I was so excited to get an advanced copy of this book because I loved The Last Thing He Told Me and was looking for the same type of suspenseful and twisting family story to unfold. This did exactly that... just not at all the way I thought it would.

Nora's father, Liam, worked hard his entire life to keep all the parts of his life separate. Which is why she is estranged from her two (twin) half brothers. That changes when one of the twins, Sam, approaches her weeks after Liam's death. Their fathers death was ruled an accidental slip and fall off a cliff, but Sam doesn't believe it, and soon, neither is Nora.

They end up back and forth across the country, searching for clues and people who might know what was really going on with their dad and, in the process, finally get to know each other and themselves.

While Nora is the main focus of the present day story line, we see Liam's story unfold starting fifty-one years ago. Both stories weave and twist while painting different pictures of what may have happened that night on the cliff until it suddenly becomes clear. I loved how all of the theories and possibilities were woven throughout, so you can't really rule anything out until you suddenly can. I was so focused on one outcome I saw (that wasn't even a main focus, I was just sooo sure I knew), until suddenly that possibility took a complete left turn and I was wondering how I got it so wrong.

This was not my usual spicy romance, but it was a thoughtful and engaging suspense story, so I definitely recommend it!

The Night We Lost Him by
Laura Dave was a family drama thriller. The mystery of what happened to Sam and Nora's father brings
the estranged siblings together to try to solve it. While in their journey to find answers they find out more about themselves and each other. This book was told through dual timelines and had many elements and characters but was written in a way that made it easy to follow.
The Night We Lost Him comes out
September 17. Make sure you grab your copy! Thank you to Laura Dave, Netgalley, and the publisher for this ARC.

Another winner from Laura Dave! She kept me guessing until the very end. Great story and characters.

After the critical and commercial success of The Last Thing He Told Me (along with an Apple TV+ series), anticipation is high for Laura Dave's upcoming novel. Fortunately for her (and definitely for her readers), The Night We Lost Him is more than up to the task. The Night We Lost Him has plenty of suspense-did Liam Noone accidentally tumble from a cliff near his oceanside home, or did something more sinister happen? But the heart of the novel literally deals with matters of the heart-Liam's decades long friendship with Cory. They start out as high school sweethearts, but their futures take them to opposite sides of the country and out of each other's lives. But the distance is only temporary, and despite marriages to other people Cory and Liam remain close. Alternating between the present day, with Liam's children determined to find out what happened to their dad, and flashbacks to Liam and Cory's relationship, The Night We Lost Him will hold your attention on every page. The writing is spectacular-especially the dialogue between Cory and Liam as they debate the exact nature of their relationship. Cory is truly a gem-if I ever grow up I want to be her! Add a totally confounding mystery and The Night We Lost Him will undoubtedly vault Miss Dave back to the top of the best seller list.

Thank you to Laura Dave, Simon Element, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

Nora’s father, a business tycoon in the hotel industry, has recently passed. In the will, Nora inherits one of his first properties which is also the location of Liam Noone’s death. Nora finds herself working with her estranged brother Sam to uncover what may have happened to their father on the night of his death. They uncover secrets from the past that they are forced to reckon with, and they begin to develop a familial bond.

The Night We Lost Him takes place on the California coast, and I am familiar with some of the descriptions. The story is less of a thriller, but there is some mystery and family trauma. I found the characters likable, and there are threads throughout the novel that connect in the end. I was a little confused about Cory’s identity as I read the flashbacks, but it all comes together toward the end of the story.

The Night We Lost Him is more of a family drama than a thriller. While the main storyline focuses on Nora and her half-brother, Sam, as they try to piece together their father’s death, the flashback scenes tell a the story of their father’s 50-year long romance with Cory, and that storyline is much more compelling. Nora and Sam work on their relationship as siblings, and Nora encounters some personal relationship difficulties, but Liam and Cory are the real stars of the story.

All opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel.

As a long time reader of Laura Dave this book fell very, very flat for me. I just could not get myself to care about these characters....kind of like Succession on HBO. This was a DNF for me. Thank you Netgalley for the advance ecopy..

The Night We Lost Him is a family drama with a hint of mystery, similar to The Last Thing He Told Me.

I enjoyed the main character, especially the descriptions of her work and her memories of her father. Otherwise, though, I felt that the narrative lacked the intrigue needed to move forward. The plot developments were expected, despite (or because of?) quite obvious red herrings, and without an emotional connection, the story was quite forgettable.

What a thrilling and wild ride! I loved 'The Last Thing He Told Me' but this tops that by a million! I was on the edge of my seat every step on the way. I'm usually pretty good at figuring out thriller/mysteries but this one kept me guessing and I'm absolutely loved that! Now that I've loved 2 of this author's books in a row, I'm a certified fan and she's become an auto buy author for me! I can't see what Davis writes next!

