Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was my second novel by Laura Dave and they were both 3 stars for me. I don't really have complaints about either novel, but neither did I find anything great. There is a mystery over how their father died- was it murder, an accident, suicide? The authorities quickly dismiss it as an accident, but as two distant half-siblings start looking into it further, they begin to believe that he was murdered and want to find out not only who did it but why. They learn more about their family, themselves, and their relationship in the process.

Like so many others, I'm a big fan of Laura Dave's "The Last Thing He Told Me," so I was excited to get my hands on an ARC of "The Night We Lost Him."

My trepidation that it wouldn't meet my expectations was unfounded because I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

If, like me, you've lost a parent, I think you'll find this story will hit you in a more poignant way than you're prepared for. There's an invisible thread in grief. It connects you to others who have experienced loss, and this story and its characters portray it well.

The mystery aspects of the story were equally engaging. Whenever I thought I knew what would happen, the storyline surprised me.

4.5 stars rounded up.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Element Books from an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I thought this one was fine. I had a hard time identifying with the characters and found the novel's resolution very underwhelming.

The Night We Lost HIm
by Laura Dave
Pub Date: September 10, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and Net Galley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
From the author of The Last Thing He Told Me —the #1 New York Times bestselling blockbuster—comes a riveting mystery wrapped in an epic love story.
This one was a disappointment to me.
Parts of the storytelling are powerful and it’s undoubtedly well written. There are some suspenseful moments and tension especially between characters. It becomes clear that secrets are being harbored and trying to work out what game is afoot is entertaining. Is there someone manipulating situations? Is there betrayal? Is there someone to blame and accept responsibility? The mist begins to lift, and things start to interconnect as the truth becomes apparent and that is a surprise.

Overall, though, this is much more about heartache and heartbreak, loss and grief than a thriller. The pace rises and falls and although I do enjoy the novel it doesn’t grant me in the blame way as The Last Thing He Told Me does. It’s a quick read and the writing does flow well.

Laura Dave's previous book seemed to sweep the book world away, but I was left feeling pretty meh about it. Her newest book, The Night We Lost Him, left me feeling very similarly. To start, this is NOT a thriller. This is a domestic drama, about estranged siblings, trying to understand each other and their father after his sudden and untimely death, under the guise of investigating his death to see if he was possibly murdered. Our main protagonist is Nora, and the book opens with her being approached by her half-brother Sam, asking her to help him look into their father Liam's death, falling from a cliff at his beloved home in California. Nora's chapters alternate with chapters from Liam's point of view as a young man, moving forward in time, primarily about his lifelong love affair with a high school classmate, Cory (Cordelia).
There is a varied cast of characters that Nora and Sam encounter as they work together to understand their father's life and past, and at some points I had difficulty keeping them all straight, all while simultaneously trying to understand what motivated Nora to pick up the investigation. We are presented with a conflicting characterization of her, she is both estranged from her father and his other children, but also loved him enough to work with Sam, but the book really failed to elaborate on exactly what lead her to be this way, for me.
As mentioned previously, this is a domestic drama, but at the same time the book just felt half developed. There are threads and hints at things that are never fully picked up and elaborated upon, which overall lent this book to feeling lackluster and honestly pointless. I'm rating this one 2.5 stars rounded up because it's possible that readers who enjoyed her previous book may like this one as well. For me, it wasn't it.
Thank you to Simon Element and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

I liked this a lot! I am typically a Laura Dave fan, though to varying degrees. I thought the dynamic of estranged siblings was interesting here, and I bought the romantic subplot. Overall, another winner from Dave.

I'll admit when I read The Last Thing He Told Me, it took me a bit to get into it. But once I was in, I couldn't stop reading. So I was really excited to see a new book by the same author, Laura Dave. This book is a little mystery with a lot of family drama around it and a little bit of a love story. It opens with a brief scene with a man falling from a cliff, was he pushed, did he slip? He leaves behind 3 kids, 3 ex wives, and a large hotel business. There's also a beautiful, little home on said cliff that is somehow almost a main character in the whole story. One of his sons and daughter start to investigate if their father was actually killed, even though the police say there was no foul play. We follow them along on the ride and meet a few suspects. In between the chapters of their searching for the truth, there are flashbacks to the father's younger days. It all ties up with a very solid, but heartbreaking end.

