3.5 stars. The ending was fine but I was not satisfied with the full conclusion.
Nora and her half-brother, Sam, form an uneasy alliance in order to investigate the death of their father, hotel magnate, Liam Noone. Sam is convinced there was foul play involved and ropes Nora into his suspicions. Liam would not have taken his own life and its up tp Nora and Sam to unravel a 50-year mystery in the process.
Again, there was a definite ending but I just wasn't satisfied with it.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Marysue Rucci Books for this e-arc.*

My first read by this author & will definitely not be my last. The story kept me engrossed & intrigued. This author weaved a rich story that makes the imagination work overtime to figure out the ending. Spoiler you will not see it coming.

I just couldn’t get hooked into this book. I LOVED Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me, so I really wanted to love this one… but I struggled to finish it. The plot was boring. It didn’t pick up until the very end (the ending was actually very good IMO!) But it was just such a struggle to get there. This is also not a thriller… more of a romance mystery.

Nora and Sam, brother and sister who have only just recently gotten to know each other, try to solve the mystery of their father’s “death” of him falling off a cliff. There are many twists and turns with the characters in the story.

I’m also not sure if it’s just because I wasn’t paying attention much because I was trying to get through it, but I’m still confused how some of the characters tied into the story.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC, NetGalley!

this book was so good!!! I did not expect that twist and I would definitely recommend this to my friends! cant wait for the book to release so I can add it to my library!

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave was a book I couldn't put down! I'm usually able to figure out the twist or who-done-it but this one came as a complete surprise. I enjoyed the characters and the way they were developed throughout the story, the sense of mystery and the way flashbacks were used to tell part of the backstory and Liam's secrets. A solid read for me and one that I will recommend to friends and family. While not quite a thriller, it definitely was a mystery with family drama.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Element for the ARC.

*The Night We Lost Him* by Laura Dave is a gripping, emotionally charged mystery that pulls you in from the first page and doesn't let go. The story revolves around Liame Noone, a complex and enigmatic hotel magnate who, despite his success, has left a trail of broken relationships and hidden secrets. When he falls to his death from a cliffside cottage in California, the incident is quickly ruled an accident. However, his children, Nora and Sam, suspect there's more to the story.

Dave masterfully weaves together a tale of family dynamics and suspense, as Nora and Sam, who have been estranged for years, reluctantly join forces to dig into their father’s mysterious past. As they uncover hidden truths about Liame’s life, including a shocking family secret, the novel delves into themes of trust, betrayal, and the complicated bonds between family members.

The novel's pacing is expertly managed, with the tension building steadily as more layers of Liame’s life are revealed. Dave's writing shines in her ability to create vivid settings, particularly the atmospheric California coast, which almost becomes a character in its own right. The emotional depth of the characters adds weight to the mystery, making the reader care as much about the resolution of the family drama as the solving of the mystery itself.

What sets *The Night We Lost Him* apart is its ability to blend a suspenseful plot with poignant moments of reflection on family and identity. The final twist, as promised, is both shocking and heartbreaking, leaving a lasting impact on the reader.

For fans of domestic thrillers with a strong emotional core, Laura Dave's *The Night We Lost Him* is a must-read. It's a story that lingers long after the final page, a testament to Dave’s skill in crafting both suspense and heart.

This one hooked me in right away, as Laura Dave tends to do! And the story had my attention for sure, but I believe this is marked as a thriller. It certainly is not. It read more like a family drama. So in that sense, my expectations were high, and it fell a little flat for me. I did really enjoy Nora’s character and the way that she got on with her brother while they tried to figure out what happened to their dad. I am not sure that all the flashbacks of Cory and Liam were absolutely necessary. There was a major plot twist that I was a little annoyed by, but I wont say anything because I don’t want to give away the whole book. Overall I enjoyed this one while reading it, but looking at it as a whole, it wasn’t as strong as I wanted it to be.

Bottom Line: Read it, but lower expectations. This is not a thriller type read.

**I received a copy of The Night We Lost Him from Netgalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.**

When Nora’s semi-estranged brother, Sam, visits her to share his concerns about their father’s death, she’s not convinced, but after a little investigative work, she finds her brother’s fears might not be completely unfounded. As their investigation continues and Nora is drawn deeper into unraveling her father’s last weeks, her own relationship begins to fall apart. She needs to get to the bottom of what happened to their dad without losing too much of herself—and her way of life.

