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The Last Thing He Told Me : Book Review & Summary
Book Title: The Last Thing He Told Me
Number of Pages: 336
Audiobook Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
Listening Length: 8 hours and 49 minutes
Goodreads Rating: 3.86 (731,374 ratings)
Published in: 2021
The Last Thing He Told Me Summary
- New York Times Bestseller
- Goodreads Thriller & Mystery of the Year 2021
- Indie Next Book Pick
- Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick
- An Amazon Best Book of the Year
- An Apple Best Book of the Year
- A Vogue Best Book of the Year
- A Real Simple Best Book of the Year
- A 2022 Audie Award Finalist
Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle 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 FBI 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, together. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they are also building a new future. One neither Hannah nor Bailey could have anticipated.
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Praise for The Last Thing He Told Me
‘What starts as an intimate meditation on found families deftly turns into a heart-pounding mystery reminiscent of the best true crime stories. But both work so beautifully in this gripping, perfectly-paced novel. I dare you to stop reading.”—Susie Yang, New York Times bestselling author of White Ivy
“With dizzying suspense and gorgeous prose, The Last Thing He Told Me tackles tough questions about trust, marriage, and what it means to be a family. A page-turner of the highest order.”—Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of Home Before Dark
“Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me is a thrilling roller coaster of a novel. This smart, intimate exploration of love and family is the foundation of a beautifully constructed mystery filled with twists and turns. A must-read.”—Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee
“Dave pulls off something that feels both new and familiar: a novel of domestic suspense that unnerves, then reassures. This is the antithesis of the way novels like Gone Girl or My Lovely Wife are constructed; in The Last Thing He Told Me, the surface is ugly, the situation disturbing, but almost everyone involved is basically good underneath it all. Dave has given readers what many people crave right now—a thoroughly engrossing yet comforting distraction.”-BookPage
Quotes from The Last Thing He Told Me
This is the terrible thing about a tragedy. It isn’t with you every minute. You forget it, and then you remember it again.”
He never understood that I wasn’t scared of someone leaving me, I was scared that the wrong person would stay
This is the thing about good and evil. They aren’t so far apart – and they often start from the same valiant place of wanting something to be different.”
How do you explain it when you find in someone what you’ve been waiting for your whole life? Do you call it fate? It feels lazy to call it fate. It’s more like finding your way home—where home is a place you secretly hoped for, a place you imagined, but where you’d never before been. Home. When you weren’t sure you’d ever get to have one
The Last Thing He Told Me The Creative Muggle Review
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The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave is a domestic suspense novel that follows Hannah Hall, who receives a note from her husband, Owen Michaels, just before his disappearance. The note instructs her to protect his sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey, with whom Hannah has a strained relationship. As Hannah tries to uncover the truth about Owen’s sudden disappearance, she comes to a realization that her husband has been keeping a lot of secrets from her, including his true identity. After further investigation, Hannah finds out that Bailey may hold the key to unraveling his true identity.
I really enjoyed The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave. As someone who hasn’t delved into many thriller novels this book truly captivated me from start to finish. It had me constantly wondering what would happen next. But what really made this book special for me was the way I was able to connect with the characters and put myself in their shoes.
Another fascinating part about Laura Dave’s writing is that we get to see characters who are fully fleshed out. Even in the midst of a complex and suspenseful storyline, I found myself emotionally invested in their journeys.
I particularly loved the clever storytelling technique of providing glimpses into Hannah and Owen’s life. Despite limited interaction between them, readers will feel a genuine connection to their relationship plus I think it adds an extra layer of complexity to the story. And It’s probably why the ending was really heartbreaking for me.
Overall, The Last Thing He Told Me was an addictive and emotionally gripping read for me. It reignited my interest in the thriller genre, and I wouldn’t hesitate to pick it up again for a second read. If you’re looking for a book that combines suspense, family drama, and well-developed characters, I highly recommend giving this one a try.
The Creative Muggle Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
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What to Read After The Last Thing He Told Me?
If you want to read fast-paced domestic suspense novels like The Last Thing He Told Me, here are the top three book recommendations.
- The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller– A dark atmospheric novel with the themes of secrets and love.
- Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica– A chilling thriller with jaw-dropping twists.
- Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister– A twisty psychological thriller about a mother and her unconventional pursuit to save her son from a brutal crime.
About the Author Laura Dave
New York Times bestselling author Laura Dave is known for her captivating novels, including “The Last Thing He Told Me” and “Eight Hundred Grapes.” Her books have been translated into 38 languages and have received critical acclaim from Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club, Indie Next, and many more. In 2021, “The Last Thing He Told Me” was chosen as the Goodreads Mystery & Thriller of the Year. Her novel The Last Thing He Told Me is adapted into a miniseries on Apple TV. Visit Laura Dave’s website.
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