Out On: September 17, 2024

This was a perfectly okay mystery book! I really enjoyed Laura Dave's other work "The Last Thing He Told Me" so.I was pretty excited to get my hands on an advanced copy of this one.

I really like that we got a bit of a deeper look at our FMC's life as the story progressed. Her seeming to not know what she wants in life, despite seeming to have everything she wants was an interesting addition to the plot. I also thought that her relationships with her brothers were something that could have used a tad bit more fleshing out, but that's just a personal preference (give me all the sibling drama please!).

The use of flashback chapters to introduce us to the father's childhood friend Cory was extremely interesting and I thought that these chapters helped tremendously with moving the plot along and leading the reader astray honestly!

Overall, if you're looking for your next mystery book, look no further because you should give this one a try!

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster Canada for this advanced copy on NetGalley!

Title: The Night We Lost Him
Author: Laura Dave
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 3.50
Pub Date: September 17, 2024

I received a complimentary eARC from Simon & Schuster Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted

T H R E E • W O R D S

Introspective • Thoughtful • Leisurely

📖 S Y N O P S I S

When the patriarch of a famed hotel empire dies under suspicious circumstances, his daughter and her estranged brother join forces to find out what happened, unraveling a larger mystery about who their father really was.

Liam Noone was many things to many people. To the public, he was an exacting, self-made hotel magnate fleeing his past. To his three ex-wives, he was a loving albeit distant family man who kept his finances flush and his families carefully separated. To Nora, he was a father who often loved her from afar—notably, a cliffside cottage perched on the California coast where he fell to his death.

The authorities rule the death accidental, but Nora and her estranged brother Sam have other ideas. As Nora and Sam form an uneasy alliance to unravel the mystery, they start putting together the pieces of their father’s past and uncover a family secret that changes everything.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I'd previously read Laura Dave's The Last Thing He Told Me, which I enjoyed, so it was easy to add The Night We Lost Him to my 2024 anticipated releases list. Honestly, I thought the synopsis for this one sounded more intriguing and more along my reading tastes than her previous novel. Unfortunately, it ended up falling a little flat.

Swapping between the present day where Sam and Nora are trying to piece together what really happened and flashbacks to Liam's past, this story felt like a very low stakes mystery. The plot slowly reveals Liam's long held secret. The strength for me was really in how it paints a picture of the life a parent has lived before a child came to know them. There was so much potential to develop that aspect, yet it isn't flushed out to its full capacity.

The writing is engaging and well constructed. As for the characters, they weren't very likeable and they're development felt surface level. In fact, I didn't feel as though I got to know they well enough to ever become fully invested. I continually questioning their motivations and decisions, and maybe that was the point, yet it had the opposite effect for me.

The Night We Lost Him is one of those books I enjoyed reading at the time, yet it didn't wow me. It's a family saga with an underlying love story wrapped up in a mystery. What I really liked is how it asks the question 'how well can we really know the people we love?' Despite this, I felt it kept me at a distance throughout the entire narrative. If you're looking for a page-turning thriller, this isn't it. But if you enjoy slower paced mysteries motivated by grief this will be more your thing.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• family mysteries
• sibling relationships
• short chapters

⚠️ CW: death, death of parent, grief, murder, infidelity, injury/injury detail, medical content, cursing, alcohol, suicidal thoughts, estranged siblings

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"When you lost too much in quick succession, it feels unimageable to risk losing anything else."

"And when you are grieving, guilt lives inside your sadness, doesn’t it? The guilt lives there like an unfortunate side effect of what you haven’t done. You haven’t saved who matters most."

"We can love someone and they love someone else. We can spend a lifetime trying to understand them, without accepting they weren't really ours to understand. We can look someone straight in the eye and never bear witness to the most private part of them - the part they saved just for themselves."

"Pieces help. They help to make you whole. They strip away the shock. They strip it away until, slowly but surely, the shock isn't your entire story. Even when the thing you truly want - the thing my brother and I both still want - is the thing we can't have anymore. Our father standing here, with his mysteries intact. Closer, and farther, at the same time."

"He'll still be the person I recognize before I even know who I see."

The Night We Lost Him is Laura Dave's second thriller.

The Story centers around estranged step-siblings Nora and Sam as they investigate their father's death. Both are convinced that their father, Liam Noone, did not simply fall from a cliff. Nora and Sam dig out many secrets about Liam during their search and soon find out that their father had a life they had no idea about.