3.5 ⭐️ Estranged siblings reunite after their father falls from the cliff near his beloved home. As they learn more about the events leading up to his death, they are shocked to discover just how many secrets he was keeping from them all.

While I did not love this book as much as her previous one, The Last Thing He Told Me, I still found it to be engaging and a quick read overall. The pacing was good and the character development solid. I loved the atmosphere she sets right from page one and the twists are turns we are treated to along the way. Overall, I think those who enjoy character driven, contemporary fiction novels with an air of mystery will find this to their liking.

Read if you like:
• women’s fiction
• mysteries
• sibling drama
• character driven novels
• twists

Thank you Simon and Schuster for the advanced copy.

Thoroughly enjoyed this one. I was kept guessing and turning the pages. It's a gripping and emotional story. It's a thriller, but goes much deeper into characters and relationships--that's the part that I enjoyed the most. Lots of great family drama.

This is a slow-burn mystery/thriller that isn't about nervous anticipation and danger around every corner, but more a slow unraveling of family secrets and connections.

I think the publisher is right on with their description of the book as, "soulful suspense and evocative family drama," but to be in the right mood for it, readers should adjust their expectations away from grippy, edge-of-your-seat thriller. This is a great read - one that has you liking (most) of the characters, questioning their motives, wondering about their pasts and what connections there are, and trying to solve the murder (was it murder?) right along with estranged brother and sister duo, Nora and Sam.

And for the record, I was wrong about so many things in the book - and I love that! I love that the author kept me guessing and surprised me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an ARC for review. All opinions are my own.

*thanks to netgalley for an early copy to read and review. This review is my opinion only.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick 24 hour read for me. Enough mystery to keep me wanting to turn the page with an underlying forbidden love story.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was a slow, tedious read for me. I got through it, but shouted "hooray" when it was done ... kind of like my usual response after completing a homework assignment.

I’m struggling with this review. I think a lot of the frustration comes from the mislabeling of this book by the publisher as a thriller, because it isn’t. It’s more like a family drama. I am a mood reader to pick my reads based on publisher genre identification and believe I should be able to rely on it. They also list that it is a romance, and this is romance adjacent at best. I strongly feel because this isn’t the type of book I was in the mood for, it lowered my enjoyment of the book, and after reading some other reviews, I am not alone in this frustration. Yes, I could have put it down, but I kept thinking it would change. I also really enjoyed the author’s last book, so thought this would be the same. Now this book wasn’t necessarily bad, just not what I wanted. The writing is solid and well done. I really did enjoy trying to uncover who killed Nora’s father (this isn’t a spoiler). It was also an interesting choice how the author gave some pretty big information away at the beginning of the book. I thought it was an interesting choice, though I did spend the rest of the book curious to see how all the pieces fell together so to speak.

I would recommend this book to those looking for a character driven family drama.

Oh, get your tissues. This one really had my heart.

Nora and Sam, estranged step siblings, are brought together after the death of their father. The only thing they can seemingly agree upon is that the circumstances surrounds his death are suspicious. Police are convinced that their father fell off a cliff, but Nora and Sam knew that their father was so familiar with the area he never would have been so careless. But, the more they dig and the more secrets they uncover Nora and Sam learn their father is not who they thought he was.

My favorite is still The Last Thing He Told Me.

Read this if you like:
•domestic suspense books
•character driven stories
•estranged family drama

The audiobook of this was so well done. While this wasn’t a thriller where your heart was pumping, it was a good domestic suspenseful story. I was intrigued the entire time and just wanted to figured out how it would all piece together. The characters are flawed but that’s the beauty of it. Thank you Simon & Schuster audio for the ALC

In The Night We Lost Him, Laura Dave pulls on your heart strings once more in this family drama about about estranged siblings Nora and Sam who set out to find the truth about their father Liam’s recent death. While police are convinced Liam fell off the cliff, his children think otherwise and work together to figure out what really happened that night. Unfortunately, not everyone is willing to cooperate, determined to keep family secrets exactly that, secret. What Nora and Sam begin to discover is that their father may not have been the man they thought he was and that grief and guilt can be interchangeable.
While I would have liked to have seen more depth to these characters, the storyline itself is compelling, highlighting just how complex family dynamics can be and how well we can really know a person, even if they are your own father.

This book was admittedly not my favorite by Dave, which was disappointing. It is very character-driven, dysfunctional family rather than a page-turner thriller like The Last Thing He Told Me. I found the nonlinear timeline to be confusing to follow, and my investment in this story waned.

This story kept me enamored, but I felt like I was skimming through certain portions that were not as relevant to me. I enjoyed the story quite a bit. I liked the connections made, and the dual timelines. I also enjoyed how Nora and her dad’s histories seemed to aline at times. I didn’t like how certain things weren’t solved or kind of skimmed over like Tommy and Elliott. But I did still like it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon Element, and the author for this ARC.