secret were not particularly well-developed or believable and there was no “heartbreaking twist” at the end. Overall, I think this is a slow burn of a family story that needs different back copy so the reader actually knows what they are getting.

The Night We Lost Him begins with the tragic death of Liam Noone, hotel mogul and father. Liam died falling from a cliff at his beloved California cliffside cottage and the police have ruled his death accidental. However, his daughter, Nora, and son, Sam, are convinced his death was no accident. So Nora and Sam begin to look into their father’s past to try to put all of the pieces to this puzzle together, but they uncover a secret that changes everything…

The Night We Lost Him is a mystery with family drama and a heartbreaking love story. This book, written in dual timeline, kept me guessing and at one point, had my jaw on the floor. Fans of The Last Thing He Told Me, will absolutely be a fan this book, too. (If you are looking for an edge of your seat thriller, this is not the book for you.) I loved it! I highly recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Element Publishing/S&S/Marysue Rucci Books for the opportunity to read this ARC of The Night We Lost Him in exchange for my honest review.

If you want deep, at least I think it's deep, emotional introspection (I may be wrong as my depth is about as deep as a puddle) this should be a great book for you. Endless self-analysis just isn't my thing. You also get a fairly solid mystery, but nobody in the whole book is what I would call happy with their life or their choices. Not my cuppa at all.

When Liam Noone takes a tumble off his California cliffside, it is ruled an accident, but his son, Sam, thinks differently. He convinces his half-sister, Nora, that dear old dad had some help off the cliff. Since Liam kept his life well compartmented, these siblings are little more than acquaintances. As they dig into daddies' life, they uncover things better left alone and also discover things about themselves better left unrealized.

My thanks to the Publisher, and Author, for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone and were not biased in any way.

This book wasn’t what I thought it would be but it was excellent nonetheless. It’s a mystery story, certainly, but it’s also a story about family, grief, relationships, and love. The combination results in an exceptionally well written book where you don’t know what might happen next but are so captivated that you can’t wait to find out what. I liked the characters a lot, wonderfully human and flawed. The pacing was slower but didn’t take away from how good the book was. The end was satisfying and hopeful, appropriate for what we went through with the characters. Really fantastic!

This is not a thriller, it's more of a family drama although there is definitetly a mystery.

While the death of Nora's father is at the center of the story, most of it involves her relatioinship with her half brother Sam. There's also a non-traditional love story woven in.

The story kept me interested but it was slow paced. I'd recommend this for readers of family drama more than thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Element for the ARC.

Sam and Nora shared a father but were raised separately and were pretty much estranged when Sam came to her asking to help him piece together some things that didn’t quite make sense in their father’s death. As they ask questions they realize they didn’t know their father very well and part of that is because they had pushed him away in the last months. Why did he change his will, who was really with him the night he died and did he slip and fall, did he commit suicide or was he pushed off the cliff at his California home? Until they find answers they can’t seem to move forward in their own lives. I enjoyed this quick read about regret, family, grief and love that includes my favorite: plot twists!

Compelling writing, plot draws you in. Main protagonist, Nora, tells the story in first person. Estranged from her family, her half-brother Sam convinces her to investigate the circumstances of their father’s death, certain that it was not an accidental fall.

There’s a great red herring within the dual timelines; and while I started to suspect early on that they were intentionally leading you down the wrong path, the twist wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. Intriguing without being scary (psychological thrillers cause me to lose sleep), twisty plot with complex characters. In the end, as throughout, no one is entirely guilty or innocent. A great whodunit that I’ll recommend to my book clubs and friends.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Element for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Night We Lost Him had me guessing until the end! Laura Dave's latest novel follows two siblings, Nora and Sam, who are investigating their father Liam's death that had been ruled accidental. We delve into the relationships between Liam and his children, Nora and Sam, and the relationships their father had with other women. The pace is slow and even and more of a family drama than a thriller. I enjoyed the characters and storyline. Thank you to NetGalley and Marysue Rucci Books for the ARC!

A Mesmerizing Story of a Secret Love Affair

SUMMARY
The publisher describes this book as an epic love story wrapped in a mystery, and I couldn’t agree more. THE NIGHT WE LOST HIM begins with the death of Liam Noone, a luxury boutique hotel magnate. Did he fall off the eighty-foot cliff of his beloved getaway retreat just south of Santa Barbara, California, as the police have ruled, or was he pushed? Who would have a motive to kill Liam? Two of his adult children, Nora and Sam, search for clarity on what happened at Windbreak, But the more they dig, they realize how little they know the man they have loved for a lifetime. Liam had a secret that he had kept from them, a secret fifty years in the making.

REVIEW
Laura Dave’s writing is crystal clear and sharp as a cliff’s edge. She effortlessly blends a moving family drama with an intriguing story of suspense, making the tale simply mesmerizing.

THE NIGHT WE LOST HIM skillfully blends contrasting characters, settings, and timelines. My favorite character, Nora, overcomes her differences and reluctance to work with Sam, her estranged half-brother, in investigating their father’s death. The story dramatically unfolds on two opposite sides of the country, New York and California, and the timeline smoothly shifts between the past and the present.

