I LOVED these characters. I absolutely fell in love with this dysfunctional family. This turned out to be an unexpected romance that I absolutely loved.

ohhhh, how I really enjoyed this book. a few things I should say: I knew this wasn’t going to be a thriller, but more of a family drama and love story with a decent size of mystery on each page.

and that worked really well for me.

this story opens with a suspicious death of a father & hotel magnate, and proceeds with the journey of two of his estranged children - Nora and Sam - as they search for answers.

what I loved about this book was that it was also an introspective journey for both grown children: decisions made too late, questioning the love they have and have lost, what they want out of life, and ultimately, moving forward to solve their father’s mystery (including a secret he kept for more than fifty years), while they figure out both their lives, together.

I’d also like to point out there were so many spot on quotes about oneself and life in general that still sit with me. really addressing the human condition as it relates to loss, love, grief, and searching for happiness. I wrote about twenty down.

While this was a bit slower than I’d like, I did enjoy the suspense and complex family relationships. The plot twist was good and I liked that the ending brought everything full circle.

Nora and her estranged brother Sam start to question the circumstances surrounding the sudden death of their father Liam. They form an alliance and uncover secrets their father kept and answers to the manner in which their father died.

I didn't love this book and I didn't hate it. The story for me seemed to drag on and lost my interest in several places. I ended with some questions and not feeling connected to any of the characters.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book. This is my honest review of The Night We Lost Him.

I enjoyed this book by Laura Dave. I liked the family secrets/drama. Nora and Sam were brought together to find out what really happened to their father. I was surprised by the ending. I would absolutely recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon Element for the advance reading copy.

I enjoyed reading this book, but think it could have been tighter...the author definitely gives some red herrings that keep you guessing. It seems to be somewhat based on a charming movie, Same Time Next Year (1978). Not sure if that's intentional or just my read. A good selection for readers who like a non obvious plot twist.

This book was very good and a page turner. I didn’t want to put it down.
I enjoyed the story, the love story and the mystery. The culprit wasn’t obvious until it was almost revealed which is always a plus.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I enjoyed Laura Dave’s other popular novel, so was very excited for this. Unfortunately it was extremely slow paced and I found it difficult to want to keep reading. Nora is like able and the twists were good (not easy to guess). I just I think this was wasn’t for me personally.

Great story, kept me going. I went into it not comparing it to Laura Dave’s previous book, because that would do a disservice to The Night We Lost Him. Very different pace, just as good in my opinion.

Laura Dave is back with another page-turner! The Night We Lost Him delivers all the family drama and mystery vibes that made The Last Thing He Told Me such a hit.

This time, we follow estranged half-siblings, Nora and Sam, as they’re forced to team up after their dad’s sudden, mysterious death—ruled an accident by police. But as they dig deeper, it’s clear their dad’s life wasn’t what it seemed. Piece by piece, they unravel a web of secrets in search of the truth and a little bit of closure.

While this one leans more into slow-burn mystery than a heart-pounding thriller, I was totally hooked. The characters are relatable and easy to root for, and the sibling banter had me smiling. Plus, the dual timelines? Chef’s kiss. They tie everything together perfectly by the end.

Laura Dave absolutely nailed it again! Big thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I’ll definitely be recommending this one to all my friends, family, and anyone who’ll listen

Laura Dave's newest novel, The Night We Lost Him, was another well-written, family mystery/drama that was a great follow-up to The Last Thing He Told Me.

In The Night We Lost Him, estranged half-siblings Nora and Sam come together following the unexpected death of their father to find out what really happened to him after police rule the death an accident. As they search for clues their father may have left, the duo find out that nothing was as it seemed, and they slowly begin to put puzzle pieces together to get the closure they are searching for.

This was definitely a slow-burn mystery more than a thriller, but I still found it be enjoyable. Once I started reading it, I could not put it down. I found the main characters to be easy to root for, enjoyed their banter, and though the dual timelines was done very well to intertwine the stories to the final ending.

Laura Dave has another winner here, and I continue to love her books. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Element | S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books for the ARC!! I will absolutely be recommending this one to friends, family, and library patrons!

Wonderful novel once again by Laura Dave. The family drama was so well written and definitely a page turner for me. I fell in love with the characters especially Sam and Nora as well as Liam and Cory. Author captured both the present story line along with the past story line alongside each other. I highly recommend this novel and truly hope it also becomes a series like her first novel.

I loved The Night We Lost Him. I read it in one day because I needed to know what happened. Once I finished, I went in search of Laura Dave’s previous novels at the library. Laura Dave knows how to write a really engaging, thriller/drama. Don’t sleep on her previous books!