The mystery of accident or murder was not as interesting to me as the love story and family drama. However it did feel like there was some times when the siblings would be talking and one would stop the conversation when the reader could've used the extra clues. It almost felt like the author just got lazy and didn't want to write about it and would come back to it later. But we never came back to some stuff. The brother is a twin, they even go to visit (or question) the other brother. There's a lot of lead up to the brothers being at odds with each other, they make a couple comments to each other about it, but there just seems to be something else going on that never gets explained. Maybe it was filler that got forgotten about, I'm not sure, but it felt like I was just missing something. I even went back and reread a couple things to see if I legitimately did miss some conversation and I hadn't.

Overall this was a very average book. The twist of the love story is pretty good, unexpected, and heartbreaking. Honestly, I read the last 15% with tears. But that couldn't save the rest of the book from feeling very meh. It was quick so I wouldn't say it was a waste of time to read, but it was a very throw away story. It would be a great vacation read.

The following review was posted on Goodreads on 07.11.24:

THE NIGHT WE LOST HIM looks and sounds like a tense, twisty thriller, but it's really not. It's more of a family drama, which is fine, just not what I expected. There was enough conflict and suspense in the story to keep me reading. In the end, though, I think I would have preferred more of a straight-up whodunit.

The novel has a fairly large cast of characters, some of whom seemed entirely superfluous, making it a little tough to keep track of who was who and to whom. Many of their interpersonal relationships are strange and complicated, while lacking either depth or complexity. This is also true of the individual characters. None of them were developed enough to feel like real, authentic, whole people. And what I did know of them, I didn't particularly like. Almost to a one, they seem to be secretive, self-absorbed, and focused on the wrong things. I found it hard to relate to—or care about—any of them. The relationship between Liam and Cory left me especially confused. It made no sense whatsoever.

The truth behind Liam's death is also pretty straightforward. I saw all of the "twists" coming, which made the story feel predictable. Again, it's more of a family drama than a mystery/thriller.

In spite of these things, I did find THE NIGHT WE LOST HIM compelling enough to read quickly. Hence the three stars. In the end, it was only a meh read for me.

I loved this book! It's well-written, enjoyable, had great suspense and twists, and a great read. Laura Dave did a great job of writing in a way that captures the readers attention, and makes you not want to put it down until you're finished! I would highly recommend it!

An emotional family drama surrounding the mystery death of the family's patriarch, Liam Noone. Estranged siblings, Nora and Sam, reconnect after Sam believes that their dad was murdered instead of the conclusion that the local police came to. Weaving through Liam's past, Nora and Sam learn things about their dad that they never would've expected and eventually uncover the truth to his death. Masterfully written and hard to put down. Highly recommend!

In Laura Dave's "The Night We Lost Him," Nora grapples with the sudden death of her father, ruled an accident by the authorities. Unconvinced, she joins forces with her estranged brother Sam to uncover the truth. As they delve into their father's past, they unearth a shocking family secret that alters their understanding of him and each other.

This novel is a blend of suspense and family drama. The mystery surrounding the father's death keeps you guessing, while the exploration of fractured family relationships adds emotional depth. The California coast setting provides a beautiful yet potentially treacherous backdrop to the story.

If you enjoy books that combine a good mystery with a compelling family saga, "The Night We Lost Him" is worth checking out. Be prepared for a surprising twist at the end!

I was excited to get this ARC copy from Laura Dave of The Night We Lost him. I have enjoyed her previous books and this one did not disappoint.
While it was not as fast-paced as The Last Thing He Told Me, it was more of a slow burn and I found the flashbacks of Liam Noone's life the most engaging and really kept trying to figure out who Cory was in the story. I like the relationships and the way they grew between the estranged half siblings Sam and Nora as they join forces to try to seek out the truth about what happened to their father.
This isn’t a classic mystery thriller novel, although there are plenty of perplexing questions about Liam’s death and trying to figure out his end moves, it’s much more about complicated and complex family dynamics. The storytelling is good, and it’s undoubtedly well written. There are some suspenseful moments and tension between characters as they realize there are secrets and lies and things being kept from them. It also alludes to the possibility that someone is manipulating situations. I feel like this is more about complicated dysfunctional family dynamics and relationships than a thriller, but I really enjoyed it and it was a good read. I would recommend it to readers.


Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC for review.

