The Last Thing He Told Me
A Novel
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4.1 • 15.8K Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A Goodreads Top 60 Book of the Last 5 Years
Don’t miss the #1 New York Times bestselling blockbuster and Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick that’s sold over 3 million copies—now streaming on Apple TV+ starring Jennifer Garner!
The “page-turning, exhilarating” (PopSugar) and “heartfelt thriller” (Real Simple) about a woman who thinks she’s found the love of her life—until he disappears.
Before Owen Michaels disappears, he smuggles a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers—Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.
As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered, as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss, as a US marshal and federal agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared.
Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they’re also building a new future—one neither of them could have anticipated.
With its breakneck pacing, dizzying plot twists, and evocative family drama, The Last Thing He Told Me is a “page-turning, exhilarating, and unforgettable” (PopSugar) suspense novel.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Laura Dave’s excellent thriller unfolds like a suburban nightmare, putting a woman’s commitment to her new family to an unimaginable test. A year into her marriage to Owen, Hannah’s biggest concern is being a civil stepmom to her husband’s sullen teenager, Bailey. But then Owen disappears, leaving behind a note reading “Protect her.” This turbocharged setup launches us into a pulse-pounding story, as Hannah gets thrown for one loop after another—all while trying to uncover her husband’s secrets even as the FBI and U.S. Marshals are banging on her door. Dave does a great job with the gripping twists, but we also love how real she makes the fraught relationship between Hannah and Bailey feel. We couldn’t put The Last Thing He Told Me down.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Dave's suspenseful latest (after Hello Sunshine), a Bay Area woman copes with her husband's sudden disappearance. Owen Michaels, a coder for a prominent tech company, vanishes just before his boss is arrested for corruption, leaving his 16-year-old daughter, Bailey, over half a million dollars in cash. Bailey and her stepmother, Hannah Hall, aren't close, but they work together to uncover what made Owen flee, convinced he is innocent. Still, Hannah remains uncertain, and after she remembers how a man claimed to have recognized Owen from high school in Austin, Tex., despite Owen having said he's from the East Coast, Hannah and Bailey travel there in hopes of triggering Bailey's early childhood memories. Bailey does remember Texas, though her memories don't track with what Owen had told both of them. Meanwhile, a U.S. Marshal who's familiar with Owen's past encourages Hannah to cooperate as Hannah and Bailey find themselves in danger. The first two-thirds are riveting, with mysteries unspooled at a steady pace and believable stepfamily angst, but unfortunately the final act slips into some loopy turns. The author's fans, though, won't have a hard time forgiving the flaws.
Customer Reviews
Worth it
But there’s just some parts ur like ugh why didn’t she do that whyyy so it was a great read I definitely finished In two sittings and I work full time so that says a lot. Will be reading more of their work if it’s in this type of genre
Such a good book!!!!!!
Couldn’t put it down for one second!!!!
Don’t get the hype
I read so many reviews for this book where 4 or 5 stars were given, and I sincerely do not understand how. Are the reviews fake? This book requires the reader to suspend reality a bit too much...a US Marshall getting you a family lawyer jic you need it? Flying to a state that you think he lived in and piecing together everything in one day? It gets more unbelievable as it continues. And then there was the bad editing and the inconsistencies...on one page they’re drinking bourbon and the next page she says there’s whiskey in her cup. Overall, I found it to be poorly written, poorly edited and was just wholly unbelievable. Maybe my standards are too high but this was awful.