The Night We Lost Him is told in two timelines - past and present. The present timeline focused on the siblings' investigation, the past timeline focused on their father's love story as a young man.

This book was good but a bit slow. I did like both timelines of the story and was happy to see Nora and Sam start figuring things out about their father. I also enjoyed the sweet love story Liam lived.

I didn't find the book particularly suspenseful or thrilling but it was still a worthy read.

*** Thank you Simon & Shuster and NetGalley for this ARC

As Liam’s family grieves his death one of his children believes he was murdered. Liam leaves behind three ex wives and three children. He has always kept his families separate from each other so the now adult children never really were close. Nora is surprised when her half brother reaches out to her with the wild idea that their dad was murdered. The more they work together and look into it the more they are convinced this is what happened. An intriguing aspect is also discovered when they realize there is a woman from their dad’s past that was very important to him throughout his life. Uncovering the mystery surrounding his death and discovering who the unknown woman is make this story very compelling. I loved this author’s last book and was eagerly looking forward to this one. It didn’t disappoint! The characters were interesting and the plot was multilayered. I definitely recommend this suspenseful read!

I really enjoyed this latest mystery book from Laura Dave. It kept me guessing the whole time. I did think I had it figured out, but I was wrong. I enjoyed the characters and the happy ending.

This book is a captivating mystery surrounding the death of Liam Noone. The plot centres around Sam and Nora, estranged half siblings trying to piece together their father’s death. Was it an accident or something more sinister.

The story deals with relationships, love, loss, the weight of grief and family secrets. In searching for the truth Nora and Sam discover lots about their father that they didn’t know before. Also they learn lots about each other in the process.

There is some slow parts in the story but towards the end there is some unexpected twists. Overall I would recommend this book. I think readers will enjoy the story. Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for an advanced copy of this novel.

There’s just something about Laura Dave’s writing that transfixes me. While slow burns are not usually my jam, she keeps me so captivated and wanting to know more about the characters and mysteries with each passing page.

estranged siblings discover their father has been keeping a secret for more than fifty years, one that may have been fatal...

Like I said, from page one I’m intrigued on who these characters are, what they’re going to discover and rooting for their newfound familial bond. This one has dual POV and I must say, the reason this isn’t five star is because I often found the past perspective was draggy and kinda boring. This really slowed the pacing of the story in my opinion and not in a good way.
Overall, Dave has often received mixed reviews and I think she will with this one too; but for me I loved it!

I flew through Laura Dave's previous thriller novel THE LAST THING I TOLD HIM. Similar to LAST THING, THE NIGHT WE LOST HIM was a propulsive read with short chapters - albeit a slower pace- that makes you want to binge it in one sitting.

This time the mystery centers around the death of Nora's father- which was ruled to be a suicide, or was it?! Nora teams up with her brother to uncover the truth and soon finds out she didn't know everything about her father after all.

To me this one wasn't as good as THE LAST THING because there was less at stake and therefore didn't have the same sense of urgency, but it was still a very interesting story. Might be better described as a compelling fiction book about family dynamics with elements of suspense. I like the continued theme of 'we don't always know our loved ones the way we think we do'. There was one twist that shocked me and was enough to make me want to go through and re-read everything, which is why I bumped this up to 4⭐️s. I think readers will enjoy this one.

Although this story was about the mystery surrounding Liam Noone's death, it was also about his life and the people in it, including two half siblings: Nora and Sam. Nora and Sam get to know each other better while coming together to investigate their father's death. I enjoyed how Liam, Nora, and Sam each had their own storyline, backstory, and distinctive personality. The characters drove the story in such an interesting way that I didn't mind the slow-burn pace of the mystery unravelling. I highly recommend this one for fans of mystery and suspense. Thank you Libro.fm for the ALC and Simon and Schuster Canada for the ebook.

4.5 stars

I found this novel very captivating and gripping. Part mystery and part character study, it had me hooked from the very beginning. The story builds layer upon layer, leading to what I think is an unexpected and thought-provoking conclusion.

The plot centers around Sam and Nora, estranged siblings brought together by the mysterious death of their father. As they delve into the circumstances surrounding his passing, they uncover hidden truths about themselves and their father’s past, raising more questions than answers.

