I thought this was really good and kept my attention the whole time. I thought it was fast paced and wrapped up well at the end.

I love a good mystery book and this one did not disappoint! Laura Dave does a great job of writing mysterious characters that takes you until the end to really figure out who they are and what role they play in the storyline. This story did have a lot of details and characters so I had to read slowly and sometimes double back, but I thought that added to the mystery element. I liked dual timeline that was throughout the book. It added layers to the story. Overall, I would highly recommend!

Whew, this one was a roller coaster! Every time I thought I knew what was going on....I was wrong. These are the best kinds of books. Laura Dave's style is unique and I have truly enjoyed every book of hers that I've read.

It's always difficult to follow a runaway best-seller and unfortunately I don't think Laura Dave succeeded. As other reviewers have noted, this book is much more family drama and intrigue than thriller. No one is being chased, there are no mafia overlords like we saw in the "The Last Thing He Told Me." Interestingly, "The Night We Lost Him" is still being marketed as a mystery and thriller which is going to lead to a lot of disappointment from readers. The story centers on two estranged siblings teaming up to look into their father's suspicious death. The "mystery" element is much more Nancy Drew than procedural thriller. The brother and sister duo talk to a few people, and get their answers. As someone who reads a good amount of family dramas, I don't think this story works in that genre either. To be effective, family dramas need to be absolutely scandalous, or heart wrenching. "Night" is neither. The reveal is fairly milquetoast, and the writing not evocative enough to pull at the heartstrings. There just isn't enough here to be engaging or memorable.

Really loved her other books so it’s taken me a little to get into this one. I didn’t have the same grip from the start but it overall proved to be a good read.

I really liked this book, but, honestly, it was not as good as Dave’s bestseller, The Last Thing He Told Me. Here, Nora and her half-brother, Sam, attempt to figure out if their father’s recent death was an accident—or something else. Their father, Liam, was wealthy and powerful, had been married three times, and clearly had kept many secrets. Unearthing long-held secrets and exploring family drama makes for a great story, but what I didn’t like about this book was that their lives made me a bit sad. Liam’s relationships with his wives, girlfriends, and children were lacking in many ways, and while these problems helped propel the story they also prevented me from really engaging with all of the characters. However, the story moves quickly and there are some very interesting twists, and a pretty satisfying ending. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC in exchange 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. I was surprised at the end, which is always nice in a mystery novel. But in the end it left me wanting more depth in a story that’s ultimately about knowing and connecting with those you love.

Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review!

Laura Dave is an auto buy for me as I liked her before the suspense era, and that was just as good. So I went into this blind and saw there were rich people behaving badly, a fav troupe. But like Laura Dave does so well the story doesn’t go the way I thought it would. This is not a story of greed but it’s incredibly selfish just the sane imo. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me this arc in exchange for my honest review. This is not one of Laura Dave’s strongest but I still recommend it. It’s still a fast and twisty read that leaves you thinking and the quote that turns this story on its head. “Loyalty doesn’t trump love.”

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC!
I was super excited for this one, because I loved The Last Thing He Told Me. Unfortunately this one didn’t hook me. I was honestly just trying to finish it.
It wasn’t horrible by any means but there wasn’t anything about it that stood out and made me really want to keep reading to find out what happens. It didn’t really keep my interest.
There were an obnoxious amount of characters in this book. I think that was part of what made it so uninteresting to read. I couldn’t keep them all straight.
The ending was lack luster and boring. So much build up for that?!
Overall, not my cup of tea.

I was thrilled to see this novel was coming from Laura Dave, as I was a big fan of The Last Thing He Told Me, and it didn't disappoint! This novel will keep you turning the pages late into the night!

I was a big fan of Dave's The Last Thing He Said - I came for the mystery and stayed for the family dynamics and well-plotted story. The Night We Lost Him contains the same hallmarks - the mystery at the novel's core is what had happened to Nora, Sam and Tommy's dad on the cliff the night he died at his beloved retreat. Like her other novel, the strength of the story is in the personal relationships, in this case sibling dynamics (love vs hate vs love) and the unexpected impacts of grief and loss. Unlike some mystery and thriller readers, I tend not to be critical of endings and rather prefer the ride to get there. And I read this one in almost one big enjoyable gulp. Highly recommend. Thanks to Simon Element | S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books and NetGalley for the E-Arc.

Part murder mystery, part family drama, part love story. Liam Noone, a hotel mogul, dies at his sanctuary home. Two of his adult children, Sam and Nora, team up to discover if their dad fell to his death or if he was pushed/murdered. They have to uncover some family secrets and learn tough truths about their father. The more we learned about their father, the less I liked him and the less invested I became in solving his death. Sam and Nora persisted, and it was all wrapped up nicely with a bow by the end, despite my misgivings.

The characters were a bit underdeveloped, with a wide cast of supporting characters and a dual timeline. The premise is good, but the execution was just mediocre.

Romance + thriller…yes Please! This was a perfect blend. I loved the family drama, secrets, suspense of a thriller and the secrets all rooted in a romance that lasted through the years. I couldn’t put this down!

Laura Dave starts again by weaving a tale of mystery and intrigue. This starts out following siblings who have just lost their father under what could be considered mysterious circumstances and follows them along on their journey to find the truth. A feature of the plot I found particularly enjoyable was the interplay between many different relationships, romantic, sibling, parent child, etc.