Great character development and storytelling. Highly recommend!

Huge thank you to Simon Element for the ARC!

THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME by Laura Dave was my favorite book of the year the year it came out as well as one of my most recommended books for a general audience! Needless to say, I was so excited for this!

In this story, two estranged siblings are brought together over the (seemingly) accidental death of their father. The more they learn, the more they become exceedingly convinced that there is more to the story!

While I overall enjoyed the experience of reading this one, when I got to the end I just felt as though something were missing. It wasn't that it was hard or boring to read, but rather that I wanted MORE. It wasn't just the fact that it was a slow burn either, as I rather enjoy literary heavy slow burns typically. I just feel like that OOMPH was missing that I felt in her previous book.

I still think many will find this enjoyable and I'm glad I read it even though it won't stick out in my memory.

I look forward to reading whatever she puts out next!

3.5 rounded up

I am a big fan of Laura Dave so I knew basically what to expect in terms of the novel vibes. While this is marketed as a thriller, it's definitely a family story with a SLOW thriller vibe. This book does NOT go fast but I really enjoyed reading in dual timelines, as well as the fact that the chapters weren't terribly long.

In "The Night We Lost Him," we get a love story AND a mystery in one. While not the coziest mystery and many novels have done the same type of plot before, this book felt different.

Special thanks to NetGalley for the ARC copy to read in exchange for an honest review!

The Night We Lost Him is a book full of family secrets that are unraveled due to the untimely death of a father who was known as a hotel mogul.

I've only read Laura Dave's previous book which I thoroughly enjoyed as well as the Apple TV adaption of the same novel. I went into this book, The Night We Lost Him, blind and was pleasantly surprised by the story. The pacing was great. I loved the feuding dynamic between the two main characters are also brother and sister. I did feel like some parts of the story drug on for way too long especially the sister's love triangle and the messiness of it all. I understand why this was done since the father's backstory had similar themes of relationship woes as well. But other than that, the story was enjoyable as well switched back and forth between the father's past and the siblings current timeline. The story itself wraps up nicely but I felt like the ending felt abrupt. All in all, The Night We Lost Him was enjoyable and I would definitely recommend the book just for the family drama and mystery.

After their father’s untimely death, Nora and her brother, Sam, set out to determine if it was truly the accident it was claimed to be.

This book started with an enticing premise but the story a lackluster execution. The plot dragged a little for me and the characters weren’t particularly engaging. The twist at the end was somewhat unexpected but still felt a little anticlimactic. On a more positive note, the exploration of grief excellent as was Davis’ writing style.

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

A boutique hotel mogul suffers a tragic fate after falling off of a cliff outside one of his homes. His son, Sam, to think that it wasn’t as much of an “accident” as the police report says, and he tries to convince his older half-sister, Nora, to look into that theory with him. They have not been very close, so him reaching out to her for help is a bit of a surprise. However, when they decide to dig into it deeper, no one seems willing to give them any straightforward answers. What are they all hiding? What was their father hiding? Nora and Sam are determined to find out …

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, but want to let you know that this story is not just a mystery/thriller (as I initially thought), but there is also a tragic love story intertwined throughout. A little irritated that I ended up bawling my eyes out, when I just thought I was going to read a twisty/turny plot, but I would absolutely recommend it.

The Night We Lost Him is a mystery wrapped in a family drama.

Liam, a hotel magnate falls to his death off a cliff in California. His son Sam is convinced it isn't an accident in the rain as the police have decided and contacts his estranged half-sister, Nora to come out and look into it with him. They barely know each other because their father has kept his families separate all their lives, rarely seeing each other as they grew up.

The story is told from Nora's POV with flashbacks from Liam. There is a lot of tension between the siblings which seems very authentic. The past is less understandable until the end, when everything is brought together and explained. The book is very well written and the descriptions put you right on the cliff edge. Some of what happened in the pass was a little head scratching, I still question some of the personal decisions made over the years, but I liked most of the characters and felt connected to them.