In three words, this book is: mesmerizing, multifaceted, and moving.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher Simon Element/Marysue Rucci Books
Published September 17, 2024
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

Nora gets drawn into a family mystery by her estranged half-brother Sam. Their dad died by falling of a cliff, but Sam is convinced he was pushed. As they try to figure out the truth, they learn more about their dad and who he was.

I normally love Laura Dave’s books, but this one was just ok for me. I think it is partly because I thought it was going to be more mystery and I’d say it is more family story. Maybe if I had gone into it with that mindset I’d have enjoyed it more? The other part was that I just didn’t really connect enough with any of the characters to care about their resolution (which normally I think she is really good on this front). Not my favorite from the author but still a decent read.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved The Last Thing He Told Me, so I was super excited to read The Night We Lost Him. Unfortunately, it was just an okay book for me. It took me at least three times to get started on the book. I could never fully get into the story. I definitely think a lot of people will enjoy this one, it just wasn’t for me.

2.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was so excited to see Laura Dave had a new book out and that it was a thriller! The Night We Lost Him is a family saga about siblings who have to solve the mystery of their fathers death. The police say he "slipped" but the siblings know that's not possible. Liam loved his beach side cottage and knew the property like the back of his hand, he didn't get to close or slip. The problem is that the police don't have much evidence of any crime so siblings Nora and Sam must work together to solve the crime themselves. Liam was married several times and Nora is the product of his first marriage. Although he didn't leave her behind his visits were few and far between. When she finds out her father has left her the seaside cottage she is shocked. Nora and her father shared a special bond over the property so in theory it makes sense he'd want her to have it. As the siblings work together to find out what really happened to their father they learn secrets that have been buried for over 50 years. Although their father was every bit the man they knew he was also much more. Bringing the truth to light will help his family lay him to rest and be able to move forward.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! This book publishes 9/17.

What to expect in this book:

-Family drama
-Mysterious death
-Fast-pace
-Character-driven
-California and East Coast setting
-Compulsive read

Thoughts

Laura Dave's best seller, The Last Thing He Told Me, was a fast and beloved read for me a few years ago so I was eager to read her newest suspense novel. Let me start this review by saying that I would in no way categorize this as a thriller. It appears that most readers who have been let down by this book have been under the assumption that this is a thriller. While it is fast-paced and a fantastic book to get readers out of slump, I would categorize it more as a suspenseful family drama. Nora's father, Liam Noone, hotel magnate, mysteriously dies one evening on the grounds of his beloved cliffside cottage in California. Upon discovering the suspicious circumstances of his death, Nora reconnects with her estranged half-brother, Sam, to put together the pieces of who their father was to understand what exactly happened that night. Told through alternating timelines, this family story follows a mystery but also the making of a man and what he would do for love.

I can absolutely understand how this book is not for some people. There are no huge or shocking moments but more intrigue and interest in the characters themselves. After reading several long books with heavy themes, it was nice to read a book that felt lighter and more focused on relationships than trauma. While there are some deeper themes of grief and loss, this book ultimately shows that love and loss are not always so black and white. Sometimes we do things for love that do not make sense to others. And sometimes love makes us do things that do not need to be seen, but kept to ourselves.

I enjoyed the pacing of this book and found it to be an easy read overall! If you need a quick read that is entertaining and enjoyable, without really any trigger warnings at all, no graphic scenes, and one that you could recommend to anyone, this is it!

Just Meh on this book. Didn't really captivate me from the beginning and I didn't feel invested in any of the characters. I appreciated the romantic sub plots and how the novel accurately portrays the complexity and nuance of romantic relationships.

The Last book I read by this author was THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME. That book was a thriller and was very exciting so I expected the same from this book
This book is not a thriller..it is a domestic drama. It starts off very good and had me hooked at first but then it just kind of leveled out and I felt that not much new is going on. There is a twist at the end that adds to the story. This book is good but not as good as her prior one. I will give it 3 stars because it was a good read with a good ending

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

An interesting contemporary mystery story. Includes some drama and romance. Follow along as siblings get to the truth about what happened to their father.

I liked the story at first but started to feel like it was going nowhere fast. It was interesting reading the timelines and how the background of the fathers life explained his life. The plot felt forced at times and disconnected. All in all I think it was a good book but not great.

Family patriarch and hotel magnate Liam Noone plunges off a cliff at his beachfront cottage. Married multiple times, two of his grieving children have come together to look for answers: did he fall, or was he pushed to his death? Is it possible that he misjudged the distance at a property he knew so well and loved so much? This is the crux of the problem plaguing his daughter Nora, her grief is palpable and her normal life feels distant. What will looking into her father’s life really uncover?

Author Laura Dave set up a story that enveloped me like a warm hug. With beautiful prose that poked at the meaning of grieving and understanding what you’ve lost and what you never understood. The relationship between the characters in her father’s life had an epic quality that deeply resonates. 100% recommend.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.