Thank you to Laura Dave, Simon Element, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Part mystery, family saga and love story, The Night We Lost Him is one of Dave's best novels.

Nora is still dealing with the loss of her mother when her father suddenly dies, leaving her his beloved seaside house. Her brother Sam thinks their father may have been pushed and asks Nora to help look into it. Nora must examine her relationship with her. father as well as her half siblings and her boyfriend. Afraid of facing more loss, she has begun to push everyone away but now is forced to examine just what it is she wants. The search for answers to her fathers death is well done and the characters are realistic. The pacing is just fast enough to keep the reader engaged right up to the satisfying end.

I’m DNFing this book - and I’m really sad to feel this way because I really enjoyed her other novel, ‘the last thing he told me.’ This is more a family drama book with a mystery woven throughout- certainly NOT a thriller.

The story centers around 2 half siblings, Sam and Nora. Sam convinces Nora that their father didn’t fall off the cliff at his retreat property, but was likely pushed. They dig into his past together. Everyone in the book has multiple exes and it felt like lots of random characters were all over the place, and I kept being like “wait this is who? oh, yeah.”

There are two timelines, and I found myself just not caring. The story was boring and the characters were meh. I ended up googling the ending and I’m glad I called it quits before getting all that way because I would have been annoyed and spent a couple more hours for a womp womp dumb ending imo.

Meh.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley and Simon Element in exchange for an honest review.

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave is a slow burn novel where two siblings are searching for answers regarding their father's recent death. In searching for these answers, they also both come to learn more about each other and themselves. While I enjoyed this book, there were many times I wished the story would move along quicker. It was actually a very fast read, but I felt the plot at times was slow. This would most likely appeal to fans of slow burn, cozy mysteries.

Nora and her half-brother, Sam, embark on an independent investigation of their own, after their father, Liam, dies. The police ruled it an accident after he fell from a cliff on his property. Sam feels this was not an accident so he asks Nora to help. They have another brother who doesn’t really have much to do with their quest.

Along the way, they begin to unearth things they had no idea about. There are a few people coming out of the woodwork but not providing very helpful information. However, one thing leads to another and things start to make sense to Nora. All the while, she is dealing with her own relationship issues with Jack, but she never gives up on solving this mystery.

All in all, this was a good book. Not a lot of suspense but some good twists and turns here and there. When I read a book, I mainly focus on the characters and want to learn them. There was nothing special about the characters, but I didn’t dislike them either; I just didn’t get to know them as I would have liked.

In the end, we get good closure, and a little surprise as to how Nora and Sam handle the news of what really happened to their father. I think Laura Dave is a great author. I always look forward to her books.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster and Marysue Rucci books for the ARC of this book.

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave is a compelling family saga about the truths people hide. This is literary suspense at its finest.

Right away, I can tell you this is one of my favorite books of the year. It’s the ideal book to read for the fall— it’s moody and atmospheric. It’s quite introspective and compelling.

I once saw the term literary suspense to describe novels that do include a mystery, but are more focused on interpersonal character dynamics and growth. So in essence you have the best elements of literary fiction combined with a suspenseful element that moves the plot forward. I’m such a big fan of this style.

The mystery of Liam’s death moves the story forward, and is what brings Nora and Sam together. But the heartbeat of the novel is about love—both romantic and family. But sometimes love is blind, and even without the intentions of doing so, actions taken in the name of love, can hurt others. That is something this novel explores in a well-crafted and delicate way.

I found The Night We Lost Him to be an engrossing and interesting story about a complicated family. Surprising choices are made, and there is a final twist that is quite unexpected. But I found it all worked quite well.

The Night We Lost Him was a mystery, but less of a whodunnit then the unraveling of an enigma of a man.

When 2 of Liam's children decide that something just isn't right about the night their father died, the decide to go looking for answers but their efforts just lead to more questions.

This is the story of successful man who kept his life, his relationships and his families all separate and apart. In order to come to the truth, two estranged half0siblings have to confront the fact that as much as they loved their father, they didn't really know him at all.

This was an interesting read, though not a thriller, as it was classified. I didn't love the flashback telling style in this book, although it does work for some, it made the story a bit disjointed. I figured out the twist sort of early on and the resolution felt a little unsatisfying.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and to the Publisher for the eArc in exchange for my honest review.

The Night We Lost Him is a creative mix of murder mystery and family drama. I went in expecting it to be a mystery novel but was pleasantly surprised at the exploration of family dynamics. While trying to solve her father's death, Nora is also learning more about her father as a person as well as herself. In fact, it was those aspects that I found most compelling. It left me contemplating how well I knew my own parents and the lives they led before they became parents.