Good read for a long plane ride. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

What a lovely book! I am not one for romance, but I don’t even know if I could consider this romance or mystery. Whatever you call it, it was a wonderfully entwining novel. While one story is happening, the background of the past is being laid out for the reader to put the pieces together. Solid read and I highly recommend!

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and Simon audio for the ARC/ALC!

When Nora learns of her estranged father’s accidental death, a lot of feelings are brought to the surface. On one hand, she is grieving the father she lost but she also felt that her father kept at arm’s length when he moved on with his new wife and family. Her brother, Sam, doesn’t think their father’s death was an accident. Even though they are even more estranged than Nora was with her father, she and her brother work together to try to figure out what happened.

Laura Dave’s books are often marketed as “a different kind of thriller” and they truly are. Far from your typical scary read, she writes stories of complex characters and intricate mysteries that unravel piece by piece. Even though both of them had different experiences with their father, it’s clear neither Nora nor Sam knew everything about him. Their father kept certain parts of himself hidden and his children each had a different experience with him. Interspersed with flashbacks, their father’s story was revealed. I really enjoyed this way of the story being told - with each flashback I was eager to see how things were going to tie together. With flawed, relatable characters and the kind of emotion that only Laura Dave can evoke, “The Night We Lost Him” captivated me from the beginning, and thankfully I also had the audio so I could keep listening. With Julia Whelen as narrator, the audio was perfect as well.

“The Night We Lost Him” releases September 17, 2024. This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

I liked Dave's last book, The Last Thing He Told Me. It was a tightly plotted suspense thriller that kept me turning pages. I expected more of the same with The Night We Lost Him, but while it is a good story, it isn't nearly as suspenseful nor a thriller. It's more of a family drama.

We know that Liam Noone was thrown off a cliff, but the police ruled it an accidental death. His son Sam and Sam's step-sister Nora decide to look into the death - what they find are family secrets and lies spanning decades. The more they dig, the more they discover that they never really knew their father, and they even begin to question past and present relationships.

I was expecting a different book - something more suspenseful than what I got. Dave does an excellent job of slowly revealing Liam's secrets. Unfortunately, it is a little too slow, and the action sometimes dragged. I was surprised at the ending and thought it was a good twist. I recommend this book; just be aware that, in my opinion, it is not a thriller.

3.5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and S&S/Marysue Rucci Books, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is September 17, 2024.

I finished this book in less than 24 hours. When a thrice-married billionaire falls off the cliff at his beloved cottage, it's deemed an accident. But some things just aren't adding up. As one of the twin boys from marriage #2 reaches out to the daughter from marriage #1, they team up to solve the mystery of what really happened that night. And, as they'll find, the mystery starts with family secrets kept for decades. This book kept me guessing until the very end, and really made me feel like I was right there beside the half-siblings, searching for answers.

I was absolutely gripped by Laura Dave’s previous book, The Last Thing He Told Me. I was very excited to receive this ARC. Other than involving family secrets, this book is not like The Last Thing He Told Me. I did not find the mystery all that compelling. The brother Sam was annoying. The protagonist Nora wasn’t all that likeable. The deceased Liam Noone (kind of obvious there will be a play on the word no one later) was odd, not eccentric. Some details were just too convenient and yet didn’t actually help build the story or the tension in the plot. The twists didn’t feel twisty (save for one - but then it made the killer obvious). It just wasn’t for me, especially since I was expecting more thrill/danger/suspense than this book had. Nonetheless, I think many other readers will enjoy Laura Dave’s prose and detailed visuals.

Nora and Sam's father dies unexpectedly in a tragic accident, falling from a cliff at his treasured home on the California coast. However, Sam comes to Nora telling her he doesn't believe it was an accident. Sam convinces her to help him look into his death, and the 2 of them head to California and discover several things that don't make sense, making them determined to uncover the mystery of what happened the night he died.

The story is told mostly from Nora's POV with several chapters in the past from her father's POV (Liam). I enjoyed Nora's story much more than Liam's -- it slowed down the pace and I think it was meant to throw out some red herrings to the readers trying to 'solve' the mystery. Everything definitely came together at the end though.

The story isn't a page-turner or thriller as advertised, but it does give us a great deal of family drama with an air of mystery surrounding Liam's death. I found it an enjoyable read overall!