I was intrigued all along and excited to find out what would happen next. For those who enjoyed The Last Thing He Ever Told Me, put this on your TBR.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read The Night We Lost Him. I mostly enjoyed it, but it wasn’t a very exciting plot. I was hoping for more mystery as to what happened to Liam. The writing was great, and the characters were fine. It just needed a few twists and turns to give it more excitement.

Laura Dave’s new book is less of a thriller and more of a family drama. But there is plenty of suspense and mystery that keeps you guessing. It revolves around the dysfunctional Noone family and is told in the present with flashbacks to when Liam, the patriarch, was growing up.

Liam’s fall over a cliff at his home in California is the main mystery. His daughter from the first of his three marriages is Nora. She has very little contact with her half-siblings, even though they all live in NYC. But her half-brother from marriage number two visits because he is convinced that Liam didn’t kill himself or fall accidentally. Since the police have closed the case as an accident, Nora (somewhat unwillingly) joins Sam, and the two become investigators into their father’s death.

Nora is a great character whose unconventional upbringing has made her vulnerable, and she finds relationships hard. Although her father left her family when she was young, he stayed involved in her life, and she loved him. She was already grieving the loss of her mother years prior. So, the sudden death of her father adds another complicated layer of grief that threatens her current relationship.

Nora discovers that she has inherited the property where her father died. Windbreak was his special place, and she also has fond memories of it. As Sam and Nora investigate, they become convinced that his death wasn’t an accident. Their search leads them into their father’s early life.

In the flashbacks, we meet Liam’s first girlfriend, Cory. It is obvious that she was in his life for its entirety, and that becomes mystery number two: Where is she now? I have to admit, I didn’t figure that one out, and it was a well-narrated surprise that lasted to the very end.

This is a strong read. Her writing is very crisp. She doesn’t go overboard with superfluous details and adjectives, yet I still felt completely immersed in the story. I absolutely loved The Last Thing He Told Me, and this offering is a close second. Dave deals with grief and loss in a genuine, heartfelt manner, and her characters are interesting and real. Each of them dealing with the loss of Liam differently. The wrap-up of the multiple threads was very good. I highly recommend this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon Element/S&S/Marysue Rucci Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Almost 6 full months into 2024 and this is my first 5 star novel of the year.

Laura Dave paints a compelling and complex picture, not only about a mysterious death (maybe murder), but also of connection, love, and grief.

For fans of suspense and mystery, romance, and literary fiction, I highly recommend.

Thank you to Netgallery and Simon Element for sharing this ARC with me. All opinions shared are honest and my own.

I wanted to love this but it was soooooo slow. I’d say it picked up around the 70% mark but still fell a bit flat. Definitely more of a love story/family drama than suspense thriller. I’ll still read whatever Laura Dave publishes next!

My summary:
Nora's father, a wealthy hotelier from New York, dies from a fall off of coastal cliffs at his house in California. Nora had a complicated relationship with her father and she has been trying to move on with her life while coping with the grief of losing him--all too soon after also losing her mother. Sam, her estranged half-brother, reaches out to Nora with concerns that their father's death was not an accident. As Nora and Sam form a tentative alliance to look into the circumstances surrounding their father's death, they begin to unravel pieces of their father's life that he had always kept hidden.

My thoughts:
This is a slow building mystery that delves into relationships, family drama, and coping with grief. It was not at all what I was expecting and feels very different from Laura Dave's other books that I have read. It makes me pause and wonder a bit about what she has experienced in her personal life to make such a marked change in writing styles.

I absolutely adored The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave and devoured it in a day. I loved it so much that I went on to read some of her back list books. When this book was announced, I was so excited. I preordered it and then was thrilled to receive an ARC copy. All of this led up to me having very high expectations for this upcoming book and, unfortunately, it fell pretty flat for me.

This book has a very melancholy tone. Overall, my feelings for this book seem to be as complicated as the point that Laura Dave seems to be trying to make with it. It is hard to grasp all of the characters and how they fit together. The points of contention between the characters is not well explained or developed so it makes the entire plot hard to follow since the strife between the characters is the bulk of the plot. Once I finished it, the whole thing felt like a very long justification of infidelity, and of that, I am not a fan.

What does it have going for it? I did not see the plot twist coming. It is enough that it makes me want to reread this when it is released to see how the pieces fit together now knowing the ending. I think that Laura Dave also makes some very poignant observations about grief and coping with loss. She captures that life is messy and it's a somewhat unwelcome reminder that we often don't really understand those people closest to us in life. If you go into this book expecting a story of grief and loss and exploring relationships of family and loved ones, instead of expecting a mystery or thriller, then it will likely increase your enjoyment of reading it.

I want to express my appreciation to Simon Element and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book!
I have really enjoyed a couple of Laura Dave’s previous books, but this one did not hold my interest. I did not connect with any of the characters, nor did I care what was happening to them or even what the “mystery” was about. There were so many characters that seemed randomly added only to give us a small clue to the answer to the mystery. I read this during a busy time and when I would come back to it, I didn’t remember character names or sometime what had happened in the previous chapter. The writing was easy to read, but this is not a thriller, solve-the-mystery story, but more of a family saga. I really wanted to give it 2 stars, but decided to bump it up:.