I read an advanced readers copy of Laura Dave's The Night We Lost Him thanks to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley. I really enjoyed The last thing he told me, and had high expectations as a result. The Night We Lost him is very different, and good in its own way. It is the story of a woman, Nora, whose father has tied, and her step-brother who is convinced he did not fall to his death at his California beach house, but was pushed. The novel is the story of Nora and Sam's efforts to identify what actually happened to their father. It is a book that requires the reader to stay focused, as there are several character-lines you need to keep track of as the story evolves. It also tells a parallel story over the last 50 years of her father Liam and a woman named Corey. That story line is critical to the story, but it took me a while to sort out what was going on

I enjoyed the book, but I did not love it. Just not convinced the story-line was compelling enough to fully keep my attention. Still, a good book.

I thought The Last Thing He Told Me was suspenseful, endearing, and different (since it was also mysterious without piling on a body count). I thought The Night We Lost Him might have that same appeal, and the premise did. Without giving too much away, the real love stories fell flat for me. It seemed like one person in a relationship felt like they got to determine everything about how it was going to go, even making assumptions and projecting those onto the other character about who they are and always will be.

Guessing along about whether it was a murder, accident, or suicide was interesting, but the end result on that storyline wasn't as rewarding as I'd expected from the slow burn setup.

I'm definitely a Laura Dave fan, so I'll keep reading more from her.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read the ARC.

Overall I enjoyed reading The Night We Lost Him to figure out where the book was going in terms of what happened to Liam. However, the story became so much more than what happened to him and shifted to a tangled web along the way of his past relationships as well as relationships his children had. I found the beginning to be super confusing with a lot of characters thrown out at once. Between the many characters and switching time periods, at times it felt like too much was going on. The ending felt rushed and left me wanting a little more in terms of finality.

This book was not as good as The Last Thing He Told Me (in my opinion), but a worthwhile read nonetheless. Thank you kindly to NetGalley and S&S/Marysue Rucci Books for the advanced copy of this book to read.

I really enjoyed this one! It was totally binge-able and I flew through it. It reminded me a lot of her previous book “The Last thing he Told me”. It is a similar format or something confusing happening in the beginning and then you spend the rest of the book trying to figure it out.

This is a thriller for wimps. It sucks you in and is a page turner without being creepy or graphic.

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC of The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave. This is more of a family drama with a mystery than a thriller, but I still enjoyed the book. It was well written and kept my interest. It was unpredictable as the characters uncovered more of the story of their father.

Nora and Sam are estranged siblings who come together when their father dies. His death was ruled accidental, but they feel there is more to the story. Secrets come to light as they uncover the mystery.

THE NIGHT WE LOST HIM by Laura Dave
⭐️ rating: 7/10

read if you like:
📔 THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME
🔥 slow burn mysteries
🏡 family secrets

summary:
I loved THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME and was excited to get an early copy of Laura Dave’s next book to review! This story is about estranged siblings, Nora and Sam, who are reunited when their wealthy father, Liam Noone, falls off a cliff to his death. While it is ruled an accident, Sam reaches out to Nora, concerned that maybe it wasn’t an accident after all, and that their father was hiding something that led to his murder.

Nora and Sam are deeply interesting characters who you quickly grow to like. I wish we learned more about their backstories and how their falling out originally occurred, but it was clear that wasn’t the focus of the story. The book does flash back every few chapters to Liam’s upbringing, spreading over several decades, and how his history contributed to his death. The mystery itself in this book is VERY compelling and easy to follow, and keeps you guessing until the very end.

My reasons for the slightly lower rating are the speed of the story and the ending. It moves slower than most mysteries — and slower than her previous book — and while the book isn’t overly long, I wished it had moved a little quicker. The ending is also a little predictable — although still good, but not as much as a jaw dropper as her previous book.

Overall though, if you liked THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME, you’ll love this thought-provoking mystery! Thanks to Simon Element and Net Galley for the advanced preview, and check this out when it releases on Sept 17!

2.75 stars, rounded up.

Honestly... I went into this book with such high hopes but it fell so flat for me.

I was so hooked in the beginning. The mystery surrounding Nora's father's death and all of the possible player's in the game was so interesting to sift through. However around the halfway point, I realized that really nothing had happened in the book.. The two main characters are just on a cross country investigative spree with no rhyme or reason as to their next moves. The relationships between characters didn't connect well and some were just plain unnecessary. Some of the geography became confusing to keep up with and I felt like the plot really wasn't moving. The ending did not really shock me and just felt rushed.

I really wanted to love this book but it just was not anything new or exciting. I was so bogged down with repetitive information and storylines from the 40-90% mark that I was not impressed at all with the resolve.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Element for this ARC!

Just when you thought it was going one way Laura Dave does a U-turn. This was a great thrill trying to figure out what was going on. Enjoyed every page.