I liked this book - a solid 4.5! It is not so much "suspenseful" as it is a family story, although there is a "who dun it" to figure out. That didn't bother me, but it wasn't exactly what I was expecting based on the description.
The plot is interesting and the characters are relatable and realistic. I appreciate that even thought Nora is estranged from her dad, he was never truly the bad guy - he was flawed but still active in his kids' lives and an endearing character. Overall this book seems like fresh story with a lot of layers, and I enjoyed living in this world while I read.

3.5/5 This is an engaging slow burn mystery and what it lacks in intensity, it makes up for in character development. When a man falls off a cliff at his holiday house, the family begins to wonder if it was suicide, an accident, or murder. Overall, an intriguing read, but I do wish it had a little more urgency and a quicker pace.

Name of Book: The Night We Lost Him
Author: Laura Dave
Genre: Family Drama, Mystery
Publisher: Simon Element-S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books
Pub Date: September 17, 2024
My Rating: 3.7 Rounded up
Pages: 320

Nora Noone (pronounced like ‘noon’ – as in time of day- not ‘no one’) is a New York architect who is grieving from the loss of both her parents. Her mother died a year ago in a bicycle accident during her daily evening ride, now her father Liam Samuel Noone, owner of the Noone Property Empire. Both parents died suddenly and unexpectedly. Her father slipped and fell off the cliff on a rainy evening at his Carpinteria, California vacation property. His death was ruled an accident, but Nora and her half-brother Sam are both suspicious so fly from New York to California to seek the truth. Her father has three children- Nora from his first marriage and Sam and Tommy twins from his second marriage.

There was a lot going in this family drama. The story follows the life of Liam through different time periods and yes there are secrets and the secrets are revealed at the end. Although not a shock they were a surprise.

Story wasn’t the thriller I mistakenly expected. It was and did keep me interested.
This is my third Laura Dave story. I loved " The Last Thing He Told Me".
There is no doubt Laura Dave is a talented storyteller.
I am once again looking forward to the next Laura Dove story!!

Want to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster/Marysue Rucci Books for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for September 17, 2024

Coming September 2024! It makes me sad to leave a bad review for this one 😭 I enjoyed The Last Thing He Told me so I was super excited to get an advanced copy of Laura Dave’s newest novel. This wasn’t even a thriller. It was an ultra slow-paced family drama. I was so incredibly bored while reading it and none of the characters were particularly enjoyable.

Ms. Dave does it again with another page turning read with an ending I didn't see coming. Pick up this great thriller when it becomes available in September, you won't be sorry.

Liam Noone, hotel magnate, father of three and husband (or ex) to three, is dead. The police have ruled the death accidental but was it really? Liam's children Nora and Sam question what really happened the night he falls to his death and begin their own investigation. Was it his business partner Joe perhaps? His most recent wife Inez? Or someone else entirely? Was he in fact pushed or did he just slip and fall? You'll have to pick this one up and follow Nora and Sam's investigation to find out what really happened the night Liam died.

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave coming out September 17 refers to Liam Noone who either fell, jumped, or was pushed off the side of a cliff at his most beloved cottage on the California coast. When two of his three children by different marriages, Nora and Sam, decide to do their own investigation after determining the police review lacking, they will finally discover their father’s secret he had kept hidden for 50 years.

Noone, a self-made boutique hotel entrepreneur, includes both his sons, Sam and Tommy, in his real estate business, with Nora wanting no part of it or anything else from her father who cheated on her mother with the sons’ mother. They are not quite estranged, but Nora has drawn specific boundaries in the father-daughter relationship.

While Noone kept his families strictly apart, Nora and Sam forge an alliance to uncover what truly happened to their father that day on the cliffside. With little cooperation from Noone’s best friend Joe, Joe’s girlfriend, and the company’s legal ace Jonathon, the two revisit the site of their father’s death, beginning a journey that will lead them to astonishing answers about the father they thought they knew.

Laura Dave is known for her family dramas. She recently collaborated with her husband Josh Singer to write the screen play for her thriller The Last Thing He Told Me, which is now a limited series on Apple TV+ starring Jennifer Garner. Her other books include Eight Hundred Grapes and The First Husband. Dave lives in Santa Monica, California.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting July 19, 2024.

I would like to thank Simon & Schuster, Marysue Rucci Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Before I start, let me say that I loved Laura Dave’s novel, “The Last Thing He Told Me” so I was thrilled to receive an ARC for “The Night We Lost Him.” I was expecting taunt suspense, a few thrills, and an engaging story. What I read had very little suspense and should definitely NOT be classified in that category. Perhaps move it to general fiction. With that said, “The Night We Lost Him” is the the story told from the perspective of Nora who, along with her estranged half-brother Sam, looks into the recent death of their father who fell (or was pushed) off the cliffs by his California house. But the real story is the love affair between her father, Liam, and his high school sweetheart, Corey through the years. Nora is readily forgettable, and in fact, her relationships with her brothers and her fiancé are downright boring. Overall. This book was disappointing, but maybe, I was expecting too much since it was advertised as a suspense novel.

Nora is still reeling from the loss of her beloved mother when her father dies. When her half brother Sam, who she has little contact with, calls her to share his suspicions of foul play in regards to their fathers death, they team up to do their own investigation. While their investigation proceeds, we see their father Liams story in back flashes, and we learn that Liam, while married 3 times, never got to marry the love of his life.

While this novel is billed as a mystery, and it is, I found it focused just as much, if not more on the family dynamics. I enjoyed the growing relationship between half siblings Nora and Sam, and the growing realization that they were headed down the same road as their father in regards to relationship mistakes. This is more slow burn than page turning suspense, but I was still invested and interested throughout the story and found it to be a nice combination of mystery and family drama.