This story is an exploration of relationships, love, and the emotional weight of grief. It’s not the kind of story you might anticipate if you're expecting something similar to Laura Dave’s last book. Instead, it’s best to approach it with an open mind, free from expectations, to fully appreciate it.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC

I had high hopes for this latest by a fav domestic thriller author of mine but sadly it fell a bit flat for me. I've seen mixed reviews for this one and I had held out wishing I would land on the positive side but if I'm completely honest, this one felt slow-paced, and much more of a mystery than a thriller. Some have described it as a love story but I didn't get that vibe at all either, Highly skippable as far as I'm concerned and mostly a miss. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion!

I was not able to get through the first 100 pages. This book was just not for me. Sorry! Perhaps it just not the right time for me to read it.

Nora’s father is found dead at the bottom of a cliff near his home. It’s declared an accident but her estranged half-brother, Sam, is convinced there’s more to it than that & wants Nora to help him prove it. To do so requires uncovering long hidden family secrets but it seems everywhere they turn to for answers, they hit a wall of resistance.

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave is a beautifully written tale of love and loss, grief, loyalty, and family secrets combined with an interesting mystery. The story is told in two different time lines

Present - Nora and Sam try to uncover what really happened the night their father died

Past - story of Liam and Cory’s love affair that lasted from high school on though they were both married several times but never to each other

The characters are three-dimensional and believable, making me care about them. I loved this book but I have read several other reviews and it seems I am in the minority here. While others found it’s pace slow, I found it moved so quickly that I felt like I had to force myself to slow down to savour it. I especially loved the ending which provided both hope and forgiveness. Perhaps this was just the right book with the right message for me at this time but I can honestly say that this is one of my favourite books so far this year, a book that will stay with me and which I know I will read again and again. But, given the fact this seems a minority opinion, I will leave it up to other readers to decide for themselves.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the opportunity toread this book in exchange for an honest review

I wanted to read this because of the author as I loved her previous book. This one was great. I liked the overall story, distant half siblings trying to find out what really happened to their father the night he died. I wanted to keep reading and was able to finish quickly, as I wanted to know what was going to happen next. It flipped between the present, of trying to find information about their father, as well as his past with a women who was key to the story. I didn't think it would end the way it did, but once something important came to light, it brought the story together and I was able to figure it out.

Overall it was good, and I would suggest to someone who wants a captivating story, that isn't too much dark and keeps to wanting to read more

I really like Laura Dave’s character development. The story line did get a little dull for me.. the who submitted kept me reading but I found myself just trying to get to the good parts.

I’ll start by saying that any reader picking this up should know that it is not a thriller, nor is it a crime drama… I think if the reader goes into it thinking (or expecting) it to be either of those, I expect they’ll be disappointed.

But hold up, because what I want to say to any future readers is that it is still a good read. I enjoyed every minute of it really… esp after I changed my expectations.

It was the story of a man, who falls off a cliff, and the adult kids who are trying to figure out if there is a murder involved instead of just an accident.

The pacing of the book feels like a suspense but the heart of the book is pushing a love story. Confused of what I mean… well, you’ll just have to read it to find out why.

I would simply say it’s a contemporary drama… one that questions everyone around the accident without seeing what is right in front of their eyes

Talk about a drama. With secrets and heartbreak. No less.

This was a well written story that had me captivated from the beginning. Its one of those stories that you have to keep reading to find out the mystery

The Night We Lost Him will stay with me for a very long time and I highly recommend It.

Thanks netgalley and publisher for allowing me to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own and isn't influenced by anyone else

3.5.
If you like the last thing he told me by this author, I think you’ll like this. It is a mystery thriller but it’s not super shocking. It felt very predicable, but I don’t think that is Laura Dave’s strengths. Her strengths lie in crafting a complicated family drama with interesting characters. In terms of being a drama, I think this book is great. It’s well written and engaging. But, since it’s a supposed to be a mystery thriller, I can’t rank it higher because I think that the plot and the mystery element was the weakest part.
I do recommend it though if you liked the last thing he told me.

Another great story. and another page turner. A story with so many layers that keeps your interest from the first page to the last. It has twist that I did not see coming. Thoroughly enjoyable,

I really enjoyed “The Last Thing He Told Me” - and even watched the Jennifer Garner version. Laura Dave is a strong writer and develops a story well. Unfortunately I had expectations of this book that weren’t met. I anticipated it would be faster moving and more gripping. I enjoyed the read but wasn’t surprised at all by the ending….Sadly it was a bit “meh” - that said - I would still read something else from this writer as she crafts a solid tale!