Thank you to net galley and Simon and Schuster for the e galley in return for an honest review.

There’s no question Laura Dave is an amazing writer, as evidenced by previous works, but this book wasn’t everything for me. She does a great job of weaving an interesting story with characters that are likable. Well, most of them are likable. Am I supposed to like the dad who marries three times all the while loving another woman? Or the other woman who wants his affection and attention, but marries someone she doesn’t love? Those characters were hard for me to sympathize and connect with, which kept me from really connecting emotionally with the story being told.

For a light read, I did enjoy the storyline of Nora and Sam as they discover the truth about their father. I rooted for Nora and Jack. The ending totally surprised me!! I thought I could predict who the mystery woman would turn out to be.

4 stars

Laura Dave's latest THE NIGHT WE LOST HIM is a slow burn mystery that brings together Nora with her estranged half-brother Sam to determine whether their father Liam accidentally fell or was pushed off a cliff to his death. This novel publishes on September 17, 2024.

THE NIGHT WE LOST HIM did two things extremely well.

1. I really liked the relationship between Nora and her estranged half-brother Sam. We don't usually see an estranged sibling pair work on their relationship in a novel, and that relationship felt very authentic.

2. This novel had an interesting take on marriage vs. important relationships without marriage. Three of these characters had similar situations arise, and, while repetitive, I thought this novel would prompt some good book club discussion.

The novel does rotate between Nora and Sam trying to piece things together and their father Liam's history. I was interested in both aspects of the story.

One downside was there didn't seem any sense of urgency to find out what happened. I did find Liam's backstory interesting, but I think it did slow down the pacing. If you want to be the edge of your seat, that won't be happening in this one.

I think this would be a solid read for your beach bag - not too heavy, and you can pick it up and put it down with relative ease. It's a mystery with a little bit more.

This was a good book. I was actually surprised at one part that I'd been thinking something wrong for most of the book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read the ARC for The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave. This book kept me hooked with its mystery as well as the family drama. It was a quick and engaging read.

When Nora's father Liam unexpectedly dies she is forced to deal with family demons and that means her estranged brothers. Nora's father was a great man and he inspired her, but he kept all of us ex-wives and family members siloed and separated from one another. Nora isn't sure what to make of her brother Sam when he bursts out that he believes their father was murdered.

Laura Dave takes us on a windy tour of Liam Noone's life while following Nora and Sam as they attempt to decipher Liam's last weeks. While this mystery was fantastic, well paced and plotted, you should read the book just for the witty repartee between the siblings alone. I couldn't get enough of it, and wished there was more, wished they were my siblings, wished they had a stand up routine or an upcoming broadway play -it's that good.

The story is fun, twisty, and feel like an itch you just can't reach. You are sure you know the who-done-it/the what-happened...but just can't grasp it fully. This is a perfect thriller. Dave knocked it out of the park!
#SimonElement #S&S #MarysueRucciBooks #lauradave #thenightwelosthim #thelastthinghetoldme

I wanted to like this book. It's true. I tried.
I was not a huge fan of The Last Thing He Told Me, and I was hoping that The Night We Lost Him would help me see Laura Dave's books in a brighter light. Unfortunately, I still don't get the hype.
The book felt SO slow and dragged on with what seemed like a bunch of nothing-ness. This seems to be a trend when I read her stories... I did not connect with the characters at all.
The father's relationships with multiple women throughout the years about sent me over the edge... Pun totally intended. The REAL love story had potential to be swoon worthy. I just don't understand why he even bothered marrying 3 other women. Seems like dude could have saved some money on divorce lawyers.
Sam was my favorite character. The way he evolved made his part in the story realistic. I would give LD another go if she wrote something involving Sam and his adventures post all of this soul searching.
Please don't let my review spoil your fun. The book was written well. It just did not resonate with me.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited about this books but overall it just fell short for me. First, I had the impression that it was more of a thriller. There was a mystery element to it but over all this felt more like a family drama, which is not my usual cup of tea. Also I found it difficult to connect with any of the characters. Their motives felt very one dimensional and there didn’t seem to be much emotions behind the relationships. That being said this book would be good for those looking for a simple beach/pool side read.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon Element for an advanced copy.

If you enjoyed her other work "The Last Thing He Told Me" you will likely enjoy this as well. Its more of a tense drama than a full out thriller but it's a enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in advance of publication.

I loved this book! The family dynamics were perfection and I loved the storyline. Laura Dave does it again - one of my favorite authors at this point. You'll never guess the ending.

The Night We Lost Him was a quick read that I really enjoyed. The pacing was perfect, the characters felt real to me, and the story gradually unraveled. I did not care much for the ending and while it was a surprise, it didn't give me that jaw dropping shock you expect with thriller books. I think this felt more like a fictional drama story to me despite it being a thriller. The author also gave one character two names; one that was used in the past and then their current name to keep the reader in the dark about who this person from the past is. I feel like this in an overused ploy to trick the reader and while it can work well sometimes, I didn't love this technique in this book. But I got through it quick and I was interested in the plot, so I rounded up to 4 stars.

Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I’ve read several Laura Dave books and was excited to get to read the latest. I was immediately hooked by the premise of the book. A mystery wrapped inside a story of love and loss and regret.

I love the way Dave tells a story - from page 1 I was all in.

I suggest you pick it up - you won’t be disappointed (you also won’t be able to put it down!).

Laura Daves new book leans more to a domestic drama than a thriller similar to The Last He Told Me. I did really enjoy the show adaptation for that one. This story portrays grief nicely and the mysteries that can be buried deep amongst a family. Not sure if I’d recommend to a friend but overall it was fine.